#ewew makes Salads but not Salad Dressings

One of my favourite meals to have is a salad....but not any salad though.  I'm not a big fan of raw salads, at least not 100% raw.  I used to rely on triple washed mixed salad leaves straight out of a packet for my salads but that was before I discovered the deliciousness of roasted or chargrilled vegetables (and for that, I have phonghongbakes to thank).

Since learning how to make grilled vegetables, I'd much prefer to eat my own cooked salads nowadays...or a salad combination of cooked and raw ingredients is fine too (we don't want to be grazing like a goat according to choiyen.com)....lol!

As much as I like to make and eat salads, I don't make my own salad dressings.  Why would I when I can conveniently pour or squeeze out my favoured dressings direct from a bottle...and that dressing is none other than Kewpie dressing, of course.

But if I did make my own salad dressing, it'll probably be the simplest one with olive oil, lemon juice, honey and a little bit of crushed garlic.  Even before I started buying bottled dressings, I would buy those dressings in small packets or get a salad which comes with a packet of dressing inside.  Now that I eat salads more often and prefer my own cooked salads than raw salad leaves, obviously getting bottled dressings make more sense.

The first Kewpie dressing I tried was Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing.  The first time I had it, I really liked it a lot.  Then the overly robust flavours of the roasted sesame got to me and I couldn't bring myself to finish the last bottle I got.

So, I moved on to Kewpie's Thousand Island Dressing.  Now I've always loved Thousand Island dressing as it's the one I'm always drawn to when I find myself at the salad counters of buffets even when there were loads of other dressings I could choose from.

Thousand Island has always been my no. 1 favourite dressing and Kewpie's Thousand Island Dressing is light and tangy and not too sourish or too sweet.

I'm all for anything that's tangy and zesty as I find the dressing stimulates my appetite especially on days when I don't have much of an appetite.

Then I saw this Hellman's Smoky Thousand Island Dressing advertisement on Astro.  Since I love Thousand Island dressing, I thought why not try a different brand.

Hellman's Smoky Thousand Island Dressing has a much thicker consistency than Kewpie's and also a more robust and punchy flavour.  Because of this, you can afford to put less dressing otherwise it can be a little cloying if you put too much.

And because this one is smoky Thousand Island, I did get that light smoky taste which differentiates it from Kewpie's.  It's not as light as Kewpie's and I also find it a little sweeter, so go easy on the amount.

One day when I was browsing through the supermarket, I noticed a new roasted sesame dressing, Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing with Yuzu Taste.  This must be their new take on their regular roasted sesame dressing which now comes with yuzu flavour.

After finding Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing too salty for my taste buds (I suppose you could add some honey to balance out the saltiness), I'm glad to say it is now back in favour with me but only the one that says Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing with Yuzu Taste.

That fruity, light tartness of yuzu (I find) cuts through the saltiness of the roasted sesame which makes it appetite inducing and that much more welcoming in taste.

Besides my 'go to' favourite trio of salad dressings, I also have a trio of seasonings that I must have in my pantry at all times and these staples are McCormick's Black Peppercorn Grinder, Sea Salt Grinder and Garlic Pepper Seasoning Grinder (grinder versions only...hehe).

Before they had the grinder version, I used to buy ground black pepper to sprinkle on my mushroom soup or any other types of soup before realising that the black pepper was too fine.  Then I changed to coarse black pepper and found it to be more fragrant and you can actually taste the black pepper coz it's coarse.  Of course they also sold whole black peppercorns which was wonderful coz nothing beats freshly cracked black pepper but it was inconvenient to have to put it into a grinder of our own.

So, when whole peppercorns came packaged together with an all-in grinder, it was ingenious!  The smell of freshly cracked black pepper is just different...and I love the sound of pepper being grinded like it's so authentic...lol.  There's even a setting (three actually) as to how fine you want your black pepper, so you can have it really fine or coarse as you wish.  I've not bought any other bottle ever since.  Yes, I pay a little bit more for this convenience but it's so worth it.  Forget about those bottles of ground black pepper, coarse black pepper or whole black peppercorns....just get this everything-in-one (with grinder function) will suffice! ^_~

The same goes for the sea salt grinder which I like to use this for my western cooking coz it's not as salty as table salt (which I use for Chinese cooking) + it just sounds that much more genuine when you grind it out from a bottle! :D  That way your family or guests also get to tweak the food to the level of saltiness they desire.

The final bottle is just a combination of black pepper, sea salt and garlic (+ red & green bell peppers) that I like to use to season almost anything and everything.  I use them as seasonings for meats, potatoes and vegetables....I sometimes even sprinkle them on fries and fresh salads! ;)

When it comes to the protein component of any salad, nothing beats a freshly roasted, tender and juicy chicken leg.  Of course you'll need to shred or tear out the meat from the chicken leg.

If I don't make roasted chicken, a protein of grilled or pan-fried chicken tenderloin will do just as well too for me.  Some salads are so good on its own, I don't even need a dressing...lol.

The other protein I like to use are sauteed large, juicy, charred prawns but I don't know if that qualifies as a prawn salad....or a prawn dish?  Kekeke!

Of course, bacon is another excellent choice as a protein.

And when you really don't have any protein in your fridge, even potatoes and hard-boiled eggs will do fine too.

For the vegetable component, it's quite obvious (from the photos of my salads) that I tend to use the same few ones which I think work really well in a salad of roasted vegetables and they include broccoli, cauliflower, red & green capsicum (all colours but red is my ultimate favourite because of the sweetness it brings), onions, cherry tomatoes and fresh button mushrooms.

And the best thing is, roasted vegetable salads keep really well as leftovers.  If kept in the fridge, you just need to reheat it in the toaster oven and it'll be as good as new.

When I get tired of cooking, tired of eating my own cooking or don't know what to cook, a salad is what I'd fall back on all the time.  Not only is it easy to make, it's nutritious, it's healthy and it keeps well as leftovers. It's great as a main meal or a side dish to your main meal. ^o^