A paw full of spice makes everything nice
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…
Sticky Sweet Spicy Garlic Crispy Asian Style pork ribs! 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,…
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 lunch or, if you are so…
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 fan of it back then. However, if…
Rogan Josh is delicious mutton or lamb curry: the name 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 was tender bits of lamb with spices. The entire dish is as comforting…
How do I describe this pork and king oyster mushrooms 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 little…
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 want…
How curry laksa was born 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 remains a delicious staple in Malaysia…
Chana Masala, the humble curry Chana masala 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,…
If you are what you eat, than I am a mess of pork belly. This fatty pork remains my Achilles heal 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 humble opinion, no (vast)…
What is Uyghur food? Some of the best food in China can be found in Xinjiang province, located in Western China and typically halal and more reminiscent of middle Eastern cuisine than of anything you would recognize from your local takeaway. Popular dishes of this region are barbequed spiced lamb, hand-pulled…
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 is…
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 I felt ill,…
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 make…
My happy place is under a beach umbrella on Ang Bang Beach near Hoi An, Vietnam. The sand is soft and white and the water is warm. Locals rent out lounge chairs complete with umbrella and deliver cold drinks and homemade food straight to you from their own fridges…
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 the…
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – no one cooks better vegetarian and vegan food than countries in Asia. Some of my favorite foods are vegetarian and vegan: Karela chips from India, traditional Bibimbap from South Korea, tofu of all kinds, and of course, any vegetarian Indian…
Crispy pork belly, oh how much do I love thee! Of all the parts of the pig, pork belly might be my favorite cut. I’ve cooked it in a thyme and orange juice sauce, sage and cider sauce or my personal favorite: soy, ginger and garlic (surely one of the…
For a long time, I didn’t know what Mulligatawny was. What was this soup that my husband kept asking me to make? So, I did a little research and found that this dish is yet another British hybrid of an Indian recipe only this time made with added beef, thickeners…
Sweet, salty and spicy ginger and garlic fried chicken will make you reconsider the healing properties of fried chicken