Thai Noodle Salad

Now, KitchenAid, you are wonderful. I love you, I can't live without your stand mixer. And I want to have your everything! But YOU ARE NOT PERFECT.

I'm such a dumb who can't even manage to use your can-opener for one single time. Always stuck in the middle of the can top circle, I can never have a smooth cut. And the dumbest of the dumb was I used my bare hand to finish the thing off. I got cut. So deeply that I was not able to cook for days.

YOU ARE NOT PERFECT. But I love you.

I'm now just posting what I have in my archive.

(Serve 4-6)

Ingredients:

For Dressing:

1 cup honey

1 whole red pepper, seed removed

3 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp hot pepper paste

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp white vinegar

2 tsp oyster sauce

For Noodle:

1/2 lb capellin noodle or spaghettini, cooked and cooled under cold water, drained

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 red pepper, finely sliced

4 green onion, cut thinly on the diagonal

1/2 cup Italian Parsley, coarsely chopped

Directions:

To prepare dressing, combine honey, red pepper, garlic, hot pepper paste and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the red peppers are pureed. Add lemon juice, vinegar and oyster sauce, stir well and set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat in a small skillet, and cook garlic just until it is fragrant and begins to brown, about 1 min. Remove from the heat and cool completely. 

In a large bowl, toss cooled pasta with garlic and oil. Add red pepper, green onion and parsley. Toss with enough dressing to coat and chill before serving.

Basmati Rice Salad

It was record-breaking hot last week here in Vancouver - 37 °C in the afternoon in late May. It just reminded me of the weather in Florida. Everything is so dry. My whole skin, everything was dried out.

Even my appetite was dried out too. Both me and my husband were just too hot to eat! Gotta made something summery to stimulate appetite.

(serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup cooked and chopped sausage (any type)

1 cup chopped broccoli florets
2 cup mushroom, sliced
2 tbsp dried cranberries
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to season

Directions:
Combine rice and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Boil 5 mins or until water level falls just below rice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 10 mins. Remove from heat, let stand, covered, 10 mins.

In a fry pan, stir fry the broccoli with olive oil for 5 mins. Set aside.

Put in mushroom, stir fry with olive oil for 3 mins. Set aside.

Make dressing by mixing extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon rice into a big salad bowl. Stir in tomatoes, sausages, dried cranberries, broccoli, mushroom and herbs. Pour in dressing. Toss well to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Thai Vermicelli Salad

All about cravings!!! When you are pregnant with specific carving coming on your way, you know you will have to get it done right away.

So, I made Thai salad as I really want something fresh, minty, limey and spicy.......plus I truly crave for the special taste of glass noodle (or vermicelli noodle) in this flavorful salad.

(serves 4)
Ingredients:
a handful of glass noodle or vermicelli noodle
2 tbsp canola oil
200g minced beef
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
6-8 large prawns, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or skinned peanuts
salt and pepper to taste

a handful of chopped coriander, mint, thai basil, green onion

2 tsp minced ginger 1 jalapeno, finely chopped 2 lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce

Directions:
Soak the noodle in boiling water for 5 mins for glass noodle or 15 mins for vermicelli noodle. Drain.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan, cook minced beef with cumin and chili powder for 5-8 mins until fragrant. Add garlic, sugar, prawns and pumpkin seeds or peanuts. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix ginger, jalapeno, lime juice and fish sauce for the dressing.

When the meat mixture is still warm, mix in the greens, noodle and dressing.

Serve when cooled.

Salad Nicoise

This beautiful French salad is a specialty of the region of Nice in France. Laura Calder from "French Food at Home" refers this salad to go with garlic (in dressing), olives, anchovies and tomatoes as a couples of must-have ingredients.

What this crowd-pleasing salad takes is just time to prepare ingredients separately in advance. Dress them individually and set it up presentably.

(serves 4)
Ingredients:
For Salad:
1 medium head of red leaf lettuce or butter lettuce, leaves washed and separated
1 small can tuna
4 hard-boiled eggs, wedged
5 small new red potatoes, washed and halved

1/2 cup green and black pitted olives
1 cup cheery tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced

For Dressing:
half lemon juice
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
2 garlic
1 tbsp thyme, minced
1 tbsp oregano, minced
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp anchovy paste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Whisk all dressing ingredients. Set aside.

Bring potatoes and cold water to boil in a large pot. Cook until tender, around 7 mins. Remove potatoes from pot, and toss with 2 tbsp of dressing. Set aside.

Coat lettuce with dressing. Place lettuce bed on a large salad plate.

Put tuna on the center of the lettuce bed. Place egg wedges next to tuna.

Individually dress other salad ingredients, and arrange onto the lettuce bed surrounding the tuna.

Sprinkle eggs and tuna with remaining dressing. Serve.

Lamb Kebab & Herb Potato Salad

Father's day + sunny day = BBQ celebration!

Maybe another excuse for us to officially use our new patio set...chilly weather has been keeping us from breathing air at our back yard. Though it's still a bit cold, at least the sun made me believe that it's approaching summer instead of winter.

Lamb Kebab
(makes 12 kebabs)
Ingredients:
2 pounds lamb leg
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large red onion
1 red bell pepper

Directions:

Soak bamboo skewers into water overnight to avoid burning during grilling.

Cut the lamb in 1½-inch cubes, around 40 cubes.

Combine garlic, rosemary, thyme, olive oil, red wine, vinegar, and 1 tsp of salt and black pepper. Add and toss the lamb cubes, cover with plastic wrap. Marinate in refrigerator overnight.

Cut the red onion and bell pepper into square pieces. Loosely thread 4 pieces of lamb onto skewers alternately with onion and bell pepper.

Sprinkle both sides of the lamb with salt and pepper.

Place the lamb skewers on the hot charcoal grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times, until the lamb is medium rare. Serve.

Herb Potato Salad
(serves 6)
Ingredients:
2 pounds small red potatoes
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp whole-grain mustard
3 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Place the potatoes and 2 tsp salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife.

Drain the potatoes, cover with a dry kitchen towel. Leave the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but firm.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, except eggs. Set aside.

When the potatoes are barely warm, cut them into quarters.

Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl and pour over dressing and toss well.  

Add the eggs, gently toss once again.

Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Salad in Parmesan Frico Cup

One of my favorite eat-out salads is "Fajita Salad" from White Spot. The tender strips of Augus sirloin topped over the romaine lettuce tossed with the delicious dressing......hmmmm...I'm already mouth-watering though I've just finished dinner.

Another highlight is that it's not what you would imagine of having steak and salad greens wrapped in a corn tortilla. Instead the salad is served in a giant crispy tortilla shell. I'm telling you, I might not be able to finish the salad, but I could practically eat the whole shell....just like having a full pack of you-can't-stop-eating-it chips!

This recipe was originally from Giada De Laurentiis' Spinach Salad in a Parmesan Frico Cup. Like the tortilla shell, the Parmesan frico cup serves as an edible salad bowl. Plus its little beautiful hand-held bite size works perfectly as appetizer for any type of party.

I made a little twist with the filling. As long as you make the perfect frico cup, you can actually fill in whatever greens you want.

(makes 6 cups)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salad
6 cups of any salad green you preferred (I used red and green lettuce), finely sliced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup roast red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pinenut

Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

To make the frico cups, evenly divide the Parmesan cheese into 6 portions. Place them on the baking pan and gently tap down until each portion is flat and round with 4" in diameter. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Working quickly, use a thin spatula to transfer the Parmesan frico to a regular-sized muffin tin. Gently place a small drinking glass on top of the frico to mold it into the shape of the muffin cups. Let cool until firm about 5 minutes. Continue with the others. (You have to move really fast or the frico will cool and won't mold. If you don't move fast enough, throw the frico back in the oven for a few seconds to get them warm and soft again)

Mix all the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss to combine.

Divide the salad among the Parmesan frico cups and serve immediately.