Asian Watermelon Salad

A summer salad that is full of sweet watermelon, fresh mint, cilantro and basil. Asian Watermelon Salad is tossed in an easy lime dressing with a little spice from the jalapeño pepper. It is so easy to put together and will make any summer dinner party exciting!

July is here and it’s passing by in a flash! Which means summer is halfway over (yes, I’m sobbing silently). Which means what better time than now to share a fabulous Asian watermelon salad!

I’ve recently been looking for more fresh and easy summer recipes. I am used to eating watermelon in all of its sweet and glorious natural sweetness. After just coming back from Italy and enjoying watermelon at the end of every meal, I wasn’t sure if I could explore using it in a recipe.

#FreshSummer 2019 project:

My friend Aggie from Aggie’s Kitchen and I have come up with a theme for each month of our #FreshSummer project.  For the month of June we chose to share something we each made with cucumbers! Be sure to check out Aggie’s delightful Cucumber Avocado Salad  and my Sweet Summer Corn and Cucumber Salad. July’s theme is watermelon. Hop on over to Aggie’s blog to see delicious Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil. You should join Aggie and I all summer long. If you make a watermelon recipe, tag us on Instagram with #FreshSummer.

Follow us @savoringitaly and Aggie @aggieskitchen to see our stories and catch everything delicious!

We’ll be back in August with something else that’s super fresh for your summer kitchen!

HOW DO YOU MAKE WATERMELON SALAD?

For this recipe, you’ll need cubed watermelon, shallots, garlic, basil, cilantro and fresh mint leaves. A simple lime dressing goes over the top of the salad and it is all tossed together for a bright and fresh summer dish. The sweet watermelon with crispy shallots make it un unusual sweet and savory combination that is truly addictive! You’ll want to enjoy this salad all summer long!

I like to cut my watermelon into chunks because as it’s faster and a little easier. If you happen to own a melon baller, be sure to use it as it makes it a little prettier for presentation. The fresh mint, basil and cilantro all gets added at the very end so the mint doesn’t turn brown. I like the herbs to be super fresh when I’m making a salad like this.

I was once part of a group called blogger C.L.U.E. and the blog I was given to search through was Kate from Kate’s Kitchen. It was fun perusing through Kate’s blog with our theme Beat the Heat. I was inspired by her Thai watermelon salad.

The Thai watermelon salad was a Jamie Oliver recipe and I ended up adapting it with a recipe I found in a Food Network magazine from summer 2014. The recipes were pretty similar!!

Join me in reading about the food hunted down for the #bloggerCLUE member’s kitchens!

• Asian Watermelon Salad by Lora from Savoring Italy
• Beat the Heat Negronis by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Blueberry Icebox Pie by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen
• Curried Chicken Salad with Cucumbers by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Frozen Cherry Lemonade by Anna from annaDishes
• Homemade Gingerale by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Icy Rum Punch from the Islands by Debra from Eliot’s Eats
• Mango Jicama Salsa by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• No Bake Berry Cheesecake by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Oreo Cookies n Cream Ie Cream by Heather from girliche
• Peach Ice Cream by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Pecan Brittle by Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen
• Prosciutto Parmesan Arugula Sandwich by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Roasted Tomato Soup by Sue from A Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Summertime Fresh Corn Salad by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Tipsy Palmers by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm

updated from Aug 2015

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5 from 6 votes

Asian Watermelon Salad

A summer salad that is full of sweet watermelon, fresh mint, cilantro and basil. Asian Watermelon Salad is tossed in an easy lime dressing with a little spice from the jalapeño pepper. It is so easy to put together and will make any summer dinner party exciting!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: Salad, summer, vegan, watermelon

Servings: 6

Author: Lora

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil
• 2 small shallots 1 thinly sliced, 1 finely chopped
• Kosher salt
• Juice of 3 limes
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 2 - inch piece ginger peeled and minced
• 1 red jalapeno pepper thinly sliced
• 4 cups chopped seedless watermelon
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoons cocktail peanuts roughly chopped

Instructions

• Heat the peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.
• Add the sliced shallot and cook (make sure you reserve the other portion for your dressing), stirring often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; season with salt.
• Whisk 2 tablespoons of the frying oil, the chopped shallot, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and jalapeno in a large bowl.
• Add the watermelon and toss to combine.
• Let sit 10 minutes.
• Add the cilantro, basil, mint and 2 tablespoons peanuts to the salad and season with salt; toss to combine. Top salad with chopped peanuts and fried shallot.

Notes

All images and text  ©Savoring Italy.  Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.

 

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