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You'll see oysters incorporated in a lot of Taiwanese cuisine: pancakes, soups, noodle dishes and more. It is an island after all. Oyster omelet is a classic dish in Taiwan, and I prefer sweeter Pacific oysters for this. Traditionally, some sort of starch is incorporated into the egg batter so you get this mochi-like texture. To be honest, I get grossed out when it's too "stretchy" or sticky, especially in an egg dish, because it tastes like it is under-cooked. Ugh.
Happy Lunar New Year! [Insert long copy here about my Chinese grandmother.] I decided to do what I do best: destroy things by taking inspiration from Chinese Longevity Noodles.
For 4 servings:
Soak suan cai in a bowl of water -- make sure it is completely submerged -- for about 30 minutes. You only need about half of what's in the packaging (a standard package for this has about 8-ounces). Drain and squeeze/press dry with a clean kitchen towel. Chop.
In a heavy bottom sauté pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic. Sauté for 1 minute. Add ground beef (or tofu) and chopped mushrooms. Sauté, breaking apart ground beef, for about 7-10 minutes until the meat is completely cooked. Add chopped suan cia, soy sauce, black bean paste, sugar, and broth. Bring it to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare noodles to package directions. Drain noodles and transfer to the sauté pan. Gently mix everything together before serving.
I like garnishing mine with some fried shallots and sliced green onions.
For dinner tonight, homemade congee -- savory rice porridge -- that sticks to the bone.
For 4 servings:
Congee:
Combine all the ingredients together in a small pot. Bring to a boil; simmer on the stove for at least 1-hour and cooked down to desired texture. (I don’t like my rice too broken down.)
Common congee seasonings include green onions, ginger, roasted peanuts, egg, pork floss and so much more. But for this recipe, I added duck to mine!
Duck Breast (the lazy air-fryer version) -- Optional:
Pat dry the skin on the duck breast with a clean paper towel. Score the skin with a crosshatch pattern. Add seasonings and oil on the skin, spreading evenly. Cook in an air fryer at 400F for 15 minutes -- the internal temperature should be around 130F. Slice before serving with congee.
A wilting bunch of green onions was the source of inspiration for this spicy chimichurri-like sauce. Don't waste food even if it's ugly!
I'm honestly all about making things easier too: that's why I like sauces that COULD serve as a marinade or a condiment. This is that recipe.
For almost 1/4 cup of sauce:
Sauté together vegetable oil, sliced green onions and minced garlic until fragrant (and the garlic is basically fried!). In a small heat safe container, transfer the hot green onion and garlic mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients; stir. Serve on meat, fish or even plain noodles.
I had this amazing red snapper and crab stew with breadfruit at Moon Bar (Boston) a few weeks ago. It was one of those rare dishes that I couldn't stop thinking about. I wanted to make a version of this at home, taking inspiration from Nigerian stews but also use southeast Asian flavors.
An ingredient I used for this dish are chrysanthemum greens. These can be found in Asian grocery stores, although it may be labeled as tong ho/tónghāo. It tastes a lot like spinach, but the longer you cook it the more peppery and bitter it comes.
I like the winter holidays. The comfort food, cringey holiday movies that I secretly love and forgiveness of excuses to stay indoors. No place for a "but it's so nice outside!" response when it's freezing out! I admire people that just nope out of a situation or event, without an excuse. But there's something about that, that is damn true: as adults, must we always have an excuse for everything? Why can't we just...not do something? And hell yes to eating candy for breakfast. You're an adult now.
For 2 servings:
🎶 Put it all together in a pot 🎶 and stir it all around until the cheese is melted 🎶 Thank you for reading my lazily written post.
肉圓 (or "bawan") is a Taiwanese street food that can be translated as “meat circle.” It’s a savory meat filled meatball encased in a sweet potato starch shell. Traditionally steamed, you can also find them fried and pan fried. It's also a sticky pain in the ass to make sometimes. I worked on this shortcut version, that's a little less of a sticky mess.
A note about Taiwanese chili sauce, the one ingredient that really makes this dish. It has the consistency of ketchup, but it's equally sweet and spicy. Imagine trying to slap together ketchup, sweet chili sauce (the orangish-kind that looks kind of clear) and chili pepper flakes. It's kind of like that.
Back in the day (like 10 years ago), I would post at least once a week. Sometimes several times a week. How did I find time to do that? No idea. Nowadays, my life is filled with meetings, child care pick-up, date nights with my husbands, travel, and other things I stopped blogging about. I don't want to be posting about everything, but at some point, posting about everything became a habit. Is it a sign of a specific generation? Boredom? Humble bragging?
I created this fish dish the other day. If you don't have access to black bass, it can easily be substituted with another flaky white fish. I swear one of these days, I will be posting less seafood recipes. I'm just really REALLY into it lately.
This is one of my favorite dishes from Taiwan...but I feel like I say something is my favorite is quite often. I'm a little homesick for the island that's rich in seafood and fruit. The plan is to be able to take my daughter there in the near future and I can't wait to show her our roots.
For 4 servings (adapted from Cathy Erway's The Food of Taiwan):
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook until fragrant. Add rice wine and sauce sauce. Bring it to a soft boil. Carefully add clams and cook until the clams are opened. Stir in basil and transfer contents into a serving platter.
Brown Sugar Steamed Cake 黑糖糕 is a specialty in the Taiwanese archipelago called Penghu. It's fluffy and slightly chewy with a deep molasses flavor. What's challenging about this particular cake, is that the flavor is a very specific Taiwanese brown sugar flavor: it's not as sweet as the conventional brown sugar from your local grocery store and it has this rich, slightly smokey-salty aroma to it. You CAN find Taiwanese brown sugar at some East Asian grocery stores or order it online somewhere, but I don't like waiting for ingredients to come in and I wanted something with ingredients that are a little more accessible.
This recipe does have sweet potato flour and this kind of flour may not even be on your radar. (You may not even know it exists!). Thanks to the growing demand and need for gluten-free, you can find them in most grocery stores. I stuck to the Taiwanese sweet potato flour that I already had in my pantry.
This is part of a paid partnership with Halo Top®
Daylight savings got you down? Maybe you’re dreaming about a little tropical escape too! From now until November 20, Halo Top fans can enter the sweeps by visiting www.halotoplightenup.com after sunset (ET) when the Daylight Saving Time darkness descends, for a chance to win a trip to Rio de Janeiro, and other great prizes.
You can also step into a warm weather mindset with this warm-weathered inspired recipe: pan-fried bananas with cinnamon-sugar brings out the salty caramel flavor of the creamy Vanilla Caramel Milkshake Halo Top ice cream.
For 2 servings:
In a nonstick skillet, heat canola or vegetable oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Slice the bananas; toss banana slices into sugar-cinnamon mixture.
Spread banana evenly around skillet. Cook each side for 1 ½ to 2 minutes or until the sugar is caramelized. Let bananas cool to room-temperature.
Divide Halo Top® between two glasses or bowls. Top with bananas.
Thank you Karo® Syrup for sponsoring this post. Celebrate sweet moments together with Karo®!
You might be familiar with caramel or candied apples, but meet Tanghulu! This Northern Chinese treat is versatile for many different kinds of fruit. It’s traditionally made with a fruit called hawberry or hawthorn, which are like tiny apples. And similar to caramel apples, you get that sweet, sticky exterior except each bite is crunchy and it doesn’t stick to your teeth. I love the contrast of biting into Tanghulu with softer fruits like strawberries and grapes. Grapes are a particular favorite of mine because the sugar sticks to them so well. They end up looking like glass blueberries. The smooth texture of my Tanghulu recipe is made possible because of the sugar mixture it is dipped in. The key ingredient? Karo Syrup.
You might already know of Karo Syrup, because it is in so many classic American treats: marshmallows, fudges, caramels, pies, and scotcheroos...the list goes on. In a commercial kitchen, chefs often use it so they can produce all those treats at scale. I depend on its versatility to balance the sweetness and smoothen the textures of desserts. For this dessert, it allows the flavors of the fruit to shine through.
This recipe makes enough for about a pound of fruit -- I used a mix of cut apricots, oranges, grapes, berries, and kiwi. I highly encourage and recommend experimenting with Tanghulu using different kinds of fruits -- it’s such a fun dessert to make with older kids but it can be a visual showstopper for cocktails and other desserts.
Before we dive into the recipe, here are materials you’ll need:
Now onto the recipe!
This is part of a paid partnership with Halo Top®
We’re getting into cozy sweater and holiday overindulgence season, but before you reach for that PSL with extra whip (or whatever it is that sets your mood for fall), there’s a new dessert in town and it comes in the form of pumpkin pie ice cream. Yep, Halo Top Pumpkin Pie tastes just like rich and creamy pumpkin pie – even with the 360-calorie label. Plus, delicious treats shouldn’t have the guilt attached to it. Now, kick it up a notch by turning it into an ice cream roll. You’ll see.
Want to try the Pumpkin Pie flavor? Or perhaps another flavor catches your eye? Find a store near you.
For 3-4 servings:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a quarter sheet baking pan (13-by-9 inches) with parchment paper. Lightly spray with a baking spray. In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, mix together the egg yolk egg yolks, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, vanilla, oil and milk on low speed until creamy and well-incorporated.
Sift-in the cake flour and baking powder. Mix on low speed until it is smooth and creamy.
In another clean mixing bowl for your standing mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat again for another minute. Add the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, a half tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg yolk batter mixture, into the fluffy meringue mixture until just combined. Do not stir and the color may not be evenly spread.
Spread the batter onto the parchment paper lined pan. Bake for 10 minutes until the tops of the cake are golden. Remove the cake from the pan by sliding it off with the parchment paper, onto a clean kitchen towel; you may need to cut along the edge of the pan to ensure the cake is not sticking to the sides. Once the cake is warm to touch, roll the shortest side of the cake with the kitchen towel. Let the cake cool completely in the rolled-up towel.
Meanwhile, let the Halo Top® Pumpkin Pie pint soften, about 15-20 minutes.
Spread the entire pint of Halo Top® Pumpkin Pie evenly on top of the cake. Roll the cake. Freeze the ice cream cake roll for 4 hours before serving.
Crust off or on? The crust is usually kept off for this particular kind of egg sandwich, but frankly, I just can’t be bothered.
For 1 sandwich:
In a mixing bowl, mash 2 eggs with milk, kewpie, sugar and salt until the eggs are smashed into sunflower seed sized chunky bits. Note: You can smash the third egg if you like, but I like having a whole egg in there!
Butter the milk bread slices, but only on one side. Spread egg filling on the buttered side of the bread. Put the hard-boiled egg in the middle if you did not mash all three eggs. Slice in a half and serve.
I don’t share a lot of chicken recipes because...I don’t particularly care for chicken that much but it’s an easy go-to for weekday meals. The quality and consistency of chicken is a reason why: how chicken breast often gets cooked to death, issues like “wooden breast syndrome”, factory farming and this thread.
How am I supposed to follow-up what I just wrote with a chicken recipe?
To be honest, it was just the first thing that came to mind when I tried to draft some copy for this post. My anxiety-ridden brain just seems to go into these deadly spirals more and more lately, but it’s probably because I have a lot on my mind.
I do appreciate the cost-efficiency and overall efficiency of a whole chicken: you can stretch it to multiple meals and add it to soup. Once you’re done with the meat, you can use the bones for broth. It’s just so practical. If I’m not buying a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, I will roast a chicken. In fact, I’ve roasted more chickens that I’ve purchase chicken breast AND chicken wings in my entire lifetime (except for thighs probably). So why spatchcock vs. the traditional way? It just cooks more evenly, all at once. That’s really it. Unless you’re a hater.
When people create stuff online, it’s often in the mindset of what readers what. And you know what? It makes sense. Higher engagement --> more followers and/or visibility --> more revenue --> lots of money. Let’s face it: I would be consistent about this model too, if I was not a one-woman show. And I’m not seeking to make money directly through this blog: this blog really serves as a portfolio of sorts. Because the internet is forever, my great-great-grandchildren might have a decent idea of my personality and aesthetic too.
Pork and generally healthy recipes are some of my least liked content here. Well, you know what? I love a good pork meatball and my daughter loves it too. I’m keeping it here, just in case my 5x great grandchild needs an idea for lab-grown space meat.
I used to consider myself a person with a black thumb, because I could barely keep an indoor plant alive. But a garden. You know, an outside garden, is just different. Perhaps it’s this reliance on nature, but I’ve also made it habit to water it when I’m coming to or from school drop-off.
I’m making the most of the fresh produce from my garden -- THAT I GREW WITH MY VERY OWN HANDS -- with this summer salad recipe!
This is not a formal salad recipe, but the key components of this salad. Sometimes I’ll add more "leaves” and just leave out the jalapenos completely. It’s all up to you!
Whisk together all of the ingredients. Add desired amount on the salad.
