table for one

Before I could even bake a batch of pineapple tarts, the Chinese lunar new year is already over!

This year, I was terribly late in preparing for the Chinese new year. I couldn't even complete my spring cleaning chores. Nevertheless, we didn't miss any of the family gatherings and feasting and were never short of any new year goodies.

As the festive season is over, now is the time to try to clear the leftover goodies! For the past two weeks, I have been helping myself to one mandarin orange a day, but there are still a dozen or more left in my fridge. There's also leftover bak kwa despite having been diligently helping myself to a slice or more every time when I feel like having some 'bak kwa sandwich'.

With some broccoli and cherry tomatoes, I pulled together the usual festive goodies into a one dish meal for my lunch...mandarin orange and broccoli salad.

It was a quick and easy meal with minimal cooking. I only need to chop the bak kwa into small bits before toasting it on a frying pan and blanch the broccoli. The unsalted cashew nuts which I bought from the dried goods stall in the market were already baked and ready to eat. They look plain and raw but trust me, they are really tasty and a much healthier option than those which are salted or fried.

I prepared a very light salad dressing just to bring the ingredients together. It was a simple mix of 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise (I used Kewpie Half Salad dressing which has 50% less fat than the usual kewpie mayo), 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar and half teaspoon of Sriracha chili sauce just to give it an extra kick. The dressing is so light that the mayonnaise was almost non existence.

I wouldn't say this is a healthy meal since it contained half a slice of calorie-laden bak kwa (3 slices of bak kwa is about 7 bowls of rice!!), but the other ingredients did help to balance up a little. The overall combo is to my liking...savoury, sweet, tangy and juicy...a very satisfying meal on its own.  I had this two days in a row, and I would certainly make it again even long after the festive season is over.

Mango Salad, two ways

I have a few large mangoes which although taste sweet but they are not that juicy and the flesh is quite firm. Usually we prefer to eat mango on its own, but this time, I used some to make salad.

I used to feel intimidated about making salad dressing, especially vinaigrettes. Ever since I started to add more greens to my diet, I have more opportunities to play around with different types of dressings. I like dressings that is not too sour so I like to add some honey to sweeten it. I also tend to prefer asian salad dressings which usually includes fish sauce or soya sauce and sesame oil...seasonings which I always have on hand.

For this mango salad, I mixed up a refreshing Thai style dressing that tastes spicy, sweet and sour.

This salad is great as a side dish,

and it can be transformed into a light and healthy lunch simply by adding some pan grilled chicken breast.

I don't mind having this for lunch everyday ;)

ps: pardon the poor quality image of the above photos, they were taken with my mobile phone.


Mango Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 large mango
half of a boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 150g)
a handful of cherry tomatoes
a handful salad greens
1 Japanese cucumber
some chili slices, optional
some cilantro, optional
1~2 teaspoons cooking oil

for the dressing:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon honey (adjust according to taste)
1~2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce (adjust according to taste)


Method:

• Slice chicken breast in half crosswise, season with some salt and pepper. Pan fry chicken breast with cooking oil on medium-high heat till cooked and nicely browned. Set aside to cool and then cut into bite size.
• Wash and drain salad greens.
• Wash and cut cherry tomatoes into halves, cut mango and cucumber into cubes.
• Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, add more chili sauce or honey according to taste.
• Toss salad greens, tomatoes, mango, cucumber and chicken with the dressing, garnish with chili slices and cilantro. Serve immediately.