All posts tagged: gluten free

Holiday White Bean Salad

Published by Lydia Wong

It’s certainly been a while! How have you all been? My family and I travelled to France at the end of June for two weeks and after we came back to Berlin, I still felt like I needed a little bit more time to settle into our new way of life, so I took another three weeks off, hardly any activity on social media either. I am feeling great after this long break and am immensely grateful that we could get out of our apartment after being ‘home-bounded’ for many months, a change of scenery surely helped us eliminated some of the anxiety and uncertainty that were built up in the past few months. We feel a lot better than a month ago and we certainly have found a new rhythm for our everyday life. Although our lives will still be affected by Coronavirus for some times to come, but we are learning everyday to better adapt to this unfortunate situation, hopefully to restore some sort of normalities. That said, our lives will never be the same …

Miso Congee with Tarami Shiitake Jammy Egg, spicy sesame spring onion recipe

Miso Congee with Tamari marinated Shiitake Mushroom, Jammy Egg and Spicy Sesame Spring Onions

Published by Lydia Wong

One of my many favourite dishes I grew up with is congee – also known as ‘rice porridge’, rice first marinated in salt and oil to allow the rice to break down quicker and easier to absorb flavours, then cooked in water or broth with other ingredients such as meat, seafood, dried mushroom and lots of different pickles vegetables to boost the umami flavour, cooked until it is velvety and pillowy (somewhere between porridge and soup). My mother used to serve congee with two types of fried noodles on the side, some people love to add fried bread sticks, pickled eggs and nuts to add texture. But congee can be eaten as a full meal as it is, depends on what ingredients you put in it, like the recipe I am sharing with you here, with just a few simple toppings, you have a bowl of flavourful, warm-your-heart-and-belly goodness to enjoy. It is the ultimate comfort food of my childhood, even now, I crave for it from time to time, especially when I feel like …

Courgette Halloumi Waffles

Published by Lydia Wong

I always make sure I have Halloumi in the fridge, grilled or pan-fried brings out the best flavour of this cheese; I love its curious squeaky texture and its beautiful golden brown colour when fried, that’s why it is my favourite cheese of all time! And it makes a wonderful meat substitute for those who wants to cut down on their meat consumption. Apart from frying them as it is, I love to grate them and add them into a mixture of grated vegetable, egg and chickpea flour to make fritters or pancakes (it is a dish that is on our weekly meal plan rotation). My favourite veggie mix are courgette and potato, I used to fry the mixture like fritters, but since I was given a waffle maker last Christmas, plus it does make the cooking process a lot easier, I have been making them as waffles ever since! But you can definitely just fry them in a frying pan like pancakes or fritters, it will be just as tasty! Notes: 1. I like these …

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Granola

Published by Lydia Wong

How are you holding up so far this week? I am looking forward to soaking up some sun later on our balcony, reading my book and to enjoy spending some quality time with my family: no home office, home schooling or blogging! Just us hanging out, playing board games, eating etc. And we have a mutual agreement that we will always have breakfast together in the weekend, which is always nice and enjoyable. Talking about breakfast, one of my favourites is granola, especially when I am hungry and don’t want to spend too much time cooking in the morning. I always make my own granola, it is cheaper than shop bought ones and I know exactly what’s in it, adding different flavour each time as I wish. So today, I will share my favourite way to make granola, this Peanut Butter Granola is definitely one of my favourites; again see this recipe as a guideline and don’t worry too much if you have not had all the ingredients stated (see notes for variations), just throw …

Smoky Lentil Stew – with Two Different Toppings

Published by Lydia Wong

How are you all holding up? We are doing fine on our side but I think my family and I are still adjusting to this new way of life. It can be tiring mentally as there are still so much uncertainty about what is going to happen in the near future, for all of us and for the entire world. I am just trying to cope by cooking and baking a lot in order to take my mind off the unthinkable. I am grateful that we can still get fresh produce in the markets and with a few pantry ingredients, I can make something comforting and nourishing for the family. Today, I am sharing a very simple recipe which is absolutely delicious, you can turn this dish into several variations to suit different tastes. If you make a big pot, it will last you for a few meals (in fact, it tastes even better the next day). And of course you can freeze some for whenever you crave for some comfort food. Notes: 1. The ingredient …

Kimchi Fried Rice

Published by Lydia Wong

I hope everyone is well! We are living in a very strange time right now and I know our lives have changed dramatically in the recent weeks, no schools, no child cares and parents have to work from home as well as looking after their children. Also many businesses have to be closed for at least a month (or maybe longer) and many people have lost their jobs. It is such a difficult time at so many levels for so many people around the world, but I know we have to remain positive, to be responsible to our community and do our parts to help to stop spreading the virus. Social distancing is the only way to combat the spread, I see it with my family in Hong Kong and Macau, the cases are falling in China because they have been isolated themselves from others since the pandemic started, healthcare professionals and virologists advise us to stay at home and limit social contacts, because it is the only way to stop it spreading. I don’t …

Vegan Caldo Verde with Smoky Caramelised Onion and Pecans recipe

Caldo Verde – Portuguese Style Green Soup with Smoky Caramelised Onion and Pecan Nut

Published by Lydia Wong

If you have been following my blog from the beginning, you would have come across one of my favourite and earliest recipes on the blog – Caldo Verde. It is Portuguese, means ‘green soup’ and usually served with smoky Chouriço/chorizo (you can find my recipe here). I grew up eating this soup and it became one of my favourite childhood dishes. Creamy velvety potato based soup dotted with freshly chopped kale, flavoured with smoky umami Chouriço slices, the golden fragrant paprika oil from the sausage saturates and infuses the soup in a magically delicious way, the overall taste is pretty unique and it always reminds me of home. But today’s version of Caldo Verde is no ordinary one: there is no chouriço involves so it makes this soup vegan and gluten free. I thought of a way of recreate the smoky and umami taste that comes from the chouriço, which I thought in the beginning was impossible without using ready-made faux meat (shop-bought vegan chorizo normally contains gluten, therefore it is out of the question for …

MaPo Tofu

Published by Lydia Wong

Have you ever had MaPo tofu before? Traditionally, it is a spicy braised tofu dish with mince beef in a chilli bean sauce. It is one of the most popular dishes in many Asian countries and every country has its own version of it. I remember it was one of our family dinner staples when I was young. It is silky, saucy, spicy, an absolute umami bomb! Serving it with rice is a must as the rice will soak up all the deliciousness and every mouthful is a delight! If you are a big tofu fan like I am, you will love this dish. Although this recipe is not as traditional as you might think because it consists of no meat, it is my own version which is more relevant to me right now. Since I adapted a mostly plant-based diet, I am always up for different ways to incorporate tofu into my cooking. So there you are, a vegan version of my childhood favourite Mapo tofu! I replaced beef with oyster mushrooms and pecan nuts …

Roasted cauliflower with red pepper tapenade recipe

Roasted Sumac Cauliflower Steak served with Herb Millet and Red Pepper Tapenade

Published by Lydia Wong

Ok I know there are probably thousands of Cauliflower steak recipe on the internet already, but I am still very happy to join in and share my own creation with you. Every one of those recipes available online or in cookbook is unique in someway and my one is no different. I like to pan sear the cauliflower ‘steak’ first in the pan to get it nicely charred, then finish cooking it in the oven with some smoky spices. I know it is one extra step, but searing the cauliflower allows it to caramelise which brings out its natural sweetness; in addition to the smoked paprika, sumac and seasoning, then perfectly cooked to ‘al dente’ in the oven, this humble piece of vegetable is about to turn into something extraordinarily delicious. Serve the cauliflower steak with the creamy pepper tapenade, and the herby millet, you will definitely look at cauliflower in a whole new way, I promise you! Notes: 1. To cut the cauliflower into ‘steak’, I first cut the whole thing in half and then cut …

Roasted Miso Aubergine with Herby Polenta

Published by Lydia Wong

This is one of my absolute favourite dishes and it is on our dinner menu on a weekly bases. I have been meaning to share this recipe with you long time ago, but I kept forgetting about it. But I am so excited to finally share it with you and I hope it will become one of your favourites too. Notes: I use my homemade miso paste for this recipe and it is equivalent to the darker miso type. If you have only white miso, you might need to add some soy sauce or tamari to add in a bit more saltiness to the marinade as white miso tends to be on a sweeter side. The marinade should taste sharp and a little bit on the salty side, with an under tone sweetness. This recipe will make plenty of the miso marinade (you might only need half of it depends on the size of the aubergine) and the left over can be use for other dishes (e.g. roasted cauliflower, or even just add it on …