Teriyaki Chicken Salad

You know what I hate? Getting to that place where you know it's become time to move on. Again.

Whether it's in my personal life or professional life, it always leaves me with an unsettling feeling deep down in my stomach. Change is good (and sometimes very necessary), but it's never nice leaving those now-very-comfortable people and places behind. Even though they might now irritate the living daylights out of us. Or actually be harmful to our wellbeing.

Sometimes there's nothing wrong with the current situation, but you also know that it's just never going to be anything more. Zero future opportunities. Know what I mean? Those are the hardest ones to let go of. Because it's still nice, it's still "lekker", it's just not good for you. Kind of like sometimes you have to pass up the chocolate bar for a piece of fruit, which will be both refreshing and delicious. But boy, sometimes it's hard to walk away from that chocolate bar...

This salad is not a chocolate bar, but like the metaphorical piece of fruit, it is both refreshing and delicious. And I think, ultimately, that's the way to go. 

Teriyaki Chicken Salad

Adapted from The Good Mood Food Blog

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts (skinless & boneless)

3 tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 cabbage, finely shredded

150g mangetout, sliced in half lengthways

1/4 cup coriander, finely shredded 

salt & pepper, to taste

For the dressing:

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. Combine teriyaki sauce and garlic in a bowl, add chicken breasts, cover and allow to marinate for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat, then add chicken breasts and cook for 4 -5 minutes either side or until cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

3. Meanwhile, toss cabbage, mangetout and coriander together. 

4. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over the cabbage salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Divide the cabbage salad among individual serving plates. Carefully slice the cooled chicken breasts into thin slices, and fan atop the cabbage salad. Serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 372.9, Total fat 7.9 g, Saturated fat 1.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 3.8 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.6 g, Cholesterol 136.9 mg, Sodium 6161.8 mg, Potassium 1266.7 mg, Total carbohydrate 14.7 g, Dietary fiber 4.1 g, Sugars4.5 g, Protein 59.5 g

Good source of: Niacin 142.7 %, Vitamin C 103.2 %, Vitamin B6 81.9 %, Phosphorus 76.7 %, Selenium 62.4 %, Magnesium 48.5 %, Iron 34.2 %, Folate 27.9 %, Calcium 24.2 %

Sunshine Salad

As a friend whom we had afternoon coffee with remarked today, it's been raining for 24 hours straight over here, starting yesterday afternoon. Crazy right? Although, I must admit, I'm relishing the chance to cuddle up under a duvet in front of the television again - that's just something that's sorely missing from summer! I'm not a big sun-bunny (as is blatantly evident from my blindingly white legs), so I'm quite happy to embrace the wind and rain.

That said though, sometimes you yearn for something to make you feel a little bit more summery on the inside, and I think I've found the solution for that. This dish with it's bright colours will definitely put a smile on your dial and it's a lovely fresh take on cabbage salads (is it just me who's not a big fan of the gloopy mayo-y versions?). Plus you get to feel all virtuous while wolfing down daintily nibbling on a big ole bowl of this. See, it's a win-win!

 Sunshine Salad

Adapted from Filipino Vegetarian Recipes

Serves 4 (as a side-dish)

1/4 large head of cabbage, sliced thinly
2 large carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1 small red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp honey
salt to taste

Toss everything together and serve cold. Deeeee-lish!

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 50.0 , Total fat 0.7 g, Saturated fat 0.1 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.2 g, Monounsaturated fat 0.3 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 172.8 mg, Potassium 361.4 mg, Total carbohydrate 10.4 g, Dietary fiber 3.6 g, Sugars 1.9 g, Protein 2.1 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 110.4 %, Vitamin C 104.8 %

Borscht

Update: Submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging #199 (hosted by Mele Cotte)

Time to be honest: I'm not a big fan of brothy soups. I prefer my soups thick and smooth. The need for chewing should be minimal. That's not to say I don't like a brothy soup every now and again (can anyone say miso?), but they generally don't form part of my top ten, soup-wise. And apologies to my Eastern European counterparts, but a soup consisting of cabbage and beetroot chunks floating in a thin broth really didn't sound too appealing.

But I am ready to retract my words. Having always wanted to try borscht, because, in spite of everything I said above, it IS a classic, I finally (reluctantly I might add) made it tonight. After a day of movies, pizza and popcorn it seemed like the necessary evi... um... healthy option. Everything was thrown into the pot, without much hope as to the outcome. Even when I dished up and took the photo I still wasn't convinced.

Until that first mouthful.

I was wrong. SO wrong. I do like brothy soups. Or at least I liked this one. A LOT. The ingredients come together beautifully in a lovely rosy, soul-soothing way. Oh borscht, I underestimated you! You are hereby cordially invited to take up residence in my top ten.

Borscht

Adapted (ever so slightly) from Nami-Nami (don't you just love that name!)

Serves 4 - 6

2 tbsp olive oil

500g (1 lb) beetroot, scrubbed and julienned

2 large carrots, scrubbed and julienned

2 medium onions, peeled, quartered and sliced thinly

300g (about 1 1/2 cups) sauerkraut (you can also use regular cabbage)

5 cups boiling water

1 stock cube (preferably vegetable, but I used chicken without any problems)

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice (plus extra to taste)

1 tsp dried dill

a sprinkle of caraway seeds

sour cream, to serve (about 1 tbsp each)

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add beetroot, carrots and onions and saute over medium heat for a few minutes.

2. Add cabbage, stock cube and water, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, until vegetables are cooked through.

3. Add sugar, lemon juice, dill and caraway and season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary (I found I didn't need any).

4. Ladle into bowls, serving the soup warm with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprinkle of dill and caraway seeds.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 164.2, Total Fat 8.3 g, Saturated Fat 2.5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g, Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g, Cholesterol 5.3 mg, Sodium 651 mg, Potassium 294.5 mg, Total Carbohydrate 19.3 g, Dietary Fiber 5.0 g, Sugars 9.0 g, Protein 3.4 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 71.7 %, Vitamin C 25.0 %

Fish Burritos with Guacamole and Coleslaw

This is a great meal when you're short of time but don't want to run to the nearest take-out menu. It received the thumbs-up from TheHusband on Saturday, which is saying a lot, considering he is not all that fond of fish. 



The flour coating turns lovely and crisp around the fish without the use of too much oil - a great healthier alternative to battered and deepfried fish and dare I say even tastier. The smoked haddock imparts a nice flavour here, if it was hake I would up the spices a bit to compensate.

Fish Burritos with Guacamole & Coleslaw

Adapted from Food & Wine.

Serves 2*

2 smoked haddock steaks
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp cajun spice
1/4 head purple cabbage
1 tsp sugar
lime juice
1 avocado
a few sprigs of fresh coriander
salt and pepper to taste
2 tortillas
2 tbsp mayonaisse
2 roma tomatoes, diced
sweet chilli sauce

1. Mix flour & cajun spice in a bowl. Dip fish in the flour mixture and pan-fry in a little bit of oil until cooked through and crispy on the outside.
2. Meanwhile, slice the cabbage thinly, mix with sugar and a squirt of lime juice. Leave to marinate while the fish is cooking.
3. In a separate bowl mash the avocado with a bit of lime juice, add salt & pepper to taste. Finely shred the coriander and add to the avocado, stir to combine.
4. To assemble, place each tortilla (warmed up) onto a plate. Spread down the middle with mayonaisse and top with the cabbage. Add spoonfuls of guacomole on top, as well as the tomato. Lastly top with the crispy fish steaks (you can cut the fish into chunks first if desired) and drizzle with the sweet chilli sauce.
5. Serve immediately.

* These made two very generous servings, our burritos didn't even close up! So you could definitely stretch this to four servings. I would just double up on the avocado - no-one likes stinginess when it comes to guacamole! 

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 620.4 Total Fat 27.3 g Saturated Fat 4.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat 7.8 g Monounsaturated Fat 11.0 g Cholesterol 5.0 mg Sodium 666.6 mg Potassium 798.1 mg Total Carbohydrate 62.3 g Dietary Fiber 10.2 g Sugars 16.0 g Protein 35.1 g

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

This is the first recipe I tried out as part of my 101 in 1001 challenge.

So to kick off (and in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to lure the summer sun to the Western Cape), I've decided on the Vietnamese Chicken Salad out of Bowl Food.
It was nice and refreshing, although I made a note to self to keep a closer eye on the chicken next time, as it was slightly overdone. I added a few tweaks here and there, like stirfrying the chicken strips in lemon juice instead of poaching the whole breasts in lemongrass-infused water, and also adding a dash of plumsauce right at the end for moisture, but all in all the recipe stayed mostly the same.

Anyway, here's the recipe, as it's supposed to be made:

Vietnamese Chicken Salad
Adapted from Bowl Food

Serves 4

375g skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
4 1/2 cups Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons peanuts, chopped

1. Place the chicken and lemongrass in a deep frying pan of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 8 - 10 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Drain and keep warm.
2. Place the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and sweet chilli sauce in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat for 1 minute or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.
3. Place the cabbage, carrot, onion, coriander & mint in a large bowl and toss together well. Drizzle over 3/4 of the warmed dressing, toss to combine and transfer to a serving platter.
4. Slice the chicken thinly and diagonally arrange over the top of the salad and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Garnish with the extra coriander leaves, chopped peanuts & fried shallots. Serve immediately. 

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 178.2, Total fat 0.6 g, Saturated fat 1.0 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.4 g, Monounsaturated fat 3.0 g, Cholesterol 54.4 mg, Sodium 566.7 mg, Potassium 551.2 mg, Total carbohydrate 10.5 g, Dietary fiber 2.0 g, Sugars 5.1 g, Protein 24.6 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 114.2 %,Vitamin C 66.6 %, Niacin 58.9 %, Vitamin B6 36.3 %, Selenium 25.5 %