Category: vegetarian

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Korean New Year foods – “Japchae” sweet potato noodles and “Jeon” fritters

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! I’m still having a hard time believing that it’s 2021. I’m sure you’ll agree with me, last year just feels like a bad dream that I’m struggling to wake up from. I still haven’t seen my family in Korea, it’s been a year and four months since I last saw them. And spending yet another big holiday missing my family was the last thing I wanted. Maybe that’s why I tried to keep myself even busier in the kitchen preparing for the New Year holiday this year, cooking up a storm to feed just two people; me and my husband, haha (we just finished leftovers). I am sharing recipes for quintessential Korean celebration dishes “Japchae” – Sweet potato noodles and vegetables,  “Aehobak Jeon” – Korean Zucchini fritters and a simple spring onion salad today. I have also made Kimchi pancakes for the New Year, click here for recipe.

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Basil, mint and Pecorino Romano pesto

Growing up in South Korea, basil was not an ingredient that I was ever familiar with. I ate dishes with basil at Italian restaurants, but I had never seen the fresh basil until I went to study in London. First thing about fresh basil that hit me before anything else was its fragrance. The unique and intoxicating aroma of basil blew my mind instantly. Like Marcella Hazan wrote in her book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, “The less basil cooks, the better it is, and that its fragrance is never more seductive than when it is raw.” …What a beautiful thing to say. Continue reading Basil, mint and Pecorino Romano pesto

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Fig Salad inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi

If you are a vegetarian or a lover of vegetarian cookery you must have heard of Yotam Ottolenghi. Earlier this year I bought one of his cookbooks called “Plenty More”, follow-up to his bestseller “Plenty”, and I love love love it. Not only this book has a plenty of fresh, healthy and delicious recipes, it is also full of visually stunning dishes that immediately say “Eat me!” or more like “Make me, then eat me!” :-). Continue reading Fig Salad inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi

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Spiced lentil stuffed peppers with halloumi and honey drizzle

One of my absolute favorite things to cook for the last few months has been roasted bell peppers. My mom always makes me eat them fresh and raw back home, (which isn’t too bad) but roasting really does bring out all the natural sweet juice and flavor from them, and I think it is the best way to eat bell peppers. I never use green peppers though, because these unripe peppers are not as sweet as other ones even when they are cooked. Continue reading Spiced lentil stuffed peppers with halloumi and honey drizzle

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Hearty belly warming Korean stew – Deulkkae Sundubu

Korean deulggaesundubu

I have been wanting to post this recipe for quite a while. The reason it took me so long is mainly because of this dish being almost impossible to plate pretty for the pictures and the summer here has been hot as hell (too hot for belly warming stew…!) Weather has finally become so much cooler now, but I have to say this was definitely the most challenging food to photograph. Continue reading Hearty belly warming Korean stew – Deulkkae Sundubu

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Balinese “Gado Gado” inspired vegetables in peanut sauce

I came back from Bali earlier this month. And as expected, it was a paradise and more. Actually Bali had been off our holiday destinations list for a while. It was because of an unfortunate incident my husband had, which led to him getting stranded at the airport (old one, not the shiny new one they have now) and having to sleep in a room with a rat many years ago. Understandably he was quite traumatized by what happened and I almost gave up on going to Bali ever. So it was a real surprise that he suggested Bali as our late summer holiday destination. And I am so happy that he’s recovered from the mortifying experience, because I love-love-loved Bali. Continue reading Balinese “Gado Gado” inspired vegetables in peanut sauce

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20-minute meal – Garlic and caper butter with parmesan linguine

Have you ever watched ‘Jamie’s 15-minute meals’ and tried to replicate his recipes?  Unfortunately I was never able to make the dishes from the show in 15 minutes. Well, I am not Jamie Oliver after all so it is understandable I guess. Cooking technique or the speed is one thing but the most challenging part for me is the space. 15-minute meal is all about having everything ready to go in front of you and this includes all the equipment and tools. But I simply cannot layout more than 3 pots or pans in my tiny humble kitchen. So speedy cooking for me usually means that I am making 1-2 pot dishes, and pasta is just a natural choice in this case. Continue reading 20-minute meal – Garlic and caper butter with parmesan linguine

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Spinach, feta and pomegranate salad with lentils

I will be taking my annual spring trip to Korea soon. I normally do this in May because it is the best time to visit Korea in terms of weather and my mom’s birthday usually falls in May (her birthday is based on lunar calendar so it changes every year, I am not kidding)…Anyways, this means it is time to clean out the fridge and cupboards. I don’t always get lucky with what I find, but this time a bag of organic red split lentils and a gorgeous pomegranate caught my eye, yay! Instead of trying to remember what I was going to do with them in the first place or come up with a fancy recipe I just decided to go with something simple and fresh. Besides, I was a little busy packing… Continue reading Spinach, feta and pomegranate salad with lentils

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My version of Sicilian pesto – ‘Pesto alla trapanese’

I love Italian food. Dare I say I love it almost as much as I love Korean food, and definitely eat as often as Korean food. Although I enjoy cooking Italian dishes, I am a little afraid of posting my recipes here. Italians are known to be very specific about their food, and many Italian people I’ve met over the years have proven that. So in order not to disgrace traditional ‘Pesto alla trapanese’ I have read and watched videos of many different types of recipes, from Nigella Lawson’s to a sweet Sicilian nonna’s. And after some researching and experimenting, I have come up with my favorite version, which is vegetarian without anchovy fillets and has no raw garlic. I know what you’re thinking, no garlic in pesto?? Believe me I have tried… Continue reading My version of Sicilian pesto – ‘Pesto alla trapanese’

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Ricotta and nutmeg purple sweet potato mash on toast

Inspirations for a dish you make can come from anywhere. I often think about what I am going to cook next when I am eating (obviously..;-)), watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks or magazines. But I think the most genuine way to get inspirations is from beautiful ingredients you have in hand. I am so green with envy when I see other food bloggers who live in gorgeous countryside growing their own ingredients for their recipes. So when I got these stunning purple sweet potatoes from a friend, my mind immediately went on thinking what I could do with them. Continue reading Ricotta and nutmeg purple sweet potato mash on toast