I thought I'd try something new today. So, I made a clip of how I prepare my favourite dressing using ingredients very commonly found in a Malaysian home. I do hope you like it. Do forgive the occasional hitch in the recording. I promise to improve but this was such a fun project. I learnt loads!

I invite you to share the fun with me during class (Lesson: Conversations this week) ! There are a few ways we can do this:

- Do your own voice-over over my clip; or
- A conversation class over the contents of my clip. You may ask questions, share comments. Essentially, you have the opportunity to speak in English on something that tickles your fancy.

Or you may have your ideas of how you'd like to use this. Whatever it is, write and let me know. I'd love to hear from you.

Note:
Music credits to: Someone Else's Memories, Musician: So Vea, Album: So Vea, Source: https://www.vcg.com/

Transcript of Video clip:

Today, I'm sharing with you how I make one of my favourite salad dressings. Here are the ingredients.

The lime or limau kasturi in Malay. Full of citrusy and zesty flavours. It enlivens any dish you use it in. When I'm out of lime, I use lemons, even apple cider vinegar.

This is lemon grass or daun serai.

Coriander or cilantro, known as daun ketumbar in Malay.

I like a little bit of heat in my dressing and that comes from the chilli. Use any type you like, there are so many varieties out there. You decide the spiciness level.

These are mint leaves. I even use the tender stems. I don't like to waste. There's no wastage in this kitchen.

And this is the star ingredient - the torch ginger flower or known as bunga kantan in Malay. It's gorgeous to look at. It adds a very distinct tanginess to the dressing. A very showy flower in full bloom, it brings a sharp ginger-like bite and shades of citrus to the dish.

Here it is, all sliced - layers and layers of flavour.

All the other ingredients are chopped up. Throw them into a blender or food processor. Squeeze out the lime juice. I've also added in honey, salt, pepper, ginger, a few swirls of soya sauce and sesame oil.

By now, you're probably thinking: how much of each ingredient? Well, no exact formula. It's all according to your taste. How sour, how sweet, hot, depends on how you like it, doesn't it?

Blend - bring it all together.

The finished product. Use it on the side to go with noodles, if you like.

I'm going to throw a few ingredients together for my salad mix.

In counter clockwise direction, starting from the right, the bright red fruits are the wax apples, purple carrots, green apple, celery and cucumber. Chop them all up and arrange them into a plateful of colour. Pour in the dressing and toss everything together. I like mine completely drenched in flavour.

Enjoy!



Postscript added on 8 Oct 2023: Note: Thank you to those who have written to let me know you enjoy reading my column but daren't take a lesson because there are parts you don't really understand. I assure you we'll always speak at a level which suits you so that we can enjoy a casual conversation. Also, we can go through words and sentences that are difficult so that we learn together. Perhaps, they will be easy then and we'll always have something to talk about. No stress!