Shaoxing Wine is used in practically every single Chinese recipe I’ve shared – because it’s key ingredient! What is Shaoxing Wine? Shaoxing wine is a type of Chinese cooking wine, and is alternatively spelt Shao-hsing or Shaohsing wine. It is made from rice and is one of the most popular types of of Chinese rice wines for cooking thanks to its complex and sweet flavour. It’s the default rice wine I use for Chinese cooking and so I refer to it simply as Chinese Cooking Wine in almost all my recipes....

The best part of this dish? The sauce. This stuff is the Mother Of All Flavour Bombs! Any Singaporean will tell you the sauce is the beating heart of Singapore Chilli Crab. It’s an explosion of seafood flavour, less spicy than the name suggests, subtly sweet, deeply savoury. Sauce excellence at its finest! Singapore Chilli Crab You’ve heard about it all your life, you might’ve even tried it on its home turf in Singapore....

Swedish Meatballs I’m that person who goes into Ikea just to pick up tea lights, only to emerge 2 hours later with all sorts of useful organisation solutions, looking for a problem to solve. I’m also that person who confidently puts together Ikea furniture (I’m a chartered accountant! I can do this!), only to worryingly end up with one leftover screw or bracket. Thankfully, none of my Ikea furniture has come tumbling down (yet), so now I have a theory that Ikea throws an extra piece into every flatpack just to mess with us....

My sweet potato “cheese” dip is so good that my junk food loving husband finished the leftover nacho cheese that I was saving for myself! How dairy, right?! (dairy = dare he…) What’s cool about this dairy-free cheese is that it’s nut-free. I feel like most dairy-free cheese is almost always made with cashews. Don’t get me wrong; I love a good dairy-free cashew cheese (I have a recipe for cashew paneer)....

For the outer cover Maida | all purpose flour 1/2 cup Sooji | Rava 2 tblsp Oil /ghee 2 tblsp Salt a pinch Cooking soda a pinch Water to knead the dough For the filling Sugar 1/2 cup Dry coconut(koparai)* 1/2 cup Pottu kadalai | Chutney dal 1/4 cup Cardamom powder a pinch Oil for deep frying*you can also use freshly grated coconut, but roast it nicely in a dry pan before using....

This curry is a creamy and slightly tangy fish dish perfect for serving over rice (or cauli-rice). One thing that’s pretty predictable about Indian recipes is that there’s almost always a souring agent – something that gives a dish a little tang. In this recipe, the souring agent is tamarind paste. It adds a nice depth of flavor to this spiced coconut stew. Typically I stick to making easy fish recipes like my plantain-crusted haddock but sometimes it’s nice to make a recipe that takes a little more work but rewards with more flavor....

What is Tamarind Chutney? Tamarind chutney is sweet and spicy and tart! It’s the perfect dipping sauce to serve with fried Indian snacks like pakoras or samosas. I’ve already shared my recipe for Cilantro Mint Chutney here on the blog and so it’s about time I share this tamarind chutney recipe as well. After all, these two chutneys are always served together. I’d say these are two of the most popular chutneys out there....

I have posted urad dal chutney recipe in Jeyashris Kitchen. This recipe of Urad dal thogayal I have seen in a Tamil magazine a few years back and noted down the recipe. I have tried at home 2 weeks back and it was a super hit recipe at home. This Urad dal thuvaiyal is a village-style recipe. It can be paired with fermented rice(Pazhaya sadam) as well. If you are looking for a Traditional Brahmin style Thogayal recipes, do try this....

Directions to veganise this included My cooking revolves around what’s in season and what’s on special. On this occasion, you guessed it, my local supermarket obviously had an overstock of zucchini because they were on special at $2.40/kg (2 lb) (normally they’re $6 to $8/kg). So I bought 2 kg (that’s 4 pounds!). I couldn’t help myself – zucchini’s are so versatile, I was sure I would use them up in a week....

Check out my other Lunch box recipes Δ

Whole Spices vs. Ground Spices When it comes to spices, I prefer to buy whole spices and grind them myself using an inexpensive coffee or spice grinder though mortar pestle works too. Whole spices last longer and maintain their flavor longer than pre-ground spices. They’re also cheaper to purchase when you buy in bulk. Using ground spices can reduce prep time, and if you use them regularly and continue to re-stock, you don’t have to worry as much about the loss of flavor....

Have you ever used apple cider as a marinade before? It’s like a secret weapon broth / stock. Because it’s got so many more layers than just plain apple juice or even broth, which means you don’t need many other ingredients to create incredible flavour! Just to be clear – I’m talking about alcoholic apple cider. In some parts of the world, including America, “apple cider” refers to a non alcoholic drink made from (this will surprise you 😉 ) apples....

Basmathi Rice 1 Cup Baby Corn 6 – 7 Onion 1 Garlic 2 pods Green Chilli 2 Grated Coconut 2 Tbslp Coriander Leaves One handful Oil 1 -2 Tbslp Cardamom 1-2 Water 1 and 1/4 Cup Salt As Needed METHOD: Soak the basmati rice for 10 minutes in 1 and 1/4 cup of water. Mean while wash and cut the baby corn into roundels. In a pressure cooker add oil and add the onions....

METHOD: Wash the baby corn and cut them into small pieces as shown in the picture. Pressure cook this till 3 whistles by adding little salt and turmeric powder. I made ginger garlic paste using mortar and pestle. It was very flavourful and much better than the store bought ones. In a pan add oil and throw in the cumin seeds. Add the ginger garlic paste . Saute in a medium low flame for few minutes and add the onions....

Usually, we make boondi ladoo with boondi karandi, also called Jarini in Tamil. We also use the normal perforated ladle to make boondi ladoo and motichoor ladoo. Apart from this, we make rava ladoo, maladoo, nei urundai for Deepavali. This boondi ladoo is made without using any special ladle. This is made by soaking chana dal and deep frying it in oil. The recipe is similar to the traditional okkarai recipe, but in okkarai we add jaggery, also we steam the ground dal in that....

Shikanji Home made lemonade Lemon juice 1 tblsp Salt a pinch Honey 3 tblsp (or little more) Basil leaves 5-6 Water 2 cups + few ice cubes In a mixer grind the lemon juice, basil leaves, salt and honey. Grind into a paste. Sieve it and add 2 cups of water. Add ice cubes and serve immediately. Garnish with few basil leaves while serving. Δ

Basque cheesecake The next time you want to make a cake that really stands out, make this Basque Cheesecake. Sure, people ooh and aah over the appearance. That golden surface, after all, screams look at me! And you’ll get street cred for making something that’s on-trend. Though, I’m a few years late. Everybody knows I’m not cool enough to keep up with food trends. 😂 But it’s the eating part that really blows everyone away....

This recipe is one of the mains in the fusion Japanese banquet menu I shared yesterday, pictured below. Beef tataki Tataki is a Japanese dish where a protein (usually fish or beef) is briefly seared on the outside, thinly sliced then served with a citrusy sauce. It’s a popular starter at modern Asian restaurants, the sort of food that appeals to everyone – meat lovers as well as those who enjoy the more refined Asian fusion dishes (think: Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Cakes, that sort of thing!...

After a no-mayo version? Use a creamy Yogurt Dressing instead. About this Chicken Pasta Salad This is an old-school Chicken Pasta Salad that comes with a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing, and lots of add-ins. Carrot, celery, capsicum (bell peppers), green onion, BACON, cheese and even avocado, if you so choose. What I really like is that it’s nice and “moist”. That is, plenty of dressing, but you won’t feel weighed down after scoffing down a big bowl of this because the dressing is made with a 50/50 combination of both mayonnaise and sour cream....

Tender coconut water | ilaneer 1 and 1/2 cup Sugar 3-4 tsp Lemon juice 1 tsp Coconut bits 2 tblsp Take out the water from the coconut. Pour it in a bowl. Add the lemon juice to this. Add the sugar. Mix well. Chop the tender coconut into small bits. Transfer the bits to the coconut lemonade mix. Pour this in popsicle moulds and cover it. Freeze it overnight or freeze for 6 hours....