A paw full of spice makes everything nice
Advertisements When it comes to cauliflower, give it all you got Cauliflower has been big in the last 5 years thanks to the Keto crowd who make everything from rice to pizza crust out of it. Unfortunately for me, I just never was that big of a fan. Cauliflower always struck me as bland…
Advertisements What is lamb flank? Anything labeled as flank is usually a tough cut of meat taken from the abdomen or lower chest. Lamb flanks are normally used in soups and stews where they are slow-cooked over a long period of time to get tender and release all the lamb-y goodness. I first came…
Advertisements 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…
Advertisements 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…
Advertisements 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…
Advertisements 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…
Advertisements 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…
Advertisements How my love of curry began Years ago I decided to expand my culinary horizons by attending a Pakistani cooking class and this curry, Aloo Palak or Pakistani Spinach curry was one of the first things I made. At that time, I knew nothing about Indian and Pakistani cuisine. I wasn’t even a big…
Advertisements What is a Rogan Josh? Rogan Josh is a delicious red curry most notably made with lamb or mutton. The name, Rogan Josh, literally means ‘stewed in butter’. No wonder I love it so much. I can’t think of anything that I wouldn’t like if it was slow-cooked in butter. Especially if that something…
Advertisements How do I describe this pork and king oyster mushroom stir-fry? Well, it’s difficult to put in words. Have you ever eaten something that made you question why you don’t eat that exact same thing every day? A food that is so tasty, so layered in flavor, succulent, juicy, salty and just a…
Advertisements China is a great place for food. Cumin dusted lamb and noodles in the West, spicy cuisine from Szechuan province, fried delicacies in Yunnan, dumplings in the North…I could go on but I get too hungry to finish the list. However, if your taste runs more to the sweet than savory, you might…
Advertisements The birth of Curry Laksa Laksa is the result of two cultures coming together. The story goes that when Chinese immigrants settled in Malaysia, they married locals who learned to cook Chinese recipes but put their own twist on them by using local ingredients. Hence, Peranakan cuisine (aka Nyonya cuisine) was born and still…
Advertisements Chana Masala, the humble chickpea curry Chickpea curry does not have the ‘pizazz’ that some Indian dishes seem to carry. There aren’t any bright colors nor does this curry give off that chili pepper heat that makes you sweat. It’s a simple curry with simple ingredients, like the humble chickpea, simmered in a tomato…
Advertisements Pork Belly Forever If you are what you eat, then I am a mess of pork belly. This fatty pork remains my Achilles heel of food weaknesses. Granted I don’t eat it as much as I want but, when I do, it has to be cooked to perfection. Now, in my…
Advertisements Tasty little buns For me, Uyghur food from Xinjiang holds a special place in my heart. When I first started dating my husband we were seeing each other long-distance – meeting up every two weeks or so. Before parting ways, we would indulge in a local Uyghur restaurant where we would…
Advertisements I first learned how to make karaage (kara a gee) chicken in a Japanese cooking class whilst living in Beijing. That was where I learned that coating things in cornstarch and frying until crispy was inspired by Chinese cooking to which I say, thank you China. For me, karaage chicken…
Advertisements Heal me with Chinese wontons Before I had my beautiful daughter, life was carefree! Sure, I’ll have another beer. Why not stay out late on a Saturday night? Hey, let’s go away for the weekend! I had so many opportunities to spend my extra money and extra time. Especially when I became sick. If…
Advertisements I could go on and on about how salty, sweet, crunchy, satisfying and generally great this lemongrass chicken stir-fry can be in a long story. Or I can just get down to the reasons why I love this recipe so much: It’s easy It’s quick It’s healthy It’s cheap to…
Advertisements Dreams of travel and food This Pork Banh Mi (Vietnamese Pork Sandwich) is inspired by the flavors of Vietnam. If you haven’t gone, I suggest booking a trip sooner rather than later. Beautiful scenery, friendly locals and delectable food. Haunted by bread and pork Each and every time I visited this beautiful country,…
Advertisements Wok-fried beef noodles are my go-to ‘meh…not really feeling like putting in that much effort dish’. You know that feeling. Even people such as myself who love to cook can sometimes just get tired of it. That’s why I love this simple recipe. Just marinate the beef, chop up…