Easy Sumac Chicken with Onions

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This is a perfect recipe for deeply flavorful chicken with minimal prepping time!

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Equipment:

• Cast iron skillet or dutch oven

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs Chicken Legs or 1 1/2 lbs of Chicken Thigh

• Salt

• 3 tbsp Sumac

• 1 tsp Cardamom

• 1 tsp Cumin

• 3 Onions, sliced into strips

What’s Next:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken with salt

2. Mix the sumac, cardamom and cumin together. Sprinkle and rub 2/3 of the mix onto the chicken, make sure to work into the meat

3. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in the cast iron over medium heat. Cook the chicken and turn occasionally (careful oil might splatter!), until all sides are golden brown

4. Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate. Scrap off as much brown bits as possible but leave the oil in the pan

5. Cook the onions into the same pan, splash some water if the pan gets dry. Cook until the onions are 10-15 minutes until golden brown

6. Add the rest of the spice mix into the cast iron, stir frequently until fragrant. Add a splash of water and season with salt. Return the chicken into the cast iron and transfer to oven

7. Bake for 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the liquid has mostly evaporated

Honey Gochujang Zucchini

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Zucchini has always been a versatile ingredient to me. But I’d never say no to another delicious way to cook zucchinis

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Ingredients:

• 4 Zucchinis, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

• 1/4 cup Honey

• 1/3 cup Rice Vinegar

• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce

• 1/4 cup Sambal Oelek

• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil

Optional:

• Lime wedges, garnish

• Cilantro, garnish

What’s Next:

1. Toss the zucchini slices in a colander with a tsp of salt, let sit for 10 minutes and drain excess water

2. Combine honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and sambal oelek in a small saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until it’s reduced to an almost syrup consistency. Remove from heat and mix in the sesame oil

3. Prep the zucchini slices for grill or broiler. Brush the top side with glaze and cook for 3-4 minutes (likely longer for broiler), until the top side is lightly charred

4. Flip the zucchini slices and brush the other side with glaze, cook for another 3 minutes or so until this side is lightly charred as well

5. Remove from heat and serve!

Easiest Cacio e Pepe Asparagus ever

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

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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!

Miso Mayo Sriracha Short Ribs

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Another recipe for last minute cooking. This is written for short ribs, but should work for other cuts too! (Flank, Skirt…etc.)

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs bone-in flanken style short ribs or 1 lb boneless sliced to 1/2 inch thickness

• 1/4 cup Miso

• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise

• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 1 tbsp Sriracha

Optional:

• Scallions for toppings

What’s Next:

1. Mix the ingredients for the marinade sauce together.

2. Lightly season the short ribs with salt and place in a mixing bowl or baking sheet.

3. Spoon over all except 3 tbsp of marinade over to the short ribs. Mix well and coat the short ribs evenly with marinade

4. Heat a cast iron pan under medium-high heat with 2 tsp of oil. Cook the ribs on 1 side, undisturbed until deep dark brown, 2-3 minutes. Then flip to the other side for another 2 minutes.

5. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Then serve the short ribs with the extra marinade previously set aside.

Easy Savoury Flank Steak

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No time? No problem. This recipe requires no marinating. Get a nice piece of flank steak, sear to your liking and drizzle with the savoury sauce!

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb Flank Steak

• 1/4 cup Mirin

• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce

• 1 tbsp Rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp Sriracha or Sambal Oelek

• 2 tbsp of Brown or Palm sugar

• 2 tsp of Sesame Oil

Optional:

• Sesame seeds or chopped scallions as toppings

What’s Next:

1. Season the flank steak with salt and pepper, set aside in room temperature for 30 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together, set aside.

2. Preheat the cast iron pan with medium high heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Sear the flank steak on both sides to your liking. Depending on the thickness of the steak, may take from 8 to 12 minutes.

3. Remove the steak from the pan and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing thinly. Place the steak on a deep dish and pour the marinade over. Dig in after 5-10 minutes!

Strawberry Rhubarb "Crisp"

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Nothing reminds me more of summer than strawberry rhubarb. There is a distinct tartness that makes you crave one more bite. The reason why I say “crisp” is because typically a crisp or cobbler have butter, sugar and flour mix together to create the texture. But I want to make this more guilt free! So it certainly won’t be as crunchy but is certainly better for you!

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Ingredients:

Filling

• 1 Cup of Rhubarb, chopped (This is about 2 stalks for me)

• 1 Cup of Strawberries, chopped

• 2 Tbsp of White Sugar

• 1 Tsp of Vanilla

Topping

• 1 Cup of Rolled Oats

• 1 Cup of Nuts (Chopped Pecans and Sliced Almonds work great)

• 1/3 Cup Brown or Palm Sugar

• 1/2 Tsp Salt

• 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

• 1/4 Coconut Oil, Melted

Optional for the Topping:

• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg or Cardamom

• 1/3 Cup of Coconut Flakes (for the crunch!)

Required Equipment:

• Pyrex with flat bottom or deep dish for baking

What’s Next:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the filling ingredients (strawberry, rhubarb, vanilla and sugar) together and spread across the bottom of the baking dish in one layer

2. Mix the rest of the topping ingredients together (oats, nuts, sugar, salt, spices and coconut oil). Sprinkle evenly across the fruits in the baking dish

3. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown!

4. Serve warm with ice cream is highly recommended!

Easier-than-you-think Granola

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For some reason for years I’ve always bought granola from the store. Thinking it’s not worth my time to figure out how to make this myself while hating the amount of sugar is in these commercial products.

Then I came across this easy recipe and you can tailor it to your liking

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Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Rolled Oats

• 2 Cups of Nuts (I do Pistachios, Almond Slices, Pecan and Cashew)

• 1/3 Cup Coconut Flakes

• 1/3 Cup Cranberries unsweetened

• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

• 1/2 Tbsp Honey (Can scale this up if you like it sweeter)

*Don’t sweat it if you don’t have all the nuts mentioned above. Variety will give you different texture and flavors, but as long as you don’t mind, any type of nuts will do!

**This will make a loose granola ; if you like granola with larger crunch that stick together, I think adding more honey will be what you need to bind them together

What’s Next:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil or silicon baking mat

2. Melt the coconut oil in a small heatproof bowl gently in the microwave, 7-10 seconds at a time. Then add the honey into the coconut oil, mix well. They might look a little separated, but it’s fine

3. Sprinkle the oats, nuts, coconut flakes and cranberries onto the baking sheet. Drizzle the coconut oil honey mixture onto the oats and nuts. Mix them gently to coat them as much as possible. If your oats look dull, then add a bit more coconut oil ; if it looks too shiny then add a bit more nuts or oats to avoid the granola tasting greasy. The nuts will release more oil during baking.

4. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the mixture of your nuts, this time will vary (i.e. Pecan tend to burn a lot easier). I find coconut flakes to be a good indicator, when the edges of the coconut flakes are brown, it’s ready!

Red Wine & Soy Braised Short Ribs

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The most effortless and tenderest short ribs ever!

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

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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!

Roast Carrots with Mozzarella and Toasted Pistachios

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You’ll be surprised how simple this recipe is and how complex the flavor and texture turn out!

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Ingredients:

• 6-7 Carrots, chopped to 2 inch length pieces, cut the thicker pieces in half lengthwise

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 1/2 Cup Mozzarella

• 2 Tsp Lemon Juice

• Pinch of Sea Salt Flakes (if not, regular fine salt will be fine)

• 1/4 Cup Pistachios, unsalted and raw

What’s Next:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

2. Lay all the carrot pieces in a deep baking dish or baking sheet with foil. Drizzle olive oil on the carrots and toss lightly to coat evenly

3. Roast pistachios until they are lightly golden brown, probably 5-10 minutes. This temperature is slightly higher than what it typically takes to roast pistachios, but since you’re already roasting carrots, why not be efficient. So make sure to keep an eye out

4. While pistachios are roasting, start roasting carrots for 25-30 minutes or until you can pierce through the carrots with a fork. Let cool for 2-3 minutes.

5. Drizzle lemon juice over the carrots and sprinkle some salt. Depending on the type of mozzarella you have, cut or rip them into ~1/2 inch bite size and toss over the carrots. Top up the dish with the roasted pistachios

Soy Ginger Kabocha Squash

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Firstly, I will admit that I always thought these are just pumpkins in the grocery stores.

This is the recipe for when you have a kabocha squash, want a light veggie dish and don’t want lots of ingredients to prep for

And you can eat the skin! No peeling required!

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Required Equipment:

• Some sort of steamer inserts or bamboo steamers.

Ingredients:

• 1 Kabocha squash

• 3 Scallions, separate the white and green bits, chop both

• 2 Garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 2 tbsp Sesame Oil

• 2 tbsp Soy sauce

• 1/2 inch Ginger, grated

• 2 tsp Honey

Optional:

• Sesame seeds, garnish

What’s Next:

1. Setup your steamer. Start heating up water in the pot.

2. Mix white & pale green parts of the scallions, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and honey in a small heatproof (pyrex is good) bowl or sauce dish

3. Wash the kabocha squash well, as you can eat the skin. Cut them into halves and remove the seeds. Slice into 1/2 inch wedges.

4. Put the small bowl with sauce into the middle of the steamer. Layer all the squash wedges around it. You can partially cover the sauce bowl if you need to, but careful it might soften and fall in.

5. Steam for about 15 minutes until the squash can be easily pierced through. Remove squash from steamer and serve with the dressing!

Vegetarian Umami Ramen-ish

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I call it Ramen’ish because it will probably be offensive to many the fact that there is no bone used to make the broth.

So… take this more like a noodle soup recipe that you can make basically whenever you like and gives you amazing broth without hours of work.

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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Oil (Preferably a more neutral one like Peanut oil)

• 6 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp Sesame seeds'

• 3 tbsp Gochugaru (Or other alternative pepper flakes)

• 2 tbsp Sesame oil

• 3 Scallions, chopped and with whites and greens separated

• 1 inch Ginger, grated

• 2 servings of Noodles (Can be zucchini noodles, Shirataki noodles too), blanched / cooked

• 10 heads of Bokchoy, blanched (Depending on what you have in the pantry, you can easily flex for another type of vegetable)

You may not need to have everything here, but at least 3-4 to create a complex umami broth:

• 1 tbsp Tomato paste (double concentrated if possible)

• 3 tbsp Miso paste (if you like miso, you can go heavier on this)

• 2 tbsp Gochujang (Might get spicy, adjust based on your preference)

• 1 tbsp Soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Kombu

Optional:

• 1 tbsp Butter (Can omit if you want to keep this vegan!)

What’s Next:

1. First, let’s make the chili garlic oil. Add the 1/4 of oil in a small sauce pan over low heat. After 2-3 minutes, add in the garlic slices. It should sizzle slightly but not splashing. Stir occasionally to make sure the garlic is colored evenly, the bottom side will brown first. When the garlic picks up light brown color on both sides, add the sesame seeds. When the garlic is in a more medium shade of brown, turn off the heat and let the oil mixture cool in the pan slightly

2. Add the Gochugaru / Pepper Flake in a small heatproof container, pour in the oil mixture and mix well. Set aside.

3. Second, let’s make the broth. Add the sesame oil to a deep pot over low heat. After the oil is heated up, add the grated ginger and white and pale green parts of the scallions into the pot. Stir frequently to make sure nothing burns. The scallions should sweat slightly.

4. When the scallions has fully softened and pot becomes fragrant, add in the tomato paste, miso and Gochujang, however many you have! Continue to stir the paste into the scallion and ginger. Make sure nothing burns on the bottom.

5. After the paste has darkened in color, add 4-5 cups of water and turn up the heat to medium. Add kombu and soy sauce if you’re using. Add the butter and stir until completely melted. Bring the broth to a boil and taste to see how you’d like to adjust the flavors.

6. Third, the noodle and veggies to your liking. Blanche the vegetables just until likely cooked, bokchoy will take probably 1 minute or so. Cook the noodle of your choice. Drain both n a colander, you don’t want extra water in your broth!

7. Assemble the noodle and vegetables in a large deep bowl. Spoon over the broth, sprinkle some chopped green scallion bits and drizzle as much chili garlic oil as you like. Enjoy!

8. scallions

Sukiyaki Beef

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

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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!

Goma-e Spinach

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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

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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

Roast Carrots with Nuoc Cham

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I have to admit, I had no idea what Nuoc Cham is before I attempted this recipe. I’ve never had it, but thought the ingredients might make a delicious sauce.

I was not wrong.

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Required Equipment:

• Hand blender / Blender / Food Processor

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs Carrots, scrubbed / peeled (cut in half if some carrots are thick or vary significantly in size)

• 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp Oil

• 1 Shallot, thinly sliced

• 2 Thai chilis, sliced (if you don’t have this at hand, substitute with dried chili flakes)

• 1/2 inch piece of Ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

• 3 Garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp of Fish sauce

• 2 tbsp of Brown Sugar (or Coconut Palm Sugar even better!)

• 2 tbsp of Lime juice

• 1 tbsp of Mayonnaise

Optional:

• Cilantro, garnish

What’s Next:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, drizzle 2 tbsp of oil and lightly coat the carrots in a foil lined roasting pan or Pyrex. Lightly season with salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned (this will depend on the size of your carrots)

2. Add shallots, chili, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, sugar and 2 tbsp of water in a small sauce pan. Cook with low-medium heat until gentle simmer, 8-10 minutes just until the shallots are softened. The sauce shouldn’t be thick. Remove from heat and let cool

3. Transfer to a blender or food processor or a deep bowl if you’re using a hand blender. Add mayonnaise and lime juice. Blend until smooth (don’t worry if you’ll still see tiny bits of shallots, it’d be hard to get this completely smooth). Drizzle in another 2 tbsp of oil, mix until you no longer see the separation of oil and sauce

4. Drizzle over carrots just before serving

5. Sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill in fridge.

Sambal Coconut Charred Chicken

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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!

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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!

Curried Butternut Squash Coconut Soup

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Growing up in Asia, soup is always light and probably clear. More so known as “broth” in western culinary definitions. But I occasionally fall for the famous New England chowder, as well as flavor soup like this one.

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Required equipment:

• Blender / Food Processor

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion, quartered

• Butternut squash (peeled, halved lengthwise, cut into ~1 inch pieces)

• 4 Garlic cloves

• 1/4 cup of Coconut oil (If you don’t have this, olive oil is totally fine)

• 1 1/2 cup of Coconut milk + 2 tablespoons for garnish (optional)

• 1 tbsp Pepper flakes (Feel free to add more if you like the kick)

• 3 tablespoons of Curry powder (any kind that you like, Garam Masala for example) 

Optional:

• Cilantro, chopped

• Shallot, quartered (if I happen to have shallots, i’ll add it along with onion, it gives more flavor to the soup)

• Ginger (treat it like garlic)

• Cinnamon / Cardamom (Warm spices will go really well here)

What’s Next:

1. Toast coconut flakes in oven at 350 degrees or stove top, ~3-5 minutes until light brown and set aside

2. Heat up the coconut oil in a dutch oven or medium size pot over medium heat

3. Add onion, garlic or shallots if you like (optional), 2 teaspoons of salt, black pepper, curry powder, pepper flakes and any spices listed as optional if you like. Occasionally stir with a wooden spoon until onion has softened and become translucent, about 5-7 minutes

4. Add squash to the pot, stir to coat. Then add ~3 cups of water just about cover the squash and add coconut milk. Turn heat up to boiling. 

5. Turn down the heat to medium and let the vegetables cook until tender, about 12-14 minutes. 

6. Transfer the content to a blender or to a large bowl if you're using a hand blender. Fill up to no more than half way. Make sure it's equal parts of liquid vs solid. Better to do this in smaller batches than to have soup cover your kitchen :) 

7. If your blender has a vent, keep that open. Otherwise the steam will blow off the cover as you blend. Start slow and work your way up to high, until the content is smooth and silky. Transfer to a large bowl and continue to work in batches. 

8. Give it a final taste, add salt to adjust to your taste 

9. If your soup has lost temperature during the blending process, pour back to the pot and reheat for a few minutes 

10. Garnish with coconut milk, toasted coconut, black pepper and cilantro!

Roasted Sweet Potato with Miso Tahini Sauce

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As I’m typing this, I wonder if I’ve let out the biggest cooking secret…

This is a SUPER easy recipe, requiring ingredients that are fairly shelf stable, you can always have this as a back up

Plus did I mention this is plant based?!

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Ingredients:

• 2 small to medium size Sweet Potatoes (No need to peel if you don’t mind the texture, I personally don’t! less work and extra fiber :) )

• 2-3 tbps Olive OIl

• 2 tbsp Miso

• 2 tbsp Tahini

• 2 tsp of Rice Vinegar

Optional:

• 2 Scallions, chopped, for garnish

• Sesame Seeds, for garnish

What’s Next:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2. Cut the sweet potatoes into pieces, depending on your preference, either just 1 inch cubes or semi circles with 1/2 thickness are ok. Drizzle some olive oil into a baking dish/pyrex or onto aluminum foil on a baking sheet, place the cut potatoes as 1 layer and lightly salt

3. Put the sweet potatoes into the oven. I like to place it on the low rack and then half way through flip the pieces. Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your sweet potatoes.

4. Meanwhile, mix miso, tahini and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Depending on how salty your miso is, you might want to add more tahini or vinegar, or even water. This is completely up to your taste.

5. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. Serve with sauce, and garnishes!

Crispy Tofu with Honey Glaze

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

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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

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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.

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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!