Maybe you'll do a buffet for an Olympics-watching party. This cold
salad features spinach for feeding your Popeye muscles. Refreshing
and tasty complement to the rest of the buffet.

Spinach Radish Salad
(Adapted from Kenneth Lo, "New Chinese Cooking School")

1 bunch medium to large red radishes
2 lb. fresh young spinach
salt
pepper
sugar
2 tsp.soy sauce
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1. Clean and trim radishes, then flatten them using your meat
tenderizer or the side of your cleaver or whatever heavy flat
implement you have handy. Spread them out and sprinkle with ample
salt, about a teaspoon.

2. Clean the spinach, removing any tough stalks. Put in a large pot
and pour boiling water from your electric kettle over it. Drain
immediately and rinse with cold water. (Some may find this step
unimportant. I think the effect of this mini-blanching is noticeable
and good.)

3. Dry spinach as well as possible. Salad spinner is a good thing.
Then chop roughly.

4. Spread the spinach out and sprinkle it with salt, pepper and
sugar, then drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil all over. Toss to mix,
then arrange on a platter and top with the radishes. -aem