Wednesday 21 August 2013

A Failed Salad


Every once in a while I try a recipe that is out of my comfort zone and occasionally discover that I don't like a particular dish. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the recipe, just that it does not suit my taste.

Take this Indian Marinated Chicken Salad as an example. Generally speaking, I dislike plain yoghurt or any dressing made with yoghurt. Except for the one time when I had a Middle Eastern salad at Tarbush Restaurant in Jalan Bukit Bintang with my auntie and brother. The salad dressing was made with yoghurt and lemon juice and it tasted quite good.



I wanted to try this Indian Marinated Chicken Salad because it sounded delicious, especially the chicken part of the deal. The dressing, I wasn't so sure but never try, never know right?

The recipe calls for watercress and I was pretty sure it is not the variety that we use to cook soup. Therefore I decided to substitute with peasprouts. I have only tasted zucchini once and though not very impressed with the taste, I wanted to give it another chance.



Preparation of the salad does take a bit of effort. I don't like chicken breast and opted for deboned chicken legs instead.  And yes, yours truly struggled quite a bit with the deboning. Then the chicken is marinated and later pan fried.

The dressing requires toasting and pounding of cumin and fennel seeds which wasn't that hard because I used a mill. Then it is mixed with yogurt and lemon juice. Funny thing is  that the recipe did not mention salt for seasoning for both the chicken and dressing. I guess it must have been left out and of course, I added the salt.



To prepare the salad, the chicken is first pan fried in a hot heavy based pan. After that, it is removed and the zucchini is fried till slightly brown and transferred to a mixing bowl. Since I don't have watercress, I proceeded to briefly fry the peasprouts as I can't accept the taste of raw peasprouts.

I sliced the chicken and tossed it into the bowl together with the zucchini, peasprouts, diced tomatoes and corriander leaves. Next up was to toss everything with the yoghurt dressing.



Moment of truth. Nope, I did not like the dressing. Too exotic for me. But I ate the salad anyway, not wanting to waste my ingredients and effort. All was not lost as the chicken tasted very good. Which leads me to my next post - Garam Masala Roasted Chicken. Coming soon!

There is no recipe for today as I won't share what I don't like over here. Oh well, at least now I know for sure to trust my palate. No more yoghurt based dressings for me from now on. But I must qualify myself here. I do eat Indian raita  - a simple cucumber salad with yogurt but it must be accompanied with curry for me to drown out the yoghurty taste hah! hah!


In Cantonese they would say "Ho thye erm ho sek".

42 comments:

  1. Good morning Phong Hong, I'm not a great fan of Indian salad that uses strong spices. Still prefer simple and light dressing.

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    1. Good morning, Ann! Me too, I'll stick to light simple dressing.

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  2. Good morning Phong Hong
    An early morning and Im see salad .... I guess it is ok to have salad for breakfast....hehehehe... Like Ann said, I still think simple and light dressing more suitable for me. Nevertheless, I think you will still continue to try and tested out others dressing again.

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    1. Good Morning, Mel! I have made the conclusion that I prefer light dressing. No more yogurt dressing for me.

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  3. Looks good, really! Maybe not a taste you're accustomed with. Hah!!! My failed attempts, I'd just throw away and keep very quiet about it... Hehehehe!!!!!

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    1. You are right. I am not used to the taste. Well, you know me....I'm known to flaunt my failures hah! hah!

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  4. Good morning Phong Hong. Your salad looks nice but I am not a fan of Indian food, so...

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    1. Good Morning, Jozelyn! The salad look good but I can't accept the taste even though I love Indian food.

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  5. ivy sew http://simplybeautifulhealthyliving.blogspot.com21 August 2013 at 11:05

    Hi Phong Hong, the pic looks nice leh... but I think my hubby would like this as he likes any Indian foods. As for me, I am quite adaptable to any food as long as it's edible :) No special preferences but would just eat anything that's being served.

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    1. Ivy, I think anyone who loves yogurt and Indian food would like this salad. I can't get used to plain yogurt so that's why this dressing wasn't good for me.

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  6. Hi Phong Hong, I probably wouldn't mind this salad so much... though yoghurt is quite sour... look forward to your chicken recipe!

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    1. Mich, if you like yogurt you might like this salad. I only liked the chicken hah! hah!

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  7. I am actually gonna attempt a chicken recipe tonight using yogurt... fingers crossed it will go well!

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    1. Yen, looking forwards to your chicken dish!

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  8. Hi Phong Hong,

    Nevermind if this salad doesn't suit your taste. We learn from things that we like and dislike and clearly that you know that you are not going to cook this again :p

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, that's right! No more yogurt dressings for me :)

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  9. sometimes it happens but I admire that you have tried at least:)

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  10. I must salute you for venturing into unknown waters! I guess it's a matter of getting use to unusual flavours! Btw, I wouldn't mind eating your salad!

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    1. Busygran, I don't think I'll ever get used to the plain yogurt taste. But the chicken tasted good :)

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  11. Hi Phong Hong! good try. looks yum. i have never tried something like this.

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    1. Swasthi, I have a feeling you will like this salad :)

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  12. PH dear...mula tu akak heran la, salad ni nampak sedap (gulp, telan air liur dulu ni) tapi you cakap failed? oo rupa2nya you tak minat yoghurt? akak pulak suka yoghurt! ANYTHING WITH YOGHURT AKAK BOLEH SAPU HABIS! alamak sorry tertekan huruf besar...tapi akak tak suka mayo...since dapat tau mayo diperbuat dari telur mentah dan minyak! heh heh...patut la ada sikit macam bau minyak ikan!

    ayam tu sure rasa sedap, moist and juicy lagi. kalau akak try salad ni, akak akan tinggalkan daun sup tu, sebab tak suka daun sup dalam salad...
    hmm, chaiyuk la you ni sis, rajin try sana try sini...tabik spring!

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    1. Kak Q! Mungkin Kak Q akan suka salad ni. Yogurt tak sesuai dengan anak tekak PH. Kalau PH makan yogurt, kena ada perisa stroberi, mangga atau lain-lain. Tapi PH suka mayo! Daun sup (daun ketumbar tu Kak Q) is my favourite, I like the smell. Hee..hee...suka bau pijat...

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  13. So next time can replace the yoghurt dressing with your favourite salad dressing? You are so good, you took the risk. If I don't like something, I won't try making it. Bravo to you! And it's good to hear that the chicken turned out nice~

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    1. Jessie, I am glad I tried even though I did not like the dressing. The chicken was yummy hee..hee...

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  14. I like yoghurt so I guess I will like this salad. The chicken pieces also looks very good! :D

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    1. Kelly, if you like yogurt and Indian spices then, this salad is for you. The chicken was delicious, so all was not lost :)

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  15. I like yoghurt but not in the salad, so I guess I wont enjoy this salad either
    perhaps next time can just use your fave dressing :)

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  16. Hi Phong Hong, at least you give it a try, it's thru trial and error we improve my culinary skill. I do quite like yogurt but so far thru trial and error, yogurt work best for fruits and cucumber salad. For chicken best to use mayonnaise.

    Have a nice day.

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    1. Thanks, Amelia! I have given up on yogurt dressings hah! hah!

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  17. It looks delicious though, and you did like the chicken, so not so bad huh! I salute you for putting up your failed bakes and dishes, mine wouldn't see the light of day lol!

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    1. Jeannie, the chicken is ooh la la! Hah! Hah! I like to share failures also hoping that it will motivate others.

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  18. Hi Phong Hong,
    Sorry to hear that you do not like the salad! At least you get to enjoy the chicken! Looking forward to your Garam Masala Roasted Chicken, the name already sounds so delicious! :)

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    1. Joyce, the chicken was a good discovery! Will be posting soon :)

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  19. What ?! It looks scrumptious and very tempting ! If only I can grab it , right here , right now lol But hey , the chicken on its own sure look very satisfying !

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    1. Anne, too bad you weren't around or else you could eat it up for me hah! hah!

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  20. Phong Hong, enough 'talk'...just hand over the delicious chicken salad, that I so need desperately right now!
    Yoghurt dressing, or not, you are your 'worst' critique; I'm the same way also. While I will be criticizing my own new creation, my family is already finishing their plate...LOL.
    Your chicken salad, looks, and sounds delicious to me...as a matter of fact, everything you make is scrumptious, and delicious! xo

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    1. Oh, Elisabeth! If you had been around, you could have helped me eat the "awful" salad. Hee..hee...I guess I tend to over analyse my own cooking and bakes. Same here, my family eats with nary a complaint :)

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  21. i am also a bit sceptical about the watercress in salad..maybe those are the very young ones ..and also the raw taste, i dont think i'm used to that too . Tell you, i have never deboned a chicken before..if i want a deboned part, i'll choose to buy it at the market and ask them to debone for me :)

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    1. Lena, I think there is another variety of watercress - the western one, But I never seen it here. Deboning takes some practise but I don't do it often enough.

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