Tag: comfort food

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Gluten-free, dairy-free banana pancake and raspberry banana sorbet

gluten free banana pancake

Pancake is my husband’s favorite food of all time. And he is a traditionalist when it comes to it, meaning he’s not into any of fancy new versions (such as souffle pancake, which I personally love). To him, pancake is one of those perfect comfort foods that no one needs to mess with. So I get quite nervous about doing something different or experimenting with pancake recipes. One of the successful ones from the past is my “vegan coconut and cinnamon pancake” . Although he couldn’t help adding a little butter on top of the pancake, he liked the flavor. Continue reading Gluten-free, dairy-free banana pancake and raspberry banana sorbet

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Authentic Thai coconut soup with chicken “Tom Kha Gai”

authentic Thai coconut soup

This post is long overdue. I made this dish during the Thai cooking class I took in Koh Samui early last year. And after I decided to start posting on my blog again, I planned on sharing the recipe I got from my cooking instructor Jul…which I soon realized that had gone missing! I misplace a lot of things, but recipe isn’t one them. Long story short, it had been a frustrating couple of months but as you can see now, I found it in the end 😊. Continue reading Authentic Thai coconut soup with chicken “Tom Kha Gai”

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Turmeric coated Tofu and Asian pear salad with Kimchi dressing

Superfood Tofu kimchi salad

Like our neighboring countries in East Asia, Tofu is one of the most essential ingredients in Korean diet. Koreans eat it steamed, boiled, cooked in soup, lightly fried, braised or even raw. I too have eaten countless tofu in my lifetime, and it had been a kind of food I was so used to eating that it almost became too insignificant to have an opinion about. But things changed a little when tofu started gaining a reputation not only as a healthy food but also as a bland and tasteless food that gives almost no pleasure of eating.

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Vietnamese Cooking Class in Nha Trang

Vietnamese homecooked meal

Vietnam has a special place in my heart. It was the first foreign country that I had lived for a few months, guess you could say it was my first home away from home. I had a few family members living in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City in early 2000s, and I spent about 6 months there and traveled around the country before I went to college in London.

I also went back a few times afterwards, and the country has been changing like nowhere else I’ve ever seen. My recent trip to Nha Trang was yet another proof. Nha trang is a coastal resort city near Saigon probably best known for its gorgeous white sandy beaches. The beaches really are stunning, but the city has so much more to offer in terms of hustling and bustling markets, local eateries, stylish restaurants, and nightlife. Continue reading Vietnamese Cooking Class in Nha Trang

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How to use old sour kimchi – Kimchi fried rice

As kimchi started gaining its superfood status, my friends started asking me all sorts of kimchi related questions. And two of the most common questions among them were 1. Does kimchi ever go bad if you keep it too long? 2. What do you do with a few weeks or months old sour tasting kimchi? Continue reading How to use old sour kimchi – Kimchi fried rice

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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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Vegan coconut and cinnamon pancakes with ‘aquafaba’

The night before my husband’s birthday, he asked me if I could make him pancake breakfast the next day. Pancakes are his all-time favorite food, but I had never made sweet breakfast kind before, (because he’s quite specific about how pancakes should be and always makes them the way he wants) so I panicked. If it was any other day I could probably be more relaxed about it, but it was for my husband’s birthday. The possibility that I might mess up his favorite comfort food on his birthday was terrifying. But somehow I managed to pull off simple yet very yummy pancakes without any dramas the next morning. And ever since that day I couldn’t stop thinking about different things I can do for pancakes and started experimenting. A recipe I’m sharing today is the most successful one so far. Continue reading Vegan coconut and cinnamon pancakes with ‘aquafaba’

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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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Indian cooking class in Delhi – Spice, Family and Love

I think it’s pretty obvious that I love spices ;-). I truly believe that they bring magic to the dish with smell, color, depth and complexity of flavor. Although I was a fan of them as long as I remember, my passion really began with the Moroccan cooking class I took in Marrakesh. So when I decided to spend over a week in India, I could not plan my trip without signing me and my husband up for a cooking lesson. I always thought I knew Indian food. Living in London for 4 years, having Indian food almost every week here in Hong Kong and watching lots and lots of cooking shows. But now I see that whatever I knew before was nothing compared to what I had seen, smelled, tasted, and learned during my trip and an amazing class with Jyoti at Gourmet Desire. I am planing on recreating a dish or two based on recipes I learned from her soon. This post is a kind of preview, so stay tuned 🙂 Continue reading Indian cooking class in Delhi – Spice, Family and Love

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‘Tteokbokki‘ – Spicy Korean rice cakes with 7 minute eggs

Spicy rice cake, known as ‘Tteokbokki’ is an ultimate Korean street food. Every single one of us grew up eating this and it was the very first dish I ever cooked at home using my little brother as a taste tester. It is still extremely popular anywhere in Korea, where we have countless little joints, street vendors and even one of the streets of Seoul named after it (guess what kind of restaurants you can find there 😉 ). And if you are a foodie planning a trip to Seoul, this area is worth stopping by. Continue reading ‘Tteokbokki‘ – Spicy Korean rice cakes with 7 minute eggs