#ewew makes Mixed Salad with Roasted Sesame Dressing

Taking inspiration from The Yum List on healthy eating options, I decided to make a Mixed Salad with Roasted Sesame Dressing.  I always resort to making salads for lunch whenever I can (or when I feel a wee bit guilty after indulging in unhealthy food) + I actually love eating salads.

I've always enjoyed salads tossed in a sesame and vinaigrette dressing when dining out and (so) decided to go get a bottle after I saw it on Phong Hong's blog.

Ingredients:

1/2 a 125g bag of mixed salad leaves
6 cherry tomatoes (red & yellow)
3 chicken fillets
1 egg
A handful of Chinese coriander
A handful of walnuts
Extra virgin olive oil
A squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & black pepper

Preparation:

Season the chicken fillets with salt and black pepper.  [#Tip: I like to use chicken fillets as I find that they're (still a bit dry but) not as dry as chicken breasts...this is supposed to be a healthy salad, so must stick with a lean cut of chicken :p]

Finely chop some Chinese coriander (discard the stalks).

Prepare the vinaigrette with a glug of extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and black pepper to taste and a good squeeze of lemon juice.  Jamie Oliver always puts his vinaigrette in a bottle (and I've always wanted to do that)...and so I did!  It's so convenient...close the lid and shake the bottle.

Cut the cherry tomatoes into half (I cut mine lengthwise).

Method:

Pan-fry the chicken fillets in extra virgin olive oil.

Add the finely chopped Chinese coriander into a beaten egg.  Fry the egg in some extra virgin olive oil.

Slice the cooked chicken fillets and coriander omelette.  [#Tip: I know that a coriander omelette may seem strange to some but, if you like the fragrance of coriander, this omelette adds a perfumy note to the salad.]

Toast a handful of walnuts for 2 - 3 mins until you get a bit of colour on your walnuts (I do this in a toaster oven).

Empty half the bag of the ready mixed salad into a large bowl.  I've not enjoyed my previous salads as much until I found this one that contains a mixture of crisp lettuce, butter hearts, red coral, radicchio, red oak leaf and wild rocket (by Genting Garden) probably because it's a mixture of salad leaves (so not as boring as just one or two types of leaves).  I also like to get this one because of the convenience...yay, it's triple washed (you know)...so, I can trust that no further rinsing whatsoever is required (I hate washing salad leaves coz if you don't drain them well, your salad is ruined)! :(

Next, add the cut cherry tomatoes, toasted walnuts, sliced chicken fillets and coriander omelette.  

This is the bottle of Kewpie Deep-roasted Sesame Dressing (RM13.90 for 170ml) which is similar to the one Phong Hong got (but mine is in Japanese and it's deep-roasted)....more authentic kua...kekeke!! ;D  Pour the vinaigrette over the salad leaves and add a drizzle of roasted sesame dressing (be careful not to put too much as the sesame paste is quite salty...do a taste test).  Toss everything together!  [#Tip: Always dress your salad at the last min (when you're ready to eat) to prevent the leaves from going limp.]

And here's my ready-to-eat Mixed Salad with Chicken, Coriander Omelette and Walnuts in a Roasted Sesame Dressing...phew, that's a mouthful!  It's pretty and colourful too, don't you think?

I've not enjoyed the previous salads I made as much coz I used just a simple vinaigrette (of olive oil, salt, black pepper and lemon juice) as the dressing.  I like it a lot better as it's a lot more flavourful with the roasted sesame paste.

The other reason why I liked this more is because of the use of mixed salad leaves and the addition of the coriander omelette and toasted walnuts.  All the different mixed salad leaves brought a different flavour to the salad...and coupled with the fragrant coriander omelette and crunch of the walnuts, this was a good salad :-)

Serves 1 (as a main meal) or 2 - 3 (as a side salad)