My family loves these Beef Rolls with Enoki and Veggies. Since there is protein, veggies and mushrooms all bundled together, it is the perfect standalone, well-rounded meal which makes me love it even more. They are soo good — with all that sauce — served on rice! Once the bundles are prepared, they cook in a matter of minutes right in the pan along with the sauce. Faster than the time it takes to cook the rice. Dinner is served!
Read more10-Minute Cream Corn Chicken Rice (粟米雞粒飯)
This 10-MINUTE CREAM CORN CHICKEN RICE is my take of a popular homestyle Cantonese dish (粟米雞粒飯) and my version takes only 10 minutes to make! You also won't be needing a knife or chopping board, either. Sound good? GOOD.
Read moreChinese Pork and Chive Dumplings
I call this CHINESE PORK AND CHIVE DUMPLINGS my weeknight dumplings because as far as dumpling recipes go, they are the EASIEST of them all to make. The juicy ground pork and fragrant Chinese chives are such a classic combo for dumplings and always hits the spot! Plus I share my TWO SECRETS for perfect dumping filling in any dumpling recipe 🙌
Read moreSpeedy Chicken Katsu Dinner
This SPEEDY CHICKEN KATSU DINNER features juicy chicken cutlets served with freshly steamed rice, crunchy shredded cabbage dressed in a 5-minute sesame dressing, and sweet-tangy tonkatsu sauce. This is a meal I can throw together in 30 minutes!
Read moreShanghai Spring Rolls
These SHANGHAI SPRING ROLLS are exactly the kind I grew up eating so they are, hands down, my favourite type of spring rolls! My paternal Shanghainese grandmother used to make it and my dad makes it. We usually make a big pot of simple meatless congee to go with it for a weekend lunch everybody looks forward to!
Read moreWhole Roasted Duck with Plum Butter Glaze + Slaw
May I interest you in an epic recipe perfect for the holidays? Actually, it is ideal for any dinner party at any time of the year, for that matter. Yes? I’m so glad! Because today I’m sharing this recipe — the second of my six-recipe collaboration with All-Clad Canada — a succulent Whole Roasted Duck with Plum Butter Glaze + Slaw made with All-Clad Canada’s Large Roaster with Rack. This was such a fabulous meal that everyone loved. I highly recommend this recipe if you’re into impressive, delicious, and NOT the same-old-same-old!
Read moreChilled Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
This recipe for CHILLED NOODLES WITH SPICY PEANUT SAUCE is a refreshing and delicious recipe featuring bouncy noodles loaded with a variety of crisp veggies and shredded chicken all tossed in a Chinese-style creamy, savoury, spicy and tangy peanut butter sauce. I think of this as the Chinese version of pasta salad! Perfect on warm days as a standalone meal or as a side dish for bbq parties. Great in a packed lunch or as a potluck offering since it keeps and transports so well.
Read moreGinger Apricot Chicken { gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, Whole30 }
Do you like the sound of juicy chicken with crispy skin, slathered in a zippy sauce? If so, I have this fantastic 6-ingredient, 30 minutes recipe for you. This easy and flavor-packed GINGER APRICOT CHICKEN recipe came about when I craved a tasty dish to appease my bored taste buds shortly after starting my first Whole30 so this recipe provides options for regular preparation or soy-free / gluten-free versions. This recipe has since become one of our family weeknight favourites!
Read moreRoast Pork with Mojo Sauce + Black Bean Rice { gluten-free, dairy-free }
This recipe was inspired by our recent trip to Miami, Florida. The hotel we stayed at was beyond gorgeous and the weather was even more so, especially after months living in the tundra known as winter in Toronto. Guys, it was a real difficult winter. So our escape down south was well anticipated. Except it didn't turn out to be the vacation I pictured...
Read moreChicken Stew + Almond Flour Biscuits { gluten free, Paleo }
Toronto weather can be pretty bipolar. We just had a sudden 10-degree (or 50f) swing from near 30c (86f) back down to more seasonal temperatures. I guess Summer wanted a last hurrah. I was okay with that!
Now that it is Fall, for real, it's time to embrace all the upsides it brings including pumpkin things, crisp air fragranced by wood-burning fires, over-the-knee boots and cozy meals exactly like this Chicken Stew with Almond Flour Biscuits.
Read moreCauliflower Fried Rice with Flatiron Steak { gluten-free, paleo }
Cauliflower has been having quite a moment in the sun.
Have you seen all the clever and creative uses of cauliflower lately? The popular ones that spring to mind are cauliflower steak, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower buffalo 'wings', cauliflower tater tots and even using cauliflower as a smoothie ingredient to provide bulk without the added sugars of bananas and other fruits (can't say I'm sold on that one ... yet).
So despite it's pale and unexciting appearance, turns out this cruciferous veggie kinda has superpowers! And cauliflower RICE, for me, is the most super-y-est of them all because of it's ease of preparation (including how much faster it is to cook versus rice), superior nutritional value over rice, it's versatility and above all, how satisfyingly well it stands in for rice.
Read moreLasagna with Cashew Bechamel { gf, dairy free }
I am super excited to share this recipe as a follow-up to last week's Everyday Veggie-Loaded Ragu share. For forever, it was a no-brainer to make a lasagna later the same week I make up a big batch of my go-to ragu. I literally don't know a single person who doesn't like lasagna, do you? But when we began limiting dairy and gluten consumption (among other things) at the end of 2016, it seemed our lasagna days were over. Bye bye.
Or so I thought.
Read moreEveryday Veggie-Loaded Ragu { gf, dairy-free, paleo option }
Does the internet really need another 'spaghetti sauce' recipe? For a year and half since I started this blog, the answer to myself was consistently NO. Yet here it is.
Instead of seeing it as too pedestrian to be blog-worthy, I now see it as invariably delicious, nourishing and actually an excellent representation of what we eat hence what I like to bring to the blog. A ragù (an Italian term) is a sauce made with ground meat and vegetables usually used for pasta. This is my take on the ubiquitous dish. It is uncomplicated yet deliberate in ingredients to maximize both taste and nutrition. It is beloved in my universe (my family). It is tried, test and true.
Read moreEasy Chicken Broccoli Meatballs in Lettuce Wraps { gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, egg free, paleo option }
If you know my modus operandi, you know I'm all about tasty and healthy meals with minimal effort. People often assume I love to cook (whatever gave them that idea ;)) but the honest truth is, I'm more driven by the end game than the process. My paramount goal has always been to feed my family simple homemade meals created from clean, whole ingredients. That's why I gravitate toward uncomplicated food. Are you anything like me? If so, this recipe is perfect for you too.
Read moreBraised Beef Cheeks, Chickpeas, Kale + Lemon Basil Gremolata { gluten free, dairy free, paleo }
The selfish part of me doesn't want to publicly share how ah-mazing beef cheeks are for braising! Beef cheeks are at once lean and tender. When slow cooked or pressure cooked, it is extremely flavorful and yields lusciously to your fork. Or should I say, spoon because that's the utensil to use for this dish. It's how wonderfully tender it is!
Read moreOkonomiyaki Wraps { gluten free, dairy free, paleo }
Guess what! I have another awesome mash-up for you. OKONOMIYAKI WRAPS
First of all, what is okonomiyaki? Other than that it's fun to say (rolls off the tongue doesn't it), it is a Japanese savory pancake originating from Osaka, Japan. The pancake batter itself is traditionally flour-and-egg based, with finely shredded cabbage mixed right in. The name itself translates to "grill as you like it", meaning you can adapt it by adding to the pancake batter a variety of different ingredients from veggies (i.e. corn, mushrooms, potatoes) to meats (i.e. pork, beef, chicken) to seafood (i.e. shrimp, squid, fish). When we lived in downtown Toronto, we were lucky to be a 2-minute walking distance from Okonomi House, a small Japanese-run restaurant that specializes in - you guessed it - okonomiyaki. It was there that we discovered this ultra tasty food.
Read moreMiso Gochujang Braised Pork Roast
I have been looking forward to sharing this recipe for months...I just had to make it a second time to make doubly sure it was a winner. IT IS. If you know miso's intense brininess and gochujang's savory pungency, then you might hesitate to believe me that using both of these together in this recipe results in a braised pork roast that is deeply flavorful, yet mellow. Wonderfully mellow. Believe.
Read moreTamarind Chicken Banh Mi Tacos { gf, dairy free, paleo }
I'm so happy to kick off the new year with a recipe I'm rather excited about as it uses an amazing and wildly flavorful ingredient that is a relatively recent discovery for me - tamarind. I didn't grow up with tamarind, but I have made up for that lost time by how much I love it now. Are you thinking what even is tamarind anyway?
Read moreNYC Chicken & Rice with 'Secret white sauce' { inspired by 'The Halal Guy's' food cart ! }
If you've been the New York City, then you've seen the plethora of street food carts selling pretzels or nuts or bagels that fill the streets with their amazing aromas. But I don't waste my money there.
Read moreEasy Beef Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff is a Russian dish and I'll be the first to admit to know nothing about Russian cuisine or whether my version is authentic. Probably isn't? I use flank steak in mine which deviates from the sirloin, tenderloin or chuck I typically see in recipes. After having tried all of those cuts for Stroganoff at some point in the past, I stand by flank steak as the ideal cut to use in this recipe. When sliced uber thin, the melt-in-your-mouth flank pieces are at harmony with the sauteed soft mushrooms and tender egg noodles.
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