Wednesday 24 October 2018

My New Favorite Vege


Every time I want to make a salad, I would usually buy the pre-washed lettuce/salad greens from the supermarket. After a while, those greens became sort of boring.

I have heard of kale and have seen salads and cooked dishes that have kale in them. My impression of kale is that it is a cousin of kai lan and the thought of eating a kai lan-like vegetable raw did not seem appealing.

Then on a visit to Goodness Greens, my partner ordered the Kale Quinoa Chicken Salad. This salad is dressed in a roasted sesame dressing and finished with a squeeze of lime juice.


Oh my, it was delicious (yes, due to the dressing) and kale did not seem that unpleasant after all. After that I went to the supermarket looking for kale and had my first salad with kale mixed with some other vegetables.


This time, I made a salad primarily with kale with an addition of carrots and green and red peppers. As kale is quite tough, it helps to toss the kale with your hands and gently "massage" it to soften the leaves. This also helps the dressing to adhere better to the greens.

I am sure you have seen foreign chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver toss salads with their bare hands. It's a good way to toss your salad because you can feel how well your salad is dressed. In fact my grandaunts and grandma used their bare hand to toss kerabu back in the old days.


To make the dressing, I put crushed garlic, black pepper, honey, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and olive oil into the blender and gave it a good whizz. These days, this is my preferred way of making dressings as the dressing becomes nicely emulsified and thick.


This salad can be tossed ahead of time and stored in the fridge since kale is quite robust and won't go limp like lettuce. In fact, it benefits from sitting and becomes softer and easier to eat.

Kale Salad
Recipe source : Phong H0ng

Ingredients :
- 150g kale, thinly sliced
- 1 small green capsicum, thinly sliced
- 1 small red capsicum, thinly sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot, use vegetable peeler to slice into ribbons

Dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Method :
1. To make the dressing, put all dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until emulsified.
2. Place all salad ingredients into a bowl and toss with dressing.
3. Use your hand to gently massage the kale leaves to soften it.
4. Serve immediately or may be tossed in advance and stored in the fridge.

22 comments:

  1. Not if they're from Cameron. Their iceberg lettuce was rejected by Singapore the other day, too much pesticide...and this was not the first time. I'd go for our local grown ones and I'd pick those with holes, feasted upon by slugs - very safe, no pesticide. LOL!!!

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    1. I know...hah..hah... Sometimes, I buy those organic ones even though it may be pricier.

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  2. I boleh aje makan salad ni LL.... tak kiralah apa jenis pun, tapi tulah takut mcm tak puas makan hahaha.... Kalau yg campur ayam tu ok.... Teringinlah nak try. Banyak je kat Aeonkan....tp selalu tengok je walau hati tu teringin

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    1. Hainom boleh tambah ayam panggang (biar Aoen yang panggang hah..hah...) pada salad. Sedap. Tak payah makan nasi.

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  3. Good for you to have found a new favourite vege! I read online that Kale taste good in smoothie too so maybe you could try it out one day. :)

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    1. Oh yes, I thought that was weird, a green veggie in smoothies LOL!

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  4. Phong Hong, I love salad, but I rarely make my own salad. I also don't know why, may be I lack of ingredients. Kakakaka! Perhaps, I should buy those ingredients such as olive oil, black pepper, and etc.

    I still steam sweet potatoes every day, may be I find it easier to prepare. So I dare not complain of being bored of having sweet potatoes every day as breakfast.

    But now i also eat hard boiled eggs. Again, it is easier to prepare rather than washing, cutting and slicing all the vegetables. I sound so lazy right?

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    1. Yannie can try the Kewpie roasted sesame dressing with those pre-washed salad greens. Add hard boiled eggs or roasted chicken, very sedap!

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  5. I am rather fond of kale too, but then again, I love all of my greens. Malaysia has so many great leafy veg - we are blessed.

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    1. I love all my greens too! Aren't we a healthy bunch LOL!

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  6. I don't think I've eaten kale as I've not come across it in Aeon supermarket. If I do see it, I might buy some to try since it appeases your taste buds (and we do have quite similar tastebuds). ^_~ I'm too lazy to take out the blender to blend dressings. If I need it emulsified, I would put in jar, close the lid and shake vigorously...kekeke! ;)

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    1. hah..hah... I agree that shaking it in a bottle is more practical :) At Aeon they sometimes put the kale together with sawi and other greens. It's not available all the time.

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  7. For me kale is too tough, maybe your method will persuade me to buy it - I cannot convince myself:)

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    1. It is tough, but if you massage it or leave it for a while after tossing, it will become soft.

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  8. kalau selalu PH makan macam ni memang tak lama lagi badan pun slim mlim ni, tapi kalau kaknoor lah tak tau lah dapat ke tak hehee

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  9. A few of my running friends who are very conscious of what they eat absolutely swear by kale.

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  10. i like kale too, but i find that i prefer watercress - watercress just tastes livelier somehow! :)

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  11. wahhhh... too healthy for me, makes me feel guilty for not eating like this! hahaha.. I tried cooking kale before, didn't know they were so tough, now I know, must cut them small and do some "massaging" first!

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  12. Long time never make salad, my mom does not eat salad as she thinks that is "western food" and she cannot accept it, LOL, she says vegetables never cook and eat raw, nice meh?

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  13. I have just tasted kale for the first time about a week ago. They were from my garden, home grown ones. I blanched the kale. Next, I might try using the kale for salad.

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  14. I hope I can get kale on special offer price so that I can have a taste of it.

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  15. sayur kale kalau masak kari memang sedap PH.. kena cuba

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