Burmese Gin Thoke Melon Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup green lentils dried
• 0.5 cup olive oil extra virgin 
• 2 cups wide-flake coconut unsweetened
• 6 inch young ginger fresh minced peeled () (1/3 cup)
• 4  kaffir lime leaves fresh chopped
• 1.8 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 0.3 cup juice of lime (from 3 to 4 limes)
• 0.3 cup soya sauce low-sodium
• 1.3 cups blanched peanuts raw
• 0.3 cup sesame seed toasted
• 2 tablespoons sugar 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• mixing bowl
• grill

Directions

1. Start by cutting up the melons: Trim off the rind of all 3 melons, remove any seeds, and cut the flesh into 1/2-inch dice. Put all of the diced melon in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the ginger, sesame seeds, lime juice, soy sauce, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.
3. Mix well and pour over the melon. Toss, and let marinate at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the salad.
4. Put the lentils and 4 cups cold water in a small saucepan set over high heat, and bring to a boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook for 5 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but not mushy.
6. Drain, rinse with cold water to chill, and then stir into the melon mixture.
7. Combine the coconut, peanuts, kaffir lime, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large sauté pan. Toast the peanut mixture over medium–low heat, stirring it constantly, until the coconut and peanuts have toasted, somewhat unevenly, to a golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
9. Just before serving, add the peanut mixture to the melon mixture and stir gently to combine.
10. Serve in a large bowl, preferably at room temperature.
11. *Young ginger: Found in Asia, young ginger has a very white, almost transparent skin, with root ends that are tinted pink. With juicy flesh and very few fibers, it is ideal for eating raw. The taste is more delicate and milder than that of mature ginger. **Kaffir lime leaf: A thorny bush with aromatic, hourglass-shaped leaves, common to Southeast Asia, kaffir lime has an intense and unique pepper-lime flavor. It is also called "kieffer lime," "makrut," or "magrood." If you can't find it, you can substitute grated lime zest.
12. Reprinted with permission from Susan Feniger's Street Food by Susan Feniger, © 2012 Clarkson Potter
13. Susan Feniger's taste for travel is reflected on the menu at Susan Feniger's Street (Hollywood) and the three Border Grill eateries (Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Las Vegas) and Border Grill Truck and kiosk she co-owns with Mary Sue Milliken. A trailblazer on food TV with Food Network's Too Hot Tamales (1995–99), Feniger has more recently appeared on Season 2 of Top Chef Masters. Susan Feniger's Street Food, written with Kajsa Alger and Liz Lachman, is her sixth book.