Vietnamese Salad

06/10/201229/08/2015 Moya19 Comments

Recently some friends travelled to Vietnam and how I wished they could have packed me in their suitcase! However, they did bring back a little of Vietnam in the form of a cookbook, Vietnamese Food by Bobby Chinn (already a fan) from his restaurant in Saigon. Thank you dear friends… a wonderful foodies gift!

Having indulged recently (not just me) on some home-made bread and desserts it was time to scale down the calories in the household and this Vietnamese Salad made a welcoming change! Not wanting to spend as much time in the kitchen (needing a break), preparing food that is quick and easy without compromising on flavour and taste is first choice.

The taste of this simple salad relies on the freshest ingredients… so no limp herbs, dried out carrots and dry chicken please!

Using a julienne peeler for preparing the carrots for this salad came in very handy but of course you can use a good sharp knife instead!

The original recipe uses birds-eye chillies, but I opted to use medium chillies instead. Depending on your tolerance level to the spicy heat (Scoville scale) of different chillies you may want to de-seed them! You could also make this salad with prawns instead of chicken, replace the basil with mint and scatter over a few roasted peanuts on top, the choice is yours! Bursting with fresh clean flavours this salad makes you feel good after you’ve eaten it and the only shame would be… not to make it!

Vietnamese Salad

The recipe below has been adapted from the cookbook Vietnamese Food by Bobby Chinn.

Ingredients:

4 small skinless chicken fillets, poached (see note below)
2 star anise
fresh chicken stock or make some using a stock cube
4 lemon grass stalks, tough outer leaves removed and very finely sliced
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 to 4 medium chillies de-seeded (or not), finely snipped using kitchen scissors
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into very fine matchsticks (100g)
50g thinly sliced white onions
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
100ml of freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (I used Thai basil from the garden)
1/4 cup of freshly chopped coriander

Poaching the chicken: Place the chicken fillets in a single layer into a saucepan and pour in some chicken stock to cover, add the star anise. Bring the stock to a gently boil and immediately reduce the heat to a bare simmer and cook the chicken for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid and allow the chicken to further cook in the hot stock for about 20 minutes. Test the thickest part of the chicken to make sure it is cooked through, if not, bring the stock back to a simmer and leave (removing from heat) to cook for a couple of minutes more. When done transfer the cooked chicken fillet onto a plate and cool.

Assembling the salad: Place the lemon grass, spring onion, chilli, carrots, onions and garlic into a mixing bowl. Shred the cooled chicken and add to the mixing bowl. Pour over the lime juice and gently toss all the ingredients together. Next throw in the basil and coriander and gently toss together. Divide the salad between four serving plates and serve immediately. Serves 4.

food + drink · salads

crunchy dates, spinach and pine nut salad with orange vinaigrette

16/08/201216/08/2012 Moya10 Comments

Depending on personal taste dates are sometimes eaten and enjoyed at various stages of ripeness and just like my other half, many people like eating dates that are firm and have not matured to full ripeness! These dates referred to as bis-err (phonetically spelt), are crisp, a little fibrous and have a slight puckering mouthfeel when first chewed… but then release this mild honey-sugarcane like sweetness with a slight nuttiness, which is really quite pleasant! Sold at markets, each variety of date has its own colour and taste.

My preferences are fresh and dried dates, however, I have grown to like the taste of firm dates (bis-err) which are very different from the sugary sweet and almost gooey fresh dates, also in the photograph above. As you can see not all dates ripen at the same time.

With a bag-full of baby spinach in the fridge and these crunchy dates reminding me of apples, I decided to make a quick salad with an orange vinaigrette dressing for a quick bite to eat. Serving this salad with a nice piece of grilled fish would have made a more filling meal… but I was trying to make up for all those sweet ripe dates that I have overly consumed lately!

When making a leafy salad one piece of kitchen equipment that I would not be without is my salad spinner. Why go down the Mr Bean route, stuffing wet lettuce leaves in a sock and swinging them around, spraying water all over the place!

Using endless pieces of paper kitchen roll to dry each salad leaf seems such a waste and takes time, a quick couple of spins in a salad spinner and your done! Great for storing washed salad leaves in when entertaining… ready for those last minutes needed to assemble and dress a salad quickly, especially when using delicate leaves like baby spinach!

Crunchy Dates, Spinach and Pine Nut Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
4 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
12 firm dates, cut in half, stone removed and sliced thinly or you can use soft dried dates instead

For the vinaigrette

1 teaspoon orange zest
4 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons apple vinegar
1/4 teaspoon honey
6 tablespoons olive oil
fine sea salt, to taste

How to make: First make the dressing and set aside. In a large salad bowl add the pine nuts, baby spinach and dates. Just before serving pour over the orange vinaigrette and gently toss all ingredients together. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

How to make vinaigrette: Add the orange zest, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, apple cider and honey into a bowl. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking continuously until well emulsified. Season with salt. Set aside for about 10 minutes for the flavours to mingle before using. The salad dressing can be made several hours in advance, covered and stored in the fridge.

salads

Cucumber Ribbons, Fresh Dill and Orange Salad with a Citrus Dressing

14/09/201102/02/2019 Moya3 Comments

The swivel peeler is handy when preparing cucumber ribbons for this refreshing salad. The citrus dressing is prepared in advance so the flavours infuse together. Before serving, shave the cucumber into ribbons and gently toss them together with the citrus dressing. When making this salad I like to buy the English cucumbers as they contain fewer seeds and the cucumber ribbons are firmer. Serve this salad with a nice piece of grilled salmon for a delicious healthy meal.

Cucumber Ribbons and Orange Salad with Dill and Citrus Dressing

Ingredients:

2 oranges, segmented (squeeze juice from remaining pulp and reserve for the dressing)
1 tablespoon of finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped dill
1/2 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoons virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large cucumbers

Hold the orange over a small bowl while segmenting, to collect any juice that drips from the orange. I like to use a very sharp paring knife when segmenting the orange, so that I end up with neat slices.

Using a swivel vegetable peeler, shave the cucumber lengthways into neat ribbons.

How to make: Place the red onion, dill, garlic, orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, virgin olive oil into a screw top jar and shake all the ingredients together until combined. Season the citrus dressing with salt and black pepper, set aside until needed.

Just before serving, trim the ends of the cucumber and shave the cucumber lengthways into ribbons, using a swivel vegetable peeler. Place the cucumber ribbons into a serving bowl with the orange segments and pour over the prepared citrus dressing, gently toss together and serve. Serves 4