Thai-style Basil Chicken Salad

The most common Basil Leaves that found and used in Singapore is the Thai Basil Leave which can be used in a wide range of Thai, Vietnamese and other ethnic cuisine. It's spicy, licorice flavored shoots and leaves are used in salads, soups and curries.


For this salad dish, we are using Fresh Thai Basil Leaves for one of the sauce ingredients. The taste of this dish is kind of local Thai-style where it is sort of sweet and spicy. You can add in any fruits or vegetables that you prefer to make the salad base to go with the crispy chicken strips.

Ingredients:
1/2 Chicken Breast Fillets (1/2 边鸡胸肉)
1 Teaspoon Light Soy Sauce (1 小匙酱油)
1/2 Tablespoon Cooking Wine (1/2 汤匙花雕酒)
1 Teaspoon Cornflour(1 小匙玉米粉)
Some Pepper(少许胡椒粉)
2 Tablespoon Sweet Potato Flour (2 汤匙地瓜粉)
1 Tablespoon Cornflour (1 汤匙玉米粉)

Methods:
1. Wash and cut chicken fillet into 2cm wide strips then marinate with Soy Sauce, Cooking Wine, Cornflour and Pepper for at least 30 minutes or more.
将鸡胸肉洗净, 切2cm 宽条状, 然后加入酱油, 花雕酒, 玉米粉和胡椒粉调味至少30 分钟以上.
2. Coat the marinated chicken with the flour mixture(sweet potato flour + cornflour) and set aside for 5 minutes before deep-frying.
将腌好的鸡肉条沾混合好的地瓜粉和玉米粉, 然后放在一边等5分钟后才炸.( 这能防止粉从鸡肉上滑落)
3. Heat up half pot of oil and deep-fry the chicken strips in two batches until golden brown, drain and set side.
热半锅油, 把鸡肉条分成俩次炸成金黄色后, 捞起放在吸油纸上吸干油分.

Chilli Sauce:
2 Cloves Garlic, grated (2 颗蒜, 切末)
2 Small chilli, finely chopped (2 颗小辣椒, 切末)
8 Thai Basil Leaves, finely chopped (8 叶九层塔, 切末)
1 Teaspoon Chopped Spring Onion(1 小匙葱花)
2 Tablespoons Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (2 汤匙泰式甜辣椒酱)
1.5 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (1.5 汤匙柠檬汁)
1 Tablespoon Thai Fish Sauce (1 汤匙鱼露)
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar (1 /2 小匙糖)
1 Tablespoon Drinking Water (1 汤匙食水)

Methods:
1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for later used. (If you don't prefer hot, then don't add any small chilli or you can reduce to only using 1)
把全部酱料的材料放在一个小碗里搅拌均匀, 待用.( 如果您不会吃太辣, 就不要放小辣椒或只放一颗)

Salad Base: (optional)
1 Red Apple, shredded (1 个萍果, 切丝)
1 Japanese Cucumber, shredded (1 条日本小黄瓜, 切丝)
1 Small Carrot, shredded (1条小胡萝卜, 切丝)
6 Cherry Tomato, halves (6颗小番茄, 切半)
6 Lychee, remove seeds (6颗荔枝, 拨壳, 去种子)

Methods:
1. Mix all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl then set aside in the fridge until serve.
把全部的沙拉材料放在一个碗里搅拌均匀, 放进冰箱待用.
2. You can used any other fruits or vegetables that you prefer or in season.
你也可以用其他的水果蔬菜来代替.

Assemble:
1. Place salad mixture on a serving plate, top with half of the fried chicken strips then drizzle some chilli sauce over the chicken and salad.
首先把拌均匀的冷沙拉扑在大盘上, 然后放一般的炸鸡肉条, 接着均匀的淋上些辣椒酱.
2. Continue topping the rest of the chicken and drizzle the rest of the sauce around it.
之后继续放上剩余的鸡肉条, 再淋上些辣椒酱.

Notes:
You might not need all the sauce, so add the amount that you prefer. Or you can serve it as dipping sauce for the chicken strips without the salad.
你可以随自己喜好放多或少的酱料, 又或者你也可以用来沾不要淋上去.

This sauce is enough for 1 chicken breast without the salad.
这个酱料成分足够用一个鸡胸肉.

Salad With Breaded Fish

Other than having rice, dishes and soup for dinner..... We decided to have a change for tonight's menu. We are having some vegetables and fruit salad together with breaded fish. Although it might look simple but it's a rather filling meal.

In order to make the salad more complete and filling, I added the breaded fish which I come across this idea from eating out.


Ingredients:
2 - 3 Small Butter Lettuces
8-10 Baby Potatoes
6-8 Fresh Chestnut
1 Tomato, or some cherry tomatoes
1 Avocado, cut into slices
1 Medium Japanese Cucumber, peel and cut into 1" thick
1 Apple, peel and cut into cubes
1 Lemon Juice & Rinds
1/2 Red Onion, thinly shredded
2 Tablespoon Extra Light Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise Sauce
Some Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Methods:
1. Cut and wash the lettuces then drain and set aside.
2. Boil the baby potatoes and chestnut in a small pot of water until tender.(around 15 minutes)
3. Drained the water, rinse the potatoes and chestnut then peel off the skin and cut them into half each.
4. In a big mixing bowl, add in cucumber, apple, avocado, onion, lemon rinds, potatoes and chestnut. Then drizzle 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Mayonnaise Sauce and some black pepper into the bowl and mix well.
5. Place the salad and lettuce in the fridge while preparing the breaded fish.

Breaded Fish Fillet:
8-10 Pieces Of Fish Fillet Strips
2 Tablespoons Cornflour
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup Dried Breadcrumbs

Methods:
1. Marinate the fish fillet strips with some salt and pepper for about 10 minutes then dust with some cornflour.
2. Dip the fish strips in beaten egg then coat with dried breadcrumbs and set aside for a few minutes before deep-frying.
3. Preheat a pot of oil and deep-fry the fish strips until golden brown, drained and set aside.

Assemble The Salad:
1. Toss the lettuce into the vegetables salad and mix well then place it on a plate and top with breaded fish and serve.

Notes: You can used with hard boiled egg or breaded chicken instead of fish for the salad.

Rainbow Wasabe Prawn Salad

Saw a version of this similar Wasabe Prawn Salad at one of the TV program. The salad ingredients are rather simple and you can use whatever you have in your fridge. While the main ingredients are Prawns and Wasabe.

People are confused by the message that Prawns contain high levels of Cholesterol. Cholesterol is only found in foods of animal origin and liver, egg yolk and shellfish are the major sources of dietary cholesterol. Prawns have only 99kcal per 100g while other proteins such as Beef Mince contain 209kcal and 13.5g of fat and grilled sausages contain 294kcal and over 22g of fat. Prawns are even lower in calories and fat than chicken. As well as being high in protein, prawns contain magnesium, which plays a role in bone development and nerve and muscle function; Zinc, which is good for growing bodies, and selenium, an important antioxidant.


So for today's salad, we also added in alot of vibrant fruits and vegetables to enhance the appearance as well as to boost up the Appetite.

Ingredients:
300g Of Medium Size Prawns
6 Cherry Tomatoes, cut into halve
6 Seedless Grapes, cut into halve
1 Japanese Cucumber, peel & cut into cubes
1/2 Carrot, shredded
1 Mango, cut into cubes
1 - 1 1/2 Teaspoons Of Roasted Black Sesame Seeds

Methods:
1. Shell, butterfly and devein the prawn, rinse and wash it with some salt water then pat dry.
2. Marinate the prawns with some salt, sugar and cornflour and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or more.
3. Coat the prawn with some potato starch and deep-fry in hot oil for a few second to 1 minutes until golden brown, drained and set aside.
4. At the meantime, prepare the fruits and vegetables on a serving plate.
5. Coat the prawns, evenly with the wasabe sauce and place it in the middle of the serving plate with the fruits and vegetables surround it.
6. Drizzle the remaining sauce all over the salad, then sprinkle the black sesame seeds and serve.

Wasabe Sauce:
4 - 5 Tablespoons Of Japanese Mayonnaise
1.5 Teaspoons Of Wasabe

Methods:
1. Whisk the above together ingredients together until combined and set aside.

Mix Fruits & Vegetables Salad

Craving for Fruit Salad recently, so try to source for as many fruits as possible to make this Mix Fruits and Vegetables Salad. It's really a refreshing and colourful appetizing dish before meal......

In order to make it a more filling dish, I add in some Japanese Purple Potato and Potato together with some Mayo and Aloe Vera Yoghurt. You can add in whatever fruits or vegetables that you had in your kitchen pantry instead of what I am using.


Ingredients:
1 Orange, remove outer skin
1 Apple, remove outer skin, cut into cubes
1 Banana, remove skin, cut into cubes
2 Japanese Purple Sweet Potato
2 Potato
Some Strawberries, Grapes & Cherry Tomatoes
1 - 2 Cups Of Aloe Vera Yoghurt
3 Tablespoons Of Mayonnaise Sauce

Methods:
1. Wash and remove the skin of the potato and sweet potato then steam over medium heat until tender.
2. In the meantime, wash and cut the rest of the fruits into cubes then put in a big mixing bowl.
3. Cool the cooked sweet potato and potato then cut into cubes and add into the rest of the fruit.
4. Pour in the Aloe Vera Yoghurt and Mayonnaise Suace then mix well with the fruits until well combined and chilled in the fridge until serve.

Notes: You can used any type of favour yoghurt that you prefer.

Mango, Cucumber & Apple Salsa

My family loves mango so with mango season around I decide to make this refreshing mango salsa to serve as appetizer.  This fruity salsa goes well with BBQ meat or spicy food so as to tone down the heat and give a refreshing after taste. 

Omelette Donburi

Japanese Food is usually the most time consuming to prepare because they often have many steps and sides dishes such as rice to the salad and main course where a lot of preparations and ingredients are needed. Today since my best friend and mum are coming over for dinner, I would like to give them a surprised by making this most simple Japanese dish that I modify from a cookbook which I borrow from library.  Omettle Donburi and Mini Potatoes Salad.