Archive for the ‘Sides – Salads’ Category
Sausage Salad I
I had this at a wedding party yesterday, 27 Feb 2018. This was the only dish that contained packaged items, like Vietnamese sausage, hot dogs, crab sticks, and squid rolls. Squid rolls are essentially a crab stick but are tubular shaped, but squid flavored. The dish in the photo also has chilies in it, when I prepare this, I will use much less chili. No servings or quantities are given until I make this, I am just winging this for now.
Ingredients
- Vietnamese sausage, a mix of peppered and plain would be good
- quality hot dogs
- imitation crab, aka crab sticks
- imitation squid, aka squid rolls
- fresh mushrooms, white ear, oyster, your choice
- carrot
- red onion
- tomatoes
- pinch Bird's Eye Chili, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste
For the Dressing
- soy sauce
- lime juice
Instructions
- Cut the Vietnamese sausage (Cha Lua plain, and Cha Hue for peppered) in half lengthwise, then thinly slice each half. A mix of regular and pepper varieties would work well.
- Slice the hot dogs thinly at an angle. (Just a note, the shorter hot dogs tend to have the casings removed.)
- Slice the imitation crab into 1/2 inch pieces and the squid into 1/4 inch pieces.
- Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, then thinly slice each half.
- Finely slice then chop the carrot. Safe bet would be to cut the carrot into 2 inch pieces, julienne, then cut the stack in half.
- For the mushrooms, if using white ear variety, blanch that for a few minutes, drain and let cool down. Your choice of fresh mushrooms, buttons sliced, Shimeji chopped, Shiitake sliced with the stem removed would also be nice.
- For the tomatoes, cut in half and remove the seedy pulp then slice.
- Seed and finely chop one Bird's Eye chili.
- Place the prepared meats and veggies in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Splash with some soy sauce and a couple of tablespoons of lime juice. Toss together until all is coated well. (Keep in mind, my photo shows a very large pot, this is at a wedding so a lot of chow was made, but this was delicious! I will make this on a much smaller scale than what this photo shows.)
- Serve as a side dish with any Thai dish.
Notes
I will price then when I gather up all the supplies for this.
Inspired by seeing this dish at a party.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Coleslaw
This is from a good American friend, Brian, who lives in northeastern Thailand. I made this on 21 Oct 2018, and it was very well liked by the family. Excellent flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 heads green cabbage, or purple cabbage
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large carrot
- 2 cups mayo
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coleslaw 101 basic ingredients, cabbage, onion, and carrot.
- The way I prepare cabbage is to quarter it then cut the core out of each piece at an angle, then slice each piece, the slice again crosswise.
- Add the cabbage, onion, and carrot to a large mixing bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the the mayo, sugar, vinegar, and oil.
- Whisk and you will get a nice creamy dressing.
- Pour about half of the dressing into the veggies and mix, then add the remaining dressing and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours before serving, or even overnight, as this will allow the flavors to blend.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal.
Notes
Low cost.
Recipe provide by good friend, Brian Colligan, Pleasures & Pastimes (which is a great resource for gardening seeds and other items).
Thailand.
Thailand.
Greek Salad & Dressing
Sounds really good, on my to make list.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, sliced in half, seeded, sliced into half moons
- 1 cup pitted black olives, or kalamata olives if you have them
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
For the Dressing
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, juice, and oregano. When combined, slowly whisk in the olive. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- To the large mixing bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and red onion and toss to coat well.
- Fold in the Feta cheese, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad
Sounds really nice, and low cost overall. On my to prepare list for sure.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 large head romaine, or 2 medium, chopped
- 1 kilo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, cooked
- 2 avocados, pitted, cut into large pieces
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons red onion, diced
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- All of the Salad ingredient to a large bowl and toss together. Feel free to use a lettuce of your choice.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the Dressing ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can use 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of the clove of garlic.
- Add the dressing to the salad and toss to coat everything. Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Make Ahead Greek Pasta Salad
This is a make the day before you serve salad, or at a minimum, prepare in the morning for serving with the evening meal, the flavors need time to blend. I made this on 26 Dec 2017, tasted 6 hours later for dinner, outstanding, very well liked by my Thai wife as well.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1-1 1/4 cups dry maccheroni pasta, macaroni, or spiral pasta
- 3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced, button, white Shimeji, Shiitake is ok
- 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup red bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 cup spring onions, sliced thick
- 1/2 can pitted black olives, halved
- 3/4 cup Pepperoni, cut into strips
- 3/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling, add the pasta and cook until tender, drain well.
- While the pasta is cooking, mix together the Dressing ingredients in a good sized mixing bowl.
- After the pasta is well drained and cooled a bit, add it to the dressing along with the rest of the Salad ingredients except the cheese. Toss well to coat everything.
- Now add the cheese and fold that, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Serve as a side, or in my opinion, as a main dish as that is what I will probably do.
Notes
I cannot price pepperoni at this time, I used a 150 gram pack of smoked ham for 90 Baht. For the Feta, that is 150 Baht for 275 grams, use half the package (75 Baht), cut the block in half and crumble that for right about a cup. Based on the Feta and smoked ham, for 4 servings, this is about $1.22 per serving.
Variants: 1. In place of pepperoni, use thin sliced smoked ham. 2. Use what you have, like a whole bell pepper instead of cup, or a package of pepperoni or smoked ham, like a cup or so, etc.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Fruit Salad
First thing, think fresh, not canned. This is just fruit, not 'heavy syrup' or anything like that from a can. Original recipe stated pineapple from a can, so easy and quick to prep a fresh pineapple. Maraschino or glaced cherries will increase the sugar however.
Ingredients
- 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, sliced, cored, chopped
- 1-2 apples, peeled, cored, diced
- 1-2 oranges, peeled, diced
- 1-2 bananas, peeled, sliced
- 1 cup seedless grapes, sliced in half
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, or glaced, cut in half, optional
Instructions
- Toss everything together in a large bowl. Use maraschino or glaced cherries to add a nice red color but keep in mind they add a lot sweetness to this.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Tomato & Onion Salad I
This is a basic salad that is Japanese in origin, and sounds like an excellent side dish. I made this on 19 Dec 2017, very good indeed!
Equipment
- Mandoline
Ingredients
- 500 grams cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, (1 lb)
- ½ small onion, thinly sliced, use a mandolin
- ½ - 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil, or olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 6 shiso leaves, chopped, or basil or coriander
Instructions
- The tomatoes, onion, and bell pepper prepped.
- Mix together and add the oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar and toss to coat everything.
- Sprinkle on the shiso or basil or coriander, serve.
Egg Salad with Capers & Dill
This is a good egg salad, uses capers and dill which give it a great flavor.
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, chicken or duck, peeled, chopped
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
- toast, for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, zest, juice, salt, and pepper.
- Large mixing bowl, add the eggs, dill, onion, and add the mayo mixture. Mix to combine.
- Add the capers and mix in.
- Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours to chill.
- Serve on crackers or toast.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs.
Variant: 1. Serve on saltine crackers.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pears & Mayo
I heard about this from an old time advertisement for mayonnaise, never heard of anyone actually making this until now. This is a side dish salad. Next time I go to Phuket, I will have to look for a can of pears to test this out with.
Ingredients
- 1 can pear halves
- mayo, as needed
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, as needed
- lettuce leaves, as needed
Instructions
- Make a bed of lettuce leaves on two plates, place two drained pear halves on each plate. Add a generous spoon of mayo into the center of each pear. Top with some shredded cheese.
- Serve as a side dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. In place of pears, use pineapple rings (fresh would be perfect), or canned peach halves.
Provided courtesy of good friends, Wayne Studdard Jr., Millette Hampton, Wanda Gauthreaux.
United States.
United States.
Pea Salad II
Sounds good, I will be getting some frozen peas next time I go up to the city. On my to prepare list for sure. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo frozen peas, thawed
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon red onion, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons pimento, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix everything together except the peas. When mixed, add the peas and stir to coat them.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or more before serving. Leftovers can be kept covered in the fridge for several days.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Seasoned Salt.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.