*Beautiful Thai Tuna Salad easy to make for a week night light supper or a side dish. Photo by Arlie Sommer*

I lived in Portland for several years in my early 20’s, during The Recession, and was lucky to experience a vibrant and affordable food renaissance in it’s infancy. I could enjoy a farmers market on any day of the week, in neighborhoods throughout the city, with wonderful farmers supplying organic, fresh, and unique foods.

Portland restaurants also adopted a local and organic ethic, exploring foods from around the world, including Pok Pok. I remember this restaurant’s very unpretentious atmosphere: no reservations, many seats were picnic tables stocked with carafes of water, flavored by rice leaves, which you poured yourself. Their chicken really stood out—a full leg and thigh with the crispiest skin. As did their simple side dishes, famous for bringing a lot of heat.

When I got Andy Ricker’s cook book, it was no surprise to read that his restaurant was inspired by travels through Thailand, eating roadside fire-cooked meals, and learning from Thai home cooks. The title of the restaurant and book, “Pok Pok,” is the sound made by the mortar and pestle, essential for Thai cooking. I’m grateful to Ricker for encouraging all cooks to own and use this wonderful kitchen tool—that’s why I use one regularly.

He’s since shut down his restaurant but I continue to refer to the Pok Pok cook book for simple and delicious Thai flavors. This recipe is based on the Yam Tuna recipe. Made for a seasonal summer meal—all of the fresh ingredients are their ripest and most delicious at the peak of summer at Purple Sage Farms and in the Northwest (Lemongrass, garlic, chilies, tomatoes, green onion, onion, celery, cilantro, and we’ve even grown ginger from time to time).

The recipe below serves two to six as part of a meal.

INGREDIENTS

Dressing

1/3 cup Thai fish sauce

1/3 cup lime juice (preferably from key limes or spiked with a small squeeze of Meyer lemon juice)

3 tablespoons palm sugar simple syrup (see directions in Step 1 below)

1 (30 gram) piece peeled ginger, cut into long (about 1 ½-inch), thin (about ⅛-inch), matchsticks (this is variable)

10 grams peeled garlic cloves, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 6 cloves)

6 grams fresh Thai chiles (about 4), preferably green, thinly sliced (can use any chili you like)

Salad

3 (5-ounce) cans solid tuna packed in water, drained and broken into large pieces

6 ounces cherry tomatoes (or a pint), halved, or quartered if large

21 grams thinly sliced lemongrass (tender parts only), from about 3 to 4 stalks (about 3 tablespoons)

42 grams peeled yellow onion, thinly sliced with the grain (about 1/3 cup)

1 cup coarsely chopped Chinese celery or farmers market celery(thin stems and leaves), lightly packed

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

directions

Step 1: Make the palm sugar simple syrup

In a small pot, add 2/3 cup of palm sugar and 2/3 cup of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn off the heat, and whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved. Let cool to room temperature. Use 3 tablespoons for the dressing and store the remainder in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the refrigerator.

Step 2: Make the dressing

Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, simple syrup, ginger, garlic, and chiles in a medium to large pot. Heat the ingredients medium heat, until it’s warm to the touch, 15 seconds or so. Turn off the heat.

Step 3: Assemble the salad

Add the remaining ingredients to the pot with the dressing and toss gently but well. Transfer the salad, liquid and all, to a plate in a heap and serve.

Thai Tuna Salad with Lemongrass