
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
Ten years ago, if you told me that I would be making my own delicious Blueberry Vanilla Jam for breakfast, I would have thought you were crazy.
Continue ReadingTen years ago, if you told me that I would be making my own delicious Blueberry Vanilla Jam for breakfast, I would have thought you were crazy.
Continue ReadingMes amis, this is it, my hands are trembling in anticipation as I type this. A lot of pumpkin puree and eggs were sacrificed in the search for this recipe but nevertheless here it is—the perfect combination of Pumpkin cake and Graham Cracker Cream Cheese Buttercream (GCCCB) frosting. It is abso-freaking-lutely delicious.
Continue ReadingWhat if I told you that you can easily make your own strawberry jam at home, without preservatives and added pectin? It’s true! Making strawberry jam is a super easy process and just requires a bit of time and patience. You will ask yourself why you didn't try it sooner!
Continue ReadingSage salt is incredibly easy to make at home. Use this recipe to enhance the flavours of pork, chicken, fish and other meats. Flavoured salt is an excellent way to bring a different taste to your dishes and up your culinary game. It also makes an unique gift or party favour once packaged into small airtight jars.
Continue ReadingMy mother, who is an incredibly talented cook, taught me that adding cornstarch is the trick to giving any watery sauce some thickness in most Chinese cuisine.
If you’ve ever been to Chinese dim sum, you’ve most likely had this dish before—Steamed Black Bean Spare Ribs. I can never say no to the simple yet magical combination of black beans and pork ribs. They are one of my favourite things to eat at dim sum, and I’ve learned to enjoy its saucy texture over the years. My recent craving for it had me running to the local TNT Chinese supermarket where I bought a bag of Chinese dried black beans to experiment. Little did I know it was so easy (and fast) to cook!
I’ll let you know that shopping for Chinese dried black beans was no easy feat. There were many brands to choose from and it didn’t help that I had heard of many horror stories about toxic chemicals and fake foods coming out of China. In the end, I went patriotic and bought one of the brands that originated from Hong Kong. Whichever one you purchase, make sure the black beans are dry and without sauce, if you are following my recipe.
Chinese dried black beans don’t look very appetizing, that’s for sure. However, what they lack in looks they make up in the intense salty fermented flavour. This ingredient is usually the main player in any dish that calls for it and a little bit goes a long way. I would also recommend trying these black beans with a bowl of plain white rice and a fried egg. Just thinking about this combination gets me drooling—once you try it, you will understand.
My mother, who is an incredibly talented cook, taught me that adding cornstarch is the trick to giving any watery sauce some thickness in most Chinese cuisine. One of the defining characteristics of black bean pork ribs is its thick saucy glaze, which is why this recipe uses a lot of cornstarch. If you don’t like this texture, you can dial it down by reducing this ingredient.
Pan-Fried Soft Shell Crab is extremely easy to prepare and cook. The basics are as follows: butter, soft shell crab, a pan and heat. Add some garlic and a squirt of lemon and you have a mouth-watering appetizer on your plate—one with a crispy outer shell filled with sweet juicy crab meat.
There are a million and one ways to cook potatoes. They can be grilled, boiled, sautéed, braised, mashed, baked, and microwaved. Yes—microwaved. I used to have a coworker who would microwave potatoes for lunch, whenever I saw the microwave timer set for 7 minutes or more, I knew there was a potato rotating in that microwave.
There are a million and one ways to cook potatoes. They can be grilled, boiled, sautéed, braised, mashed, baked & microwaved. Yes—microwaved.
If you’ve ever had a Korean meal, chances are, the main dish was preceded by a bunch of small appetizer dishes containing foods like dried fish, pickled carrot, fish cakes, kimchi, and potatoes. These little dishes are called banchan. One of my favourite banchans is Kamja Jorim, which is a chilled braised potato dish. My version of this is sweet n’ spicy braised potatoes which be served hot as a family style dish or chilled and served as a banchan.