Thai-Inspired Salmon and Kale Salad

I love salad, particularly any salad with avocado.  Add a thai-inspired vinaigrette, kale and roasted salmon, and I might be in love. This salad is often my brown bag lunch of choice, though some nights it makes for a great dinner. I particularly enjoy it after my gym workout, when I have just spent 45 minutes lifting weights, and I feel like continuing my health kick.

The vinaigrette is inspired by David Chang's recipe. I know, fish sauce sounds weird. It is weird. It's basically a sauce made out of anchovies and salt. But, I do promise it will add flavor to this salmon, and bring in a taste of Southeast Asia. I keep it stocked in my fridge for faux pho and green curry. I promise it sounds weird, but give the poor fish sauce a chance! It'll be a match made in heaven.

Go get your workout on, then come back and revel in this healthy Thai-inspired salad.

Thai-Inspired Salmon and Kale Salad

The vinaigrette will make more than enough salad dressing; store it in the fridge to use for the rest of the week!

Fish sauce vinaigrette:

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Juice of one lime

1/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar, but any type is fine)

1/2 inch cube whole ginger

1 garlic clove

A few drops of Sriracha

Salad:

3/4 cup of chopped kale

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1 shallot, chopped into small pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 3oz fillet of roasted salmon

• Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor.

• Blend until the vinaigrette ingredients are well combined.

• Combine the kale, carrots, shallot, pepper, and avocado in a bowl.  Toss with two tablespoons of fish sauce vinaigrette. 
• Place the salad onto your serving plate. Add the roasted salmon.  Add additional vinaigrette according to your tastes. 

Thai Green Curry

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your week has been off to a great start. In just three more days, it will be the weekend again, where you can go back to relaxing in pajamas all day, drinking coffee in bed, and exploring your wonderful city.

In the meantime, you need to survive three days of work.  And if you're anything like me, it's not just work, but also the gym, grocery shopping, learning French, reading for my book club, and volunteering. Tuesdays are typically the toughest in terms of trying to get everything done because I spend 2.5 hours in the early evening at BUILD, a national non-profit. I rush to get into work early so I can finish work by 4:30pm, spend 4:30pm-7pm at BUILD, and then often go to the gym afterwards. By the time I get home from BUILD, I am ready for bed.

And that's where this Thai Green Curry comes in. Ready in less than 20 minutes, this curry is flavorful, healthy, and best of all, great for lunch the next day.

Thai Green Curry

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 package green curry paste

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup canned coconut milk

1 sweet potato, diced

Juice from one lemon

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1.5 cans chickpeas, rinsed

1 bell pepper, diced

Prepared brown rice or white rice

• In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add in the chopped onions, and stir occasionally until they start to wilt.   

• Next, add in the curry paste, and let it heat up for about 30 seconds.
• Pour in the chicken broth and coconut milk.  Stir in the sweet potatoes, lime juice, and fish sauce.  Let the sauce simmer on medium heat until the sweet potatoes are tender. 

•  Then, add in the chickpeas and the chopped bell pepper.  Cook over medium heat until heated thoroughly. The bell peppers should still have a little bit of crunch to them!
• Serve with brown or white steamed rice.