Spicy Crispy Fried Shrimp Salad

Servings: 4 - 5

Ingredients:

     Shrimp - Medium size, 500gm ( roughly 1 lb), shelled with tail on and deveined*
     Scallions -1 cup, chopped
     Onion - 1 lg, sliced (about .5 cm thick)
     Panko Bread crumbs - 1 cup
     Plain flour - 1/2 cup
     Oil - 1 tbsp
     Salt - 1/4 tsp
     Chili flakes - 1 tsp (or less upon your heat preference)

     Oil for deep frying

    Marinade:
    Garlic cloves - 6-7(or more if you are a garlic fanatic like me!)
    Birds eye chili - 4-5 (remove the seeds if you don't like the heat)
    Salt - to taste

Methods:

    1. In blender or mortar and pestle mash in the garlics and chili and salt to a smooth paste. Marinade the cleaned shrimps in the garlic mixture for at least half an hour.
    2. In a large bowl put the shrimps and slowly add the flour while tossing to coat evenly. If the flour coating  seems too dry then stop adding any more or just add a bit of water to make sure the shrimps are coated nicely in a creamy texture.
   3. Then add the panko crumbs to the shrimp, toss and shake off excess.
   4. Deep fry the shrimps over high heat in batches. It will take you about 2-3 min to cook each batch. Just wait to see if the shrimps have curled up and turn golden and crispy. You have to keep an eagle eye on  them otherwise they will burn really quickly as the heat is high. Drain the fried shrimps on a paper towel.
   5. Once all the shrimps have been fried up, heat a wok on high heat. Add the tbsp of oil and once hot add the chilli flakes. They will bubble up, add the sliced onions straight away.

    6. Saute until they soften a bit, then return the shrimps to the wok. Add the chopped scallions. Turn off the heat. Toss everything together, the residue heat will soften the scallions and add the sweet fragrance to the shrimps.
    7. Serve with any sides you like. They are absolutely yum just as they are.


Hints:
*Devein the shrimps by making a slit with a sharp knife along the back (or spine if only shrimps had one!) of the shrimps and remove the black sandy deposit that pretty much looks like a vein. Be careful not to break away the tails.

Chicken Pasta Salad with Lemon & Dill Dressing

This is one of the most easiest recipes I think I have ever put together. In other words, this is a salad and a meal, all in one for a lazy night's dinner. This is also a great recipe for getting rid of any left over roast chicken or fish or even red meat. As I used a thick but moist dressing, the roasted (slightly dried) meat goes well with the recipe. There is one slight word of caution, if you are not a big fan of lemons/limes then this might not be the right salad for you. However, I am confident once you taste this you will fall in love with those little round juicy fruits for the first time!!!

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• Pasta(any kind) - 500 gms(1 lb)
• Leftover rotisserie chicken - 2 whole breast fillets
• 
  
• Dressing:
• Mayonnaise - 1/2 cup
• Plain yogurt - 2 tbsp
• Fresh dill - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
• Lemon juice - juice of 1 lemon
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Hot sauce - to taste
  
• Sweet pickle relish - 2 tbsp
• Zest of 1 lemon.
  

Methods:

• 1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Make sure you salt the boiling water properly before adding the pasta, as this is the only time that the pasta will absorb any flavour. You can also cook the pasta in chicken or vegetable stock if you have them handy. Once cooked, drain the pasta and set aside. Save a little bit of the pasta water aside.
  
• 2. Meanwhile, de-bone and tear the roast chicken into bite size pieces with your hands.
• 3. In a large enough bowl to hold the salad in, whisk in all the ingredients for the dressing. Before squeezing out the juice of the lemon, zest the rind and also throw it in the dressing.
• 4. Carefully stir in the chicken pieces in the dressing with a spatula. Be gentle enough not to break the chicken pieces in crumbs, since they will be very delicate as they are already cooked.
  
• 5. Stir in the drained pasta to the chicken mixture. If the sauce seems too thick for the pasta to be stirred in, add a bit of the saved pasta water to thin it out a bit.
• 6. Serve the delicious salad warm or even in room temperature.
  

Tuna Salad with Chili Oil

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Red cabbage - 1 cup, thinly shredded
• Red Capsicum - 1 lrg, thinly sliced
• Red Onion - 1 sml, thinly sliced
• Seedless cucumber - 1.5 cup, thinly sliced
• Canned Tuna chunks - 1 cup, drained of the canning juice/oil
• 
  
• Chili oil dressing:
  
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Chili oil - 1/2 cup
• Honey - 2 tbsp
• Lemon/lime juice - 1 tbsp
  
• 
  
• Chili oil:
  
• Olive oil - 500ml
• Birds eye chilis - 2-3, ( or to taste) sliced lengthwise.
• Garlic clove - 1

Methods:

• 1. To make the chili oil, get a large non-stick pot. Wipe it clean of any residue. Pour the oil and heat it up on low flame, approx 2-3 min. Add the chilies and the garlic. Keep the oil on low heat for 5- 10 min. Make sure the oil does not get hot enough to cook the chilies or the garlic. It should just be warm enough to infuse the flavours into the oil. After the 10 min, turn the heat off, let the oil cool down and store it in a sterilized glass bottle for future use.
• 2. Chop and prep the veggies, set aside. Drain the tuna chunk of its canning juice, break it into bite size pieces and set aside.
• 3. In a large bowl, whisk in the honey and lemon juice with salt and pepper. Slowly pour the chili oil while you whisk the dressing. This will create a nice thick dressing.
  
• 4. Toss the veggies into the dressing to coat evenly. Gently toss in the tuna.
• 5. You can serve it as it is or as side to any main of your choice. I personally like to eat it just on its own.
  

Grill Chicken Salad

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts (boneless) & wings - 2 lb (1 kg), with skin-on
• Baby spinach - 4-6 cups, fresh, rinsed and drained
  
• Strawberries - 2 cups, sliced into bite size pieces
• Pears - 2, cut into bite size pieces
• Lime juice - 2 tbsp, freshly squeezed
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Honey - 1 tbsp
• Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp
  
• 
  
• For Marinade:
• Salt - to taste (account for the saltiness of the chicken stock)
  
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Chili powder - 1 tsp
• Chicken stock - 2 cups
• Italian seasoning - 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Methods:

• 1. Prepare the marinade by whisking together all the ingredients. Soak the chicken in the marinade, seal and marinate overnight, refrigerated or minimum of 2 hours.
• 2. Heat your oven to 350F(180C). On a baking sheet spray some olive oil. Place the chicken pieces and spray some more oil over the chicken. Loosely cover with a aluminum foil and roast for 45 min. This is to keep the chicken breast meat moist and juicy.
  
• 3. After the 45 min, remove the foil and broil/grill the chicken for 4-5 min or till the skin is crispy and charred. Remove from the oven and let it rest while you prepare the salad.
• 4. Chop the pears and strawberries to bite size pieces, set aside. Rinse the baby spinach carefully to get rid of any dirt, place in a colander to drain off any excess water. Tear the large leaves of the baby spinach or leave it whole.
• 5. In a large bowl whisk together the honey, olive oil, lime juice, salt & pepper. Toss the fruits in the dressing gently as not to mash up the fruits. Add the spinach leaves and gently toss to combine everything.
  
• 6. Back to the chicken, leave the chicken wings as they are, but cut up the chicken breast fillets into 2 inch long and 1/2 inch wide pieces.
  
• 7. In serving plates, arrange 1/4 of the spinach-fruit salad and then top it with a portion of the grilled chicken. Bon Appétit!

Chicken Chowmein Salad

Servings : 4

Ingredients:

• Chowmein Noddles - 4 cups
• Chicken breast fillet - 2, cut into cubes
• Vine tomatoes - 2, cubed
• Onion - 1 med, chopped
• Jalapeno - 2, sliced
• Olive oil - for cooking
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Chicken Bouillon powder - 2 tbsp
• 
  
• Dressing:
• Ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Vinegar - 1 tsp
• Black pepper - to taste
  

Methods:

• 1. Cut the chicken in cubes, in a bowl, toss the chicken pieces with the chicken bouillon powder and black pepper. Let it marinade for 1/2 hour.
• 2. In a pan heat 2 tbsp of olive till smoking hot. Add the chicken pieces and saute on high heat till they are cooked through and brown and crispy on the edges. Remove and set aside.
• 3. Add 2 more tbsp of oil to the pan. Heat. Add the onions and salt. Saute till they are translucent. Add the the tomatoes and jalapeno. Saute for 1 -2 min, till the jalapeno has softened a little.
• 4. Return the chicken cubes to the pan. Stir to combine.
• 5. In a bowl mix in the ketchup, vinegar and black pepper. Pour this over the chicken. toss to combine. Turn the heat off.
  
• 6. Add the crispy chowmein noodles. Toss every thing together. Serve immediately, otherwise the noddles will get soggy.