Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2022

Carnival Squash Soup with Roasted Garlic and Apple

A comforting hug in a bowl - a squash bowl that is ;) This roasted carnival squash soup is one of my favorite things ever to make in the fall. It's creamy, velvety, sweet, and aromatic, plus it puts you right in a festive mood for the season. It's also super simple to make, all you need to do can be summed up by literally four words, roast, saute, blend, and simmer, done! This soup recipe can be made with pretty much any kind of winter squash, pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash, or carnival squash like I used here. These types of squash are so sweet, creamy, and caramel-y if roasted well. And I highly highly recommend you roast a whole head of garlic in the same pan with the squash, the garlic will turn into this golden brown buttery flavor bomb that adds such a nice depth to the soup. And if you're in a festive mode, you can use the squashes as bowls to serve the soup! I've seen squash soup being served in raw squash bowls, and I have to say I'm not a big fan

Crispy Rice Paper Cups with Chickpea Salad aka "Chuna"

These rice paper cups are literally an explosion of flavor and texture. The popped rice paper is insanely crispy, crunchy, and melt in your mouth, which is then followed by the creamy, savory, refreshing chickpea salad "chuna" mash. It's almost a raw, no cook meal - with the only exception being the rice paper and it's perfect quick lunch, snack, or party appetitzer. Have you ever had some of those prawn crackers usually served at a Thai restaurant before your meal arrives? Well these rice paper cups are really similar to that! I don't know the science behind this process but it is truly some kind of food magic, the very second rice paper hits hot oil, it starts to curl, pop, and crisp up! The frying process is done within 3 seconds, literally, it shouldn't take longer than that. And this chickpea salad mash is my absolutely go to whenever I need a quick but still nourishing meal. It is reminiscent of a canned tuna salad that we all know too well but so much b

Vegan Japanese Curry with Golden Tofu and Veggies

Classic Japanese curry made vegan! But without comprising flavors or nutrition. This vegan Japanese curry is packed with vegetables and golden, air-fried tofu for protein. And for an extra heart-warming touch, I shaped my brown rice into Rilakkuma! The beloved brown bear that personifies relaxing ^^ This meal is probably a comfort food glass ceiling for me - all the hearty veggies are cooked so soft and almost fall apart in your mouth, the tofu is chewy and golden on the outside while tender on the inside, and the best part - the creamy, rich, umami, and slightly sweet curry sauce poured over some steamy, fluffy rice, simply unbeatable. I think curry is pretty much an equivalent word for comfort food for a lot of us, yet there's quite a big difference between Japanese curries and Indian or Thai curries. The spice profile is completely different, and the Japanese curry is much thicker, more savory and umami, and at the same time distinctively sweeter. And instead of using dry spice

Rice Paper Noodles in Easy Chili Oil Sauce

Chewy, stretchy, translucent, and bouncy rice noodles doused in a spicy, aromatic, savory, and umami chili oil sauce, this addicting treat is naturally vegan and gluten-free, and the best part? You can make it literally in under five minutes! And if you happen to already have chili oil on hand, all you need is a BOWL and WARM WATER, that's it, I'm taking no cook to a whole new level. This super easy and lazy method is for when you crave chili oil noodles but don't have either chili oil or noodles - I'm sure we've all been there. Turning rice paper into noodles was such an "intuitive" invention, it happened during the first covid outbreak when everywhere was on lockdown and all the grocery stores looked like they had just been robbed clean. So one night, I was feeling peckish and wanted some comfort food, however, at the same time, I did not want to cook, like I didn't even wanna turn on the stove and wait for the water to boil to make myself a bowl of

Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing - Authentic Restaurant Style!

Dressings are the soul of salads and this Japanese restaurant style carrot ginger dressing is like a garden fairy - bright, uplifting, refreshing, sweet, savory, and umami. And isn't it just extra wonderful when your dressing is not only delicious but also loaded with veggies ;) This carrot ginger dressing is an iconic Japanese restaurant salad dressing and my personal favorite.  I really thought this is such a simple recipe that it'd actually be difficult to mess it up, however, to my horror, a quick search on the internet and I'm speechless at all the ridiculous yet somehow common mistakes I found at so many sites, even some highly renowned cooking sites. I'm sorry, I don't care how big and famous a cooking/recipe site is, if it's telling you one of these things below it is simply, with all due respect, wrong . The two most basic ingredients in this dressing, besides carrot and ginger obviously, are oil and acid. And that's exactly where so many sites made

Vegan Onigiri with Tofu Tuna Mayo

This vegan onigiri will give you a complete and authentic Japanese onigiri experience with one of the most classic and iconic filling options - tuna mayo, but made with only whole food plant-based ingredients! They're also naturally gluten-free. Make them for a most-envied lunch box, picnic, or any time you need an easy-to-eat snack on the go! Onigiri, or rice ball, is a popular Japanese food made from short-grain white rice and formed into spherical, triangular, or cylindrical shapes, and often wrapped in nori although it is not a must! Back in the days before the refrigerator was invented, making onigiri by mixing rice with salt or salted ingredients was a convenient and genius way to preserve rice. And some of the most iconic and common flavors that you can find literally anywhere in Japan are: kombu, umeboshi (salty pickled plums), and, of course, tuna mayo! So in this recipe, we're going to recreate the tuna mayo onigiri with the complete experience. Start with a piece of

Vegan Onigirazu Sushi Sandwich with Glazed Tofu

This easy version of onigirazu, aka rice sandwich or rice ball, is made using the viral tortilla folding hack and is absolutely fail-safe and beginner-friendly! The filling combo possibility is endless and I used purple rice, homemade kewpie mayo, sweet and spicy glazed tofu, veggies, and chips for this one here. Show me a life-changing hack you never knew existed but now can't live without! For me it's this easy folding hack, which was originally meant for tortillas but I've since used this method on nori way more often. And I first made an onigirazu using this folding hack with teriyaki tofu and created a more umami flavor profile, check out the recipe linked here for that version! They're just the perfect lunch in all aspects - quick and easy to make, packed with flavors, and nutritionally balanced with protein, carbs, fibers, vitamins, and healthy fat. I make them on repeat at least once a week to a point that I just have to create a new flavor combo! So this one