Mei Lai Fun Tomato sauce with healthy green salad

Wow, I have lots of leftover from a party that day, the vermicelli (mei fun), the lai fun (thick rice noodle), the carrot radish pickle, the lettuce and some Feta cheese, homemade tomato sauce and homegrown carrots from the backyard. So good and easy....

Recipe soon.

Sheryl Fruit Salad

I named this fruit salad Sheryl because she is a vegetarian and Gregg's cousin from Canada. I made this for her, I use simple dressing, just Olive Oil, Garlic salt, coarse black pepper and chopped mint. Most of the fruit were from our backyard, the cherry and sungold tomatoes, figs and grapes. Easy to make and save lots of money here, delicious too.

Recipe:-

Grapefruit (section)

Cherry tomatoes

Figs

Green grapes

Roma tomatoes

Chopped Fresh peppermint

Dressing:-

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Evoo)

Garlic Salt

Coarse black pepper

"Anda Boleh"

Butter Lettuce Kabocha Blossom Red Onion Vineg

Isn't this beautiful to look at and tasty as well? Yes, this is one of my favourite salad I ever made. Light and very gourmet. I have Kabocha squash blossoms in my backyard, making it into tempura. So so good with butter lettuce, crispy sage, fresh bing cherries, cherry tomatoes, green onions and most importantly, the red onions vineg. It is actually so easy to prepare, just that you need to fry the kabocha blossoms. Well, just do it and you will enjoy it.

Ingredients:-

3-4 leaf Butter Lettuce

1 Red Onion Vineg*

2 Zuchini Blossoms**

3 Sage leaf

1 stalk Green onions - chopped

5-6 Bing cherries - halved

3 Cherry tomatoes - halved

Some Olive Oil and Salt to taste

*Red Onions Vineg:-

1 Red Onion - juliened

1 Tablespoon Apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

- Sauteed the onions with the oil on medium heat. Add vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper, stir well. Then simmer for a min or two, until little reduced and shiny bright red color of the onions shown. Leave a side for cooling.

**Kabocha Squash Blossom Tempura:-

1 cup AP Flour

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Sparkling Water (cold)

- mixed all ingredients together making batter, add more cold sparkling water if its doughy. The batter should be runny but still stick to a spoon.
- dip the blossoms into the batter, then fry it in the hot oil until golden brown.


Once all of the elements ready, resemble them together just like the picture shown, any ways you like.

"Anda Boleh"

Garden Bed Cereal Salad

Have you thought about using your greens from your garden bed for Salad and then top it up with Bran Cereal? Well, here it is. Something comes out from my mind, using the little sweetness and crunchiness from the cereal to compliment the greens and tangy strawberries. Honestly, it is so good and simple and saved lots of money. We have 3 garden beds full of vegetables and herbs. Very organic!

Ingredients:-

Arugula
Onions
Strawberries
Avocado
Tomatoes
Oregano
Mint

Dressing:-

Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Mixed all together and then top it with cereal with dry fruit or any kind of sugar coated cereal you have in your pantry.

Tips:- The Arugula is bitter, so the avocado and some sugar will mellow down the bitter taste.

"Anda Boleh"

Strawberry Peas Carrots salad

I have lots of strawberries in my backyard, it is the season. I dont shop for greens nowadays since it is Spring and Summer season with abundant of greens in our backyard. Therefore, to make a healthy, fast, light lunch for my partner, Gregg, today, I picked some pea pods, sage and strawberries. Oh, we are on healthy diet so that we can show off our lean body when we are going to Las Vegas in July. :)

I roasted the chicken breast with bones with bbq rub and some salt, with oregano and olive oil, at 400 F for about 45 min. Always overcook than undercook.

Ingredients:-

Fresh Strawberries

Pea pods

Carrots

Garlic Salt and Pepper

Cooking oil

Method:-

1. Clean and cut the strawberries in halve or quartro.

2. Cut the carrots thin and 2" long, just like carrot sticks but half the lenght.

3. Heat the non-stick pan high, sautee the carrots for about 2 min, until charred little. Remember to add salt and pepper.

4. Lastly add the pea pods and sautee for one min.

5. Toss all of it in a bowl, mixed well and add more salt to taste. You can add some lemon juice if you want.

6. Garnish with crispy sage (fried the sage until crispy, dont brown it) and roasted chicken breast.

"Anda Boleh"

Mixed Greens and Fruit Salad with Ginger Omellet

This is for lunch. I always give surprises to Gregg, my partner, every time he comes home for lunch. So I decided to make something healthy and light. I had leftover mixed greens salad from work yesterday, sat in the fridge and some grapefruit, grapes, green, yellow, red chards and some herbs from the garden bed. I used simple dressing, just some olive oil, lemon juice and garlic salt, since the leftover mixed greens salad have some dressing in it. However, I added a little kick into the dressing, minced shallots. It helps the whole salad taste. Love it.

Recipe will be posted soon.

Red White and Green Salad

I bought a hicama from Chinatown the other day and want to make it into salad. So I learnt from Chef Neda about dicing them and put on a dish to make it look pretty. I love playing with colors as well, so I used Sugar Peas, Mint Leaves and Red Bell Peppers as the main ingredients. Dressing is very simple, just fish sauce, garlic salt and some apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice).

Ingredients:-

Hicama - 1 to 1.5 cup

Red Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup

Sugar Peas - 1/3

Fresh Mint leaves - 2 Tablespoon

Minced Shallot - 1 whole

Dressing:-

1 Tablespoon  Fish sauce
2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon juice
1 Teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 to 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Tips: Remember that you can change the amount of the ingredients to suit you taste.

"Selamat Mencuba"

Chef Chong's Apple Mango Salad

I got the apples of Harry & David from work, and I want to use it for Salad. Gregg and I are eating healthy to keep inshape and stay healthy as well. It is simple to make, just the dressing is a little different.

Ingredients:-

1 apple (sliced using Mandolin)
1 ripe mango (cut into chuck)
1 stalk Green Onion (chop)
1 tablespoon Lemon marmalade (leftover from a party)
1 teaspoon Fish Sauce
2 Lemons for lemon juice
Garlic salt to taste

Just mix all together. Fun to toss it and taste it at the same time. Enjoy!

Croutons are too hard to say

Who made up this word crouton anyway?  And who has them all the time?  If you don't have them, take your healthiest chip (that are always around it seems) and crunch them over your salad.   It gives it that extra taste that makes salads a lot more easy for those fussy eaters to enjoy.

A Square of Salmon

Salmon is always a great staple to have, very healthy and a good square meal, so I made it into a square of Salmon. I just arranged some romaine lettuce leaves as the square "bed" to lay on, then layered it with a little rice, a layer of roasted vegetables, the salmon and the sauce. A perfectly healthy lunch or dinner!

Recipe:

Soon to come

Citrus Cabbage Salad

Again, balance out two different tastes. I wanted to add sour to a cabbage salad with lemon, so then add sugar to balance it out.

4 lemons

Lemon Rind

Mint

Cilantro

Peanuts

Sugar

Cabbage

Recipe

Soon to come

Chinese Valentine's Day Special

Yes, there is such a thing as Chinese Valentine's Day. The Chinese New Year is a long celebration of 15 days, and the 15th day is Chinese Valentine's Day, called Qi Xi.

I had all my friends and loved ones over and made this for everyone. Part of the tradition is everyone takes chopsticks, and tosses the salad together, shouting out all their wishes for good health, prosperity and happiness.

My best wishes to you!

Chef Chong

Crunchy Croutons

Croutons are probably the most basic, common, simplest leftover anyone can do. DON'T THROW AWAY THE OLD BREAD. Yes, it might be a little harder than you like. That's fine, it's time for croutons.

Cut into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, add some garlic salt and toast in a baking tray in an oven for a few minutes or even your toaster oven. You can now save for days in a zip loc bag and serve them on your favorite salad.

Fennel Salad

Salads can be scrumptious, and in fact be a whole meal. This fennel capsicum salad is healthy, delicious and will seem truly gourmet to whoever you serve it to.

Ingredients

1 Bell Pepper (Capsicum)

1 Fennel

6 Cherry tomatos

1 Avocado

1/2 teaspoon crushed peanuts

1/4 orange, slices

3 tbsp orange juice

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp honey mustard bourbon sauce

Simply chop the solid ingredients above, add the orange juice, slices, salts, and a honey mustard bourbon sauce (can even find this in Safeway), serve and enjoy!

Orange Truffle Salad

The beauty of this dressing is you don't see any dressing. A clear dressing is something different, where you see the beauty of each food through a transparent glossy glaze. What makes this recipe luxurious is the Truffle Oil. If you can find a reasonable truffle oil, it's worth it. It can last a long, long time in many different recipes. The freshness of the orange juice, the richness of the truffle oil, the sensuality of the orange slices, makes this salad come together in one explosive taste sensation!

Ingredients:

Butter Lettuce - 1 head

Truffle Oil - 1 tsp

Olive Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp

Garlic Salt - 1 tsp

Orange - 2 sectioned

Orange Juice - 3 tbsp

BBQ Seasoning - 1/4 tsp

Candied (Glazed) pecans - 2 tbsp (You can buy this in a store, or make homemade)

Recipe

• Mix all ingredients together
• Toss
• Plate it, eat it, and you're in heaven!

A Peach of a Chicken

When you've gone to the farmer's market, and you have a lot of veggies, and let's say, one Peach, it's a perfect time to make "A Peach of A Chicken".

This healthy summer salad hits all the spots, and the warm peach makes it so unique and memorable.

Salad - Roasted
Olive oil Salt and Pepper
Thyme
White Peach
white Turnips
Tomato
Butter Lettuce
Mushroom
Zucchini

Chicken
Apple Cider Vinegar
Fish Sauce
Sugar
Crushed Pepper
Chopped Onion
Chicken

A Summer Fennel Salad

Here's what to do with healthy, but slighty boring cauliflower. Add a fennel, and some spices, and get a refreshing, simple summer salad.

Ingredients
12 Cauliflower florets
1 fennel bulb sprigs of cilantro
3 green onions
1/2 tb dill
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
Sugar, salt and pepper - dashes

• Blanch the cauliflower in cold water, then crumble
• Slice the fennel
• Chop the cilantro and green onion and dill
• Mix together
• For the sauce
• Mix the EVOO, lime juice, salt, pepper, fish sauce and sugar
• Fold into the mixed vegetables
  

Enjoy!