Open Face Sandwich with Spinach, Avocado, Smoked Salmon & Special Shrimp

Made a very simple lunch for myself today as I wasn't hungry from all the feasting done last night. So, I pulled a few items from the fridge and made this simple open face sandwich but you can always opt to make it a clean salad.

Ingredients:
1 slice of bread, toasted (I used wholewheat)
1/2 avocado, sliced or cut into chunks
3 slices of smoked salmon
1 cup of spinach
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 dessert spoon of balsamic vinegar (as a dressing)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Toast your bread and while it's toasting, fry your garlic until it's golden brown.
2. Sautee your spinach with the garlic until they're all wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Don't add too much salt because the smoked salmon will add salt to the meal
3. Once the toast is done, put the spinach at the base followed by a few slices of avocado
4. Place the salmon slices on top of the avocado before piling on the rest of the avocado
5. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over everything

As you can see from the photo, I added a little something extra on top of it all. It's called Haebi Hiam, which literally means "Spicy Dried Shrimp" and is a special gift from my uncle! :) <3

He made a WHOLE batch for me and this involves a lot of work - pounding the dried shrimp with a mortar and pestle, pounding the chilli and belachan before frying everything slowly so that it doesn't get burnt. My uncle makes THE BEST Haebi Hiam ever and this is where the Peranakan side of me stands out loud and proud. So be prepared to see more random sprinkling of this in my food.

Haebi hiam is used in shrimp rolls and they're usually eaten during Chinese New Year, although some food brands sell them as snacks all year round. For us Singaporeans, we also like to eat this with bread or rice as a fragrant and spicy topping. Found out today that it goes really well in a salad too. My friends ate some of the haebi hiam last night and they too were saying that it's really good! Nothing beats the homemade stuff. Hmm...I should get the recipe from mum and uncle soon.