Summer Squash Salad With Umeboshi Vinaigrette Recipe

You can find all the ingredients for the vinaigrette—including bonito flakes and shiro shoyu (white soy sauce)—at Japanese markets or online. When it comes to picking summer squash, “Go for the smaller, crisper ones,” which have more flavor, says chef Scott Clark of Dad's Luncheonette, and “avoid the big, waterlogged monsters.” Shaved into ribbons with a mandoline, the raw vegetables’ tender crunch shines through.

Clark suggests using any leftover dressing as a marinade for grilled fish. Photos and recipes excerpted from Coastal: 130 Recipes From a California Road Trip by Scott Clark with Betsy Andrews © 2025.

Published by Chronicle Books. Photography © Cheyenne Ellis. Featured in “Building the Ultimate Picnic Spread on the California Coast” by Scott Clark as told to Betsy Andrews in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue.

See more recipes and stories from Issue 204.

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 cup white balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup bonito flakes
• 2 Tbsp. shiro shoyu
• 1 Tbsp. salted sakura blossoms, rinsed and squeezed dry
• 2¼ tsp. sugar
• 10 umeboshi, pitted and finely chopped
• One 3- by 2-in. piece kombu, cut into 1-in. pieces

For the salad:

• 5 firm plums, such as greengage
• 5 medium pattypan squash, ends trimmed
• 4 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
• 10 shiso leaves, torn
• 8 salted sakura leaves, rinsed, squeezed dry, and torn

Instructions

• Make the vinaigrette: In a large jar with a lid, shake together the vinegar, bonito, shoyu, sakura blossoms, sugar, umeboshi, and kombu. Set aside at room temperature for at least 8 hours, or up to 24.
• Set a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and strain the vinaigrette, discarding the solids. (It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.)
• Make the salad: Using a mandoline set at ⅛ inch and placed over a large bowl, shave the plums, turning them as you shave down to their pits. Shave the pattypans sideways into the bowl to make thin disks. Shave the zucchini lengthwise into the bowl to make long, thin ribbons. Mix gently with your hands. Toss in half of the vinaigrette, adding more as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the fruit and vegetables are lightly coated. Toss in the shiso leaves, sprinkle with sakura leaves, and serve.