Freddy's Harajuku

Toasted Almond and Salted Egg Cookies

I still remember sometimes at the end of a Chinese banquet, we would get these round Chinese almond cookies with an almond embedded into them(when it wasn’t orange slices and/or fortune cookies). This recipe was my homage to those, but also combining it with a salted duck egg-creme brulee-type of situation. I had salted duck…

Chickpea Cabbage Pancake

This was one of those recipes I came up with because I had a bunch of napa cabbage on hand, and I wanted to make something akin to okonomiyaki(a savory Japanese cabbage pancake). I love okonomiyaki(and hate typing it because I constantly have to pronounce it out to remember which letters to type in what…

Honey Toast-Chip Cookies

I have been seeing honey toast croissants trending, which is basically taking already-baked croissants, cutting them in half, dipping them in a honey butter, and re-baking them, which results in this kouign amann-like caramelized exterior for the croissant itself. I have even seen this technique done with toast as well(which I believe is the original…

Beef Tongue(Gyutan) Curry with Garlic Rice

Gyutan curry is a personal favorite of mine, after both having it in Japan, and learning how to cook beef tongue in general through other recipes like my gyutan doria. Off cuts like beef tongue, when stewed for forever, just have this luxurious yet tender quality to them, where they almost melt in the mouth…

Sourdough Shio Pan Bagels

So I’ve been seeing videos of shio pan bagels, and it just sounded like a fun idea to use my sourdough starter to recreate! Shio pan, for those unfamiliar, is a Japanese pastry that literally translates to “salt bread”. They are soft, tender, croissant-looking bread rolls that are baked with butter in the middle, so…

Lilikoi Haupia Pie

So this recipe has been in my to-bake list for years. Time flies when you’re living life, but one of my fondest memories was still going to Oahu with my friends, Bri, Dara, and Jessica, back in 2023. We had an absolute blast just traveling around the island, sightseeing, eating, and just unwinding after dealing…

Maple-Apple Mont Blanc Tart

It is funny to think that this recipe(and so many others on this site) came from me needing to use up leftover ingredients. It is usually those recipes where I end up getting super creative or I luck into really great flavor combinations. This recipe embraced the latter. And it all started with two egg…

Mafaldine with Poached Chicken, Pine Nuts, and Kale

This recipe is my homage to the classic pesto chicken pasta with sun dried tomatoes. But somewhat turned on its head. I went with chicken breast(which I prefer thighs to) because I wanted to test something. I have done yogurt-marinated chicken breast in the past for things like chicken tikka masala. The yogurt marinade makes…

Roast Endive with Mortadella Risotto

I was playing around with the concept of cured pork-stuffed roast cabbage, and that is kind of how this dish came about. I switched from cabbage to endive, which is more bitter and more dainty, and instead of doing prosciutto, I used mortadella, which is an Italian bologna. I love using mortadella because it is…

Cinnamon Roll Pie

I can’t even remember what initially inspired this idea. I vaguely recall watching something about cinnamon rolls on YouTube, writing down “cinnamon roll pie” on my to-bake list, not really giving it a second thought, then eventually re-exploring this idea 8 months later. When it came to conceptualizing this recipe, I knew I wanted to…

Delta Old Fashioned Donut

To conclude my three-part Legends Z-A Old Fashioned Donut series, and to celebrate Pokemon Day, we have the Delta Old Fashioned Donut(or doughnut, depending on how you choose to spell it, but I’m usually in the doughnut camp, not the donut camp). Able to summon the Sky High Pokemon Rayquaza, the Delta Old Fashioned Donut…

Omega Old Fashioned Donut

With Pokemon Day coming up, I wanted to celebrate with my second of three Pokemon Legends: Z-A-inspired Pokemon doughnuts! In the case of this recipe, we are going with the Omega Old Fashioned Donut, inspired by Groudon, the Continent Pokemon, from Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Omega Ruby. Groudon is a giant red dinosaur-looking creature, said…

Alpha Old Fashioned Donut

With this week leading up to the always much-anticipated Pokemon Day, I figured I would celebrate the week(in hopes that Generation 10 is right around the corner), by making three Pokemon-themed doughnuts, inspired by the most recent game, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, specifically from the DLC, Mega Dimensions! Now, I’ve been obsessed with the Legends Z-A…

Vegan Cauliflower Risotto

Now this is a recipe that started a long, long time ago during the pandemic when I was making vegan “scallops” using braised cauliflower stems. I did this by trimming down the stems, braising them in a flavorful umami-packed stock so that they actually tasted like something, and then searing them to look like scallops….

Light as Air Funfetti Cake

This cake is somewhat my revisitation of the classic Milkbar Birthday Cake, but making it as light as a cloud. I still look back at my time at Milkbar fondly, just because it was a great vibe. Everyone was outgoing, friendly, and quirky, it always felt like we were a bunch of misfits and goofballs,…

Caramel Macchiato Bear Mousse Cake

Caramel macchiatos will always remind me of my old sister, Kim. When we worked together in D.C., she would always get them at Starbucks, and after I tried one myself, I understood the obsession. Sweet caramel cuts through the bitter coffee, while adding a light bitterness on its own, and the layer of milk or…

Beef Heart Stroganoff

I heart beef heart. I wanted to make a dish that is somewhat romantic(pasta with a soft, creamy sauce), and figured, why not put some actual heart. on it? Yes, I might have a problem. Beef heart has a slightly chewier, yet crunchier texture compared your usual steak, and I just love that. People are…

Tonka-Strawberry-Goat Milk Sundae

Whenever I think of Valentine’s, the first thing that comes to mind are strawberries. What I adore about strawberries as an ingredient is that they add a bright red color, pleasant sweetness, and some tartness to contrast rich, creamy flavors and textures. However, and these have been rising in popularity especially over the past few…

New York Strip with Potato Mochi

Meat and potatoes is a classic that I’ve done spins on before on this blog, and I figured, New Year, new take on meat and potatoes? In this case, I wanted to do another steak, but for the potato portion, I wanted to combine experienced from my recent trips to Germany and Japan, paying homage…

Pomelo Entremet

I don’t love winter. I might be a winter baby(Capricorn, which might explain things to those of you who are religious about zodiac signs), but I never liked the cold. I tried that for four years living in Boston, and while I loved the shoulder seasons, winter was brutal, with me being Taiwan-born, and SoCal-raised….