Mala Glass Noodle Salad with Steak, Smashed Cucumbers, and Egg Ribbons

Chinese salads are not big bowls loaded with leafy greens like what you think of with Western salads. They are more often cold appetizers featuring just one marinated crunchy veggie. (Btw, “Chinese chicken salad” is not really a Chinese salad, it’s Chinese-American!) Smashed cucumber salad may be the most iconic example of these crunchy veggie cold dishes that we have instead of salads. It can sometimes be found with mala chili oil and other times without, but either way, it is incredibly refreshing for summer. I wanted to take this classic salad and turn it into a full meal that would be perfect for a hot summer evening (even though it is cold and gloomy in SF), and this is what I came up with!

This salad has:

  • smashed cucumbers, marinated in the classic rice vinegar based dressing with lots of zingy garlic

  • glass noodles for a satisfyingly bouncy texture

  • egg ribbons for airiness and savoriness

  • Chinese five spice-rubbed steak

  • cilantro and radish microgreens for freshness and herbaceousness

  • toasted sesame seeds for the finishing touch

  • mala chili oil for that numbing spicy heat that I am obsessed with!

Not a boring salad by any means! Click here to get the recipe on the Pete and Gerry’s site!

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Thank you so much to Pete and Gerry’s for sponsoring this recipe!

Recipe: Galbi Fajita Platter

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One of my best purchases during the pandemic was a Korean-style tabletop grill pan. I was missing that indoor dining experience of Korean barbeque and one of the things I tried to do regularly to make up for being unable to travel was do themed dinners at home, so being able to cook KBBQ definitely became a highlight. Unlike what we think of as a “grill” in the States, which usually involves flames coming up through a grate, cooking Korean barbeque at home can be done on a special nonstick pan that is contoured to allow excess rendered fat to slide away from the meat. But if you don’t have one of these special pans, you can also easily replicate the experience with a griddle or a nonstick pan.

The idea behind this platter was to combine two different dishes that involve lots of different ingredients being served separately at the table to then get wrapped together right before eating. I realized that Tex-Mex fajitas and Korean ssam have a lot of things in common.  Ssam means “wrapped” in Korean, and usually involves making little wraps at the table with a leafy veggie and a small piece of meat inside, often with garlic, peppers, and spicy ssamjang. Fajitas usually involve a mix of meat and peppers, with salsa on the side and tortillas for wrapping everything together. So, they both involve some kind of meat cut into small pieces, served with peppers and some kind of spicy sauce, all wrapped up in something flat by the eater in a sort of choose-your-own-adventure experience at the dining table. I decided to take components from both of these dishes to make a fusion fajita platter where everything can be cooked on my Korean grill pan.

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I used Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil in three different ways to prepare this galbi fajita spread:

The marinade: In my opinion, good Korean BBQ is all about good quality meat and a great marinade! This bulgogi-inspired sweet-savory marinade is super easy to come together because everything gets thrown in a blender. I used Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the marinade because I thought its rich, almost fruity flavor would go better with the other fajita ingredients than the sesame oil typically used for ssam. 

Sautéed peppers and onions: For this fusion fajita platter, I used a mix of sweet and spicy peppers instead of just the usual bell peppers. Using Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil helped with getting a good sear on these veggies to bring out their natural flavors. In general, this is my go-to oil for sautéing because it has less saturated fat, and more monounsaturated fat (otherwise known as healthy fats) than many other cooking oils.

Gochujang crema: Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil brings such richness to condiments and dressings, so I used it to get the mouthfeel I was looking for with my gochujang crema. This mixture of Korean red pepper paste and crème fraîche is so tasty for fans of anything spicy and creamy, and I am definitely going to be using it on more than just tortillas.

You’ll see that I pulled accoutrements from both of the inspiration dishes—fajitas and ssam—to make up the platter, but this idea is super customizable to your taste. I used LA-style galbi for the meat because it’s very iconic to my personal experiences having Korean BBQ in California—it is flanken-cut short ribs typically cooked as strips and then cut with kitchen shears before eating. If you can’t find this, strips of steak or pork belly would also work great (if you adjust cooking times accordingly). You could also go the ssam route and use leafy greens as your wrap instead of tortillas for a more fresh, healthy option. That’s why I think of this as a choose-your-own-adventure meal!

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How to Make a Galbi Fajita Platter

Ingredients for Galbi

1/2 apple*, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 small red onion, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp mirin
5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 – 1 1/4 lb LA-style (flanken cut) galbi

Ingredients for Gochujang Crema

1 tbsp gochujang
4 tsp crème fraîche
1/2 tsp Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp honey

Ingredients for Fajita Platter

1 tbsp Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 small red onion, cut into 1/4” strips
1/2 lb peppers (mix of sweet and spicy), seeded and cut into 1/4” strips
2–4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lime, quartered
cilantro, for garnish
8–10 small tortillas, warmed
salt, to taste

* honeycrisp, pink lady, or fuji apple recommended

Procedure

To make the galbi marinade, combine the apple, onion, garlic, mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, and Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a blender and blend until liquified. Place the galbi in a large zip-top bag or shallow dish and pour the marinade over it. Make sure all galbi pieces are in contact with the marinade and seal. Place in the fridge and allow to marinade for at least 1 hour, overnight recommended.

To make the gochujang crema, whisk together the gochujang, crème fraîche, Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and honey until smooth. Set aside until ready to serve.

Heat a Korean-style indoor grill pan or stovetop griddle on medium-high. Add Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, then onion and pepper strips. Salt to taste, and continue to cook, flipping occasionally, until edges begin to brown. Move to the edges of the grill pan where there is less heat. Add garlic slices and cook until slightly golden on each side, then move away from direct heat as well. 

Drain excess marinade from the galbi and place on the grill pan. Cook until slightly charred on one side, flip, and cook the other side (2–4 minutes per side). 

Transfer pepper and onion mixture to a serving platter, as well as garlic. If desired, use kitchen shears to cut galbi into smaller pieces and remove bone pieces. Arrange galbi on the serving platter and garnish with scallions. Add jalapeno slices, avocado, and lime. Garnish with cilantro. Serve alongside warmed tortillas and gochujang crema, and enjoy family style.

Thank you so much to Filippo Berio for sponsoring this recipe! Visit their website to learn more about their authentic Italian olive oils, made to the highest quality standard of excellence and craftsmanship.

Recipe: Chili Makrut Yellowtail Ceviche

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One of my favorite food memories of all time is from a ceviche tostadas stall in Mexico City called Tostadas La Chaparrita in the Mercado de Coyoacán. We had spent several hours waiting in the heat to get into Casa Azul (a.k.a. Frida Kahlo’s old home turned museum) and were desperate for a good bite to eat after a disappointing museum experience. A quick Google search led me to this well-reviewed place but what we got when we arrived exceeded expectations—a wide bar lined with mounds and mounds of all varieties of ceviche, ready to be piled on to crispy tortillas. They were piled up the way spices are heaped in the markets in Turkey or Morocco, but the piles were fresh seafood in every combination imaginable, marinated in lime juice. 

I often daydream about those mountains of ceviche but I never thought to try making my own until I learned about The Kingfish Company’s Dutch Yellowtail. It recently became available in the frozen section at Whole Foods Markets and because of the way it is raised and frozen, it is safe to eat raw as a high-grade sashimi when properly thawed. Dutch Yellowtail is sustainably raised in indoor basins on land using pristine water from a marine estuary. It is also a “Green Choice” as recommended by the Good Fish Foundation in the Netherlands. This means that it is raised specifically to be clean to eat and clean for the planet as well! When I took the thawed pieces out of the packaging, I found the fish to be firm and bouncy, with a clean smell. Since Dutch Yellowtail has a mild flavor and firm texture, it is so perfect for ceviche! 

Instead of replicating those exact memories of ceviche in Mexico or a traditional recipe from Peru, I wanted to come up with my own take on it, using Southeast Asian ingredients. I took inspiration from the aromatics used in the Malaysian food of my heritage, but I also was inspired by Thai and Vietnamese dipping sauces as I was developing the recipe for my ceviche marinade. I think that a little bit of funk from fish sauce, a little spice from fresh chilies, and bright, aromatic flavors like ginger and makrut lime leaves put such a great spin on ceviche that is distinctly Southeast Asian and therefore, distinctly me!

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What you should know about the ingredients:

  • Dutch Yellowtail: This sustainably raised fish comes from farms run on 100% green energy and with no hormones or antibiotics. Its taste is similar to the hamachi you would find at a sushi restaurant. It absorbs the flavors of the marinade really well, and the longer you keep it in the marinade, the more “cooked” the texture will seem. I enjoyed it both with a brief (30 minute) rest, where the texture was more similar to sashimi, as well as after it soaked overnight. Look for this at Whole Foods Market!

  • bird’s eye chilies: These are also known as Thai chilies or I grew up calling them chilli padi. I love the instant spicy zing that they impart on Southeast Asian dipping sauces, but I personally find biting into a fresh piece to feel too much like a tiny fireball on my tongue. I picked them out before mixing the marinade with the fish but leave them in if you prefer!

  • makrut lime leaves: To me, this is what gives this ceviche recipe a unique flavor that is distinct from the ceviches of Latin American countries. (You can read more about alternative names for finding it here.) The leaves are quite hard, so slice them as finely as you can; I like to kind of crush them up a bit with my hand before rolling them tightly to cut a fine chiffonade. Of course, it is okay to leave this ingredient out if you can’t find it, but the dish will not have as much of a unique Southeast Asian flavor.

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In the photos here, you can see that I’ve served this ceviche a couple different ways:

  • Tostadas, inspired by my experience in Mexico City—You can often buy ready-made tostadas in the tortilla section of a grocery store, or you can simply make your own by deep frying corn tortillas in corn oil until they are nice and crunchy.

  • Toast, my all-time favorite carb based food vehicle—Use whatever is your favorite method for making toast; spreading on a layer of the avocado mash first before piling on the ceviche will help prevent the bread from getting soggy

This ceviche would also be great in little single-serving glasses, or served family style with tortilla chips for scooping. However you choose to serve it, I hope these ideas inspire you to make your own fresh yellowtail ceviche at home!

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How to Make Chili Makrut Yellowtail Ceviche & Mashed Avocado

Ingredients for the Marinade

3/8–1/2 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1–2 bird’s eye chilies, sliced
2 tsp ginger, finely grated
1 clove garlic, finely grated

Ingredients for Ceviche

8 oz Dutch Yellowtail, cut into small cubes (about 1/4”–1/2”)
2 makrut lime leaves, very finely sliced
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
2 sprigs Thai basil leaves, torn
5 stalks cilantro, leaves picked

Ingredients for Mashed Avocado

1 ripe avocado
1/2 lime, juiced
pinch of salt

For serving

prepared toasts, tostadas, or tortilla chips
microgreens, radish slices, or edible flowers (optional)

Procedure

Combine the ingredients for the marinade and let stand for 1 hour. Then, optionally, remove the chili pieces.

Combine the Dutch Yellowtail cubes, makrut lime leaves, shallot, and Thai basil leaves with the prepared marinade. Mix together and let the ceviche marinade in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight, depending on preference. (Over time, the fish will take on more flavor from the marinade and have more of a “cooked” texture.) Add the cilantro leaves after the ceviche has rested to the desired doneness. 

Just before serving, slice open the avocado, remove pit, and scoop flesh into a bowl. Add lime juice and salt and mash together to the desired consistency.

Serve the ceviche on top of avocado mash on toast or tostadas, or serve both components with tortilla chips on the side.


Thank you so much to The Kingfish Company for sponsoring this recipe! Visit their website to learn more about how they raise their sustainable fresh Dutch Yellowtail!

Disclaimer: consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions.

Recipe: Chicken Skewers with Seared Summer Fruit and Burrata

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It’s my favorite produce season of the year! I love every season for different reasons, but when it comes to the celebrating the joy of what’s actually IN season, harvest-wise, I get soooo excited for summer. All the stone fruits, berries, and especially getting to harvest the tomatoes in my backyard! I have been loading up on way too many peaches, nectarines, and apricots when I hit up the grocery store, but I just can’t help it when I see piles and piles of stone fruits in the produce aisle.

Fortunately, I have come to realize that stone fruits go so well in savory dishes. I am obsessed with the combination of fruit and burrata these days (and let’s be real—I’m obsessed with burrata every day) but stone fruits also go really well with chicken. If you are one of those people who is on the fence about mixing sweet and savory then I am hoping this recipe will sway you.

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Lately my meals have been revolving around an idea for a salad I want to make, and then thinking about how to turn that salad idea into a more robust dinner for me and Spouse. When I started planning for this recipe, I knew I wanted to pair a stone fruit and burrata salad with some sort of chicken skewers. What I love about making chicken skewers is that if you cut up chicken thighs into little pieces, they are so nice and juicy and they are able to take on flavor so quickly just with a little seasoning—no need to plan ahead and marinade for a long amount of time beforehand.

I know that all of Spice Tribe’s travel-inspired seasoning blends are so good, so I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to use in my chicken skewers recipe. So one evening I did a little taste test where I cooked up 3 different chicken thighs, each one seasoned with just a little kosher salt and one of these blends: Mama Manje, Mombacho Cafe, and Marrakesh Sitar. Spouse and I tried tasting each one really carefully, but we honestly loved them all! When we really forced ourselves to nitpick, we concluded that the Mama Manje was the least exciting by a hair—tasty, but felt the most like a typical rotisserie chicken flavor; no wonder I have been reaching for it often as an all-purpose seasoning. Mombacho Cafe and Marrakesh Sitar were still completely tied—both had a depth of flavor that made the very simply-cooked chicken feel special. I ended up going with Marrakesh Sitar because Moroccan cuisine happens to have some gorgeous examples of sweet fruits getting incorporated in savory dishes.

This is often my thought process when coming up with a recipe. It’s about what ingredients and flavor combos I am excited to put together, but equally important is whether there is a story I can tell about the reason I put these things together. I have not been to Morocco and I am not the least bit knowledgable about the food there, but I have enjoyed whatever Moroccan food I have had access to. I love the preserved lemons, and I love the tagines that incorporate apricots and raisins into meaty stews. Thinking about Moroccan food really helped me flesh out my ideas for this recipe, and what I ended up with is a sort of fresh and quick version of the ingredients you might find in slow cooked Moroccan tagines. I added grapes to the salad as a counterpart to the raisins, as well as olives for a savory balance. I decided to use fresh mint for the dressing; even though mint appears most typically in Moroccan cuisine in the form of tea, using it as a fresh herb felt fitting for building on the theme.

The end result is a fantastic meal for weeknights when you want something quick and easy but still super fun to eat. If you can’t be bothered to skewer up the meats, you could just cook boneless chicken thighs whole—not as fun to eat but still incredibly tasty! I cooked everything on my big flat stovetop griddle, so there also wasn’t a ton of cleanup to do after, which is definitely another big perk of the way this recipe works. It is perfect for summer days when you want that grilling vibe without the hassle of firing up the grill, or when it is too hot to eat something heavy and you just want an excuse to eat a bunch of stone fruit.

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How to Make Chicken Skewers with Seared Summer Fruit and Burrata

Ingredients for the Mint Dressing

1/2 tsp dried oregano, finely crushed
1 clove garlic, microplaned
1/4 tsp Spice Tribe Maras Chile Flakes
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients For the Chicken Skewers

2 large chicken thighs, deboned and cut into 1-inch chunks*
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp Spice Tribe Marrakesh Sitar blend
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for cooking
1 lemon, halved

Ingredients For the Salad

2 peaches or nectarines, cut into eighths
2 apricots, cut into halves or quarters
1/2 cup seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup castelvetrano olives 
4 oz burrata
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

* Feel free to use skin-on or skinless, according to preference. I used skin-on because I love crispy chicken skin!

Procedure

Begin preparing the mint dressing. In a heat-safe bowl, combine dried oregano, garlic, Spice Tribe Maras Chile Flakes, salt, and vinegar. Mix together and let stand for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.

Prepare the chicken skewers. Combine chicken pieces, salt, Spice Tribe Marrakesh Sitar spice blend, and olive oil in a small bowl and mix so the chicken is evenly coated in the spices. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes, then divide the chicken among 4 skewers.

In a small saucepan, heat olive oil for the dressing until it starts to ripple. Add the mint on top of the dressing mixture, and then carefully pour the hot oil on top of the mint. (There will be some splatter.) Stir dressing together and set aside.

On high, heat a griddle pan or a cast iron skillet large enough to accommodate the skewers. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the pan and use tongs and a folded piece of paper towel to spread a thin layer of oil over the whole cooking surface. Turn heat down to medium-high and add the chicken skewers. Cook for about 12 minutes, rotating a quarter turn every 3 minutes; if necessary, place a pot lid or grill press on top of the skewers to weigh them down and ensure even contact with the cooking surface. (Chicken is cooked through if a toothpick is inserted and juices run clear.) Transfer cooked skewers to a plate, squeeze half the lemon over them, and cover tightly with foil to keep warm.

Add the peach/nectarine and apricot slices to the griddle cut side down. Sear until there is slight browning, then flip and lightly sear the other cut side.

Scatter the peach/nectarine and apricot slices on a platter, along with the grapes and olives. Tear burrata into a few chunks and add them to the platter. Add skewers. Drizzle mint dressing over everything and scatter fresh mint leaves for garnish. Cut the remaining lemon half into 2 pieces and serve with the platter.

Enjoy with flatbreads or couscous.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

Recipe: The Easiest Strawberry Galette

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This is for sure the easiest strawberry galette recipe because the very first time I made it was under pretty stressful circumstances, and I still managed to pull it off on the fly; it turned out so well despite my totally just winging it that I decided to make it again to write the recipe down and share it with you guys.

The first time I made this strawberry galette was for my friend’s big 30th birthday bash in Palm Springs. His husband had gone all out organizing a gorgeous multi-casita private resort rental for our group of 10 for a long weekend and it was everyone’s first post-vaccination group outing so we were all a little giddy with the culture shock of spending time with other humans again. Prior to the event, all the planning was coordinated through a group chat on Instagram and during our first meal all together, I learned that most of the party had already checked out (stalked) each other’s Instagram accounts, and were very intrigued as to why one of the party members (ME) had thousands of followers. Everyone was incredibly kind and curious to learn about my career as a food blogger, but of course in my mind the pressure was on for the brunch that I had planned to contribute to a couple days later. THEN, I learned that the plan for the entire group to contribute to said brunch was scrapped and that there was no backup plan other than my enthusiasm (which, thankfully, was shared by one other party-goer who wanted to cook too). My original plan has been to make my Everything But the Bagel Galette for the group cookout, but since no one but myself and one other person would be cooking, I knew I had to make another dish, and I tried to come up with something as easy as possible that would still look beautiful on a brunch table. And this is what I came up with!

Despite the ease with which I can describe myself cooking, I get pretty dang nervous cooking for anyone but my spouse and my family. So when I found myself in an AirBnB kitchen I had never used before, cooking for more people than I had ever cooked for before at any one time, and with a reputation to uphold—can you see why I said the circumstances were stressful? And yet, I was still really happy with how the galette turned out! If I could pull it off then, I think you can pull it off now.

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This recipe is also super riffable (I hate that word) in that you can follow the same steps but switch up the fruit or the cheese for completely different flavors. You can change up the toppings for the crust, or add nothing at all if you want it keep things the absolute simplest. Strawberries are in season now and that is something I get very excited about, but I am eager to try this out with other fruits too.

Here are the simple steps to fruit and cheese galette glory:

  • Prep the ingredients: Move a ready-made frozen pie dough sheet to the fridge the night before to thaw, and then leave it on the kitchen counter to warm up for 30 minutes before rolling it out. (Or, if you didn’t plan ahead, leave the frozen pie crust out for 1–2 hours until it’s malleable.) You’ll also want to macerate the strawberries for that same amount of time. Macerating means adding sugar to the berries to draw out some of the liquid and sort of marinate in the sugar at the same time.

  • Roll out the dough: I use the frozen pie dough from Trader Joe’s and they crack 100% of the time when I unroll them. But this is no big deal! I just ball it all up together and roll it out again.

  • Spread the cheese: This tart is such a crowd pleaser because it’s a little sweet and a little savory at the same time. But on a practical level, the cheese layer helps protect the pastry, preventing the juices of the strawberries from making the crust soggy. I recommend chèvre (young goat cheese) for this, and you can even get a flavored one if you want to add another note to the galette—here I used this black truffle chèvre and it was soooo good! Other spreadable cheeses could work here too, like a well-strained ricotta or some feta. Whatever you use, you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds first to get it to spread easily.

  • Add the fruit: Strain out the excess liquid that you don’t want to make the crust soggy, then pile the fruit in the middle.

  • Fold the crust: Galettes are meant to be rustic as far as I can tell, so don’t worry about making a perfect circle or anything. Just fold up little sections of dough all the way around.

  • Add finishing touches to the crust: You will want to eggwash the crust to get it to look golden brown but it’s not even close to the end of the world if you don’t have an egg and want to skip that. I think it is always nice to add a little something to the crust of a galette for more flavor and texture too, but it will still taste good if you choose not to add the sliced almonds and extra sugar like I did.

  • Bake: The pastry is so thin that it doesn’t take long but you will want to look out for it being golden brown on the top and crispy on the bottom.

Since the dough is meant for pies and the fruit is packed in there, don’t plan on being able to toss this gal like a frisbee, but other than that, I think it is a pretty unfussy recipe. The next time I find myself spontaneously having to cook brunch for a crowd, I know I’ll be making this again.

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How to Make a Strawberry & Cheese Galette

Ingredients for the Galette

1 sheet ready-made pie dough, thawed in the fridge overnight*
1 pint strawberries, stems and leaves removed
2 tbsp granulated sugar (white or raw turbinado)
1/2 tsp flour, plus extra for dusting
5+ oz goat cheese, at room temp
1 egg, beaten

InGredients for the Optional Parts

a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 tsp turbinado sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp water

* If unable to plan the night before, leave the frozen crust out on the counter until malleable, about 1–2 hours

Procedure

Remove the pie dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for about 30–40 minutes.

In the meantime, slice the strawberries—halve small ones and cut larger ones into slices so that everything is about equal thickness. Combine the sliced strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and toss gently to combine. Allow the strawberries to macerate until the sugar is completely dissolved and a noticeable amount of liquid has been released, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Form a round disk with the pie dough. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough circle to a piece of parchment paper.

If needed, microwave the cheese in a small bowl for 10 seconds to get a spreadable consistency. Spread the cheese in the middle, leaving an empty 1-inch border all the way around. Optionally, sprinkle thyme leaves over the cheese.

Drain the excess liquid from the strawberries. Add the flour and toss to coat. Pile the strawberries in the middle of the cheese layer, leaving an empty 1-inch border of cheese all the way around (see image above).

Brush the dough border with beaten egg and fold small sections over the filling to form a galette-style crust. Brush the pleated crust thoroughly with egg, making sure to get it in all the folds and crannies.

Optional step: Combined sliced almonds with about 1 tbsp of the remaining beaten egg (or more as needed for all the almond slices to be very thinly coated in egg). Gently pat the almonds onto the crust. Then, sprinkle the turbinado sugar evenly over the crust.

Slide parchment paper onto an inverted baking tray and bake the galette on the middle rack for 20–25 minutes, rotating once halfway.

Optional step: Combine honey and water in a small bowl and microwave for 10 seconds. Stir together to make a glaze, and brush the glaze over the fruit when the galette comes out of the oven.

Allow the galette to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Recipe: Pepper Popper Crostini with Crispy Prosciutto

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One of my favorite indulgences is jalapeño poppers. When I see them on a menu, I absolutely have to order them, whether it’s at Jack in the Box or a nice burger place, and I love them all. The spiciness of the pepper contrasting with the cooling creaminess of the cream cheese, the crispy-crunchy breading, and sometimes even with bacon—there is obviously a lot there to love. And yet, I have no interest in making them. Figuring out how to keep the stuffing inside the jalapeños and then figuring out how to keep the breading clinging to their smooth exteriors is something that I will leave to professional kitchens with industrial deep fryers. But what I have come up with instead is a way to get all the awesome flavor combos—and more—of a jalapeño popper, without those complicated puzzles.

What I came up with were these pepper popper crostini! I think they look a little fancier than jalapeño poppers, and that they would be perfect for a little summer bbq now that things seem to be transitioning back to “normal” in the States. I garnished mine with pea flowers, pea tendrils, and chive blossoms that I grew in my backyard in order to make these look extra pretty and special, and I also added cilantro for some nice freshness and pepitas for extra texture. Don’t they look like a garden party for your mouth? But you can dress them up or down depending on your needs. I always think of toast recipes as guidelines rather than hard rules to dictate what you have to do, so I would encourage you to follow this recipe for the bread, cream cheese, prosciutto, and peppers to get a delicious and flavorsome base that totally elevates the flavors of a jalapeño popper…and then, get creative with the garnishes!

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Looking at these cute crostini, would you ever have guessed that the source of inspiration was the humble jalapeño popper? But here’s how they stay true to the ingredients of their fast food ancestor:

  • chili peppers: I couldn’t call these “jalapeño popper crostini” because I did not use jalapeños. Instead, I used red Fresno chilies (which coincidentally share a name with my hometown). I believe they are fairly similar in spiciness, but I think that Fresno chilies have a little more flavor and a beautiful color when roasted, so I went with those. You can use whatever crunchy peppers you want so long as you can cut them up into about 1/4-inch slices that will fit on the toasts. Note that removing the seeds and ribs from any chili pepper will help decrease its spiciness. I opted to roast and then marinade the peppers to give them some tanginess that contrasts nicely with the saltiness of the prosciutto and gives these an antipasti vibe.

  • cream cheese: The spread that holds all the toppings onto the toasts is a cream cheese that has been majorly boosted in flavor by Spice Tribe’s California Love blend, which has really become a go-to chili blend for me whenever I want to quickly and easily give things some savory spiced seasoning. It has roasted chili, cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, oregano, bay leaf in it, and it truly goes great with everything. I believe this is what really gives these crostini much more depth of flavor; whereas jalapeño poppers taste exactly like the combination of their individual ingredients, using this spice blend not only ties all the ingredients together, but it enhances how good they taste together. I folded it in gently into softened cream cheese so that you can see some distinct streaks of the spices, but either way, you’ll know this seasoning blend is there when you taste it!

  • crispy prosciutto: In place of the bacon that can be found with some extra awesome jalapeño poppers, I opted to use prosciutto, to again give that antipasti motif to these crostini. Baking prosciutto in the oven can make it extra crispy—almost like a super savory, meaty chip. I found in recipe testing that draping the prosciutto over the peppers and allowing them to roast together not only gives the prosciutto a nice concave shape, but it makes for a better texture than baking it directly on a sheet pan.

  • toasted bread: Instead of having fried breading to hold everything together, I opted for slices of toast to hold all these delicious components and transfer them to your tastebuds. To get these slender shapes that are just perfect for chomping into, I cut a baguette on a bias (diagonally).

I think that lovers of jalapeño poppers and antipasti alike will really enjoy these crostini. I know I did!

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How to Make Pepper Popper Crostini with Crispy Prosciutto

Ingredients for the Roasted Peppers

10 red Fresno chili peppers (about 10–12 oz)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
pinch of salt

Ingredients for the Crostini

8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
1 tsp Spice Tribe California Love blend
2–3 oz prosciutto, torn into large pieces
8 baguette slices (cut about 1/2” thick on a bias)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh soft herbs, such as cilantro
pepitas (optional)
edible flowers (optional)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut peppers on a bias into 1/4-inch slices and discard stems. Remove seeds as desired to reduce spiciness. Add the pepper slices to a medium baking tray, drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, and toss to coat. Spread out evenly and roast for 10 minutes. 

In the meantime, combine garlic, lime juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Flip the pepper slices over and drape the pieces of prosciutto loosely on top of them. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the prosciutto is crispy and the peppers are soft with slight char on some edges. 

Combine cream cheese and Spice Tribe California Love in a bowl and fold gently, so that the spice blend forms visible swirls throughout the cream cheese.

When the peppers and prosciutto are done baking, transfer prosciutto to a separate plate and add roasted peppers into the lime juice mixture. Toss to combine and let stand for at least 10 minutes for the peppers to soak up the flavors.

Brush baguette slices with olive oil on both sides. Bake directly on the oven rack for 3 minutes, or until desired crispness is reached.

Spread the seasoned cream cheese on the toasted crostini. Divide the crispy prosciutto among the crostini, then top with the marinated roasted peppers. Garnish with fresh herbs and pepitas, as well as edible flowers if desired. Enjoy immediately.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

How I Make My Mala Chili Oil

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Here’s my recipe for mala chili oil. Mala means “numbing spicy” and it is the flavor and sensation that is iconic to Sichuan/Szechuan cuisine. This is my go-to process for when I want to make my own chili oil at home!

The ma, or numbing part, comes from what is commonly called “Sichuan peppercorns” in the States, but it is actually the husks that are used in cooking these types of dishes. Sichuan pepper husks are super unique in that they contain a molecule that causes a tingling sensation on your tongue. It is not at all like the feeling of eating a spicy chili, where it burns like your tongue is on fire. Instead, it is a tingling, numbing sensation like when your foot “falls asleep”.

The la, or spicy part, of mala usually comes from adding spicy chili peppers to the dish. I really like the emphasis on the numbing quality in mala dishes, and prefer to get the chili flavors without having it be flaming spicy. So for my chili oil recipe, I use Korean red pepper flakes, or gochugaru. I think these have a nice robust chili flavor but they don’t add that much heat.

I make my chili oil by first combining the gochugaru, salt, and aromatics into a heat-safe bowl. Then I basically steep the sichuan pepper husks in the oil gradually, until they impart their numbing quality into the oil. (Remember to keep in mind that I like mine really numbing!) Then, I pour the hot oil over the chili flakes and aromatics to awaken all of their flavors. The hot oil splatters and bubbles when you pour it on the other ingredients, so be sure to proceed with caution!

This numbing spicy chili oil is great on dumplings, eggs, noodles, and more! Combining it with a little soy sauce and black vinegar turns it into an awesome easy sauce for my hand-torn noodles, or you can see it in use in my Dan Dan Dumplings recipe. I will probably add to this list of recipes in the future, because this chili oil is the foundation of so many ideas I have yet to write down. I hope you love it as much as I do!

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How to Make My Special Recipe for Numbing Chili Oil

Ingredients

2 tbsp coarse Chinese or Korean chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
4 tsp pink Sichuan pepper
2 star anise
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup high smoke point neutral oil

Procedure

In a heat-safe bowl, combine chili flakes, garlic, scallions, and salt.

In a small saucepot, combine oil, Sichuan pepper, and star anise. Heat on medium-low heat until the lighter interior parts of the peppercorn husks begin to turn brown, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait for the pepper to turn fully dark brown, about 1 more minute.

Carefully pour oil through a fine mesh strainer over the ingredients in the bowl. Stir everything in the bowl together and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes (more is recommended) to let the flavors integrate and the garlic cook through.

Recipe: Cheesy Curry Biscuits with Miso Honey Butter

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Not long ago, the concept of fusion baking was completely unknown to me. In my mind, there were distinctly “Western” baked confections—mostly too sweet for my taste—like cookies, scones, danishes, and then there were Asian style baked goods that were soft, fluffy, considerably less sweet and sometimes even savory. I loved going to Taiwanese bakeries and grabbing my tray and tongs to reach for hot dog buns or ham and cheese pastries and would steer clear of Western cafe offerings like brownies and blueberry muffins. Then, one day I visited a popular local Asian-owned cafe called Home, and something in their pastry case caught my eye: a “Japanese curry scone”.

Upon tasting this scone, my life was changed, and that is not an exaggeration. You see, this was a few years ago, when I was just starting my instagram account, and I really had very little exposure to if Asian-American people or Asian flavors were receiving any sort of recognition in the States (outside of bubble tea). I was still at my sad (and microaggressively racist) tech job where I often worked 12–14 hour days, so I didn’t have a lot of time to pick up my head and see what else was going on around me. But on that day, I was peacefully making time for myself in a cafe that was cute and sold high-quality treats without being kawaii or gimmicky or exotic, and having this scone—a super savory pastry that perfectly married the flavors of Japanese curry and cheese, had nice bits of corn, and a strip of nori on top for an elegant look—and it truly opened my mind to new possibilities. Somehow this became a clear signal for me that Asian-Americans could share their flavors in baked goods and reclaim fusion foods, but also that they could run businesses and create spaces that paid tribute to Asian heritage without being tokenized or orientalized.

After some sleuthing, I learned that Home served pastries from Third Culture Bakery, which at the time was just getting traction as well, I think, but has since grown hugely in popularity for their mochi muffins and donuts with Asian-inspired flavors (all of which are absolutely delicious). Though I am thrilled for their success with these not-too-sweet sweet treats, I was pretty heartbroken when they stopped making their Japanese curry scone—the pastry that had changed my perception of Asian-American pastries forever.

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I never forgot that joyful moment of first tasting Third Culture Bakery’s savory Japanese curry scone but since I can’t buy it from them anymore, this recipe is a loving tribute to that. I am not really into copycat recipes, so instead, this is an attempt to make something that is just in the spirit of the delicious flavor combination I experienced. I opted for biscuits instead of scones because I already know how to make biscuits anyway. (You can find my recipes for honey biscuits and cheddar scallion biscuits here).

I paired the biscuits with a miso honey butter because I wanted to continue to celebrate Japanese ingredients and you gotta serve biscuits with honey and/or butter. You should be able to split apart these biscuits without a knife due to their buttery layers, making perfect surfaces for slathering on that compound butter.

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Some notes about special ingredients:

  • Japanese curry powder: The flavor of these biscuits is meant to be similar to the flavor of curry that is served with katsu. There are lots of things out there that are generically labeled “curry powder” but the flavor of curry dishes varies so vastly from region to region. The one I used for this recipe is this S&B brand powder** which is a product of Japan. The amount of curry used in this recipe gives it a very obvious curry flavor without it being spicy or overwhelming. Fwiw, my white spouse taste-tester agreed it was the perfect amount. But feel free to dial back if you aren’t as accustomed to curry and want something more subtle.

  • furikake: There are a lot of different types of furikake out there too, but I prefer to the basic one with nori, salt, and sesame seeds as the main components. This is the one** I always use. The furikake design I made on the biscuits is a tribute to the strip of nori that used to be on the Third Culture Bakery scones; I cut a little stencil out of parchment paper to achieve this effect.

To make these mini biscuits, I used a 3-inch cutter. It made such a satisfying *whoosh* sound as I was pressing it into the dough! But if you’d prefer, you can simply cut the dough up to make square biscuits. I opted to make them the same shape and about the same size as the source of inspiration; you can see what those beloved scones looked like in my ancient Instagram post right here.

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How to Make Cheesy Curry Biscuits with Miso Honey Butter

(Makes about 14 biscuits)

Ingredients for Miso Honey Butter

4 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temp
1 tsp red miso
5 tsp honey

Ingredients for Biscuits

10 tbsp butter, frozen
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra bench flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
5 tsp Japanese curry powder
kosher salt
1 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 packed cup grated pepper jack cheese (~3 oz)
1/3 packed cup grated gruyere cheese (~3 oz)
2–3 scallions, chopped

Ingredients For biscuit topping

1 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey
furikake

Procedure

To make the miso honey butter, whisk together the softened butter, miso, and honey. Transfer to a serving dish and keep at room temperature.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, curry powder, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and whisk together.

Use a box grater to grate in the frozen butter, tossing together with the dry ingredients as you go, to avoid clumps. Then toss the butter and dry ingredients together gently so each shaving of butter is separated and coated with the dry ingredients.

Stir up your Greek yogurt to be an even consistency. If it is super thick, add a teaspoon of water to thin it out.

In a small bowl, toss the cheese and scallions so they are evenly combined. Add these to the dough base and toss together until ingredients are evenly distributed. Create a well in the center. Pour yogurt in the well, then use a fork to slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the wet yogurt. Once all the yogurt is absorbed, use your hands to gather the dough together and fold it on itself a few times until it is a cohesive dough.

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

You will be creating layers in the biscuits by doing three sets of letter folds; you will also want to keep everything as cold as you can, so work quickly with cold hands. Dust your work surface with flour and do so generously throughout the process as needed to prevent sticking. Shape the dough into a rectangle with your hands then roll it out until roughly 9” wide by 12” tall. Fold down the top third and then fold up the bottom third (like you would fold a letter). Rotate 90 degrees and repeat the shaping and folding. Rotate again then do the process one more time, so you have done 3 sets of letter folds total.

Roll out your dough to a little larger than 9” x 12” one more time. Using a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 12 biscuits by pushing the cutter firmly through the dough and then lifting it straight up each time—you should hear a satisfying *whoosh* as the cutter goes through the dough—and do not twist the cutter. (I was able to fold the scraps gently together and make an additional 2 square biscuits. Alternatively, you could also just cut the slab of dough into 12 square biscuits if you choose.)

Place biscuits on a parchment-lined baking tray and freeze them for 10 minutes. Combine the water and honey in a small bowl, microwave for 10 seconds, and mix together to form a thin glaze. Brush the glaze on the tops of the biscuits, then sprinkle furikake on top.

Bake for 15–17 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and starting to brown on their tops. They should feel structurally sound and not deflate when removed from the oven; if you notice them doing so, quickly put them back in the oven for a couple more minutes.

Serve the biscuits fresh from the oven alongside the miso honey butter.

Polenta Bowl with Poached Eggs and Dressed Herbs

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Poached eggs nestled in creamy polenta and a lightly dressed salad of fresh herbs is my springtime version of a comfort bowl. Polenta is like a warm hug for your belly but it still feels a little lighter and brighter than something like jook or mashed potatoes, and I think the color looks so cheerful. The little salad that you see here was mostly foraged from my backyard garden but you can use what you have or what looks the best at your local farmers market.

This recipe has 4 components:

  • polenta: Don’t worry about looking for something labeled “potenta” at the store; polenta actually refers to the finished dish made of medium or coarse ground cornmeal. Simmering slowly with regular stirring allows the cornmeal to become tender and break down, leaving you with a light but satisfying base. (Adding crème fraîche enhances the creamy taste and texture, and delays the process of it firming up into cakes.)

  • poached eggs: The oozy yolks make little streams and pools in the polenta, and are what make this dish such a joy to eat.

  • soft herb salad: This lightly dressed little salad made of soft greens is meant to celebrate the bounty of spring produce. I foraged a medley of parsley, mint, basil, red veined sorrel, red shiso, nasturtium, pea shoots, and chive blossoms from my garden, which I then supplemented with some upland cress. Use what you have! This is also a great way to use up odds and ends of extra herbs that you’ve accumulated in your fridge from other recipes.

  • cheese shavings: Pecorino romano shavings are the most flavorsome way to add a finishing touch!

Click here to get the recipe on the Pete and Gerry’s site!

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Thank you so much to Pete and Gerry’s for sponsoring this recipe!

Recipe: Baked Feta with Roasted Strawberries

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So we all know about baked feta from that baked feta and tomato pasta trend on TikTok. I tried it and I think it is perfectly tasty but one thing that confused me about it was why people’s minds were so blown. It’s warmed, creamy cheese and roasted tomatoes…OF COURSE those taste good together! But rather than fester on my confusion, I decided to take inspiration from the baked feta trend and make it a bit more interesting. We all know that roasted tomatoes are amazing…but have you tried roasting strawberries?

Think about when you are eating a charcuterie platter where there’s crostini, and spreadable cheeses, and jams, and how combining those things is like a party for your mouth. This is basically a sheet pan version of that!

Roasting tender fruits like strawberries makes them so lovely and jammy because it concentrates their flavors and makes them soft. Obviously baking the block of feta makes it warm and soft and spreadable, so it becomes perfect to smash on top of toast. I admit that this is not all that groundbreaking either, but a lot of people don’t think to roast sweet fruits like berries and grapes, so I thought this recipe was still worth sharing. It also makes your house smell amazing.

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How to Make Baked Feta with Roasted Strawberries

Ingredients

1 lb strawberries
8 oz feta (domestic is fine)
2 tbsp date syrup
freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 a soft baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
extra virgin olive oil
1–2 sprigs basil, leaves picked

Procedure

Position one rack in the middle of the oven and another closer to the bottom. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Remove the stems and leaves of the strawberries. Slice smaller strawberries in half and cut larger ones into 1/4-inch slices.

Place the block of feta on a baking sheet and arrange strawberries around it. Drizzle date syrup and sprinkle black pepper over everything.

Bake the feta and strawberries for 20 minutes on the middle rack.

In the meantime, brush the baguette slices with some olive oil. When there are 3–5 minutes left for the sheet pan (depending on how crunchy you like your toast), add the bread onto the other oven rack.

Take everything out of the oven, then gently mix the strawberries around with the juices that released.

Roughly chop larger pieces of basil and leave the small leaves whole.

To serve, smear some of the soft feta on top of each toast, then spoon on some of the strawberry mixture. Top with the fresh basil.

Recipe: Meatball Loco Moco

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If it were up to me it would be socially acceptable to put gravy on everything: eggs, tacos, cake…everything and anything! It’s definitely not just for reviving dry turkey meat on Thanksgiving, that is for sure. And maybe one of the best uses of gravy out there is on loco moco.

I made a meatball loco moco recently and instantly regretted not writing down notes as I made it because I knew right away that it would be something that I would want to replicate again, as well as share the recipe with you guys. It just so happened around that time that SunFed Ranch agreed to partner with me, and they liked this recipe idea too! So, this recipe for meatball loco moco was developed in partnership with SunFed Ranch, who pride themselves in raising cattle that are 100% grass fed and treated with the highest level of care and dignity.

Loco moco is a classic Hawaiian plate lunch, meant to be a fast and casual meal that is oh so hearty. It usually consists of steamed rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy, and a fried egg. However, I thought that shaping the beef into meatballs instead of a patty would help integrate the components of the dish together and be even more fun to eat. So, my version of loco moco has fluffy meatballs, made using 80/20 SunFed Ranch Natural Ground Beef and a mixture of egg, milk, and panko breadcrumbs that helps keep the texture light and airy. I also put my own Southeast Asian spin on the gravy using kecap manis (a caramel-y sweet dark soy sauce from Malaysia and Indonesia) and the results are a glossy, deep brown gravy with lots of umami and just a tiny hint of sweetness.

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Here’s what you need to know about the components of this dish:

  • Rice: Start cooking your rice before you start the rest of the recipe and keep it on warm in your rice cooker. This dish comes together pretty quickly aside from a little bit of time chilling the meatball mixture to firm it up.

  • Meatballs: I like using a very fine grind when I am making meatballs, because I think that lends to a smoother texture and a more spherical shape. That’s why SunFed Ranch Natural Ground Beef works really well for this recipe. I make a mixture of egg, milk, and panko that prevents the texture of the meatballs from getting too dense, and the fine grind of this beef incorporates with that really nicely. Don’t overwork the mixture, and you should end up with nice bouncy, light meatballs.

  • Mushrooms: I love using a mixed medley of mushrooms for the gravy. They make the dish look interesting and bring textural complexity. In this case, I used a mix of cremini, shimeji, and tree oyster mushrooms, but I have also made it with chantrelles and shiitakes—all delicious and beautiful! Use what you like, or what looks good in your local markets. Whatever you use, just cut them all down to relatively the same size so that they cook evenly.

  • Fried egg: It’s not loco moco without that sunny side up egg! I find that the less time my egg carton has been sitting around in my fridge, the more successful my fried eggs turn out. I usually drain some (but not all) of the loose egg white out before I pour my egg into a pan of oil heated on medium heat and hold the yolk in place in the middle for the first few seconds. Getting the temperature right is key, so I suggest practicing to figure out what’s the best for your stove. If the heat is too low, you won’t get the crispy edges and if the heat is too high, the whites will splatter too crazily and create weird bubbles around the yolk.

  • Gravy: The gravy is the most important part of the dish, in my opinion! After the fat renders out of the meatballs, I sauté the mushrooms in that beefy goodness and add beef stock to make the gravy in the same pan. But the thing that makes my version special is kecap manis—a thick, slightly sweet soy sauce that is common in Malaysian and Indonesian cooking. If you see “dark soy sauce” at the supermarket from a Chinese brand, that’s not the same thing. Be sure to look for something that is a product of Southeast Asia; this is the one that I use**.

  • Garnishes and enhancements: I love eating rice seasoned with furikake; I think the extra earthy flavor from the nori and the nuttiness from the sesame seeds goes so well with the steamed rice! But the gravy will be plenty flavorful for your rice if you don’t have it and want to skip this ingredient. The chives and cilantro will bring freshness and another layer of flavor too, but they are also not critical to the dish.

I hope this recipe brings your mealtime some chill island vibes and full bellies.

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How to Make Meatball Loco Moco
with Sweet Soy Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients for the meatballs

1 lb SunFed Ranch Natural Ground Beef 80/20
1 egg
4 tsp milk
2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp butter

Ingredients for the Gravy

1/2 lb mixed mushrooms, cut into equal bite-sized pieces
1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tsp kecap manis
1 3/4 cup beef stock
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water

For Serving

3 servings cooked jasmine rice
3 eggs, fried
furikake
3–4 tsp chives, chopped
cilantro leaves, for garnish

Procedure

To begin making the meatballs, beat together the egg and milk, then add the panko breadcrumbs. Let sit while prepping the other ingredients, so the panko absorbs the moisture. In a separate mixing bowl, combine SunFed Ranch Natural Ground Beef, garlic power, soy sauce, and allspice. Mix gently to combine, then add the panko mixture and gently mix to combine again. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

Roll the chilled meatball mixture into 1-inch balls. (I get 16–18 meatballs.)

Heat a large skillet on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the meatballs and cook, rolling or rotating them often, until browned all the way around and just cooked through; about 8–10 minutes. Transfer meatballs to another plate.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the pan drippings, then add the mushrooms to the same skillet. Sauté the mushrooms until tender, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of pepper, and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add kecap manis and beef stock and simmer on medium-low until the liquid starts to thicken and no longer feels watery, about 5–7 minutes. Stir together cornstarch and water in a small bowl to make a slurry, then stir into the skillet mixture. Return the meatballs to the skillet and mix gently. The gravy should be thick enough to thinly coat the meatballs without sliding off. Once it reaches that stage, remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Plate the rice and top with a generous sprinkle of furikake. Divide the meatballs and gravy over the plates of rice, and top each with a fried egg. Sprinkle chives over each plate and garnish with cilantro.

Thank you so much to SunFed Ranch for sponsoring this recipe! Visit their website to learn more about their 100% grass fed, pasture raised cattle.

Recipe: Garlicky Whipped Feta Dip (with a Citrus Fennel Salad)

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I have been on a real feta kick lately. Maybe I have been brainwashed by that baked feta pasta that went viral on TikTok (which, by the way is tasty and also really nice on toast instead of pasta too.) But the crappy cheap stuff from Trader Joe’s is actually super versatile and I find that it’s a cheese that keeps remarkably well in my fridge even when it’s a small nubbin I forget about for a while. Sometimes I get real lazy and just microwave it a little bit to soften before attacking it with a tiny whisk and it becomes a pretty decent spread on toast, but recently I have also decided to bust out the food processor and make a proper whipped feta dip. And after enjoying it a couple of times, I admit that it is worth the extra effort and dishwashing (which, the latter is done by Spouse anyway).

So, here is my whipped feta dip recipe by way of the food processor. Like I think of all dip recipes, this is meant to be just guidelines. Your feta may be softer and more watery than mine. You may want something thicker than what you see in the photos. Like toast, I do not think dip recipes should lock you into the belief that you need to measure everything to get it right. The only thing I can confirm is that this is what worked very nicely for me on the day that I took these photos, topping my dip with my newfound and latecoming appreciation for citrus and serving with lots of crostini on the side.

The feta dip is also a great base for fancy toasts, or on bagels. Or with crudités. Obviously it is good with anything that creamy dips are good with, which is everything.

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How to Make Garlicky Whipped Feta Dip (with a Citrus Fennel Salad)

Ingredients for the feta dip

8 oz feta (domestic is fine)
2–4 garlic cloves
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt

Ingredients for the citrus salad

1 small blood orange
1 small cara cara orange
1 bulb of baby fennel, thinly shaved
some fennel fronds, to taste
3–4 kumquats, thinly sliced
1 sprig of basil leaves, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
freshly cracked pepper

For Serving

toasts or crostini

Procedure

To make the feta dip, break the feta into chunks and add to the bowl of a food processor. Add garlic and olive oil. Process until a homogenous paste forms. Add the yogurt and process until smooth. Scoop into a serving bowl, using the back of a spoon to create some areas for oil to pool.

To make the salad, use a sharp knife to carefully slice off the peel and pith from both oranges. Then cut out the segments, leaving the skin that contains the segments behind.

Place the orange segments on top of the feta dip. Scatter the shaved fennel and kumquat slices on top. Garnish with the fennel fronds and the basil, then drizzle olive oil over everything and crack some black pepper on it.

Serve with your dippers of choice.

Recipe: Togarashi Lobster Rolls with Smoky Maple Butter

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As a flatlay photographer, lobster rolls are a dream sandwich. That vibrant red from the lobster meat, the glisten of melted butter, and those split-top buns exploding with filling—how could that not catch your eye? But living over here on the West Coast, I have literally never seen one of those split-top brioche buns at the store. And a lobster roll just isn’t the same (it definitely does not photograph the same) without a bun that is stuffed from the top. Sure, you could use a hot dog bun. But one day, I thought of something even better: Hawaiian rolls.

Not only are Hawaiiian rolls the perfect soft texture, but their sweetness goes so perfectly with the naturally sweet, succulent meat of a crustacean. They usually come in packs of 12 all stuck together, so I view that as an invitation to choose my own bread eating adventure. Pulling off a row of 3 of them leaves you with the perfect sized bun for a lobster roll. Then, what you do is take a reliable bread knife and slice downward from the top to create that split-top bun, making sure to only slice halfway down so the bottom base stays all connected. Now that’s a lobster roll…roll!

But there’s still a way to make it even more awesome. I recently ordered from Michael Mina’s Tokyo Hot Chicken and saw that they have shichimi togarashi spiced Hawaiian rolls. I decided to make my own version using Spice Tribe’s Kissed by Binchotan Japanese Chili blend; it’s Spice Tribe’s take on the classic Japanese shichimi togarashi spice blend and the name is a reference to the blend of spices commonly being used on yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) after the meat had been kissed by the binchotan charcoal. Giving the tops of the Hawaiian rolls a little brush of egg white helps adhere all the seasoning nicely; then, popping the rolls in the oven for just a few minutes not only gets the rolls nice and warm, but it bakes on that spicy chili blend so it stays on until it gets to your mouth, instead of getting chili powder all over your hands. The end result is a bun that is not just a mere vessel for your delicious buttered lobster, but a complex flavor delivery of its own, contrasting the sweetness of the dough with some fiery, roasty heat.

After stuffing with lobster tossed in smoky maple butter, serve them up as a long roll and leave it up to the lucky eater to decide if they want to attack it whole or split it up into delightful mini lobster roll sliders.

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As for this lobster filling, I know there are different styles on the East Coast like the Maine style that is cold with mayo and maybe celery, or the Connecticut style with plain butter served warm. Obviously this is not either of those and I am not trying to upset anyone over there but I really think people should keep an open mind and appreciate all the delicious ways to eat lobster rather than getting all caught up with which one is the “best” one. I will say though, my version is pretty dang good.

Some time ago, I had some grilled oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co that were filled with a chipotle bourbon brown sugar butter and my seafood eating life was changed forever. That combination of a smoky sweet butter with shellfish is so, SO good, and I have been replicating that idea at home in various formats ever since. So, this lobster roll is meant to capture that flavor combination that I love so much. Since I already made the buns of the lobster roll spicy from the togarashi chili blend, I opted to go with Spice Tribe’s super smoky Pimenton de la Vera paprika in the flavored butter. This is truly such a good smoked Spanish paprika—it has a nice fruity note to me and it does not shy away from the smokiness, and it’s got that chili flavor without the heat. Mixing it with the maple syrup and the butter, it becomes one of those condiments that I desperately wish was socially acceptable to drink on its own.

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I recommend serving these lobster rolls with shrimp chips—an iconic snack for Asian American kids of my generation, for sure. They are quite mild in flavor but I think that their subtle shrimpiness goes great with these lobster rolls. Toss them in some furikake or shredded nori and some extra Spice Tribe Kissed by Binchotan blend to give them an extra kick. Now you’ve really got yourself a Pacific Coast lobster roll feast.

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How to Make Togarashi Lobster Rolls with Smoky Maple Butter

(Makes 2 rolls)

Ingredients

6 Hawaiian sweet rolls, still connected
1 egg white, beaten
1–1 1/2 teaspoons Spice Tribe Kissed by Binchotan blend
8–10 ounces cooked lobster meat, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Spice Tribe Pimentón de la Vera
2–3 drops liquid smoke (optional)
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
lemon wedges, for serving

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Divide the Hawaiian rolls into two long sections of 3 rolls, to form the “buns” for the lobster rolls. Use a bread knife to partially slice each from the top to halfway down; take care to not slice all the way through, but create an opening in which to stuff the filling.

Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the buns with a thin layer of egg white. Sprinkle Spice Tribe Kissed by Binchotan blend onto the eggwashed tops until they are evenly coated in the spice blend. Bake for 5–7 minutes, or until the egg white is completely dried.

Place the lobster meat in a heat safe bowl.

In a small saucepan, add butter and heat on low. Once butter is melted, add maple syrup and stir together. When the mixture becomes completely foamy, stir in the Spice Tribe Pimentón de la Vera as well as the  liquid smoke, if using. Remove from heat and pour the butter mixture over the lobster meat. Gently fold the lobster and the butter mixture together.

Divide the lobster mixture between the two buns. Sprinkled chives on top and serve with lemon wedges.

Additional serving suggestion: Sprinkle furikake and additional Spice Tribe Kissed by Binchotan blend over shrimp chips and serve with the lobster rolls.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

Recipe: Spiced Garlic Shrimp Over Coconut Rice

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With international travel still being potentially a ways away, at the moment it seems like the most accessible tropical destination for those of us with U.S. passports is the beautiful state of Hawai’i. It feels like at any given time, someone I follow on Instagram is there and, of course, the thing I am most jealous about is the FOOD! The famous garlic shrimp trucks right along the water (the last one I visited in the before times was Geste Shrimp on Maui) are life changing, in my opinion! Still determined to travel virtually through food as much as I can right now, I whipped up a batch of my own version of those super buttery, garlic-loaded shrimp.

I have tried emulating those Hawaiian shrimp trucks before, but this time around, I decided to give it a slightly spicy, Southeast Asian-inspired twist. I seasoned the garlic butter with Spice Tribe’s Thai-inspired Long-Tail Sunset spice blend, which is made up of coconut, ginger, tamarind, Thai chili, coriander, cumin, and lemongrass. For a seasoned spicy-eater, I find this blend to taste more spiced than spicy from the chili, and overall there is a lovely tangy tropical flavor. It definitely gives the dish some nice flavor complexity, but with minimal extra effort. If you like spicy, garnishing the shrimp with fresh Thai chilies will more than make up for it!

You gotta have rice to capture all the extra butter and garlic, and since this tropical shrimp goes perfectly with my coconut rice, I went ahead and included it in this recipe. Coconut rice is the foundation of nasi lemak, the (unofficial) national dish of my parents’ home country of Malaysia, but I have found that it is so good with so many other things—pretty much anything with Southeast Asian flavors. (If you want a way to visually wow people with a super simple staple recipe, you can also learn how to make a blue version of my coconut rice using butterfly pea blossoms here.) I also opted to include cucumber as a suggested accompaniment to this recipe because it is a common accoutrement in nasi lemak. If you are wondering how I made those cucumber roses, I simply used a vegetable peeler to make thin cucumber “ribbons”, stacked 2–3 together, and rolled them up.

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Some things to consider as you gather your ingredients:

  • Shrimp: One thing that bothered me about the garlic shrimp I ate in Hawai’i is that the shells were left completely on. I’m cool to deal with the mess, but I always felt like that garlic infused butter was going to waste simply coating the part of the shrimp that would get peeled off. One of the advantages of making it at home is getting to prepare the shrimp the way you like it! I like buying a big bag of frozen “E-Z peel" shrimp from Costco to keep in my freezer; they come deveined, and are super easy to peel off the shell entirely or peel off everything but the tails like I did for these photos. These were 10/13 sized shrimp—they were massive and super plump! You may want to reduce the cook times if you are using much smaller shrimp; use your visual cues.

  • Potato starch: You can definitely substitute with cornstarch if you don’t have potato starch. However, I find potato starch to fry up lighter and crisper when using it for a dredge like this. You can find it at Asian grocery stores, as it is common in Korean and Japanese cooking. Adding a thin crust to the shrimp makes a big difference in giving the butter and garlic something to cling to.

  • Garlic: Yes, there is a lot of garlic going on here because that is the whole point of this dish! I still clearly remember the big puddle of melted butter and fried garlic at the bottom of my takeout container when I ate from that shrimp truck in Maui. This recipe is actually more on the conservative side, relatively speaking, and should give you just enough butter and fried garlic to generously coat the shrimp without any left over. But it’s definitely for garlic lovers only!

  • Coconut milk: I find that the consistency of coconut milk varies drastically from brand to brand. You want something where you can thoroughly shake it to a homogeneous consistency in the can before opening. I find that Thai-based brands usually work well for this recipe. If you try shaking the can and you can’t hear or feel things mixing together, this means there is a big solidified glob of coconut fat stuck on one end that will be hard to fully integrate with the liquid without a blender; try to avoid these cans.

The intention is to serve the shrimp over a bed of the coconut rice, to capture the spirit of the Hawaiian plate lunch. However, it’s obviously also fun to serve it family style, where you and your dining companion can fight for the last shrimp!

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How to Make Spiced Garlic Shrimp Over Coconut Rice

Ingredients For the Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined (10/13 size recommended)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 tsp fine salt
2–3 tbsp high-smoke point oil
6 tbsp butter
18 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 tsp Spice Tribe Long-Tail Sunset blend
1/2 tsp fish sauce
cilantro leaves, for garnish
3–4 Thai chilies, sliced (optional)

Ingredients for the Rice

1 cup jasmine rice, washed and drained
1/2 cup Thai coconut milk, shaken before measuring
1 cup water
pinch of salt

For serving

lime wedges 
cucumber slices

Procedure

To make the coconut rice, mix the jasmine rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in the pot of a rice cooker and cook as normal. When rice is done cooking, immediately fold together gently, and then cover and let rest until serving.

Combine potato starch and salt in a shallow bowl. Pat shrimp dry and toss to coat thoroughly in the potato starch mixture. Dust off the excess potato starch.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil on medium-high. Add shrimp in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes, or until color becomes vibrant, then flip, add extra oil if needed, and cook for the same time on the other side. Turn off the heat and transfer shrimp out of the skillet.

To the same skillet with the heat off, add butter and garlic. Set heat on low and stir with a spatula as the butter melts. Keep stirring to evenly and gently fry the garlic and infuse the butter. When the butter is melted and becomes completely foamy, add the Spice Tribe Long-Tail Sunset blend. Keep cooking and stirring until the garlic becomes golden brown, about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the fish sauce. Stir to combine, then add the shrimp and toss to coat.

Divide coconut rice onto plates and top with shrimp. Sprinkle cilantro leaves and Thai chilies (if using) over the shrimp. Serve with lime wedges and cucumber.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

Recipe: Scallion and Cheese Galette

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Lately I have been really into binge-watching old seasons of Guy’s Grocery Games on Hulu. The general premise is that Guy Fieri gives contestants a theme for a dish they have to create, and then some sort of challenging constraint that they have to work within (“I want you to make me a 5-star dinner, but you have to incorporate popsicles!”); they then have 30 minutes to race through “Flavortown Market”—a fantasy grocery story that seems to have everything from gas station to luxury grocery items—to grab their ingredients and make their dish for a panel of judges. I like thinking about what I would make if I were given those challenges, and I think it helps keep the culinary creativity juices flowing in my brain. In one episode, I saw a contestant make a cheat version of scallion pancakes with a frozen pastry dough, and that stuck with me as a great hack. That idea planted the seed for this scallion galette.

After my success with my Everything But the Bagel galette, I once again found myself with an extra sheet of Trader Joe’s pie crust dough in my freezer and thought about how I could turn it into something inspired by Chinese scallion pancakes. I started to think about other pastries that utilize an excess of scallions as a major flavor component too, and my thoughts drifted to those scallion and cheese buns at the Taiwanese bakeries, as well as shaobing—flatbreads encrusted with sesame seeds; at Taiwanese breakfast places I see them stuffed with scallions, pork floss, and other flavorsome delights. So, this galette is my fusion-y take on combining all those things into a fun brunch pastry.

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The ingredient list for this is super minimal and it is so easy to put together! You will need:

  • a ready-to-go pie crust: I’m happy with the one from Trader Joe’s so that’s what I keep using. It comes pre-rolled into a nice circle that cracks and falls apart 100% of the time for me as I unroll it. But don’t worry—I squish it all together into a ball and roll it back out, and it still turns out light and flaky after baking.

  • lots of chopped scallions: I used 4 full scallions to stuff inside the galette, but sprinkled some more fresh ones on after baking as well. Feel free to go big; I think their flavor becomes quite mild after baking.

  • grated cheese: Use mozzarella if you want to call back to those Taiwanese buns from the bakery, but I used sharp white cheddar for a more complex flavor.

  • sesame seeds: Really pack them onto the crust for those shaobing vibes!

I think that this galette is simple and elegant as-is, but it can also be topped with what you would typically like to stuff inside your shaobing or other Taiwanese breakfast treats! After pulling it out of the oven, I topped mine with pork floss and some Lao Gan Ma chili crisp** before slicing up and serving.

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How to Make a Scallion & Cheese Galette

Ingredients

1 sheet ready-made pie dough, room temp
6 oz mozzarella or white cheddar, grated
4 scallions, chopped
1 egg, beaten
~ 3 tbsp sesame seeds

Toppings (optional)

pork floss
chili crisp

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450°F. On a floured surface, roll out the pie crust to a 14-inch circle. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper.

Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly in the middle, leaving an empty 1-inch border all the way around. Top with chopped scallions.

Brush the border with beaten egg and fold small sections over the filling to form a galette-style crust. Brush the pleated crust thoroughly with egg, making sure to get it in all the folds and crannies. Generously sprinkle sesame seeds all over the crust. Slide parchment paper onto an inverted baking tray and bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack, rotating once halfway.

If desired, top with pork floss and chili crisp before serving.

Spam & Egg Fried Rice Tofu Pouches

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Aromatic garlic and scallion fried rice, creamy soft scrambled eggs, and savory fried Spam are stuffed inside sweet marinated aburaage pouches for a unique way to eat Spam and egg fried rice.

Spam and egg fried rice is very nostalgic to me; I even have memories of eating it on Thanksgiving. To me, it’s a comfort dish to be shared with family. Spam is one of those foods that seemed completely normal to me in my childhood and it wasn’t until I was older and had more conversations about food with Westerners that I learned that it was looked down upon. But then after that, I found out that many other Asian Americans felt that same nostalgia for it too; able to finally find our pride for those things that we were shamed for as children, I found a community that touted their love for their humble childhood foods and gratitude for what frugal immigrant parents put on the table. They all loved and grew up with Spam and eggs with rice.

So, I developed this recipe to try to change people’s perceptions about Spam and egg fried rice. To try to convince them that Chinese American food is not always the stuff that gets scooped into those 2-item combo takeout boxes. That even luncheon meat from a can is a meaningful ingredient to many. That many of the tropes that make them think of “elevated” food are just about presentation, and that any food can be presented that way and be worth appreciation. It’s Spam and egg fried rice—but made fancy.

This recipe has 4 components:

  • marinated aburaage pouches: These are deep fried tofu that have soaked up a sweet marinade. I have been able to find them at Asian supermarkets. This is the one I usually get.

  • fried rice: I kept this part really simple, seasoning with just a little soy sauce. white pepper, and salt, and adding just scallions and garlic as aromatics. I did not want to overwhelm the natural flavor of the eggs or have it be too salty when combined with the Spam.

  • fried Spam cubes: The flavor bombs of the dish. Lately I have been getting the Lite kind, but use your favorite variety.

  • soft scrambled eggs: I like to use the low and slow method, and gently push them into big curds for this recipe. I was genuinely impressed by the rich eggy flavor of Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs and definitely recommend their certified humane free range eggs for this recipe. These eggs will require no additional salt because they are naturally flavorsome on their own and have a nice creamy balance to the crisped salty Spam.

Click here to get the recipe on the Pete and Gerry’s site!

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Thank you so much to Pete and Gerry’s for sponsoring this recipe!

Recipe: Turkish Eggs with Charred Tomatoes & Sweet Peppers

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One of my favorite breakfast dishes of all time is çılbır—known in English simply as “Turkish eggs”. The first time I had this was not anywhere in Turkey, but in London, and I was in awe over how bold it was to combine three such indulgent things: creamy garlicky yogurt, runny poached eggs, spicy melted butter. I love all of those things individually, but together they were something else entirely—unapologetically, mindblowingly good.

For a while, I wasn’t sure if Turkish eggs was really a Turkish dish. My Kurdish friend who grew up in Turkey never heard of it. And, I had trouble finding it on menus when I was researching where to eat in the three different cities I visited in Turkey; (likely due to being unable to read Turkish,) the only place I was able to get it was at a super hipstery brunch place in Istanbul with major San Francisco vibes, where their riffed version came on a bed of wilted greens. But finally, I found this article by Maha Salah which talks about çılbır being considered a humble dish made from Turkish moms’ kitchen staples, and that’s why it’s not included in the flashy kahvalti spreads in the touristy areas I visited. (Although I also read that sultans of the Ottoman Empire enjoyed it for breakfast, too.)

Because çılbır is one of my favorite breakfasts, whenever I see Aleppo pepper or Halaby pepper, my mind immediately goes to the glorious spicy melted butter that spreads over the yogurt like lava in this dish. When I started working with Spice Tribe, one of the products I was most excited to receive was their Maras Chile Flakes, which are the same pepper variety but sourced right from Turkey. I knew I had to use it in some sort of riff on Turkish eggs.

To be clear, çılbır does not need riffing. Its beauty comes from its simplicity, so I love that it’s a dish born from what people always had on hand. But I wanted to show off Spice Tribe’s Maras Chile Flakes while contributing some ideas that went beyond the basic recipes that were already out there, and in a way that continued to celebrate the beauty of simple ingredients without a whole lot of effort.

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So here’s what I added to the mix:

  • Cherry or grape tomatoes: Cooked in a hot skillet until they burst, the juices from these flavor bombs bring a little freshness, and acid to complete that holy quaternity of salt, fat, acid, heat.

  • Sweet peppers: Apparently these are mini bell peppers, but I buy them in bags that are generically labeled “sweet peppers” at Trader Joe’s; they are similar in size to a jalapeño pepper but completely different in taste. The natural sweetness of these becomes even more pronounced when they get all soft and charred, and they add another dimension of flavor indulgence when they are swimming in that yogurt and butter.

  • Wild black cumin seeds: Bloomed in the butter as it melts, Spice Tribe’s Wild Black Cumin Seeds add a fragrance of cumin to the dish and a little bit of a nutty texture. When cooked whole, I find these black cumin seeds to smell and taste like a milder version of the ground spice I use in curries.

  • Fresh herbs: I couldn’t resist garnishing with some fresh herbs—in this case, parsley and mint. But I admit the motivation was mostly aesthetic; the dish will be still delicious without them.

Served with some crusty toasts or charred flatbreads to mop everything up, this dish is a delicious paradox of humble yet indulgent ingredients. Those extra add-ons really turn it into a full meal, so I would recommend enjoying this not just for breakfast, but any time of the day.

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How to Make Turkish Eggs
with Charred Tomatoes & Sweet Peppers

Ingredients

1 cup Greek yogurt
1–2 cloves garlic, pressed*
1/6 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
8 sweet peppers, stems removed, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 tsp Kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 cup salted butter
2 tsp Spice Tribe Maras Chile Flakes
1 tsp Spice Tribe Wild Black Cumin Seeds
2 eggs, poached
Fresh herbs, such as mint and parsley (optional)
Toast or flatbread, for serving

* If raw garlic is too pungent for your taste, substitute with 2–4 cloves of garlic confit or roasted garlic, mashed well.

Procedure

Mix together yogurt and garlic. Set aside to allow flavors to incorporate.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high until shimmering. Carefully add the tomatoes and peppers in one layer and season with salt. Reduce the heat to medium if the oil starts to smoke, but leave the tomatoes and peppers to char on one side before flipping over. (Note: As the tomatoes start to burst, there will be some oil splatter.) Cook the tomatoes and peppers until lightly charred on two sides, about 5–7 minutes total.

Move the tomatoes and peppers gently to one side of the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low,  and add the butter to the other side. As the butter starts to bubble along the edges, add the Maras chile flakes and cumin seeds. Stir the spices into the pool of melted butter and continue to cook until the butter starts to foam. Fold all the contents of the pan together.

Swirl the yogurt mixture onto the bottom of the serving dish(s), creating channels for the melted butter to flow. Tuck the poached eggs into the yogurt, spoon on the tomatoes and peppers, then pour the spiced melted butter over everything. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired. Serve with bread to scoop everything up.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

Everything But the Bagel Galette

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I’ve flattered myself into believing that this is the kind of novelty family-style menu item that people would wait in line to order at a cute brunch place—you know, back when that was a thing. But look at it! Can’t you see it too, if you use your imagination to think of a time when people were gathered on cute restaurant patios on sunny Sunday mornings sipping mimosas? A light, flaky galette encrusted with everything seasoning, filled with two kinds of creamy cheese and then topped with cold smoked salmon, pickled red (purple) onions, fried capers, and fresh dill and chives.

My inspiration for this galette was this Martha Stewart recipe that takes bagel toppings and puts them on a big flatbread instead. I happened to have an extra frozen pie crust sheet from Trader Joe’s in my freezer, and thought I’d try the concept as a galette instead, and it turned out pretty dang awesome!

I find that with at least the TJ’s frozen pie crust, the dough completely falls apart when you try to unroll it, but do not be discouraged by this! I just ball the whole thing together and roll it out again and it is always still incredibly flaky and puffy when it bakes. I won’t be ditching my from-scratch galette pastry dough recipe any time soon (a galette with heavy fillings like fruit or vegetables would require something sturdier) but for light toppings like these, the storebought pie crust works in a pinch (or a bout of laziness). The result is something quite delicate and crispy—the opposite of a bagel but delicious with the smoked salmon and other bagel toppings nonetheless.

Awkwardly Vague instructions for the
Everything But the Bagel Galette

Ingredients for the base

1 sheet ready-made pie dough, room temp
5 oz Boursin cheese
4–5 slices fresh mozzarella
1 egg, beaten
everything seasoning

Ingredients for the Pickled Onions

1/4 large red onion, sliced lengthwise
~2 tbsp sugar
red wine vinegar
salt

Ingredients for the fried capers

capers
neutral oil

other toppings

lox or cold smoked salmon
chives, finely chopped
dill

Procedure

To make the pickled onions: Place onion slices in a small jar (as small as they will fit). Bring some water to a boil. Add sugar and a pinch of salt to the jar. Add boiling water to the jar until three-quarters of the height of the onions are submerged. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add vinegar just until the onions are submerged. Stir everything together and refrigerate when cooled. Make this at least 1 hour beforehand, overnight recommended.

To make the fried capers: Drain capers and pat dry on paper towels as much as you can. Add enough oil in a small pan to match the height of the capers. Once oil it hot, carefully add the capers (they will likely splatter a bit). Fry until the capers are “bloomed” and the splattering sound is subdued, but before they turn brown. Drain on paper towels.

To make the galette base: Preheat oven to 450°F. On a floured surface, roll out the pie crust to a 14-inch circle. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper.

Spread Boursin cheese evenly in the middle, leaving an empty 1-inch border all the way around. Tear mozzarella and dot all over the filling area. Brush the border with beaten egg and fold small sections over the filling to form a galette-style crust. Brush the pleated crust thoroughly with egg, making sure to get it in all the folds and crannies. Sprinkle everything seasoning all over the crust. Slide parchment paper onto an inverted baking tray and bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack, rotating once halfway.

Slide the galette base onto your serving board and top with bagel toppings as desired.

Recipe: Ginger Scallion Garlic Oil

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Ginger scallion oil is something I remember my mom making to serve with her chicken rice. I don’t want to call it Hainanese chicken rice because her version was a lot more casual and homestyle and she did not follow the precise poaching method for Hainanese chicken rice. But she would basically boil the whole chicken and cleaver it into smaller pieces for serving with chicken rice and the broth on the side. Occasionally she would make a ginger scallion oil sauce as a condiment and that make the meal so much more exciting. The sharp bite of raw ginger was cooked away but what remained was its fresh spicy flavor; that plus the scallions added just enough flavor boost to the boiled chicken without taking away from the fact that the dish was a celebration of simple flavors.

I tried making my mom’s recipe for her ginger scallion paste, which I, at some point in college, wrote on a little grocery list notepad paper and tucked into my notebook of other handwritten recipes I collected from my mom’s cookbook collection. For some reason, when I made this recipe it didn’t turn out how I remembered. The recipe said to fry the ginger until it was dry, and the result ended up being a bunch of fibrous clumps.

Eventually I experimented with another technique that I had learned while researching how to make chili oil, and encountered again when learning how to make simple sauces for biang biang noodles. In both cases, spices or aromatics are piled up in a bowl and then almost-smoking hot oil is poured on top to bloom them and bring their flavors to life. I tried this approach with the ginger scallion oil idea (adding garlic along the way because damn do I love garlic) and it totally gave me the consistency I wanted. Something you could drizzle over jook, spoon over a plate of chicken rice, or toss with noodles.

In the photo above, my ginger scallion garlic oil is an accompaniment to duck tacos I made from a roast duck that I bought at Yung Kee Restaurant in Oakland Chinatown. Other accompaniments are Asian pear slices tossed in sushi rice seasoning and gochugaru, crispy fried rice noodles, scallions, and cilantro.

How to Make Ginger Scallion Garlic Oil

Ingredients

a big fat 4-inch finger of ginger, peeled and grated*
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3–4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 generous pinches coarse Kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 cup avocado oil, or some other neutral high smoke point oil

*Do not include the long fibers that get stuck to the grater. The texture of your grated ginger should look pulpy but not stringy.

Procedure

Place the ginger on a paper towel and gently squeeze out most of the liquid. You do not need to wring tightly, but squeeze until the ginger looks like a moist paste with no excess moisture.

Combine the ginger, scallions, garlic, and salt in a heat-safe bowl.

Heat the oil until it is almost smoking. (The oil is hot enough if you toss in a small piece of scallion and it sizzles up right away.) Carefully pour the hot oil over the aromatics (there will be some bubbling). When the sizzling stops, stir everything together. Make this at least 20 minutes in advance to allow time for the flavors to infuse into the oil. It keeps fine in the fridge for a few days.

Recipe: California Love Fried Chicken Bao

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Hot chicken bao is a concept that I’d been experimenting with for some time now. It started with me wanting to take the components of a Nashville hot chicken sandwich (from the likes of Howlin’ Ray’s, for example) and stuff them all into fluffy, Chinese style steamed buns for no other particular reason than that a fully loaded bao is one of the best food formats. While the most famous version is probably the pork belly gua bao that are popular in Taiwan, these “lotus leaf” bao have become a popular receptacle for all kinds of fillings and I’ve personally also developed a compulsion to stuff all my favorite food combinations inside them (e.g. pastrami sandwiches, Korean-style egg drop breakfast toasts, spicy KFC). For a while, though, I was trapped in the headspace of wanting to perfectly recreate the very best restaurant-quality Nashville hot chicken sandwich where the only thing different was the bun…and that’s when I hit a big block. After all, I haven’t even been to Nashville before! How could I capture such an iconic food when the only place I’ve ever had it was in California?

And that’s when I realized, I needed to make it my own. Make it less about imitating something that already existed and more about the flavor combination that I wanted to capture inside these little bao. What were the ingredients that made sense to me?

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One day, while I was looking at Spice Tribe’s pretty California Love bottle, it somehow clicked that this spice blend was exactly what I needed for my backburnered fried chicken bao idea. I didn’t grow up eating a lot of cayenne-heavy Southern spice blends (cayenne is what gives Nashville hot chicken its spicy heat) but the California Love blend felt a lot more familiar to me—probably because it was based on Spice Tribe founder Trent’s own upbringing in California. Though I must still give huge credit to every Nashville hot chicken joint I’ve ever ordered a sandwich from (Howlin’ Ray’s and Starbird are my faves) for the inspiration, the recipe now feels very me.

I really wanted these bao to celebrate how the diverse population of California has had a huge impact on how I create in the kitchen. These are the pieces that you’ll be bringing together to make my California Love Fried Chicken Bao recipe:

  • Lotus leaf bao: These can be found in the frozen section of an Asian supermarket. You want the ones that are folded, that you can stuff things into; I’ve seen them called “lotus leaf bao” but they probably won’t be labeled that in English. I keep them in my freezer until it is time to steam them and it does not take long in a bamboo steamer to transform them into fluffy pockets.

  • Fried chicken: I used a very simple technique for battering and frying the chicken, similar to the way I make Chinese-American takeout dishes like sweet and sour pork. You are not going to get a really thick crunchy crust like you would with Southern fried chicken because I thought that would overwhelm the delicately soft texture of the steamed bao; instead, expect a light yet crisp exterior.

  • The seasoning: The technique I used for applying seasoning to the chicken is taken directly from how Nashville hot chicken is made: a dry spice blend is mixed together and after frying the chicken, some of the hot oil is added to the spices; that seasoned oil paste is then brushed on to the fried chicken. However, instead of the cayenne-heavy seasoning used for Nashville hot chicken, I used Spice Tribe’s California Love all-purpose chile blend as the main component; I loved that it was a tribute to founder Trent’s own memories of growing up in California and cooking with his dad. The blend features California chilies and to me it celebrates the big presence of Mexican cuisine here. To that, I added Korean gochugaru for color and another chili component, but overall these are meant to be mild and approachable, not too spicy.

  • Cabbage slaw: Here, I once again tapped into Chinese-American cuisine for inspiration—the dressing for this is based on a “Chinese chicken salad” that my dad was really into at a Cantonese-American restaurant we frequented when I was a kid.

  • Sriracha mayo: A holy unity of practically every Asian-American kid’s two favorite condiments (sriracha + Japanese mayo) to form the ultimate sandwich spread.

  • Pickles: Because you can’t have a good fried chicken sandwich without pickles.

These satisfying fried chicken bao have a little bit of everything—a little sweetness and just a hint of spiciness in the seasoning blend, a little crunch from the pickles and the chicken batter, creaminess from the mayo, sweet-sour tang from the slaw—all hugged together by those fluffy, pillowy bao.

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How to Make California Love Fried Chicken Bao

For the Slaw

4 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp soy sauce
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 small cabbage, finely shredded
1/8 red onion, thinly sliced

For the Chicken

3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 – 2/3 cup cornstarch
oil for frying

For the Chicken Seasoning

1 1/2 tsp Spice Tribe California Love blend
2 tbsp gochugaru*
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup hot frying oil

To assemble

8 frozen lotus leaf bao
1/4 cup Japanese mayo
4 tsp Sriracha (or to taste)
Dill pickle chips

*Note: If you want to make these more spicy, substitute in cayenne powder, to your taste.

Procedure

To make the slaw, whisk together rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, soy sauce, and salt. Toss together with the cabbage and onions until everything is coated. Store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the bao. (Can be made up to 4 hours in advance.)

Cut chicken thighs crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Beat together egg and soy sauce. Combine chicken pieces with egg and soy sauce mixture until everything is coated and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, in a dutch oven, heat enough oil to submerge the chicken pieces.

Pour 1/2 cup cornstarch into a rimmed plate. Remove one of the chicken pieces and allow the excess liquid to drip off, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch until completely coated. Set aside and repeat until all the chicken is coated in cornstarch, adding more cornstarch to the plate if needed.

The oil is hot enough when you insert a wooden chopstick or spoon into the oil and small bubbles appear. Working in batches and adjusting the heat as needed, deep fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked, about 5–8 minutes.  Let fried chicken drain on a rack or paper towels.

While chicken is draining, set up a bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper and place the frozen bao inside, using pieces of parchment paper to keep them from touching. Steam the bao over a wok with simmering water until soft, about 5 minutes. (Or, if you do not have a bamboo steamer, wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave in 30-second increments until soft.)

Transfer chicken to a large tray. Combine all the dry seasoning ingredients in a heat-safe bowl. Then, add the frying oil while it is still hot. Stir together then brush the seasoning mixture onto the chicken until fully covered.

In a small bowl, mix together the Japanese mayo and the sriracha. 

To assemble, spread some sriracha mayo on the inside of a bao, then stuff with slaw, 1–2 pieces of chicken, and pickle chips. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.