Korean Seaweed Salad

Korean Seaweed Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Soaked or Fresh Seaweeds

1 tsp Gochuchang (Korean Red Pepper Paste)

1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tsp Asian Sesame Oil

a pinch of Sugar

a pinch of Salt

1/4 tsp Gochugaru (Red Pepper Flakes)

Roasted Sesame Seeds

Instructions:

In a small pot with boiling water water, add-in the seaweeds and boil for about 5~10 minutes or until they're soft.

When done, drain the seaweeds and run through icy cold water. Squeeze out excess water.

Cut them into several strips, and set aside.

In a small bowl, add-in the red pepper paste, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

Then, season with sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes to your liking.

Add the seaweeds into the prepared dressing, and mix well.

Garnish with roasted sesame seeds. Can be refrigerated or serve immediately.

Happy Eating!!

Kabocha Squash Salad

Kabocha Squash Salad

Ingredients:

1 small Kabocha Squash

5 tbsp Japanese Mayonnaise

1 tbsp White Wine

A dash of Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Almond Slices (for garnish)

Dried Parsley (for garnish)

Instructions:
Clean and cut kabocha in half, and scoop out the seeds.

Cut up the kabocha into large bite-sized pieces.

Place the kabocha in a plate, and loosely cover it with a plastic wrap; put it into a microwave to soften it up.

Carefully ake the kabocha out (while it's still hot), and peel its skin off (*if it's cold, it will be really hard to peel the skin off).

Mash the peeled kabocha in a bowl; mix-in white wine, japanese mayonnaise, salt, and black pepper.

Place in a serving dish; garnish with almond slices and dried parsley on top.

Serve and Enjoy!!

Thousand Island Salad

Thousand Island Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups torn mixed Salad Greens (Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Cabbage, Red/Green Leaf Lettuce, Chard, Beet Greens, Chicory)

12 pcs Cherry Tomatoes, halved

1/2 Cucumber, sliced

15 Quail Eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

1/2 Yellow Sweet Pepper, sliced

Pineapple Chunks *optional

Breaded Chicken Cubes *optional

Thousand Island Dressing

Instructions:
Divide salad greens among 3 serving salad bowls.
Toss-in the sweet peppers, cucumber, and pineapple chunks (optional).
Top with cherry tomatoes,quail eggs, and breaded chicken cubes (optional).

Drizzle with thousand island dressing.

Serve and Enjoy!!

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Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp Garlic, finely minced

1/4 tsp (or more) Salt to taste

3/4 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup Chili Sauce

2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup

1 1/2 tbsp Onion, minced

2 tsp Sweet Pickle Relish

1/2 Egg, hard-boiled, finely chopped

freshly ground Black Pepper

Instructions:

In a small bowl, make a paste with the garlic and salt.

Whisk the garlic paste mixture together with the  mayonnaise, chili sauce, ketchup, onion, relish, and egg until combined.

Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve immediately with freshly torn mixed salad greens, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Balsamic Chicken Salad

Balsamic Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
3 (4 oz) boneless skinless Chicken Breast halves, sliced
2 tbsp Olive Oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
12 pcs Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/2 tbsp fresh Basil, minced (or 1 tsp dried Basil)
a dash of Salt and Black Pepper to taste
3 cups torn mixed Salad Greens (Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Cabbage, Red/Green Leaf Lettuce, Chard, Beet Greens, Chicory)
15  Mandarin Orange sections

grated parmesan cheese
french balsamic dressing

Instructions:
In a large skillet, sauté chicken in 1 tablespoon oilive oil until no longer pink.
Add-in garlic; Cook for 2 minutes.
Remove from the skillet.

In the same skillet, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil.
Add-in the remaining olive oil, chicken, cherry tomatoes, and basil.
Season with salt, and pepper; Cook and stir until heated through.
Divide salad greens among 3 serving salad bowls, and top with chicken mixture.
Top with mandarin oranges; Sprinkle with grated parmesan, and drizzle with a little french balsamic dressing.

Serve and Enjoy!!

Pico de Gallo (Mexican Salsa)

"Salsa Fresca", a fresh, uncooked salad made from chopped tomato, onion, and chili.

This salsa is generally eaten with tortilla chips.

Pico de Gallo (Mexican Salsa)

Ingredients:
3 large Red Tomatoes, diced
1 medium Onion, diced
1/4 bunch of Cilantro
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Salt
2 Chili (Jalapeños, Serranos, or Habaneros)

Optional Ingredients:
1/2 Cucumber, peeled and diced
1 Avocado, peeled and diced
1 Mango, peeled and diced

Directions:
Wash the tomatoes and cilantro.
Dice the tomatoes, and onions.
Chop the cilantro (use more or less depending on your taste), chili (add more if you prefer hotter salsa), and the optional ingredients.
Place all the prepared ingredients in a bowl. 
Add-in salt, garlic, and lemon juice.
Mix it up, and serve with tortilla chips.

Note:

Roast tomatoes for great flavor. (Heat up a skillet on medium high heat. Add-in the whole tomatoes, and toast until the skin begins to break and split apart. remove from heat and chop.)

If you prefer smooth salsa as opposed to chunky, just mix all together in a blender.

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(Homemade) Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

4 Corn or Flour Tortillas

Salt

Cooking Oil

Instructions:

Baking Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Brush the whole tortillas with cooking oil, and lay on top of each other.

Cut them into 8 equal wedges.

Place the tortilla wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Lightly season with salt.

Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, flip, and bake for another 5 minutes.

Let cool, and store in an airtight container.

Frying Method:

Lay tortillas on top of each other, and cut them into 8 equal wedges.

Lightly season with salt.

Heat oil in a large skillet.

Carefully place tortilla wedges into the oil, and fry until puff.

Remove from oil, and let drain on paper towel.

Let cool, and store in an airtight container.

Surimi Salad (Imitation Crab Meat Salad)

Surimi Salad (Imitation Crab Meat Salad)

Ingredients:

1 cup (Surimi) Imitation Crab, chopped

3/4 cup of Mayonnaise or (for a healthy alternative) non-fat Greek Yogurt

1 tbsp of fresh dill chopped fine

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1/4 long english Cucumber, grated and strained

1 Celery stalk, chopped

1/2 red Apple, chopped

Any crunchy fruit or vegetable, or dried fruits and nuts of your choice.

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, add the imitation crab, mayonnaise, dill, garlic, cucumber, celery, apple, and any fruits or nuts you might like to throw in. Mix together.

Chill before serving.

Sunomono 酢の物 (Japanese Cucumber Salad)

Sunomono cucumber salad is a light and refreshing vinegared dish in Japanese cuisine.

Sunomono 酢の物 (Japanese Cucumber Salad)

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 tbsp dry wakame (dried seaweeds)
1 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp dashi (dried anchovies and kelp stock ), or water

1/4 tsp black/white sesame seeds for garnish
slice of lemon for garnish

Instructions:
To make the sauce:
Mix mirin, rice vinegar, and dashi. *If you don't have dashi, you can use water.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Slice cucumber using a mandolin or knife in thin rounds.
Sprinkle a generous amount of salt on the cut cucumbers and mix thoroughly. *Marinating the cucumbers in salt and water will soften them.
While waiting for the salt to seep into the cucumbers, place the dry wakame in a bowl with hot water for few minutes. *This will hydrate it, making it expand in the process.
When fully hydrated; wash in clean water and squeeze away the excess water.
When the cucumber has marinated, wash the slices in cool water and squeeze out the excess water.

To assemble:
Mix the cucumber and wakame with the sauce and add a garnish of sesame seeds and sliced lemon.

Serve and Enjoy!!!