Elote

View fullsize

Another easy summer hit! Can’t possibly get this one wrong. The beauty of this recipe is everything listed in the ingredients should be modified to your liking!

---

Ingredients:

• 6 Corn on the cob, husked

• 1 tbsp Butter

• 5 tbsp Mayonnaise

• 3 tbsp Cotija cheese, shaved

• Ground Cayenne pepper

• 3/4 cup Cilantro leaves

What’s Next:

1. Lightly butter the corn throughout. Grill or broil the corn until golden brown and slightly charred in spots

2. Remove from heat, spread mayonnaise over the corn, sprinkle cayenne peppers, cheese and cilantro, season with salt to taste (all can be modified to your preference). Serve!

Easiest Cacio e Pepe Asparagus ever

View fullsize

Summer is the season for asparagus! When the produce is fresh and in season, asparagus need no complicated seasoning!

---

Equipment:

• Broiler safe roasting pan

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Asparagus, washed and ends trimmed

• 3 tbps Olive Oil

• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

• 1/4 tsp Salt

• Shavings of Pecorino Romano

What’s Next:

1. Spread asparagus evenly on roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Turn on broiler and put the roasting pan close to the flame

2. Broil for approximately 15 minutes, or until the asparagus is lightly charred

3. remove the roasting pan from asparagus. Shave pecorino cheese on top of the asparagus and serve!

Red Wine & Soy Braised Short Ribs

View fullsize

The most effortless and tenderest short ribs ever!

Get a good piece of short rib, and you can’t mess this one up!

---

Required Equipments:

• Dutch Oven / Deep pot

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Oil

• 2 lbs Short Ribs, thick cut, in 2 inch by 2 inch (Either bone in or boneless are ok)

• 1 1/2 inch Ginger, sliced

• 8 Garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 Onion, thick sliced

• 1 1/2 cup Dry Red Wine

• 1/2 cup Mirin

• 1/3 cup Soy Sauce

• 1/4 cup Brown / Palm Sugar

• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce

Optional:

• If you don’t have Mirin, Chinese cooking rice wine should be a fine substitute

• If you have carrots or other firm root veggies, it’d be delicious to throw them in half way through the 3 hour braising process as well

• Scallions, garnish

What’s Next:

1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Drizzle 2 tbsp of oil into the dutch oven over medium heat. Carefully place all the short ribs pieces into dutch oven and brown each side, 6-8 minutes per side. Remove the short ribs to a plate.

2. Add all the onion, ginger and garlic into the same dutch oven over low heat (do not wash the dutch oven!). Let the onion sweat slowly so it doesn’t burn.

3. After onion, ginger and garlic are lightly browned and fragrant, add in red wine and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.

4. Add mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water into the dutch oven, mix well. Carefully place the short ribs pieces back into the pot. Make sure the liquid cover at least 80% of the height of the short ribs, if not totally submerged. Bring the liquids to a light simmer on low heat.

5. Cover the pan with lid and let braise for about 3 hours. Check occasionally and flip the short ribs sides around to make sure it’s evenly coated with sauce. Top up with water occasionally if needed.

6. When the short ribs is very fork tender and shreds very easily, they are ready for the dinner table!

Sukiyaki Beef

View fullsize

This is what I do when I have leftover beef slices and am feeling lazy!

---

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lbs of Beef Slices

• 1/4 cup Mirin

• 1/4 cup Soy sauce (May vary depending on how salty your soy sauce is)

• 1 tbsp Sugar

Optional:

• 1 Onion, thinly sliced (highly recommended!! the texture and flavor are both amazing)

• 3 tbsp Sake

What’s Next:

1. Add soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake if you’re using, into a small sauce pan on medium low heat. If you’re not using sake, you’ll probably want to add a bit more soy sauce and mirin for the liquid volume. Bring to light simmer and taste to adjust flavor to your liking. This is why I love this recipe, the sauce is completely based on your liking, can’t do wrong!

2. If you’re using onion, add the onions now, spread them evenly across the pan. Make sure that all the onions are submerged. If not, add equal portions of soy sauce, mirin (and sake if you’re using)

3. Cook until the onions have softened, turn the heat down to low so it’s just a light simmer. Add the beef slices and mix well into the sauce and onions. Make sure the beef slices are 80% submerged.

4. Stir occasionally to make sure the beef slices are cook through and no longer pink. Serve over rice or eat as is!

Soy Ginger Braised Short Rib

View fullsize

This is one of the most time consuming recipes here, but I promise it’s worth it!

What you’ll get in the end of the 3 hours is juicy, fall off the bone short ribs.

---

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs Flanken style short ribs (Korean BBQ style)

• 1 tbsp OIl

• 1 1/2 inch Ginger, thinly sliced

• 4 Garlic cloves, crushed

• 1/2 lbs of shiitake mushrooms, stems chopped and cap sliced

• 6 Scallions, whites chopped, green parts thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup Soy sauce

• 1/2 cup Sake (if you don’t have this, Chinese Rice Wine should be ok too)

• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar

• 2 cups Chicken or Beef Broth (if you don’t have this, water would be fine)

Optional:

• Cinnamon

• White Pepper Powder

• 1-2 Onions, sliced

Required Equipment:

• Dutch Oven or large pot that’s oven safe

What’s Next:

1. You can step 2 to 7 up to 2 days ahead of time. For best results, start at least 4 hours before you’d like to serve.

2. Put a rack in the lower part of the oven, preheat to 325 degrees

3. Heat up the dutch oven with low heat, add 1 tbsp of oil

4. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, sear both sides in the dutch oven until brown. You’ll likely have to do 1/3 or 1/2 of the short ribs at a time, work in separate batches. Transfer the ribs to a plate. Drain all but 1 tbsp of drippings from pot

5. Add shiitake stems, white parts of scallions, garlic, ginger into the pot. Cook and stir occasionally until fragrant.

6. Add broth / water, soy sauce, sake / rice wine and brown sugar (and cinnamon if you’re adding) into the pot. Bring to a simmer

7. Return the ribs back to the pot, in as few layer as possible. Try to make sure all ribs are submerged in liquid. Cover the pot with lid and braise in oven for 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the ribs stay submerged and not too much liquid has evaporated

8. Let the pot cool slightly for 20 minutes. Pour the liquids from the pot into a small bowl. Short cut here is to wait until the bowl has cooled down significantly, then put into fridge until all the fat has solidified. Remove the fat then pour the broth back to the pot. Cover, chill and let rest for at least 3 hours

9. 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve. Return the pot back to the stove, reheat under low-medium heat. Add rest of the mushrooms and onions into the pot, if there’s not enough liquid to submerge, add some additional broth/water and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve when the ribs have been fully reheated and onions and mushrooms are cooked through!

Goma-e Spinach

View fullsize

What to do when you have spinach and don’t want to be boring?

Here’s your answer

This recipe uses tahini to expedite process, instead of 4 more tbsps of sesame seeds

---

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of Spinach

• 1 1/2 tbsp of Tahini

• 1/2 tbsp of Sesame seeds

• 1 tbsp of Soy Sauce

• 1 tbsp of Sugar

Optional:

• 1/2 tsp of Sake

• 1/2 tsp of Mirin

• Sesame seeds

• Scallions

What’s Next:

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a small pan on low heat until lightly brown, careful not to burn!

2. Boil water in a medium size pot, add in all the spinach until lightly cooked, about 30 seconds

3. Strain the pot through a mesh to collect all the spinach. Run the spinach under cold water to chill. Squeeze the spinach dry and move to a medium size bowl

4. Mix sesame seeds, tahini, soy sauce, sugar, and sake and mirin if using. Pour the mixture over the spinach and mix well

5. Top with sesame seeds and scallions if you like

Thai Meatballs

View fullsize

Takes quite a few ingredients, but should be fairly staple items in your kitchen!

Can be a salad protein, lettuce wrap, with rice or just eat them straight up!

---

Ingredients:

• 1 inch Ginger, grated

• 4 + 1 Garlic cloves, grated or minced or pressed through garlic press

• 1 lb Ground Pork

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1/4 cup + 1/2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped

• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp Sambal Oelek

• 2 tbsp Fish sauce, divided

• 2 tsp Brown or Palm Sugar, divided

• 1/4 cup Lime juice (half a lime)

Optional:

• More Sambal Oelek if you like it spicier!

What’s Next:

1. Add grated ginger, 4 garlic cloves, salt, 1/4 cup cilantro, 2 tbsp Sambal Oelek, 1 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add ground pork and mix well. Let rest / marinate for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours. (Don’t put away the sauces and sugars just yet, you’ll need them again for next step)

2. Mix lime juice, 1 grated/minced garlic clove, 1/2 tbsp cilantro, 1 tsp Sambal Oelek, 1 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl for the dipping sauce

3. You can either grill them on skewers or roast them in the oven. If you are grilling them (remember to soak your wooden skewers ahead of time!), form a flat oval shape across 2 skewers, so it doesn’t spin around on the grill. If you’re roasting in oven, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, for the meatball in an oval shape on your palm, then press the meat balls onto the foil

4. Drizzle with some oil and grill for 7-9 minutes, turning occasionally until lightly charred, or roast for 15-20 minutes until the surface is lightly charred

5. Serve warm with the dipping sauce on the side

Korean BBQ Pork

View fullsize

Again, not claiming any authenticity with recipe. But this is simple enough to me to make a delicious dish!

You’ll be surprised how close this gets to restaurant level!

---

Required Equipment:

• Food Processor / Blender

Ingredients:

• 1 small White Onion, coarsely diced

• 1/4 cup Gochujang

• 1/4 cup Gochugaru

• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar

• 2 tbsp Mirin

• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce

• 1/2 inch Ginger, sliced

• 5 Garlic cloves, sliced

• 1 lb Pork (Depends on your preference and available produce, can be belly or pork shoulder or mix of both), thinly sliced

Optional:

• Sesame seeds, garnish

• Lettuce leaves, for wrap

• Scallions, garnish

• Rice, side

What’s Next:

1. Add basically all ingredients except pork (onion, gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, garlic) into the blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth

2. Mix the marinade with the pork slices in a large mixing bowl or container, let sit for 4 hours to overnight (you can easily prepare this 1-2 days ahead of time and leave marinating in the fridge)

3. You can either grill, cook on cast iron on stove or broil! Just make sure you’ve fully cooked through the meat and get some char

4. Garnish with lettuce leaves, scallions, sesames, rice or enjoy on its own!

Sambal Coconut Charred Chicken

View fullsize

The marinade for the chicken is extremely easy, 0 chance for failure. If you like the southeast asian sweet and spicy flavor, this will be your favourite chicken recipe.

The reason why I wrote “charred” is because you can either grill or broil these chicken!

---

Ingredients:

• 3 inch piece of Ginger, grated

• 6 Garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 cup of Coconut milk

• 1/4 cup of Sambal Oelek

• 1/4 cup of Lime juice

• 2 tbsp of Brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar - I think this gives a lot more complexity to sweetness)

• 2 tsp of salt

• 2 lbs of Boneless chicken thigh

Optional:

• Cilantro, garnish

• Lime wedges, garnish

What’s Next:

1. Mix ginger, garlic, coconut milk, Sambal Oelek, lime juice, salt and sugar together in a small bowl, until sugar dissolves

2. Line chicken in a shallow dish, pour the marinade over and massage lightly

3. Let sit for 2-4 hours

4. If you’re broiler, line a broiler-friendly pan with foil, place the chicken in single layer. Turn on broiler, broil for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is charred

5. If you’re grilling, then go right ahead! Should take about 10 minutes, until you see grill marks

6. If you like this dish saucier, pour the remainder of the marinade into a small sauce pan and boil until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon. Or make extra marinade and proceed with this step!

Sambal Shrimp + Pork Lettuce Wrap

View fullsize

The first time I made it, it was already a huge success. Perfect balance of heat, tang and savor. This is really 2 recipe, but if you like shrimp and pork, why not make both and have a bit more fun mix + matching?

---

Ingredients:

• Lettuce leaves, Washed and slightly dried

• 1/2 to 1 White radish, peeled

• 1 Cucumber

• 1/2 cup Rice vinegar

• 2-3 tbsp Fish sauce

• 3 tbsp white sugar

• 2 tbsp salt

• 1 Lime, wedged

  Shrimp

• 1 1/2 lb large shrimp

• 1/2 cup Sambal Oelek

• 1/4 cup Honey

• 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar

• 2 tsp Sesame oil

• 1-2 tbsp Vegetable or Olive oil

Pork

• 1 lb Ground pork

• 2 tbsp Soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Dark brown sugar or Coconut / Palm sugar

• 1 tsp Fish sauce

• 2 tbsp Sambal Oelek

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced, use only white and pale green parts if you can

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Optional:

• Scallions / Basil Leaves / Mint / Cilantro / Toasted Peanuts for garnish

What’s Next:

Pickling the veggies

1. Mix salt onto radish and cucumber in a colander in the sink or onto a plate/bowl, let sit for 15 minutes and for water content to drain slightly

2. Transfer the now softened radish and cucumber into a mixing bowl

3. Mix in sugar, vinegar and fish sauce. Let sit for 15 minutes, in fridge if you like your pickles chilled!

Shrimp

1. Mix Sambal, honey, vinegar, 2 tsp of sesame oil in a small bowl to combine

2. Transfer shrimp to a small mixing bowl, spoon over just enough sauce to coat all the shrimps. Let marinate for 30 minutes

3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering.

4. Lay the shrimp onto the skillet to cook, undisturbed for 2 minutes, until the sugar has caramelized. Turn shrimp over and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Transfer to plate

Pork

1. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce and sambal in a small bowl, set aside

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium. Add scallions and ginger and cook, stirring slightly until fragrant, until golden.

3. Add ground pork and lightly season with salt. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground pork and toss slightly.

4. After the pork is cooked through, 7-10 minutes. Add the reserved sauce and toss until all coated. Remove from pan when almost all liquid has been reduced.

Final Steps!

1. Lay out lettuce wraps, pickled vegetables, lime and herbs on a plate

2. Lay out shrimp and pork in 2 separate bowls

3. Assemble, drizzle the lime, mix and match and enjoy!

Crispy Tofu with Honey Glaze

View fullsize

This is my forever go-to recipe. Super pantry friendly and vegan. Easy 10 minute from stove to table!

---

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of firm tofu

• 1/4 cup of soy sauce

• 3 tbsp of rice vinegar

• 3 tbsp of maple syrup / honey 

• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

• 1/2 piece of ginger, thinly sliced 

• 3 tbsp of oil

• Scallions (garnish)

What’s Next:

1. Drain the tofu and remove excess liquid with paper towel. Cut into slices with 1/2 inch thickness (size can be to your liking) 

2. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup or honey, red pepper flakes and ginger into a small bowl. Set aside

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is rippling across the surface, gently and slowly add tofu, so it doesn't splash! Cook undisturbed until crisp and dark brown on one side, 3-5 minutes. Carefully flip and repeat on the other side. 

4. Spoon the mixture on the tofu pieces. Then flip each slices to make sure both sides are coated. Let sear for 1-2 minutes. Flip again to make sure the other side is crisp as well, 1-2 minutes. 

5. Transfer to plate and top with scallions! 

Braised Gochujang Chicken

View fullsize

Who doesn’t like tender, fall of the bone chicken? I find myself gravitate towards this recipe because of the depth of flavor, no-frills preparation and most importantly super pantry friendly. Almost all the ingredients on the list are shelf-stable or are perishables with long-ish shelf life.

---

Ingredients:

• 2lbs Chicken thighs or legs

• 4 tbps of Butter

• 2 tbps of Vegetable Oil

• 1-2 Onions, chopped in strips

• 1 1/2 inch Ginger, grated

• 8 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup of Gochujang

• 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce

• 2 tbps of Sugar

• 1 tbps of Mirin

• 1 tbps of Sesame Oil

• Black Pepper

• 2-3 cups of Chicken Broth (I’ve also made this with just water, so don’t sweat it)

Optional:

• 4 Scallions, white and pale green parts only, chopped in 1 inch pieces

What’s Next:

1. Mix ginger, garlic, gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sesame oil and black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside

2. Heat up butter and oil in a dutch oven or high walled pot, medium heat. Meanwhile season chicken with salt.

3. Once butter starts to foam, lay the chicken carefully down (it may splash!) into the pot. Turn occasionally and sear until lightly brown, about 5-10 minutes.

4. Add onions and let soften until translucent, about 10 minutes

5. Add the reserved sauce and coat evenly onto chicken and onions. Bring to simmer

6. Add chicken broth or water into the pot. Just enough that the chicken and and onion are submerged

7. Partially cover the lid and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 40-50 minutes

8. Add scallions now if you like, cook for 2-3 more minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Enjoy!