Contemporary Pacific Rim cuisine has become immensely popular on the West Coast and in Hawaii over the last few years, inspired by chefs such as Wolfgang Puck (Chinois-on-Main in Venice, California), Roy Yamaguchi, and Alan Wong in Hawaii, among many others. This cuisine is based on using flavors and ingredients from different Asian countries, such as Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, and combining them in innovative ways, often in a distinctly American context or style. California is, after all, very much a part of the Pacific Rim. This salad, with its delicious Asian nuances, is a fine example of this exciting style of eating. The plum sauce in the marinade (also called duck sauce) is a sweet-and-sour Chinese condiment made with plums and apricots that, like the pickled ginger in the dressing, is available in most supermarket Asian food sections.
