Grilled Vegetable and Rice Salad with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
• Vegetable oil
• 12 okra pods
• 3 ears of corn
• shucked
• 2 large zucchini
• halved lengthwise
• centers scooped out
• 2 long red chiles (such as Holland or Anaheim)
• stemmed
• 1 small eggplant
• cut lengthwise into 1" slices
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 garlic clove
• minced
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar or (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nuoc nam or nam pla)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 cups (loosely packed) mixed fresh tender herbs (such as basil
• cilantro

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 250°F.

2. 2

   Spread out coconut (if using) on a rimmed baking sheet.

3. 3

   Bake, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Let cool on pan.

5. 5

   Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high.

6. 6

   Brush grill grates with oil.

7. 7

   Meanwhile, combine okra, corn, zucchini, chiles, eggplant, and salt in a large bowl; drizzle with oil and toss to coat.

8. 8

   Grill vegetables (use a grill basket if you have one), turning frequently, until crisp-tender and lightly charred, about 8 minutes.

9. 9

   Place chiles in a medium bowl; cover tightly with plastic to let steam for easy peeling.

10. 10

    Set chiles aside for dressing.

11. 11

    Cut corn kernels from cobs; place in a large bowl.

12. 12

    Cut zucchini and eggplant into irregular 1" pieces; place in bowl with corn.

13. 13

    Trim any tough tops from okra and cut okra in half lengthwise; add to bowl.

14. 14

    Peel or scrape off charred skin from chiles and discard.

15. 15

    Purée chiles (with seeds) and garlic in a food processor or mash with a mortar and pestle until a coarse paste forms.