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Chinese Steamed Eggplant Salad with Chili Oil

This will be your new favorite way to eat eggplants! Tender, silky, and juicy eggplant glazed in a savory, umami, and subtly sweet dressing, and finally invigorated by a splash of aromatic sizzling chili oil - it's a flavor party on a plate! And it's super easy and quick to make. Eggplants are so underappreciated. They have such a magical texture - fluffy white, tender, moist, and "meaty", and it soaks up flavor literally like a sponge. Their vibrant purple skin is packed with antioxidants that can prevent our bodies from cellular damage, reduce the chances of many diseases, and keep us young. They also contain good amounts of potassium, manganese, folate, and Vitamin K, all of which a lot of us are probably taking supplements for!  If you think you hate eggplants, well, not for nothing but my eggplant recipes like Miso Eggplant, Gochujang Eggplant, and Doubanjiang Eggplant have converted many, many eggplant haters and I believe this recipe would do the same and provi
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Salt and Pepper Tofu Air Fryer Version

Calling all tofu lovers and tofu doubters alike - you need to try these salt and pepper air-fried tofu! These are a golden crispy sensation, crispy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside, and packed full of flavors from the salt n pepper seasoning and colorful veggies. Plus I made the batter and tofu coating gluten-free as well! Is there a more prevalent and crowd-pleasing flavor combo than salt and pepper? Somehow this duo has won the hearts and palates of so many people across countries and cultures. This salt and pepper tofu is a classic Chinese dish that's naturally vegetarian and vegan friendly, although sometimes they are coated in an egg wash, which I replaced with a gluten-free chickpea mixture that's just as savory, "eggy", and pleasantly golden. And instead of deep frying, which is the traditional way, I cooked them in the air fryer and they turned out just as crispy with a fraction of the oil. If you don't have an air fryer, you can also oven-ba

Sour Patch Grapes Sugar Free

The easiest frozen treat that will become your new summer obsession! These frozen grapes taste just like sour patch kids candies - granulated "sugar" crust, a sharp burst of sourness, followed by the oh-so-rewarding sweetness, while being all natural, added sugar free, and super easy to make. I've loved frozen grapes growing up, there's something special about frozen grapes that no other fruits can compare except maybe frozen lychee and frozen logan. It's as if they go through some kind of magic in the freezer and literally turn into little mini popsicles, the texture is not frozen solid but instead, it's like shaved iced pressed inside the grape skin! With only two simple steps we can put a fun spin on frozen grapes and turn them into a much healthier version of sour patch kids candies. They're generously dressed in lemon and lime juice, which provides the sour burst and then rolled in granulated "sugar". But instead of regular table sugar I use

Collard Greens Salad Wrap with Beetroot Chickpea Mash

A high plant-protein rainbow salad that you can grab and go! This collard green wrap is a super easy and fast meal that's packed with lots of veggies as well as flavors. It's perfect for the coming hot summer days when you'd crave something fresh and light yet still nourishing. This colorful and eye-catching wrap is almost a no-cook and no-heat meal! The only "cooking" part is blanching the collard green leaves to make them more flexible, all the rest of the ingredients are kept raw except canned chickpeas, which are already cooked of course. I made a beetroot and chickpea mash as a main protein source for this wrap. It is vibrant, earthy, and hearty, with a secret flavor lift from Gordon Ramsay's famous herb duo - mint and coriander! I've heard him repeat this herb combo so many times on different cooking shows and you know what, it is indeed so good! It's one of those one plus one greater than two scenarios, the two herbs really compliment each other

Chinese Cucumber Salad - Suo Yi Cucumber

The most fabulous way to cut and present cucumber, ever! This cucumber salad is made of ONE SINGLE cucumber, sliced into a spring shape and dressed in a sweet, sour, and umami sauce, and finally topped with some aromatic and spicy chili oil. Let's please call this dish by its proper name - Suo Yi cucumber, or Suo Yi Huang Gua 蓑衣黄瓜. Suo Yi, means the traditional Chinese raincoat which was made of overlapping layers of straw and sometimes leaves, think a Hawaiian grass skirt but for the whole body. And the "scales" of the cucumber created by a special slicing technique and stretching resemble the layers of straws in Suo Yi, hence the name. And this special way of slicing is not just for presentation's sake! Because of all the incredibly thin, translucent, and flexible slices that this method creates, the seemingly ordinary cucumber is transformed into a form of magic and art! The texture is crunchy yet tender, every single thin "scale" of the cucumber picks up

Vegan Yaki Onigiri aka Japanese Grilled Rice Balls with Chickpea "Chuna" Filling

Your next lunchbox, picnic, snack, appetizer, for just for anything! These yaki onigiris, aka grilled rice balls, are simply the best thing you can do with rice - you get a golden crunchy crust that's glazed with a umami and sweet sauce, yet the rice inside remains fluffy and steamy, the savory aroma from the grilled nori, plus whatever fillings you heart desires. How do you make a seemingly ordinary ingredient exciting? Look no further. With a few simple steps and some culinary magic, voila, you can turn good old white rice into these irresistible flavor bombs. My favorite part is that golden brown crispy crust, I honestly can't stop crunching them away! Yaki onigiri is one of those things that if you know the tricks and hacks then they are a breeze to make; but if you don't know where you can potentially fail, chances are something is gonna go wrong. So here are some very important points to keep in mind: 1. Use freshly made rice while they're still hot. This is the

Mango Sticky Rice Recipe with Crispy Mung Beans

A dessert that needs no introduction - mango sticky rice! Made in the most authentic way possible while being outside of Thailand but without any added sugar. It's one of the most comforting treats, sweet but not too sweet, creamy, and velvety, with a little crunchiness from the crispy mung beans. When it comes to international recognition and popularity among Asian desserts, few can compete with mango sticky rice, if any. And for good reasons. It is such a beauty-in-simplicity kind of dish, gorgeous tropical vibes, sweet and comforting taste, and no fuss, simple to make and easy to eat. There are very few ingredients in this entire dish and the three main ones are of course, mango, sticky rice, and coconut milk. For the mango, a fresh and ripe Thai mango is definitely the ideal choice but it can be hard to find outside of Thailand and Southeast Asia, so if you live in North America like me, the second closest thing is the Ataulfo mango, which has a similar soft, velvety, and no-st