Crispy Chicken Cutlet Sliders { Lightened Up! }

September 13, 2016 Sonia Wong

[ October 2018 ] This recipe was updated with improvements! I switched to using roasted chickpeas for an amazing gluten-free alternative for the breading! (see image above) Note the use of store-bought, snacking kind of roasted chickpeas (like Watusee Foods roasted organic chickpeas; not sponsored) which I blitz into a coarse crumb in a blender or food processor. They also have ready-made chickpea crumbs if you can find it (I don’t have access to that in Canada). Home-roasted chickpeas would likely be too moist to achieve the same results.

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This one's a home run at my house! And I am willing to bet it would be at your's too, if your peeps like crispy little chicken sandwiches on warm soft brioche buns served with a good schmear of creamy tartar-y sauce goodness. The best part about it is, it's a lightened up (healthier) version that is EASY to make (less than 30 minutes) with NO COMPROMISE in taste! What is this voodoo magic, you ask? Read on friend…

Horchata Iced Latte

August 19, 2016 Sonia Wong

Have you ever tried horchata? It's a Mexican drink made of rice soaked in water and spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with sugar, in it's simplest form. In addition to rice, almonds or seeds are sometimes also used in the beverage. Well anytime there is delicious homemade almond milk involved, I'm all in! Add to that a shot of strong espresso, and you've got yourself a horchata iced latte - otherwise known as the best caffeinated summer sipper ever.

Orange Creamsicle Chia Smoothie { featured on Vogue.com }

August 16, 2016 Sonia Wong

This is a healthy, dairy-free take on the nostalgic flavor combination of sweetly acidic orange juice and creamy vanilla. These may seem like an odd marriage of flavors for those who didn't grow up getting creamsicle popsicles from the corner store but they play so well with each other - like pb&j or chocolate & strawberries! I really like it, can you tell?

So when vogue.com asked me to contribute my recipe for this healthy creamsicle smoothie for a feature on their site, I gleefully agreed! You can read my wee feature here. No big deal ;)

Blueberry Breakfast Muffins with Oat Crumble {gf, dairy-free, refined sugar free}

August 10, 2016 Sonia Wong

This is a gold star muffin recipe! I adore this recipe because it begins with walnuts and rolled oats ground into a coarse flour which gives the muffins substance, keeping you full longer because of the healthy oils in the walnuts and the heartiness of the oats. Buckwheat flour is used which happens to make this gluten-free. Muffins have a bad rap as the evil breakfast food loaded with hidden fat and sugar, but it doesn't have to! I hope you like this one.

Simple Beer Braised Pork

June 30, 2016 Sonia Wong

What if I told you that all you need is half an hour of active prep time (excluding oven time) for this beer-braised pork, which can then be turned into 3 or 4 different dinners? Do the work upfront say, on a Sunday and reap the rewards on hectic weeknights. I think you maybe definitely should read on.

Perfectly Crispy Sheet Pan Chicken { No Oil! }

April 28, 2016 Sonia Wong

I have been making this crispy chicken forever but it never occurred to me to blog it because it is just so simple. I finally decided it is less about a 'recipe' and more about the method. One that is tried and true and results in the crispiest chicken to come out of an oven without a single drop of added oil.

That is correct. Crispy. No oil. Skeptical? Let me explain.

Black Sesame Raw "Cheesecake" Bars {gf, v, dairy-free}

March 25, 2016 Sonia Wong

Sweetened black sesame paste is a mega-superstar in desserts. This is well known in east asian countries like Japan and China where it is a quintessential staple in sweet treats like ice cream, pastries, cakes and glutinous rice balls. In western culture we know how well nuts like pistachios, almonds and pecans work in all sorts of sweet applications, too many to list really. Black sesame lends a similar nuttiness to desserts although for some reason has not enjoyed the same ubiquity. The color maybe? Perhaps now is the time to give yourself to the Dark Side!

Braised Beef Shortribs, Korean-style {gf}

March 9, 2016 Sonia Wong

In Korean, this is called Galbijjim. Since I am not Korean, I do not have a "mom's best" recipe passed to me for these Korean-style braised shortribs. So I did the next best thing and adapted my recipe from David Chang's mom's recipe posted on the GQ site. After I made his version a couple of times I wanted to simplify the ingredients and cooking method for more practical home cooking, so I can make and enjoy it more often of course!

Avocado Veggie Rainbow Rolls + Tangy Tahini Dipping Sauce

February 9, 2016 Sonia Wong

I generally abhor salad prep. I love to eat salad. But the prep, no. So much washing and spinning and trimming and seeding and cutting. But these rolls and the dipping sauce. Oh I'll do it for them. They are one of my favorite ways to eat a load of vegetables in one sitting. The filling can be quite versatile. The only 'formula' (for me) is the inclusion of buttery avocado + crunchy carrots + refreshing cucumber + something leafy. Beyond that, almost anything goes.

Turkey Sausage, Butternut Squash & Turmeric Chili

January 29, 2016 Sonia Wong

When the weather is cold, I turn to hearty chilis and stews to warm up. I'm also lazy. And stews and chilis are wonderful one-pot meals loaded with meat, beans and lots of veggies! This recipe has no actual heat (spiciness) so who knows if it should still be called a chili. Feel free to enlighten me on this in the comments. Regardless, if you are unlike me and have no young children to worry about, by all means add a tsp of chili flakes when the turmeric goes into the pot.

Healthy Granola {gf, refined sugar free}

January 29, 2016 Sonia Wong

My family LOVES this granola recipe. It has heartiness from the old-fashioned rolled oats. It has crunchiness from the almonds. It has chewiness from the dried blueberries (or other dried fruit like currents, cranberries or raisins). And important to me, it has healthy fats (extra virgin coconut oil) and is sweetened naturally with medjool dates and maple syrup. Indeed, it has all the qualities of Granola Greatness! Do you think they care about that? Nay. They love it because it is really, really yummy.

Alkalizing Green Juice

January 26, 2016 Sonia Wong

"Alkalizing". What does that have to do with juice? Remember grade school science class when you learned about the pH scale - as in, vinegar is acidic and baking soda is alkaline? As it turns out, our bodies are constantly balancing a pH too and plenty of literature informs us that bodies having a high pH (alkaline) versus a low pH (acidic) function better and are healthier.

Shanghai Pork + Bok Choy Wontons / Dumplings

January 20, 2016 Sonia Wong

Che vey! That's shanghainese for "eat rice" which is like saying "bon appetit" before you begin a meal. These words were most frequently uttered around my grandmother's dinner table. She was the one who created the shanghai wonton loving monster that I am. Sometimes when we are feeling decadent (not lazy), we also add a tiny morsel of raw white shrimp in with the filling. Homemade dumplings are a labor of love but so very worth it. Put some great music on and make them asap!

4-Ingredient Crunchy Chicken Nuggets

January 20, 2016 Sonia Wong

This is an essential weeknight recipe that I default to again and again because it is so easy to prepare and because of how much my girls love them! Think 4 ingredients, 15 prep time, 25 mins bake time. There is no reason to buy packaged nuggets ever. EVER. I also make this recipe regularly with ground turkey with wonderful results too but of course it will be a tad less juicy. I always make a double-batch and freeze a portion of uncooked nuggets for future school lunches.

Apr 2017: I have added gluten/grain-free AND dairy-free alternatives. Hurray! Nuggets for everyone!

Lion's Head Meatballs

January 20, 2016 Sonia Wong

Lion’s Head Meatballs is a very traditional Chinese dish featuring large pork meatballs and leafy greens. This is a family recipe passed down from my Shanghainese grandmother, which always uses bok choy. The big fluffy meatball represents a lion's head and the surrounding leafy greens, its mane. Don't you love the fanciful name? Just as much to love is the dish itself, a mainstay comfort meal to be certain.

hello, I’m Sonia!

Welcome to my site, where I share recipes I crave and make for my family. I was born in Hong Kong before immigrating to Canada at the age of eight. This blend of East and West cultural upbringing informs my palate and recipes. I love dumplings and lasagne, get weak in the knees for chocolate cake, gag on cilantro, and controversially dislike whole chickpeas (especially in salads) but love them pureed into silky smooth hummus. If you like what you see here, you can find more food things by me on Instagram, Food Network Canada and occasionally on the small screen as a food expert on CTV’s The Good Stuff with Mary Berg. More about me and my food philosophy here…

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