The perfect topping for just about everything! Elevate your dishes with homemade crispy fried shallots made by deep-frying slices of shallots in a shallow pan. This staple condiment is fragrant, sweet, and aromatic. Pair it with eggs, noodles, pasta, biryani, fried chicken, and many more! It can be used as a topping, dressing, sauce, and … Read more
Want to change your regular potatoes to a similar type of vegetable? Then, you must try these best alternatives to a regular potato: taro, sweet potato, yam, and yuca. These tuberous root vegetables are similar in many ways, from having a starchy texture to being highly nutritious. However, they are not all entirely similar when … Read more
Crunchy, garlicky, and pantry-friendly – Crispy fried garlic is an excellent addition to any dish. It adds savory and pungent flavors, whether you are having soups, noodles, or stir-fried dishes. You only need two things to create this must-have seasoning: garlic and oil. When you are done deep-frying all the delicious garlic, keep the garlic-infused … Read more
Preparing to cook a recipe needing Chinese vegetables? Among the most popular Chinese leafy greens are napa cabbage, bok choy, and yu choy. You’ll most definitely find these greens in the vegetable section of Asian supermarkets or in the Asian section of your local grocery stores. Whether you need napa cabbage, bok choy, or yu … Read more
Spices have been a constant staple ingredient in cooking for many different types of cuisines. It is used in a variety of dishes to enhance flavor, color, and aroma. Today, there are a lot of spices that are commonly used, including Allspice, Five Spice, and Cloves. You may have encountered these spices in your dishes … Read more
Chinese five spice (五香粉) is a traditional Chinese powder that adds sweet, sour, salty, and bitter flavors to a dish. It is typically made with five spices: Star anise (八角), Chinese cinnamon (肉桂), Fennel seeds (小茴香), Szechuan peppercorns (花椒), and Cloves (丁香). You get the licorice taste from star anise, earthy flavors from cinnamon and … Read more
Have you ever heard of Chinese Five Spice Powder for cooking? It’s a sweet but warm spice with a hint of licorice-like flavor. Add a bold and flavorful zing to any dish with this powder, such as crispy salt and pepper tofu, crispy Taiwanese-style popcorn mushrooms, or Chinese chive pies or pockets (韭菜盒子). You don’t … Read more
Red bean paste is very commonly used in Chinese and Japanese pastries, from red bean pancakes to glutinous rice balls to dorayaki. It’s amazing, or should I say alarming, how much sugar and oil the commercial red bean paste is laden with, and that’s something I never really thought about until I made red bean paste for … Read more