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…
Strawberry Cake in Japan has so thoroughly pervaded the dessert scene that it tends to be the go-to cake for any occasion. Christmas Cake? Check. Birthday Cake? Check. Cake with Tea Time? Definitely. I’ve never been to a cake store or bakery in Japan that didn’t have Strawberry Cake.
Unfortunately, Japanese-style Strawberry Cake cannot be easily found state-side; and when I returned from Japan, I experienced some serious cake-withdrawals. So what is a girl to do? Scour the internet for the perfect recipe! Enter: Cooking with Dog Christmas Cake with the perfect Strawberry Cake recipe to meet my cravings and general cake needs…
Hello dear readers! I apologize for my untimely absence… sometimes life just seems to get the best of us, or in my case keep us aggressively busy. Despite that, I have been actively planning and photographing new recipes, and I have time over the next week to work on writing posts. YAY!
What does this mean for you? Well, within the week, My Umai will be back to posting at least once per week. We may or may not be moving to a once weekly schedule for a time *sad face*, but at least you can get your weekly fix. Also, I’m working on some new standard pages including, but not limited to, a list of the cookbooks I use and suggested substitutes for difficult to find ingredients. All good things, I hope! Can’t wait to share… 🙂
I’m going to preface this post with a simple statement; I love Chinese food, all kinds of Chinese food. Japanese style, American style, Korean style, authentic… it’s all deliciously bold and flavor packed.
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.
I love all kinds of fried chicken, from American southern style, to Japanese karaage; the Korean version is no exception. This recipe is a cross between fried chicken and bbq wings, an unhealthy but delicious combination. It’s the perfect snack for tail-gating parties.
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.
As I’ve said before Deb Perelman’s blog, Smitten Kitchen, has been a source of recipes for me for years. Her explanations are always clear, the recipes are creative, and the food never disappoints. This recipe comes directly from her and is actually almost completely unmodified.
Chicken Adobo is actually a Filipino dish that one of my best friends introduced me to. It’s tangy, sweet, and salty all rolled into one simple, flavor-packed recipe. Chicken adobo also happens to be a common Hawaiian food, so it’s become somewhat of a staple for us. Generally, there aren’t many vegetables in this dish, so I’ve long since made it my own.
MY UMAI 