I’ve been meaning to bake a mochi cake (also called butter mochi) for the longest time--maybe 10 years?--ever since I first used mochiko for the mochiko chicken recipe in my first cookbook The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook. A few weeks ago, I finally did. I was inspired by...
When I first came to the U.S. as a college student, one of the foods I missed most from Singapore was bak kwa. It's kind of like jerky, but made with pork and with Chinese flavors. Beef jerky didn’t cut it—not even teriyaki-flavored—and even though salmon...
While I love making kimchi, I can’t imagine making it in a traditional kimchi fermentation crock--called onggi—and then burying it in the ground. Although if you’d like to try it, you can buy one stateside from this guy. Just so you know, fermenting in general doesn’t...
Oof, I’ve just finished the last of my turnips! Yay! For the last two to three months, it’s been raining turnips at my house. Every Saturday, I’d pray that the CSA Gods would be kind to me and replace the turnips with something more versatile, say...
Okay, all you chili-, buffalo-wings- loving Super Bowl Sunday sports fans out there. I have a snack for you--edamame with chili salt. It's easy to make--barely 10 minutes! And you can mound your plate, chomp absentmindedly, and guzzle beer all while not taking your eyes off the TV....
Roti John could be considered the bánh mì, aka the ubiquitous Vietnamese sandwich, of Singapore (or Malaysia, or Brunei). Its components are similar—bread, protein--and is a blend of East and West and just as delicious. Basically, roti John is a savory French toast—baguette slices soaked with...
Baked Squash and Potato Croquettes (Korokke) Croquettes, no matter their origins or ingredients, are a delicious, deep-fat-fried snackfood. Fry them if you want, but I prefer a much less greasy and messy method--baking them. Korokke, the Japanese version, is often filled with kabocha squash. I think...
A decade ago, hardly anyone understood what the term "gluten-free" meant, celiac disease was very under-the-radar, and finding gluten-free products at the grocery store was challenging. Today, just about everything sold at the grocery store is gluten-free, even water and face cream! (Yes, I'm being facetious.)...
As promised, today’s blog post focuses on a dumpling to please your fried-food fiend of a friend (try saying that 10 times fast!). These dumplings are of course, fried wontons. To be fair, I don’t think fried food lovers should be pigeon-holed. Because honestly, who...
Nutella was the peanut butter of my childhood. I ate the rich, creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread slathered one-inch-thick in between slices of white bread. I scraped it out of matchbox-sized containers with an accompanying plastic spoon (they were sold in snack packs similar to these). And I...
