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6 Vegan pesto delights for a healthier you

Embark on a flavorful journey celebrating the vibrant world of vegan pesto, where taste and nutrition harmonize in a symphony of plant-based goodness. I’m a die-hard enthusiast of the classic Genovese pesto, with its basil, pine nuts, and cheese – a love that’s unwavering. However, every now and then, I yearn for something a bit more earthy, prompting me to play with various herbs and nuts I have at my fingertips. Since these aren’t your typical recipes, I get to be a bit more adventurous, infusing unique and exotic flavors like Thai basil and Korean perilla, which are not only close to my heart but also my taste buds. Continue reading 6 Vegan pesto delights for a healthier you

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15 dishes from 2021

Happy New Year! 2021 has been an incredibly hectic year for me. A main reason I have not been active here since April. In May, my husband and I left our beloved Hong Kong, our second home that we had lived for over a decade. I’d always moved a lot, and never lived anywhere longer than 4 years until I moved to our 58th floor flat in the west side of Hong Kong Island. Our flat with a stunning view of Hong Kong’s skyline and harbour was my 23rd home, and I had lived there for over 11 and a half years. Leaving Hong Kong was as hard as I expected but leaving my close friends was much harder than I imagined.

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Vegan and vegetarian noodles, nooddles, noodles

Can you believe it is October? It is so easy to lose the track of time this year. I know fall has started in many parts of the world, but where I live late summer weather, which is a lot more bearable than early and mid summer weather, is here to stay for another few weeks. I promised to post more cold noodle recipes during this summer but I only seem to have shared them on my Instagram. (By the way, please check out my Instagram if you haven’t yet). So I decided to share 3 recipes today. They are all quick and easy, healthy and light with a little kick from spicy sauce. They are perfect for summer but good for any time of the year. Continue reading Vegan and vegetarian noodles, nooddles, noodles

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20 minute meal – Tofu kimchi scramble with chilis and chives

tofu kimchi scramble

Without a doubt “Tofu kimchi” is a Korean soul food. And it is also a perfect example of a dish that was born out of necessity. Just until a few decades ago Korea was extremely poor, which means most people had to make the best of whatever they had. And so many of those dishes that came from the hardship in the past have in fact become the backbone of Korean cuisine. They might have been the only options for those who were in my grand parents and parents generation back then, but now they are kind of dishes that we all love and cannot imagine living without. And for that I feel quite lucky and grateful.

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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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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 isnโ€™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 stewโ€ฆ!) 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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Summer/Autumn meal – Spiced chickpeas, quinoa, mint & basil

Summer is finally fading away here. Althoughย temperature is still close to the mid-summer weather of most non-tropical places on earth, it is so much less humid and breezy with clearer sky. And that really makes a huge difference in Hong Kong. Most importantly I donโ€™t feel like melting while Iโ€™m cooking in my kitchen any more, yay! For this post, I thought Iโ€™d make something that reminds me of late summer and early autumn at the same time. A dish that has the freshness and lightness of summer but also has the warm earthy flavor of autumn. Continue reading Summer/Autumn meal – Spiced chickpeas, quinoa, mint & basil

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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 heโ€™s recovered from the mortifying experience, because I love-love-loved Bali. Continue reading Balinese “Gado Gado” inspired vegetables in peanut sauce