C. sapidus

Cauliflower beef fried rice, using last night's leftovers with shallot, chiles, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, black soy sauce, scallions, and an egg. Gloriously ripe mango to go with

Vietnamese tonight for a guest with a mild palette. I can't remember the last time I cooked a meal with no chiles whatsoever. 😬 Napa cabbage and shrimp soup: Soup stock was sauteed onion and dried shrimp with fish sauce and salt. Simmer Napa cabbage until done and then poach shrimp at the end. Finished with white pepper and scallions Beef stir-fried with cauliflower: Marinate thinly-sliced strip steak with fish sauce, soy sauce, black pepper, and cornstarch. Stir-fry onions and garlic, sear the steak, and remove. Stir-fry parboiled cauliflower florets until heated and then mix everything together until the steak is just done. Garnish with cilantro

A particularly tasty way to clean out the fridge: Chorizo from a local butcher, fried up with onion, chiles, and garlic. Added in excess frozen spinach, an opened can of crushed tomato, and some excess coconut milk. Herbs and spices included Thai basil, lamb masala, Aleppo chile powder, and Mexican oregano. Fish sauce and a little brown sugar to round out the flavors.

Today’s travels took me past Box Hill Pizzeria and Crab Cakes, so it was an easy decision to sample their wares. Huge chunks of backfin in that crab cake.

Stir-fried shrimp in tomato-cream sauce: Stir-fry black mustard seeds, garlic, Thai basil, and shrimp until the shrimp are partly cooked. Mix in a sauce of tomato paste, garam masala, roasted cumin seed, cayenne, cilantro, Serrano chile, lemon juice, and coconut milk, and bring to a simmer. Stir-fried baby bok choy with smashed garlic and ginger and sliced Holland chiles. Leftover bulgur and microwave cilantro rice to go with.

I am fond of the pan. 😉 Thanks again @rotuts!

Started by s-l-o-w-l-y brown-frying four large onions down to almost nothing: Green chicken korma: Pureed most of the onions with cilantro, mint, serrano chiles, and raw cashews. Sauteed ginger, garlic, bay leaves, green cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick. Seared the chicken, sauteed with ground cumin and coriander, simmered with the puree, lime juice, and sugar, and then finished with coconut cream. This is a Muslim-style curry so I wanted to test it for friends. Test passed with flying (green) colors! Peas and carrots with cumin: Sauteed the remainder of the brown-fried onions with garlic and ginger, added ground coriander, cumin (whole and ground), and chile powder, and then reduced with crushed tomato before adding the peas and diced carrots.

Similar ingredients, quite different flavor: Brown-fried onion, chile, and garlic with chorizo. Added 5-spice powder, fish sauce, spinach, and most of a bunch of cilantro. Finished with shrimp, crumbled feta, and diced avocado. Apparently I am on an anise-scented food kick lately

I suppose this was a chard curry of sorts. Sauteed onion, serrano chile, and garlic in rendered chorizo grease, and cooked down some leftover tomato sauce. Added rainbow chard and the lovely anise-scented meatball sauce from the other day. Cooked all that down, finished with leftover coconut cream and gosht masala, and topped with diced avocado. Full of flavor, and used up lots of leftovers - my kind of meal

Avocado, mango, and fried plantain salad with brisket bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, and pistachios - from the Dinner 2026 thread

Avocado, mango, and fried plantain salad with brisket bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, and pistachios, served over butter lettuce and arugula. Dressing (in the shot glass) was garlic and serrano chiles, sauteed and then blended (plus the oil) with lime juice, honey, and salt. Mangoes were wonderfully sweet

Noodles with meatballs (guay teow nuea): Delicious one-dish meal with meatballs, sliced beef, celery, and mung bean sprouts. Broth was simmered with garlic, cilantro, star anise, cinnamon stick, white peppercorns, and green cardamom. Finished with palm sugar, Maggi sauce, light and dark soy sauce, and served over (non-traditional) fettucine. Meatballs were made with ground pork, garlic, Maggi sauce, fish sauce, and cornstarch. This was very popular. I will definitely make it again when we have people over, but with more bean sprouts and fewer noodles. Edit: Love me some tinga tacos @liamsaunt

Spinach, chorizo, and eggs with onion, garlic, and chiles. Cilantro, thyme, and Mexican oregano for aroma; a little yogurt for richness.

Improvised Thai red curry with shrimp and roasted butternut squash. Jasmine rice and cucumber salad to go with. We had cubed butternut squash that needed using so I roasted it at 400°F with olive oil, black pepper, and Aleppo pepper. Meanwhile, I combined pre-made red curry paste with red chile, ginger, garlic, shallot, and lemongrass and whizzed it up in the Preethi. Sauteed onion, fried the curry paste, and then simmered with coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, and spices. Poached the shrimp in the curry, and then mixed in the roasted squash. Could have used something crunchy, but I liked the flavor combination.

Scrambled eggs and ham, with crumbled feta and sauteed white onion and Fresno chiles. Using up leftover ham from the recent holiday meal.