Japanese Beef Rice Bowl, or Gyudon (牛丼), is one of those simple, home-style Japanese dishes you never get tired of. It’s also the signature dish at many Japanese chains, Yoshinoya, Matsuya, and Sukiya among them. It needs very few ingredients, comes together in one pan, and is ready in under 20 minutes, which makes it…
Pan-Seared Sea Bass Claypot Rice 香煎魚片砂鍋飯
If you’ve tried my chicken and shiitake mushroom, beef, or fish fillet versions, the base method will feel familiar, though this one takes a slightly different approach. This recipe draws loose inspiration from Hong Kong-style claypot rice, but the sea bass is pan-seared separately until golden, then finished with bonito flakes and sweet soy sauce,…
Crispy and Chewy Butter Mochi 脆皮奶油烤年糕
When I went back to Taiwan this April May, a friend insisted I try “crispy butter rice cake”, comparing it to a crispy canelé. I picked up a box of three from a bakery, and one bite completely won me over, a crisp, buttery shell giving way to a soft, mochi-like chew inside. Each piece…
Tender Tomato Beef Stew (Easy Instant Pot Version)
*This post contains an affiliate link. If you make a purchase through it, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I recently got my new Instant Pot Classic Mini Multi Cooker, and I’ve been itching to put it to work on a proper stew. Some dishes usually take hours of…
Korean Spicy Pickled Cucumber and Carrot
Korean-Style Spicy Pickled Cucumber and Carrot is a crisp, refreshing side dish with a sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy kick. I first saw it demonstrated by Chef Kai Son on YouTube, tried it myself, and was hooked straight away. It’s become one of my regular summer staples, I make a batch whenever the weather heats…
Fish Fillet Claypot Rice (Bo Zai Fan) 魚片煲仔飯
Claypot Rice, or Bo Zai Fan (煲仔飯), is one of Hong Kong’s most iconic comfort foods, and this fish fillet version is by far the lightest of the ones I’ve made. Thin slices of basa fillet steam gently on top of the rice, finished with a scattering of bonito flakes and a savoury soy dressing…
Easy Korean Spinach Salad (Sigeumchi-namul) 시금치나물
Korean Spinach Salad, or Sigeumchi-namul, is a classic, popular Korean side dish. It’s always my favourite banchan whenever I’m at a Korean restaurant, fresh, savoury, and fragrant with sesame oil, and it comes together with just a handful of ingredients. It’s ready to eat as soon as it’s tossed, but I prefer chilling it for…
Taiwanese Sweet and Tangy Pickled Cucumber 台式酸甜醃小黃瓜
Taiwanese Sweet and Tangy Pickled Cucumber is a classic side dish, and one of the easiest things you can pickle at home. It only needs a handful of ingredients, and the method comes down to two simple steps: salting the cucumber to draw out moisture, then squeezing it dry. That’s what keeps the crunch. And…
Taiwanese Fried Pork Loin (Zha Pai Gu) 台式炸排骨
Zha Pai Gu (台式炸排骨), or Taiwanese Fried Pork Loin (also known as pork chop), is one of the most iconic mains you’ll find in any Taiwanese bento shop. The dish is said to trace back to Japanese-style tonkatsu from the Japanese colonial era, which was gradually localised and combined with Taiwanese-style marinating and coating techniques…
Taiwanese Golden Pickle (Huang Jin Pao Cai) 台式黃金泡菜
Huang Jin Pao Cai (黃金泡菜), or Taiwanese Golden Pickle, is a distinctly Taiwanese creation, first developed in Tainan around twenty years ago. It was created to suit Taiwanese tastes, which lean away from heat and towards rich, savoury sauces and a satisfying crunch. Its defining feature is a thick, golden sauce, emulsified from ingredients like…