Sesame Chicken Salad

3/4 cup pure maple syrup, eyeball the amount
1/3 cup dark soy, Tamari, eyeball the amount
1/2 cup sweet hot mustard, eyeball the amount
1/2 cup sesame seeds, a mix of black and white or all white
1/4 cup vegetable oil, 3 or 4 turns of the pan, total
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders
Salt and pepper

Dressing:
1 1/2 inches fresh ginger root, grated or minced
3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 3 generous splashes
1/4 cup Chinese duck sauce or, apricot all fruit spread
1/4 cup vegetable oil, eyeball the amount

Salad:
5 to 6 ounces mixed baby greens, 1 bag
1 /4 English or seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced on an angle
1 /2 cup shredded carrots, a couple of handfuls
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1/4 pound snow peas, sliced on an angle

Combine syrup, soy and sweet hot mustard in a bowl. Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper on both sides. Add chicken tenders to 1/2 of the marinade and coat. Set aside. Reserve the remaining 1/2 for dressing. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Spread sesame seeds on a sheet of waxed paper or into a shallow dish. Waxed paper will speed your clean up. Dip the tenders into the sesame seeds. Coat the pan with a thin layer of oil. Cook chicken in small batches 3 minutes on each side and remove to plate.

Whisk ginger, vinegar and the reserved marinade together then stream in the oil while you are continuing to whisk dressing.

Combine all of the salad ingredients in a bowl. Toss with dressing and serve, topping with sesame chicken tenders.

Asian Chicken Salad

Marinade :

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon vegie oil

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1lb / 450g chicken tenders (or cubed chicken breast)

SALAD :

1 bag coleslaw mix

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons vegie oil

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons finely sliced mint

1 cup chow mein noodles

Combine all chicken ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat.

Panfry or broil/grill until cooked through.

Pour coleslaw mix into a large bowl.

Combine vinegar, sugar, vegie oil in small pan and heat to boiling. Toss over coleslaw mix.

Add cucumber and mint and toss again.

Top with grilled chicken and noodles.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced thinly

½ thinly sliced cabbage

1 grated carrot

125g/4oz bean sprouts

¼ cup coriander/cilantro leaves

Dressing

3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Combine ingredients to make the salad. Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour dressing over salad and serve topped with crushed peanuts or cashews.

Alternate dressing

¼ cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

(Combine ingredients and  mix well)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

pinch salt and pepper

2 tablespoons EVOO

2 boneless chicken breasts

1 bag (6oz/170g) baby spinach

1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion

3 peaches, peeled,pitted and sliced

DRESSING : 3 tablespoons EVOO, 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper

Combine garlic, lemon rind, thyme, salt, pepper and oil. Brush over chicken and marinate for 15 mins.

Grill or panfry chicken until cooked through. Thinly slice.

Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Combine spinach, onion and peaches together with chicken, serve with dressing.

Cous Cous Salad

Prepare 1 cup of cous cous according to package (Can use chicken broth for the liquid).

Chop up carrots, cucumber, green onions and what ever else you would like to add (eg olives, radishes, chicken, chorizo, tomatoes). Add craisins and pine nuts or slivered almonds to the chopped veggies.  Add the cous cous.

Mix 3 TB balsamic vinegar, 2 TB olive oil, 1 TB dijon mustard and mix together.  Pour over cous cous mixture to coat all ingredients. 

Tastes much better if  you let it sit in the fridge for an hour or more to soak up the dressing.

BEEF SALAD WITH CHILLI LIME DRESSING

Combine 2 tablespoons each fish sauce, lime juice and peanut oil with ½ teaspoon chilli saice and ½ teaspoon caster sugar. Shake well

Place 600g/20oz scotch fillet in glass dish and cover with 2 tablepoons each peanut oil and fish sauce. marinate for 1 hour. Heat pan and cook meat for 8 minutes or until well browned. Transfer to roasting pan and cook a further 20 mins at 200C/400F. Rest for 10 mins.

Make salad of chinese cabbage, capsicum, beansprouts, coriander in bowl. Thinly slice beef and toss with 1/2 dressing. Pour remaining dressing over salad. Toss together and serve

Toss together some bay spinach or rocket/arugula leaves with halved cherry tomatoes and sliced/baby bocconcini. Top with chopped basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Baby Spinach Salad with Mandarin Orange and Red Onions

8 ounces baby spinach, about 5 to 6 cups
1 cup mandarin oranges, drained (you can buy them in cans here)
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball the amount
Salt and pepper

Arrange spinach leaves on a large platter or individual salad plates. Top with mandarin sections and chopped red onion. Whisk together marmalade and vinegar. Stream oil into dressing while continuing to whisk.

When you are ready to serve, pour the dressing over salad and season with salt and pepper.

The boredom of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and carrot set in recently and I went looking for some new salads.

I liked this one a lot, although I only made about 1/3 of the quantity …

Squash Salad

2 medium zucchini

2 medium summer squash (those disc-like yellow and green ones)

1 red bell pepper (capsicum)

1 green bell pepper (capsicum)

1/2 large red onion

Dressing

3/4 cup sugar 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

1 package dry Italian dressing mix (I used Italian mixed herbs and a tiny bit of onion powder)

kosher salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Salad

Slice the vegetables to a thickness of your choice

For the dressing, add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until mixed

pour over salad, toss to coat and let sit overnight in the fridge (it was fine after about 2 hours)