Japanese Salad
I've become obsessed with recreating the intricate salads I ate in Japan. Unfortunately, this also involves sometimes up to an hour prep time. I try to prep my ingredients in bulk which means I can get a few salads out of my effort. At the moment, I am trying to get my salads as colourful as possible - which means they are chock full of antioxidants. In particular, I am trying to use steamed vegetables more - rather than relying on lettuce/tomato. It's all about texture really.
A mandolin/v-slicer will be an invaluable asset
When I say 'steamed' - I just do all my vegies in the microwave.
If assembling your own - I would advise picking which ingredients appeal to you - while trying to make sure your bowl looks like a rainbow.
GREEN
Beans - steamed and sliced into tiny bits
Avocado - diced
Broccoli - steamed and cut into small florets
Peas - frozen (I prepare my salads the night before, so the peas defrosts over night)
Cabbage - finely sliced and steamed
ORANGE
Pumpkin - steamed and diced
Sweet potato (orange) - steamed and diced
Carrots - finely grated
PURPLE
Red cabbage - thinly sliced and steamed
Sweet potato (white - purple inside) - diced and steamed
Red lettuce - I prefer this to normal green lettuce
RED
Tomato - diced
WHITE
Daikon - finely grated
Red radish - finely sliced
Cauliflower - steamed and cut into small florets
Potato - steamed and diced
YELLOW
Corn - frozen (I prepare my salads the night before, so the corn defrosts over night)
MEAT
Chicken breast - steamed and sliced (make sure to season with salt/pepper)
Can of tuna
Rare beef - sliced
OTHER
Crushed walnuts
Crushed pine nuts
Sesame seeds
Make sure to salt and pepper your vegetables when done. Then add dressing. The dressing I'm using at the moment:
DRESSING
Soy sauce (about 4 tablespoons)
Sesame oil (about 1 teaspoon)
Shake of fish sauce
Olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)
Shake of salt
Pepper
Mirin / sushi rice seasoning (about 2 tablespoons).
This is all to taste - so measurements are not precise.
You could also add miso paste or fresh coriander...Or even mint.
I should note that if you don't feel like an Asian salad - you can also skip the above dressing and use lemon juice and olive oil, with salt and cracked pepper. If I do this, I always add some shaved parmesan to the mix to give it a bit more bite.
A mandolin/v-slicer will be an invaluable asset
When I say 'steamed' - I just do all my vegies in the microwave.
If assembling your own - I would advise picking which ingredients appeal to you - while trying to make sure your bowl looks like a rainbow.
GREEN
Beans - steamed and sliced into tiny bits
Avocado - diced
Broccoli - steamed and cut into small florets
Peas - frozen (I prepare my salads the night before, so the peas defrosts over night)
Cabbage - finely sliced and steamed
ORANGE
Pumpkin - steamed and diced
Sweet potato (orange) - steamed and diced
Carrots - finely grated
PURPLE
Red cabbage - thinly sliced and steamed
Sweet potato (white - purple inside) - diced and steamed
Red lettuce - I prefer this to normal green lettuce
RED
Tomato - diced
WHITE
Daikon - finely grated
Red radish - finely sliced
Cauliflower - steamed and cut into small florets
Potato - steamed and diced
YELLOW
Corn - frozen (I prepare my salads the night before, so the corn defrosts over night)
MEAT
Chicken breast - steamed and sliced (make sure to season with salt/pepper)
Can of tuna
Rare beef - sliced
OTHER
Crushed walnuts
Crushed pine nuts
Sesame seeds
Make sure to salt and pepper your vegetables when done. Then add dressing. The dressing I'm using at the moment:
DRESSING
Soy sauce (about 4 tablespoons)
Sesame oil (about 1 teaspoon)
Shake of fish sauce
Olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)
Shake of salt
Pepper
Mirin / sushi rice seasoning (about 2 tablespoons).
This is all to taste - so measurements are not precise.
You could also add miso paste or fresh coriander...Or even mint.
I should note that if you don't feel like an Asian salad - you can also skip the above dressing and use lemon juice and olive oil, with salt and cracked pepper. If I do this, I always add some shaved parmesan to the mix to give it a bit more bite.