Summer beach picnics don’t have to be a huge culinary production. You can always fall back on hot dogs, noodle salad, musubi and old-fashioned beef burgers — or you can take along something a little different.

Main thing: Be safe. Keep all ingredients chilled between home and cooking time.

Line a large cooler with a few inches of ice and nestle airtight plastic containers in the ice. You can transport meats in marinades this way, but for salads, keep individual ingredients in separate containers. Burgers can be shaped, but should be cooked on-site.

All perishables should be in ice-filled coolers at all times until you’re ready to cook and eat.

Instead of the usual mac salad or fried noodles, try this refreshing chilled noodle salad. It packs a little kick, so it’s for grown-up palates. This recipe combines elements of Chinese, Thai and Japanese cold salads. It uses kecap manis, a thick, medium-sweet soy sauce from Indonesia, found in pan-Asian markets and in Chinatown. Also in Chinatown, you’ll find plastic tubs of dried fried garlic that has a flavor more smoky than fresh. Using fresh garlic works fine, however.

If you’re taking this salad to a picnic or potluck, pack the sauce, cold noodles and other ingredients in separate containers and keep cold. Toss together a few minutes before serving.

FIERY CHINESE COLD NOODLE SALAD

>> Sauce:
1 whole orange
1 tablespoon ginger juice (peel, grate and squeeze a 4-inch piece ginger)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dried fried garlic or minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons kecap manis (substitute with 1 tablespoon brown sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses)
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chili paste)
1 tablespoon la yu chili oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

>> Salad:
8 ounce Asian noodles (fresh or dried, thin, round egg or wheat noodles or spaghetti)
Sesame oil (just a drizzle)
1/2 cup shoestring-cut carrots
1/2 cup peeled, seeded cucumbers cut into thin strips
1/2  cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
2 tablespoons minced green onions

At least 2 hours before serving, prepare sauce. Zest orange until you have 1 tablespoon zest. Cut zested orange laterally and squeeze to yield 2 tablespoons fresh juice. Combine zest and juice with remaining ingredients and stir; cover and set aside (refrigerate if holding longer than a couple of hours).

To make salad, boil large pot of salted water and cook noodles until just al dente (slightly resistant to the tooth, not mushy). Drain and plunge into icy water to stop the cooking. Drain well. Place drained noodles in large bowl or plastic carrying container. Drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil and toss.

Boil small pot of water and quickly blanch carrots, just until slightly tender; drain and shock. Drain well. Add carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, bean sprouts, and green onions to noodles.

At beach, pour dressing over noodles and toss well. Serves 6 to 8.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: (based on 6 servings): 350 calories, 22 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 250 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 7 g protein

Burgers don’t have to be boring. Here are two island-style variations to try. In both cases, you’ll want to fry a tiny burger, taste it and change the recipe to suit your taste.

The kim chee used to test this recipe was won bok kim chee from a jar, the kind we all had in our refrigerators as kids. If you make your own, use your own. If you prefer other varieties of kim chee, they’ll work, too. If you’re crazy for heat, add some Chinese kim chee spice (red chili powder) to the burger mixture.

KOREAN BURGERS

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons shoyu (Hawaii-style, not Japanese-style)
2 tablespoons kochujang (Korean red chili paste)
1/2 cup minced green onion
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped kim chee

>> Kim chee mayonnaise:
1 tablespoon kim chee
1 tablespoon kim chee pickling juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise

In bowl, combine all burger ingredients and mix to distribute ingredients evenly. Form into thin patties; chill between pieces of waxed paper or parchment, tightly covered, until ready to grill.

Serve with kim chee mayonnaise, or plain mayonnaise, and whatever trimmings you like. (Or if you just want to try this crumbled and fried over hot rice, that’s fine, too.) Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (without bun includes 1 tablespoon mayonnaise): 400 calories, 33 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 135 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, no g fiber, 1 g sugar, 23 g protein

PORTUGUESE BURGERS

2 pounds ground pork (preferably Western-style, not Chinese; the grind is different)
1 tablespoon vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped Hawaiian red chili peppers
2 tablespoons sherry
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 drop liquid smoke
8 burger buns
Green Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Lettuce, tomato, pickles, cilantro leaves (to top burgers)

Place ground pork in large mixing bowl and combine with vinegar, sugar, garlic, chili peppers, sherry, paprika, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, coriander, salt, pepper and liquid smoke; work until well-blended.

Make miniature patty, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, and fry over medium-high heat until cooked through. Taste and see if you want more or less spice, sugar or salt, another splash of vinegar. Correct seasonings and form pork into thin hamburger-size patties.

At this point, burgers may be refrigerated between pieces of waxed paper or parchment and transported to beach or party, but keep well-chilled.

Grill on both sides until cooked through. Serve on hamburger buns spread with Green Mayonnaise. Before topping burgers, pile on lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced pickles and, if desired, a scattering of cilantro leaves. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional information, per burger with 1 slice tomato and 1 tablespoon mayonnaise: 530 calories, 35 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 85 mg cholesterol, 600 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 24 g protein

GREEN MAYONNAISE

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup raw watercress leaves or baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced chives
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Place ingredients in food processor or blender and process until blended. Adjust seasonings. Keep cold.

Variation: Add fresh cilantro leaves. Makes 1-1/4 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per 1 tablespoon serving: 80 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, no carbohydrate, fiber, sugar or protein

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., a nutritionist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii-Manoa.