Oriental Salad and Chop Suey Dessert Sauce

My mother has a rather morbid habit of asking me, whenever I return to the US for a visit, to specify which of her belongings I will want for myself 'when the time comes'. I prefer not to think about it,  but if pressed I'd really only have one request: Mother, please set aside for me your entire Time Life 'Foods of the World' series.

I've spent alot of time on visits home poring over these fascinating recipe books, even more so since I began writing about food. (This time around much of what I'm reading in the American Cooking volumes from the series dovetails with a book that's on my bedside table: The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky, which I highly recommend.)

Every year I find a recipe or ten that resonate(s) -- a relatively little known dish that I discovered in Italy, a favorite childhood dish that I'd completely forgotten about, a recipe for an obscure Asian specialty that's surprising both for the fact that it appears in a cookbook published 38 years ago and for its apparent authenticity.

And then there's the head scratchers -- like Oriental Salad and Chop Suey Dessert Sauce, from the American Cooking: Northwest volume.

There has been for over a century, of course, a large Asian population in the American Northwest. But I wonder about the origin of the 'Oriental' salad, whose only possibly 'Oriental' ingredient is rice. And what of Chop Suey dessert sauce? Here I can only guess that it's so named for its mishmash of ingredients.

At any rate -- here are the recipes. If anyone out there recognizes these dishes or  has some information regarding their origin(s), I'd love to hear from you.

Oriental Salad

From American Cooking: The Northwest, published 1970 by Time Life Inc.

1/2 c long grain rice, boiled, drained, and cooled

A 6-oz can flat anchovy fillets, drained, rinsed under cold water, and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped scallions

1/2 cup finely chopped pimiento

1 firm ripe tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 Tbsp olive oil

Chilled crisp lettuce leaves

Place rice, anchoves, scallions, pimiento and tomato in a serving bowl and toss together.

With a wire whisk, beat vinegar, mustard, salt, and a few grindings of pepper in a small bowl until the mustard has dissolved. Add the oil gradually and continue to beat until the dressing is smooth and thick. Taste for seasoning, pour over rice mixture, and stir with a fork till the ingredients are well combined.

For each serving, arrange several lettuce leaves to form a cup on a chilled plate and spoon the salad into the lettuce cup.

Chop Suey Dessert Sauce

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 tsp red food coloring

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates

1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried figs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Combine the sugar and water in a 1 to 2-quart enamel or stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook briskly, uncovered, until the syrup reaches a temperature of 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. Stir in the food coloring.

Combine the dates, figs, and walnuts in a bowl, pour in the hot syrup, and stir until all the pieces are evenly moistened. Spoon the sauce into a jar equipped with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and store at room temperature. The sauce will keep up to 3 weeks. Serve it with ice cream.

Comments

[heidih]

That set of books (TL Foods of the World ) opened my world. Even today I read one of the books and am amazed at the depth of information and the excitement the writing created about the various foods and regions. I find them for almost no money in second hand stores. I gave Japan to a young man who was going to Japan for a few months on a study program. He learned more about the culture from the book than from his instructors.

[Linda]

Somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my garage there is a set of the Time-Life Foods of the World that I acquired from book and garage sales. If my two daughters don't want it when they graduate and get on with adult life, you are welcome to the set Robyn -providing your Mum doesn't give her her set.

[Moya]

How I loved that series of books when I was a kid. Such new worlds opened up with every volume! Looks like the only "oriental" element of both dishes is the colourful mish mash of items all stirred in together for that mixed combo look!

[Laurie]

I LOVE this series - they were some of the first food books I ever read. I've been trying to collect the whole set from local thrift/used book stores, and I'm continually impressed by how well the quality of the writing and the authenticity of the recipes has held up(Americanized "Chinese" dishes aside).

[Krista]

As someone who grew up in the NW, collects this Time Life series and also has Food of a Younger Land next to her bed, I wish I had some insight into the origin of the above recipes. I did grow up making cookies called Chinese Chews because they contained canned La Choy crispy noodles.

Speaking of the NW, the odd Oregon contribution in Food of a Younger Land about mashed potatoes is practically bloggy in its single-mindedness.

[Chris]

This post has stirred memories of "chop suey" loaf, which is definitely not Asian. Really confused me when I first moved here. That aside, just realized we don't see that loaf anymore @ the bakey. Wonder why...

[Ashlee]

My grandma always made this strange Australianized rice dish that she told us was Chinese, but rice was about as Asian as it got haha. It did have curry powder it in though, so in her mind it was thoroughly exotic. It reminds me of the oriental salad you've posted in its lack of authenticity...

[Fiona]

I collect these books, too, and have most (if not all) of them. Some are amazing, and the only sad thing about them is the faded colors (ie, Viennese, Japanese, the American West) but others can be quite strange. The volume on Africa and the one on the Pacific Islands has some curious qualities.

There's a lot of information out there about the way those books were produced, too. The recent biography of Julia Child talks a bit about them, and about MFK Fischer's work on the Provincial France volume.

[Fiona]

Oops, Fisher. Sorry.

[Reny]

I have only tried this dish in Singapore once when I was a kid, many many years ago. I didn't like it then, but I do wonder if I would like it now, since my taste has definitely changed dramatically.

Anyway, I was wondering since Japan is a part of Asia, I wonder if you have written any reviews on Japanese food available in South East Asian countries.

It does look delish, and I hope to have a chance to try it.