shain

Very nice. I've just happened to be looking at Japanese style mochi-cheese buns last night. The same general idea, but using sticky rice flour results in a elastic texture. A bit like pan de queso.

I boil then bake the potatoes until crisp. Sauce is a small amount of caramel made with some cream of tarter (or other acid) so that it won't firm up too much. Mixed in is some gochujang (or other chili paste), soy sauce, garlic and paprika for more color. The sauce is gently heated to loose it up and mixed with the baked potatoes. Add toasted sesame seeds and oil. They are pretty addictive. In the past I used to make them with dark brown sugar instead, but caramel is a bit nicer, with more complex-savory flavor.

Vanilla ice cream with with malt syrup and caramelized salted peanuts.

Stir fried eggs, zucchini, chilies, spring onions in a spicy-sweet-sour sauce made with plenty of ginger, Korean chili paste, garlic, coriander seeds, a bit of orange zest and a few more flavorings. Roasted potatoes in a saucer of caramel, chili, sesame oil.

I love those mangoes. It's the second best I had, when picked ripe. Best I had was grown by a friend from chance breeding (mangoes are prone to mutate when grown from seed, though not as much s apples do). I like it being low on fiber, good tartness-to sweetness ratio and having hints of coconut and orange.

Thanks. Not sure of the variety I think it is Kent or Keitt, possibly an hybrid.

Mangoes came late this year. They are huge (this one is 1.8kg). And a tiny pineapple. Most of our pineapple plants are in their first year of growing, so next year we should hopefully have plenty of fruit.

Eggs in spinach, herbs and cream sauce (onion, garlic, sage, thyme, fresh zaatar leaves, parsley, spinach, cream, toasted sesame seeds, nigella seeds, sumac, lemon). Finished with more sumac and toasted seeds. Fire roasted eggplants with browned onions, labneh and sumac, mint, olive oil, garlic, chili. Mixed grains bread (bought).

Congrats! Which pea will it be then?

Thanks! I believe that it's mostly used in flour form. I've seen it referred to as "wan dou fen" - 豌豆粉.

Decided to be a bit creative and create a Chinese flavored take on hummus. Just to be clear, this is not hummus - hummus is only hummus if made from chickpeas and tahini. I made a paste of yellow split peas (which I know are used in Yunnan, not sure about their popularity in the rest of China). I added sesame paste and peanut paste for richness, some rice vinegar, garlic, five spice mix, chili, MSG, a pinch of sugar. Topped it with more unblended peas; peanuts, home made chili oil and a bit of light soy sauce; douchi with garlic and black vinegar; spicy pickled mustard stem; and a bit more five spice and toasted peppercorn. Served warm with fluffy pita. Not bad at all

Home made pappardelle in cream and herbs sauce (tarragon, thyme, lemon thyme, sage, parsley, chives, spring onion, marjoan), some garlic, pepper, parmesan, dry white wine. Served with more wine, because why not?

Thanks!

Makes 9 - Can be doubled. Can be made a short time ahead and reheated and crisped for serving. Can also be frozen. For variation, replace the spices and chilies with 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, and the cheddar with kashkaval / provolone / etc. See also cornmeal muffins recipe. - 200ml sour cream, apx 20% fat - 60g good Cheddar cheese, grated - 2 jalapenos (or other chilies), deseeded and chopped. You can also char them first like when making salsa - 1 small spring onion, sliced finely ~~ - 50g cornmeal - 140g white flour, pastry flour if available - 1 tsp toasted coriander seeds, ground - 1/2 tsp toasted cumin, ground - Pepper - Optional: large pinch MSG - 2 tsp sugar - 1 tsp salt - 3 tsp baking powder - 1/4 tsp baking soda - Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. - Mix remaining ingredients in a second bowl. - Dust your working surface. - Heat oven to 230 degrees C. - Fold wet mixture into dry one into the dry one, pressing and folding bottom up just until it forms a few crumbly dough chunks with some dry flour at the bottom. - Remove the mixture onto the dusted working surface. - Dust from above. - Press together to form a rough rectangle shape. - Fold the dough in half on top of itself. - Dust and press to flatten into a rough square shape, apx 3 cm (a bit more than an inch) tall. - Cut into 9 pieces (3 by 3 grid). Use a bench scraper or a large knife. - Place spaced on a baking try with parchment paper. - Bake for 13-16 minutes until lightly browned and baked through. - Remove from the try and cool on a baking try. - You can serve it immediately, but I much prefer to let it chill for 10 minutes and then bake 5 minutes more until brown and crisp.

Thanks! A bit on the sweet side, but I love the combination of chocolate and orange, as well as the texture variation.

Chocolate and orange crinkle cookies. Very fudgey and crisp. Made with dark chocolate, almond flour, orange zest and orange liquor.

Khadi with onion pakoras. Khadi is a lightly spiced yogurt soup/stew thickened with chickpea flour. Finished with a tadka of spices and chilies in butter. The spices use include turmeric, bay leaves, curry leaves, mustard, dried chili, cumin, coriander, mustard. The pakoras are chopped onion, chilies and spices, chickpea flour and yogurt. Egg curry with a few spices, including ginger, garlic, cardamom, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, cinnamon, pepper. Onion, tomatoes, chilies.

IDK about subway (never been to) but I hate the smell of bread in our local supermarkets. It's not all of their breads, but particularly the plain cheaper ones - like the "baguette" (which is like a large breadstick) and plain buns. A sort of chemical scent that reminds me of cardboard. I wonder what additive is its source.

True. I like frozen tofu, I don't think of it as particularly firmer, just drier more spongey. I like it best lightly fried than cooked in sauce. The types of firm pressed tofus you mentioned are great when cut thinly and stir fried or stewed. I also love tofu skin and fried tofu puffs. My point above is not that tofu should not be firm, but rather that this dehydration is done in order to allow for it to absorb sauce (as in frozen and fried tofus) or to concentrate the flavor and texture (smoked, red braised).

@Eatmywords for this recipe I blanch the tofu in salted water and then marinate in soy sauce and sugar. See the recipe for details. Here I use either firm or soft cottony (aka block) tofu (as opposed to silken tofu, which is more like pudding in texture). For most recipes they are interchangeable, but soft is my default. I rarely use extra firm tofu. I think that in the west we missunderstand tofu, trying to treat it as meat substitute. It isn't (tvp and seitan are better at that). I like to think of tofu a bit like it was (cooked) eggs. I don't try and make it dry or crisp, I embrace its softness, chew and sponginess. I most often blanch it first to remove the raw flavor and let it ahsorb some salt. Then cook it in a flavorful sauce or marinade. Even in stir fries, I'll often add it simply stewed or marinated, without an additional stir frying step. If you want it crisp, it should be coated in starch or breading and fried (this is a great preparation for it). I'd still blanch it in salted water first, this removes the raw taste and the heat makes the surface dry by evaporation, which helps the coating stick.

Thanks, I'm aware that vegetarian oyster sauce is a broader term. Though you make me realize my clarification in the recipe is more harmful than helpful. I'll edit it. Thanks! BTW, when would you choose to use vegetarian (not mushroom based) oyster sauce rather than real one?

@Smithy Thanks! I find that many people are under cooking their legumes. Mealiness is defiantly not something any well cooked bean should be. In salads in particular, it is important to cook them very well since the starch hardens as it cools (just like pasta salads - you don't want al dente pasta in those). It is also true for other dishes. For example, I often see people mention peeling chickpeas for hummus making. I find it absurd, because no restaurant will go through this work. The right thing is to cook it long enough the skins are meltingly tender A good slow cook, or pressure cooker are needed, as well as an overnight soak in salted water. As for the salad - the dressing is a simple vinaigrette - olive oil, wine vinegar, some garlic; with some juices from the roasted peppers. Green beans or asparagus, some arugula, I like the eggs grated, but they can be sliced instead. Edit to add: I noticed you said you got them frozen, this makes me think that you had green lima beans. I never cooked those (we don't get them here). I used dry mature beans here.

@ambra I won't suggest skipping the miso in the salad, though maybe you can use tianmian/chunjang or something similar. I won't worry about miso's shelf life, as far as I know it never gets bad.

apx 250g mushrooms - button, portobello, shiitake, etc - cut into 1cm think slices apx 200g of vegetable or protein of your choice - I like fried tofu (tofu agadshi style) or stir fired green beans (the latter works well with the optional wakame) 3 tbsp rice wine (e.g. shaoxing wine. optional, I guess regular white wine will also work) apx 1 tbsp ginger cut into needles dry or fresh chili, to taste 1.5 tbsp mushroom sauce (sometimes labelled vegetarian oyster flavored sauce. Regular oyster sauce can also be used in a pinch) (can be substituted with a large dried shiitake, re-hydrated and minced + 1 tsp sugar) 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 flat tsp dark brown sugar (or any sugar) 2-3 tsp rice vinegar a bit of MSG if you like using it some water as needed salt to taste black pepper Thinly sliced spring onion or a couple tbsp of dry wakame seaweed, re-hydrated Cooked Japanese/Chinese rice for serving If adding a vegetable/protein that requires stir frying, cook it first and set aside. Stir fry the mushrooms over high heat until browned, but still juicy (if using rehydrated dried shiitake instead of mushroom sauce, add them as well). Add the cooked vegetable/protein. Add the rice wine and cook until it no longer smells alcoholic. Add chili, ginger, soy sauce, mushroom sauce, sugar, vinegar, MSG. Remove form the heat. Add some water if needed, along with salt to taste, black pepper and spring onions/wakame. Serve with rice.

250-300g dry soba noodles 100g peeled edamame (or peas, or green beans cut into short segments) 300g tofu, cut into small cubes 2 tbsp soy sauce 1.5 tsp sugar 3 small cucumbers, julienned 4-5 small spring onions, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves, minced apx 4 tsp minced ginger 3-4 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp miso paste 2 tbsp sesame paste 4-5 tbsp lemon juice apx 1/3 cup of water dry chili flakes to taste salt to taste Blanch the edamame/peas/beans in salted water and shock in cold water. Drain well. Blanch the tofu and drain. Mix the tofu with 2 tbsp soy and 1.5 tsp sugar and gently heat in a small pot or in the microwave (the heat helps the tofu absorb the marinade). Cook the noodles in plenty of water and wash very well. If not serving soon, mix the noodles with a bit of oil. If serving all of the amount soon, mix all of the ingredients, otherwise, mix the sauce individually and add it to the noodles and vegetables before serving. Add more water as needed to give the sauce a creamy consistency. Scatter some toasted sesame seeds for garnish.