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…
Chicken and Shiitake Mushroom Claypot Rice (Bo Zai Fan) 香菇滑雞煲仔飯
(This post contains an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.) Claypot Rice, or Bo Zai Fan (煲仔飯), is a beloved Hong Kong street food built around one simple pleasure: fragrant rice with a crispy, golden crust at the bottom. This chicken and shiitake mushroom…
10-Minute Frozen Tomato Cold Udon
I first came across this frozen tomato hack on Instagram and was curious enough to try it myself. One taste and I was completely hooked. I hadn’t realised how effortlessly tomato skin peels away once frozen, and dicing the flesh straight into a dressing makes the easiest, most refreshing topping for cold noodles on a…
Taiwanese Steamed Pork with Pickled Cucumber (Guazi Rou) 台式瓜子肉
Taiwanese Steamed Pork with Pickled Cucumber, known as Guazi Rou (台式瓜子肉), is another comforting and easy-to-make dish in Taiwanese home cooking. It’s the kind of savoury, rice-soaking dish that appears on family dinner tables again and again, and one bowl of rice is rarely enough. The dish pairs minced pork with Taiwanese pickled cucumber (脆瓜…
Classic Taiwanese Stir-Fried Rice Vermicelli (Tshá-bí-hún) 台式炒米粉
Taiwanese Stir-Fried Rice Vermicelli, known as Tshá-bí-hún (台式炒米粉) in Taiwanese Hokkien, is one of those classic home-cooked dishes that almost every Taiwanese family makes their own way. Growing up, my grandma cooked it whenever the family gathered together, and I still remember the aroma of dried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, and fried shallots filling the…
Crispy Water-Fried Pork Belly 水煎五花肉
Water-Fried Pork Belly is a cooking method that went viral across Taiwanese YouTube a few years ago, and it’s easy to see why. The method starts by gently poaching pork belly in a little water, which cooks the meat through and draws out any impurities. Once the water evaporates, the pork carries on cooking in…