I had one of my spur-of-the-moment urges and bought this salad recipe book from the office vendo yesterday. I normally read whatever cookbook is available every time I eat my packed lunch and on several occasions, I photocopy pages that interest me. What I like about this book is that it is very similar to how I prepare quick and healthy dishes. Sample baga… imbes na igisa ang baboy at gulay pinoy style, i-steam ko lang ang gulay tapos may kung anong sauce at toppings na pan-fried steak or whatever. Aba! In this book, it is called Asian-style salad. Sosi, diba? Napabili tuloy ako.

Lemme tell you how I use a recipe book. I look at the ingredients first and foremost. I don’t get intimidated by unknown ingredient. I wanna know if the boys would like it. The more I know about the ingredient, the better I could experiment with it or substitute with another.

This morning while the kiddo is having his karate lessons, I read the book so I could plan what to buy and eventually prep for lunch. A tweak here and there and voila! Pinoy pa din syempre, ulam sa kanin. The verdict: tagumpay sya! The kiddo rated it 4.5 stars (with 5 as the highest). May mga star-rating pang nalalaman itong aking ever-faithful fan, ewan ko ba at kinuripot pa ang 0.5….

Ingredients:
Peeled cooked shrimps (our left-over)
Smoked salmon shavings (kiddo’s fave)
River spinach (kangkong)
Lettuce leaves
Watercress (thin stems and small leaves only)
Red and yellow capsicums, sliced into thin strips
Hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Dressing:
Juice of cooked shrimp heads
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsbp chopped fresh coriander
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 small red chili, seeded and diced (optional)

Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. Stir-fry capsicums over high heat and cook for a minute. Drain and set aside. Add kangkong in a pot of boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a strainer and refresh under cold running water. Drain and set aside.

To make the dressing, put all ingredients into a bowl and mix.

(If you like most of your salad ingredients warm, microwave shrimp for a minute. And if you do, add the shrimp juices to the dressing.) Arrange kangkong, watercress, lettuce and egg on a serving dish, then scatter half of the cooked capsicums. Top with shrimps and salmon shavings, then scatter over the remaining capsicums. Drizzle over the dressing and serve.

Hmm, looks like it’s still good for La.Pi.S Seafood.

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.