Easy Caesar Salad

This is an all-time-favourite salad and it is always at the top list of salad menu in most of the pub & club restaurants

I have modified the recipe a little bit to make it more "user-friendly" as it only requires easy everyday ingredients and the steps are not complicated as compared to the original Western version.

Below is the step-by-step guide:
Crouton = French Loaf + Oil + Garlic

First, you need to have at least half a loaf of a-day-old french loaf to make the crouton.
Cut the loaf into small cubes. Crush 3 cloves of garlic. Heat up 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil or grapeseed oil in the non-stick pan. Heat the oil slowly and turn the garlic occassionally.
When the garlic golden brown and the oil is hot, remove the garlic (before it gets charred)and throw in the bread cube and toss till golden. Drain the bread in paper towel. For a low calories version, reduce the oil, toss the bread well with the garlic oil and brown for 1 to 2 minutes in microwave oven till it gets very cruncy. It is very much your preference either to discard the browned garlic or reserve it as part of the salad mix.
Dressing = Japanese salad dressing + mayonaise + parmesan cheese powder

Japanese salad dressing is available from most of the organic food store. If it is unavailable, you can blend your own version by mixing lemon juice/grapejuice + brown rice vinegar/fruit vinegar +(sugar + salt=> seasoning according to taste)
The amount of mayonaise sauce and parmesan cheese powder to be used is pretty much your own preference. If you don't mind the calories and you like the dressing to be richer, you may add more. Remember not to put too much vinegar or lemon juice or the dressing will be too watery and sourish. You don't want this salad to have too much liquid that eventually your croutons and nuts go soggy and lose their crunchiness.

Go Nutty & fruity = Toasted Almond flakes + dried cranberries

Toast the almond flakes in the oven or fry in slow fire in a pan.
You can also replace almond flakes with toasted pine nuts.
I normally add the cranberries to the dressing first before mixing to soften the fruits. Cranberry is the preferred option then raisins/sultanah as it is softer. You can get it from most major supermarkets in the frozen veggie or organic food section Anyway, just fetch whichever fruit at your convenient.

Caesar salad = Romaine lettuce + Croutons + Dressings + Nuts and Fruits

I used 2 stalks of organic "butterhead" and 2 types of romaine lettuce (green and red). Wash the veggie, tear into small pieces and drain off the water. For this salad, you should do the mixing only before serving. Preferrably store the veggie in a container or salad bowl and leave in the fridge before serving. To serve, combine dressing, browned garlic, olive oil and toss thoroughly so that all the leaves are evenly coated with the dressing. Season with some pepper if necessary. Lastly, stir in almond flakes/nuts, dry fruits, croutons made with french loaf cubes and parmesan cheese.

Healthy Fruit Rojak

If you are a "rojak" lover, you are bound to form a love-and-hate relationship with it's main ingredients-prawn paste. Prawn paste (aka "otak udang") or otherwise knows as "Har Gou" in Cantonese is actually a sinful food loading with "baddies" such as cholesterol. The derivation processes also tend to bring in lots of impurities which i better not mention here. Besides, by virtue of its' Malay name "Otak Udang", this particular ingredient is made of the prawn's brain. One thing for sure, there is no scientific proof that this food will make you any brainier. To get a cup of prawn paste, many prawns must be sacrificed for the extraction of their otaks. So it is actually not meritorious to consume it for what you received is just a fishy smell and load your body with unwanted cholesterol.

Below is a rojak dressing recipe which skip the use of the prawn paste.

Ingredients:
Dressing (Mix together):
4 tbsp of thick black(caramel-like) soysauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
2 red chillies, slice thinly
2 tbsp sugar, melt with some hot water
Juice from 2 limau kasturi (lime).
At your preference Add more light soya sauce and sugar to taste

Mix the above dressing to any cut fruits such as cubed pineapples, guava, sengkuang(yam bean) blanched kangkong (Malay watercress), and blanched taugeh (beansprouts) . You can also add in some yau char kwai or taufu pop(it will still be crunchy if you toast it with a microwave rather than deep fry it).

Lastly, mix in lots of grounded toasted sesame seeds and peanuts into the the fruits and vegetables mixture. The end result is similar to rojak except that you don't get the fishy smell. For those who are allergic to peanuts, you may replace it with some toasted almond nut, cashew or pistachio nuts.

Easy Mixed Fruit Salad

This is the easiest mixed fruit salad recipe for children party. No measurement is required. You can dump in fruits of your own choice. For the crunchy effect, you must not miss out grapes, apples or pears.

Ingredients:
Some cubed guavas
Some cubed apples/pears (drenched with some lemon juice or have a salt water bath to prevent oxidization)
Some seedless grapes, stem removed
Some tinned longan and rambutan, drained
Some cubed sengkuang(yam bean)
Some cubed dragon fruits

Dressing:
250ml whipping cream
Some sweeten condensed milk

Methods:
Sweenten the whipping cream with some condensed milk.
Mix together with all the fruits.
Chilled and serve

Tips:
This mixed food salad is best eaten cold. It taste a bit like mixed fruits in ice cream. You can skip the condensed milk if the fruits used are high in sugar content. If you are using mostly fruits that are not too sweet such as guava or water jambu, the condensed milk will be a real jewel to make the salad tastier. This recipe is definitely a party favourite as it is easy to prepare and liken by all the children with sweet tooth!