How to make the perfect, soft and fluffy steamed bao buns with step-by-step photos. Follow these tips and tricks to make the perfect homemade bao buns, perfect for filling with your favourite ingredients. Includes instructions for steaming the bao buns on the stove and in a steam oven. Bao Buns When David Chang first offered his version of Pork Belly Buns on his restaurant menu at Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York, back
Exquisite and delightful Mooncakes with Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolks, perfect for celebrating the Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival! Full and comprehensive recipe to make mooncakes and their fillings from scratch with step-by-step photos. Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival or the Harvest Festival, is celebrated in many countries in south-east Asia. The festival is celebrated in different ways – and for different
Delicious and easy Homemade Soft Pretzels, which are soft and pillowy, with the perfect chew. These pretzels are great for snacking and entertaining, and perfect served alongside some grilled sausages! Recipe with step-by-step photos. Soft Pretzels If there is one reliable snack that my children will always devour, it would be soft pretzels. In Zurich, Brezel stands can be found all over town with a wide assortment of toppings on offer – sea
How to make homemade Lotus Seed Paste for use in Asian breads and cakes. Recipe with step-by-step photos. Lotus Seed Paste Many Asian breads and cakes contain a sweet paste-like filling, and Lotus Seed Paste is a popular option. Lotus Seed Paste is very mild in flavour and has no distinct smell like some other Asian pastes used in baked goods. It is one of my favourite filling for Mooncakes.
Delicious Cheese Waffles with Gruyère & Thyme which are perfect as a light meal or served alongside a bowl of soup. Cheese Waffles Faced with some bits and pieces of leftover cheese in the fridge, I thought I would try my hand at a savoury waffle for lunch today, and these cheese waffles with Gruyère and fresh thyme were absolutely scrumptious!
An easy and classic Pumpkin Soup using fresh or frozen pumpkin. This is a clean-tasting and nourishing pumpkin soup, perfect for large gatherings and for simple, wholesome dinners. Recipe with step-by-step photos. Classic Pumpkin Soup My favourite season is definitely autumn, followed very closely by winter (especially if it is a snowy winter). Despite having grown up in the tropical climate of Australia, summer in any country is always far too hot, too
A quick and delicious Chinese-style Chilli Oil with crispy chilli pieces to season your favourite Asian dishes. The oil is flavoured with Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, green cardamom and cinnamon for the perfect combination of spices. Chilli Oil A staple condiment in our kitchen is a Chinese-style Chilli Oil. I use it in a multitude of recipes (like my Steamed Tofu with Soy & Chillies), as well as in dipping sauces or to
An easy and tasty dip with all of your favourite nacho flavours! This Mexican Layer Dip, also called a 7 Layer Dip, is a great recipe for entertaining and can be made ahead of time. Mexican Layer Dip I first tried this Mexican Layer Dip at a birthday party for a friend’s daughter. Yes, at a kid’s party! I was instantly taken by the colours of this dip and after my first try,
Make a delicious Homemade Mayonnaise in just a few minutes using ingredients from your fridge and pantry. Tips for making mayonnaise by hand or with a food processor or electric whisk. Homemade Mayonnaise One recipe which is always handy to have up your sleeve is a Homemade Mayonnaise. While it is easy to buy a jar or tube of ready-made mayonnaise, there are times when it is best to have the real thing
A quick and easy Tomato Sauce which you can serve simply with pasta or use in a variety of recipes. Recipe with step-by-step photos. Easy Tomato Sauce If there is one recipe which I make most often, it is probably this easy tomato sauce, also called a marinara sauce I have lost count of the number of meals I have made with just this basic tomato sauce and how thankful I am each
Make the perfect Stovetop Popcorn at home with this easy recipe! Recipe with step-by-step photos. Stovetop Popcorn Recipe It might seem odd to give a recipe for Stovetop Popcorn when you can easily make a bag of microwave popcorn. But as we don’t own a microwave (a fact which has continually amazed our friends that we have survived raising kids thus far without one), I thought I would share how easy it is
Step-by-step recipe for making Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Spring Onion Pancakes). These light, flaky and crispy pancakes are a great appetiser or as a side dish to many Chinese meals. Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Spring Onion Pancakes) I was first introduced to Chinese Scallion Pancakes (also called Spring Onion Pancakes) when I moved to Zurich many years ago. I had had the good fortune of meeting some enthusiastic Chinese food lovers in my German language
An easy and delicious Roast Pumpkin Soup with sweet potato, and lightly scented with cinnamon. Roasting the vegetables first gives the soup more depth and flavour. I recommend making a double batch! A Comforting Pumpkin Soup The following recipe for Roast Pumpkin Soup with sweet potato is inspired by one from Nigella Christmas, a book which is always a great source of comfort and inspiration to me at this time of the year. Nigella
An easy and delicious falafel recipe using canned chickpeas – perfect for easy weeknight meals! Serve with a delicious Tahini Yoghurt Sauce for a tasty meal which your friends and family will love. Recipe with step-by-step photos. Easy Falafel Recipe I always try to serve a few vegetarian meals during the week, and homemade falafels is one of my favourite go-to dishes. My husband loves the fresh salads and chopped veges that I
A classic recipe for Cheese Soufflé with step-by-step photos. Instructions for large and individual soufflés. Making soufflé is easier than you think! Cheese Soufflé Recipe My husband’s great-aunt, whom we call Marraine, is a spritely 93 years old who still loves to cook and bake for the family. At the top of her list is a Cheese Soufflé which, to most ordinary people, is a rather frightening and panic-inducing dinner suggestion. Yet, this
A quick and tasty Kimchi Fried Rice. Perfect for weeknight dinners, and it takes only 20 minutes to make! Kimchi Fried Rice As an Asian, I always have leftover cooked rice in the fridge. As my children often come home for lunch during the school day, I find that having leftover rice to hand means that I can quickly whip up something warm for lunch with a myriad of other leftover and/or pantry
A quick and tasty Japanese-style Udon Noodle Soup which takes less than 30 minutes to prepare! Perfect for weeknight dinners. Udon Noodle Soup Comfort food to me is usually a big bowl of steaming noodle soup, no matter the weather. Even in the midst of a heatwave, you will find me hunched over a bowl of noodles, slurping away happily. This Udon Noodle Soup is one of my favourite noodle soups, not least
A simple and delicious recipe for basic crepes, or thin French pancakes. Recipe with step-by-step photos. French Crepes Recipe My husband hails from the French region of Brittany where crepes (or more correctly spelt, crêpes) are thought to have originated. And so it goes without saying that, in this part of the world, it is completely acceptable to have pancakes at breakfast every morning, or even as a goûter, the French equivalent of afternoon tea.
These Apple Pie Bliss Balls are sugar-free, nut-free and gluten-free! Perfect for school lunch boxes and for snacking. Lunch Box Ideas I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram. I hate it for many reasons which I will not go into here, but, at the same time, I love scrolling through my Instagram feed when I am looking for ideas.
A stunning Potato Pie with Smoked Salmon and Dill. Recipe with step-by-step photos. Potato Pie with Smoked Salmon and Dill Smoked salmon is, admittedly, not an everyday ingredient, but I do love to keep some in the fridge for a quick lunch with some lightly buttered white toast, thinly sliced onions, a scattering of salty capers and a good squeeze of lemon.
A simple and delicious Spinach Lasagna using a homemade béchamel sauce and marinara sauce. This vegetarian lasagna will be a hit even with the meatlovers! Spinach Lasagna I love a good lasagna and it’s a satisfying dish to make when you have time to potter about in the kitchen. With spring having finally arrived in Zurich and warmer weather slowly creeping into the forecast, I wanted to make a baked pasta dish, but
These Spinach and Feta Pies contain just a few ingredients but have maximum flavour. Make them as small or as big as you like, perfect for snacks or light meals. Spinach and Feta Pies When it comes to entertaining, it’s always good to have a few vegetarian options, and these Spinach and Feta Pies (also known as Spanakopita) are one of my stand-by options. As an Australian, I also have a fond affection for
How to cook artichokes – instructions for boiling, Instant Pot, pressure cooker, grilling and frying. Don’t be intimidated by artichokes any longer! Plus recipes for a delicious aioli and vinaigrette to go alongside. I adore artichokes. As a child, my mother would boil a whole artichoke for my dinner on those nights when she was preoccupied with other things or, more likely, fed up with cooking and needed to give me a no-fuss
A quick and delicious recipe for cranberry sauce using fresh or frozen cranberries. Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson. Homemade Cranberry Sauce No Christmas feast is complete without some cranberry sauce, and considering how easy it is to make cranberry sauce from scratch, I would highly recommend doing so instead of reaching for the shop-bought kind.
An easy & delicious recipe for Chinese Tea Eggs, perfect for a simple dinner or as part of a Chinese New Year meal. Chinese Tea Eggs Following on from my previous post where I shared my recipe for Chinese Turnip Cake, it seemed only fitting to also include my recipe for Chinese Tea Eggs. If you are planning a Chinese New Year lunch or dinner, or any Chinese-inspired feast, these Chinese Tea Eggs
A simple and delicious Celeriac and Chestnut Soup. Christmas is often a time for indulgence, whether it be treating yourself or loved ones to a special gift (or three), or enjoying the festivities with an abundance of good food and maybe too much champagne. After feasting on Duck Confit Parmentier and multiple serves of our favourite Chestnut Cream Pavlova for Christmas lunch, my husband asked for a simple vegetable soup for dinner later
A spicy and delicious Steamed Tofu with Soy, Chillies & Sichuan Pepper You don’t have to be a vegetarian to love tofu. In fact, I think I like it more than meat … Salt & Pepper Tofu is one of my favourite dishes ever, especially when it is fresh and piping hot. At other times, you will often find me adding tofu to most Asian soups and stir-fries. Recently, I started experimenting with recipes
My go-to recipe for Hummus which is perfect for dips and entertaining. Hummus would have to be my go-to dip. It’s quick and easy to make and, what’s more, it’s a very versatile dip. It can be served with vegetable crudités and crackers as an appetiser, spread onto flatbreads to eat as a snack or light meal, or even served as part of a main meal with some grilled lamb koftas and a
A quick and easy recipe for pickled chillies. They also make great gifts! Pickled Chillies I first discovered pickled chillies at my local Chinese restaurant here in Zurich. Yes, Zurich. Despite having grown up in Australia where south-east Asian food abounds, and despite my countless trips to Asia since I was a wee tot, I only came across this delightful condiment during what would be the first of many stir-fries that I like
How to make these tasty Cheese Bread rolls from scratch with these step-by-step photos. This recipe uses Parmesan, Gruyère and Cheddar, but you can use any of your favourite cheeses. One of my favourite snacks when I lived in Australia were cheese scrolls from the local bakery. In fact, as a child of parents who ran a busy Vietnamese bakery, I often lived for the moment when the cheese scrolls came fresh out
These bite-sized Mushroom Tarts have a flavoursome mushroom filling with a golden puff pastry base. They are perfect for entertaining and would delight both vegetarians and meat-lovers alike. We are hosting a small cocktail party this weekend or, as they call it in Switzerland, an apéro, where the evening will be fueled by lots of small canapés and finger food. Hubby is rather excited by all of the possible wine pairings and I
Due to hubby’s request to eat more vegetarian meals this year, I saw no reason to not buy the latest book from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of the River Cottage fame, Veg Everyday. The book is dedicated to eating vegetarian meals, though it is not written by a vegetarian – an important distinction in my mind because it means there are no spooky and holistic ingredients which would otherwise make vegetarian cooking too much of
Golden and Crispy Tofu served with a Vietnamese Spicy Tomato Sauce. This dish will win over both vegetarians and meat-lovers alike! Use either silken tofu or firm tofu. I had to renew my work visa the other day, which necessitated a trip to the immigration office so that I could be fingerprinted and all the rest. The only thing worse than taking an hour out of my day to visit a government office
Early this morning, one of my neighbours knocked on my door and suggested a barbeque at her place in the evening with some other neighbours. Such spontaneity is not common in Switzerland and I happen to love informal gatherings like these at short notice. Given that one neighbour happens to be a vegetarian, the first dish that came to my mind was Yotam Ottolenghi’s Aubergines with Buttermilk Sauce which I made for the
I was out during my lunch break yesterday buying some teatowels (as you do) and there nestled amongst the pretty decorative linens were copies of Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty. It’s not a place where you would ordinarily find cookbooks, but I’m sure some thoughtful person had anticipated that product placement of this kind would work on a gullible consumer like myself. If one was in the mood for over-priced but practical teatowels, why not
Fiery and addictive Black Pepper Tofu. This mouthwatering recipe is from Ottolenghi and it is a perfect vegetarian dish served with steamed rice. This recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty and was recommended to me by the lovely Carrie, another food-obsessed cookbook lover who has become an invaluable friend to me in the online world. When she first made this dish sometime ago and raved about how delicious it was, I knew it was
