Hot and Sour Soup Hot and Sour soup was a childhood favorite of mine. I love the mildly spicy, salty and sour broth strewn with egg drops. Diving into it was a treasure hunt. What would I find? A bit of pork, a crunchy bamboo shoot, chewy black fungus or the elusive prawn? Living in…
Author: Natasha
I'm just a busy expat mom who has a psychological need to feed people. I enjoy learning about new cultures, (especially the food) and enjoy experimenting with new ingredients and spices
Pasta Shells Tossed in Bacon & Fresh Tomato Sauce
Pasta, my greatest love… I can’t think of anything more comforting than curling up on the couch after a long day with a big bowl of pasta. It’s my ultimate comfort food and nothing fires up the serotonin in my brain quite like carbs tossed in a tasty sauce and generously dusted with finely grated…
Roasted onions with crispy bacon and blue stilton
Why Roasted Onions? Is it just me or have people forgotten about roasted onions as a side dish? Sure, they are quartered and spread with other root vegetables at the bottom of a roasting tray alongside a gigantic roast where they are cooked until dry, burnt, and no longer edible. But as a stand-alone side…
Turkey stuffed with black pudding and pear
Turkey: the unforgiving bird Turkey is one of those meats that is hard to pull off. No matter the brine, method of cooking or quality of the farm it was raised on, you will always struggle with the inevitable dryness. So why do we bother? Because it’s tradition! Can’t do Thanksgiving or Christmas without a…
The Most Sumptuous Homemade Lamb Stock Around
Lamb bone hot pot Nothing ever hit the spot quite like a Chinese lamb bone hot pot. When it was cold and dreary outside or when everyone succumbed to the same nasty flu, off we went to the lamb bone restaurant. There, huddled around a large bubbly vat of long stewed lamb broth, we put…
Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Chorizo Cassoulet
What’s a cassoulet? Cassoulet is just a fancy French word for casserole. However, this is not your neighborhood weird casserole made from condensed soup and God knows what else. No, this is a FRENCH casserole with meat and white beans slowly cooked together in a, you guessed it, casserole dish which is a traditional deep…
Crispy chicken thighs stuffed with apple and bacon
What’s on your shopping list? For me, I always buy chicken thighs. No offense to the rest of the chicken, but these parts are effortlessly sumptuous. Not only that but thighs (and dark meat in general) are budget-friendly, versatile, culinarily forgiving and beloved by kids. Chicken nuggets are great and all, but crispy roasted chicken…
Cinnamon and Clove Spiced Apple and Pear Crumble
Nothing is easier than a fruit crumble Crumble is one of the easier desserts to make in a short amount of time. Take some fruit, toss it with butter and spice, sprinkle some floured crumble mixture on top and bake in the oven until it is brown and bubbly. Nothing is more beautiful to look…
Deep-Fried Curried Sesame Shrimp/Prawn Toast
How curried shrimp/prawn toast came to be… As is the case with most recipes on this blog, I must say that my husband, or rather his incessant requests, is again responsible for this recipe. To be honest, I had never even heard of shrimp toast (or prawn toast as the Brits like to say) until…
Grilled Thai Lemongrass Pork Jowl / Pork Neck
Pork Shoulder, Belly or Jowl? Which part of the pig is the most flavorful? Well, pork shoulder is always a tasty treat either slow-cooked in a ragu or stir-fried with king oyster mushrooms. It provides just the right amount of hearty meat to fat ratio that makes it oh so delicious. Then again, you can’t…
The Tastiest Homemade Crispy Chicken Tenders
My favorite comfort food Chicken tenders are my weak spot when it comes to food. I simply can’t resist them. As a child, they were my favorite and even now as an adult, I still crave that long chunk of chicken heavily coated in crispy batter and dunked in a creamy ranch sauce. The only…
Fried Pork Chops with Pineapple Thyme Reduction
Whatever happened to pork chops? Do people still eat pork chops? Are they celebrated with great joy and gobbled down with sheer food lust like Homer Simpson? Granted it has been over 13 years since I have lived in my home country so I am not sure if they are still quite as popular…
Mediterranean Lamb and Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers
Lamb stuffed peppers are something that my husband has been bothering me to make for quite a long time. It’s not that I was averse to making them. I simply just had no idea of what kind of direction he wanted the recipe to go in. What kind of peppers? How to season the filling? …
Authentic Restaurant Style Chicken Tikka Masala
The Chicken Tikka Masala Origin Story Chicken Tikka Masala was supposedly born in Glasgow when a customer complained about his chicken curry being dry. To remedy this situation, the restaurant chef added some tomato soup to the mix and VOILA! This British-Indian dish was born. Many people speculate on whether or not this is actually…
Asian Style Pork Ribs in a Spicy Garlic & Honey Sauce
Asian Style pork ribs! Sticky Sweet Spicy Garlic Crispy A child cries at the dining room table. Before her, a small plate of untouched noodles next to a small pile of sparkling clean rib bones. She demands more, more than the hefty portion she was given. Her request for more stems from an instinctive,…
Chinese Crispy Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Beef and Broccoli; a Chinese-American hybrid Growing up in Seattle, beef and broccoli was always my favorite go-to for Chinese takeout. I loved the tenderized beef with broccoli florets that so perfectly soaked up all that brown gravy. Ideal to eat when it was fresh and hot but still good cold the next day for…
The Perfect Crispy Skin Salmon Salad with Avocado
The extraordinary lightness of a delicious salmon salad Perhaps it’s the constant heat here in Malaysia or perhaps I simply have had enough with cleaning dishes piled high but recently I have come around to a nice salmon salad for dinner. For one, it’s easy to throw together after a long day. No slow cooking,…
Spanish style Chorizo and Borlotti Bean Stew
So many requests for Chorizo and bean stew For years my husband has been begging me to make him chorizo and bean stew. So I scoured the internet trying to find one that is suitable to his needs. He was insistent on it being tomato-based and absolutely nothing resembling spinach be found anywhere near it. …
Red Pesto made with Roasted Red Peppers and Cashews
Can’t get enough of roasted red peppers If you are a follower or even a fan of this blog, you’ll know that I love roasted red peppers (also pork belly, pasta and all things chicken but I digress). No offense to fresh, crunchy, raw red peppers, but roasted is where it is at. Soft, sweet…
Healing Chicken Bone Broth made with Fresh Herbs
Chicken Broth heals all Chicken broth is the ultimate comfort food. After all, is there anything more comforting than a warm little mug of this tasty elixir to drink when you’re sick or sad? For the past month or so, I have been sick…TWICE! The first time was a bit of a cold that made…