As you’ve probably figured out, I’m the roasting queen. I’ll roast any vegetable I can find with a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil; cauliflower is no exception. It’s easy, quick, and minimizes dishes; what is there not to love?
Here is a quick green bean recipe that is positively delicious. Sweet, spicy, and a little bit tangy make these Chinese-style beans go perfectly as a side dish for almost any Asian meal. I recommend pairing them with rice and tonkatsu, yummm.
Butternut Squash just happens to be one of my favorite vegetables. It’s hearty enough to be left in the pantry for 2+ weeks, it goes well in many different dishes, and it’s an excellent substitute for sweet potatoes or kabocha. It also just so happens to be an excellent vegetable to roast! Here’s a quick recipe to roast this beautiful veggie into sweet, caramelized goodness.
This is another one of those super easy, super delicious recipes that are always a favorite in my arsenal. Eggs are actually a very difficult food to cook well. For one, they are pretty delicate, easily burned or overcooked in a matter of seconds if you aren’t paying attention. Next, the natural flavors are subtle, making them difficult to showcase and even more difficult to not overpower. Fear not, as this dish removes all of the difficulties with cooking eggs, leaving them bright, fluffy, and perfectly seasoned.
I started making Kimchi at home last year when I realized that a gallon of Kimchi costs nearly $20. I can make the same amount of Kimchi at home for $2 and it tastes just as good, if not better. On top of that, Kimchi is actually really easy to make, it just takes time. Spend one day every 6 weeks making Kimchi, and you will always have it in your fridge. How can you argue with that kind of logic?
Snow Peas have been in season and what better way to celebrate this delicious vegetable than with a new recipe. I concocted this side dish with only one thing in mind: showcase the natural, delicate sweetness of the peas in the simplest manner possible. Thus, Mai’s Garlic Snow Peas was born! Excuse my dramatics, I simply love eating snow peas. On to the recipe…
This is going to be the first post in a segment I’m dubbing, “The Secrets of Cabbage.” Ignore the cheesy name, the point is there will be more posts about cabbage in the future. Also, I apologize for how short this post is going to be. I will write about an entree in the next post.
In my kitchen, quick vegetable dishes are key because most asian cooking is designed to have a main dish (meat) and several vegetable side dishes. I don’t have time on the weekends to make enough sides for the week, so I stick to two dishes per meal, the main meat and some quick, often roasted, vegetable. The thing I love most about roasted asparagus is it’s versatility; it goes with everything and can be prepped with any mix of spices you desire. I’m going to go with the basic, salt, pepper, and lemon today; but just know you can experiment with this.
When Kaleo, my fiance, and I visited Hawaii, we probably ate our combined weight in poke. Poke is an authentic Hawaiian appetizer or side dish that is positively divine. It’s very similar to ceviche, except soy sauce is used instead of citrus as the base of the sauce.
Age Dashi Tofu is a classic Japanese side dish that is positively heavenly. When I was living in Japan, I used to eat this weekly at the Waseda Dining Hall, where they have perfected the art of this subtle dish.
MY UMAI 