All posts filed under: KitchenBowl

roasted asparagus, lemon, chorizo and feta recipe

Macau – Food Journal Part II (with recipe)

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Although it was only in the beginning of March, the evening was warm but exceptionally pleasant. We (group of eleven people) were gathering in the front of a high-rise building, where we were going to have dinner at a supper club runs by a Macanese lady, Maria Couto at her home in the old part of Macau city, not far from my parent’s apartment where I grew up. She is a native Macanese whose mother is Cantonese and father is Portuguese. She is a home cook specialises in traditional Macanese cooking. Karen and my other sister Lily had been to Maria’s private dinner and they both impressed by her cooking. So they thought it would be special for us to enjoy some ‘home cooking’ instead of going to a restaurant as usual. Like many other who heard of Maria, who was also featured in editorial in several local newspapers and magazines regarding her supper club, would reserve an evening there, dining privately with splendid homemade Macanese food. Mixed feelings flooded in when I stepped into that very building where I used to frequent as …

Kohlrabi kimchi recipe

Kohlrabi Kimchi

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My fondness for Korean food was developed profoundly during my student years in London. As an university student, I lived for a few year with couple of fellow students from Korea who then became my closest friends for many years. They introduced me to kimchi (fermented cabbage), and we often made it together. Gochujang (Korean hot chili paste), which would be added to most of the dishes, Budae Jjigae (spicy stew with various ingredients such as spam, meat, vegetables and noodles) which we would cook on gloomy winter nights; Pa Jun (Korean savory pan cake) which usually consists of homemade kimchi, eggs and flour, served with a soy vinegar dipping sauce. In most of the weekend evenings, we would prepare many different dishes/snacks, such as kimchi soup, rice, toasted nori, grilled dried squid etc. and then spend the rest of the night munching on those simple homemade food and sipping Soju (Korean liquor made with rice or wheat) into the wee small hours. Another thing we loved to do was eating out in one of the best Korean restaurants …

Brownies with cream and berries recipe

My Favorite Brownies

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It has to be my favorite brownies recipe by far. I stumbled upon this recipe on David Lebovitz blog when I was looking for an easy, gluten free brownies recipe for a barbecue party where we were invited to on Monday. And instantly, I knew it would be ‘the brownies recipe’ that I will make again and again, and I was right, not only did the heavenly smell of chocolate fill up the entire house, but also it tasted so good that I made it twice this week (!) yes, it is that Amazing! I am glad that I made this brownies twice because I discovered something crucial; I used two different types of sugar in the two separate occasions: the first time I used caster sugar, the brownies was lighter both in texture and in taste. I added in toasted hazelnut to give a crunchier texture. We had it with lemon sorbet, it was sweet, chocolatey with the combination of a tangy citrus punch. Crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the …

Chicken with leek and mushroom sauce recipe

Pan-Fried Chicken Breast with Leek and Mushroom Sauce

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Leeks are wonderful vegetable! They should not be underrated as just stock vegetable or something that you would only use in a stew. In my opinion raw leeks are somewhat unappealing, rubbery in texture and the onion-y smell (when cut) is rather intense. But when they are cooked properly, the subtle sweetness and creamy texture are absolutely delights for the taste buds. Besides, leeks are packed with many vitamins, omega-3 fats and fibre and should be included in one’s healthy diet. I must say I was a bit ashamed that I didn’t really appreciate leeks until just couple of years ago: I was once in an experimental mood on a dark winter day, I found a stalk of leek was lying in the crisper of the fridge, so I sautéed the shredded leeks in olive oil for a few minutes until they started to soften, then added curry powder and coconut milk. When the leeks were cooked until soft and silky, I served the vegetables with some pan-fried fish fillets, it was amazing! Since then l have totally changed my mind …

spicy shrimp and peanut topping recipe

Spicy Shrimp and Peanut Topping (for a colourful salad)

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One of my sisters – Karen who lives in Macau, gave me a pack of really good quality dried shrimps when I was visiting a couple of weeks ago. I have been ‘day dreaming’ about creating a new recipe with these beautiful little shrimps ever since we came back from our holiday. I am glad I did eventually, and because of this recipe, which reminds me how much I used to love this flavorsome ingredient when I was a little girl. I remember my mother would cook them in soup with mung bean vermicelli and Chinese courgette, steamed them with egg, used them to ‘spice up’ the otherwise bland cabbage stew, and the list goes on. Now I am just happy that I rediscover this amazingly versatile ingredient and looking forward to extend my cooking repertoire with the help of these little guys! Dried shrimp is full of flavour, aromatic and has a chewy texture that survives even in a long cooking process. It is a natural ‘flavour enhancer’, which in my opinion, is equivalent to anchovies in Italian …

gluten free spicy mushroom avo toastie recipe

Chili (Gochujang) Mushroom and Avocado Toastie

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I love this unusual combination of spicy chili mushroom and creamy avocado on toast recipe I created for Kitchenbowl, and now you can get the step by step photo recipe here! Just in case you would like to have a written version of this recipe, here is the list of ingredients and method you need to make this easy and delicious toastie. Note: you will only need about 1-2 teaspoons of the yummy chili sauce for this sandwich. The left over sauce can be used with nearly anything, for example: spread it on grilled meat, fish, stir-fry vegetables, rice and noodles etc. Enjoy and have a lovely Easter Holiday! Ingredients: (serves 2) For the chili sauce: (with left over sauce, keep in fridge) 1tbsp. Gochujang – Korean chili paste 1 tbsp. Miso paste 2 tbsp. Toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp. Tamari or soy sauce 1 pinch of sugar 1/2 clove of garlic, minced For the toastie: 1 Ripe avocado A dash of Lemon Juice 150g Oyster mushroom, brush cleaned and roughly sliced 4 slices of Gluten-Free …

dan dan noodles recipe

Jet Lag and a bowl of Dan Dan Noodles

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I usually cope very well with jet lag, perhaps I am getting older (!!) therefore it has not been so easy for me this time round. Wake up way too early in the mornings (still dark outside) wondering if I should force myself to get up or try to fall back asleep. Then in the afternoon, yawning starts sometime between 3pm to 4pm, and last for a good hour. My jaw will hurt from yawning too much, and my eyes water. Felt like I had too much to drink the night before. It is kind of tough to go about with the usual daily chores, but I try to cook and write in between yawning and doing laundry, that is the reason why this post took me a while to write…but I am glad that my first post, after a nearly 3 weeks break, is finally online! After nearing 3 weeks of indulgence with incredibly delicious food, it was quite tough for me to decide on a recipe to cook and write about. Or rather I should say, too many …

fennel and blood orange salad recipe

Shaved Fennel and Blood Orange Salad

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I’ve got some news for you: my blog will go through a ‘make over’ in the next few days, it will have a much better design and will be definitely more user friendly! It may take a little while until every detail is worked to perfection, so please bare with me during the next days while I am working on the upgrade, and I can’t wait to show you it’s new face! 🙂 The other news is I am absolutely delighted to be invited as one of the recipe contributors by a social community for food and recipes – Kitchenbowl, a Seattle based online community – so you will see my recipes with step-by-step photos on their site from now on! I haven’t done any recipe this way before, so when Kitchenbowl approached me, I immediately thought it would be a great opportunity and experience for me to try out this method of sharing recipes, it is challenging and allows me to sharpen my food styling and photography skill. So I tried it out with today’s recipe – Shaved …