This recipe is my East Meets West take on steak and risotto. I wanted to make a risotto with steak and kale, which is something we might eat for dinner for a special occasion, but using some Japanese ingredients to give it a new identity and keep things new and different. So with the steak,…
Tag: rice
Quahog Clam Onigiri
A long, long time ago, I was watching a Japan travel video, where someone purchased these red clam onigiri(rice balls), stored in the clam shells, and enjoyed them on a coastal train ride. Now, I would have totally linked the video, but it was years ago and I honestly could not find it anywhere. But…
Ajitama Onigiri
This recipe is inspired by an onigiri I saw when I was traveling in Japan earlier this February. We were staying in Shinjuku, and had about 4 days(including travel) to explore Tokyo. While we were at Tokyo Skytree, there was an onigiri store in the department store, and I saw this onigiri that was triangular…
Salted Caramel “Black Thunder” Bars
I don’t know how I went as long as I have without ever eating a Black Thunder cookie bar. These popular Japanese candy bars consist of a black cacao cookie with crunchy rice and a chocolate coating. They are texturally addictive, and I can only assume that the name “Black Thunder” refers to both the…
Beef Heart with Lemon-Pecorino Risotto
Beef heart is a very fascinating ingredient. Being a high-activity muscle, heart as an ingredient can eat chewy after being treated with most cooking methods. However, I love preparing it in a marinade, then searing it, almost like how you treat ahi tuna. I actually never touched a beef heart before I made this recipe….
Artichoke-Pecorino Risotto
Risotto is one of those dishes that takes me back to my sister and I learning how to cook when we were really young. We grew up eating a lot of Taiwanese and Chinese food, as well as overtly healthy dishes(boiled romaine lettuce seasoned with olive oil and nothing else, anyone?), but the one constant…
Black Sesame Hotcakes
I have been on a real hotcake kick lately. Hotcakes are pancakes, but fatter and thicker. They are very popular in Japan, and are often ordered at cafes! When I was in Kyoto, I was able to get some at the hotel we were staying at, and they were super fluffy and tender. So I…
“Chicken and Dumplings”: a plated dish
This dish is a revisited version of a recipe I made a few years ago, but as a more composed plated dish. The dish itself was what I made for a collaboration dinner at Mader Lao in Oklahoma, with my friends Gabriel and Dara(from season 12 of Masterchef!). I offered to do the entree, which…
Brown Rice Shortbreads with Miso De Leche and Hojicha
These cookies were on my to-bake list for a solid minute. Mostly because the idea of working with brown rice, while a ton of fun, especially in baking, just sounded laborious. The idea was to use brown rice to make a flour, since I have made flours out of grains in the past. However, when…
Loco Moco with Mushroom-Miso Gravy
This recipe was inspired by two different instances where I had really good loco moco. One was when I was in Hawaii, specifically at Moena Cafe in Oahu, and the other from Ryla restaurant in Redondo Beach! Moena Cafe had a short rib loco moco with this rich, deep demi glas gravy that made me…
Spheal Dango
Originally, these were just going to be ring seal dango(round mochi-type rice dumplings). However, that idea kind of shifted towards doing Spheals instead thanks to my dear friend, Justina, who straight up to me to do that. And I am (mostly) glad I listened to her, especially after seeing the end product! I say mostly…
Miso Eggplant Onigiri
Miso eggplant is one of those flavor combinations that I really wanted to dislike, but actually loved from the get-go. For context, growing up, my mom would always serve bitter melon with miso paste, which caused me to develop a bit of a gag reflex towards vegetables served with miso for a long, long time….
Clodsire Mochi Puffs
Clodsire is a new friend-shaped Pokemon that is an alternate evolution to Wooper. In a way, it’s a Quagsire that decided to live life laying down, and somehow developed these purple spots on its back where it can spring out its poisonous spines. So despite looking hilariously adorable, Clodsire can be extremely terrifying. Luckily, these…
Poliwag Tang Yuan
When I think of cute O.G./Gen 1 Pokemon, Poliwag immediately comes to mind. Mostly because I remember accidentally running them over in Pokemon Snap in the River stage(whoops), and seeing Misty’s Poliwag(which managed to make it all the way to a Politoed!) back in the original anime series. Poliwag are these round, blue tadpole-like Pokemon…
Shio(koji)zake Salmon and Onsen Egg Rice Bowl
I was obsessed with eating shiozake salmon during my time in Japan. Every morning, my breakfast consisted of shiozake salmon, an onsen egg, rice, and a bowl of miso soup. This recipe is an homage to that, minus the miso(which is going into a different recipe). For those unfamiliar with the term, shiozake literally translates…
Lu Rou Fan Rice Bowls
Lu rou fan, or æ»·è‚‰é¥ as it’s written in Chinese, is a Chinese/Taiwanese dish that consists of braised meat, usually pork, with rice, and it’s usually served with pickled daikon and an egg that is usually braised or cooked with the stew. At least that’s how I was raised to eat it. The stew is…
Hanami Chiffon Sandwich
I’ve made it a point to make hanami desserts every single year, so I definitely did not want to stop that trend this year. Hana-mi refers to flower viewing, specifically the viewing of cherry blossoms blooming every spring. As a whole, this is meant to symbolize the beginning of a new year, or at least…
Snow Bunny Dango
Inspiration was from Paper Mario, and Super Paper Mario, where there was an item called the Snow Bunny. From how they looked, a Snow Bunny resembled an usagi manju, which is a Japanese bun shaped like a rabbit. These manju are quite cute, usually being made with mochi, although I have seen baked varieties as…
Kinako Mochi Chiffon Sandwiches
Kinako is one of my favorite ingredients, I feel like it is highly underrated. Translating to “gold powder”, kinako is a Japanese toasted soy bean powder. It is very nutty, similar in flavor to Korean injeolmi or even just peanut butter, and it quite frequently used in Japanese desserts. For me, I grew up eating…
Mango Sticky Rice with coconut and pandan
Whenever I think of Southeast Asian desserts, mango sticky rice is probably at the top of my list for things that come to mind. Glutinous rice with ripe, fresh mango, and this salty coconut milk, the contrast and flavors are very different than what most people would associate with desserts. Some variations have toasted sesame…
Freddy's Harajuku 