Category: Recipes

Black bean soup is hearty and comforting, and it’s packed with flavors. I adapted a salsa making technique for this recipe; I roasted onions, jalapeños, garlic, and tomatoes until dark brown, and then I blended them with spices to make a base for the soup. Sounds complicated, but once you commit to the recipe, you’d be done in less than 40 minutes, I promise!

For the latest New Lifestyle Cooking Series:

Black Bean Soup with Yogurt
Serving Size: 4 Portions

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients:
For the Soup Base
5 tablespoons canola oil, split in half
1 medium sized onion, cut into wedges
1 head fresh garlic
1 piece jalapeño, seeded
2 Roma tomatoes (any tomatoes will do), halved
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chipotle puree
2 cups water (or chicken stock)

For Completing the Soup:
All the soup base
1 can (28 oz) black beans*, about 3.5 cups
1 + 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups water (or chicken stock)

*If you choose to use dry black beans, please soak 1 cup, for this recipe, in cold water overnight.

For the Condiments:
1 roasted pepper, medium dice
4 lemon or lime wedges
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons sliced jalapeños,
2 tablespoons yogurt, per serving
1/2 teaspoon chili oil, optional

1. Make the soup base first. Pre-heat oven to 450F. Toss onions, garlic, jalapeño, and tomatoes with two-and-half tablespoons of canola oil. Slide the vegetables on to a roasting tray and roast for 25 to 30 minutes in the oven until nicely browned.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, heat up the rest of the oil and toast ground cumin, dried oregano, and chipotle puree on medium heat until fragrant. Deglaze the pot with 1 cup of water to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom.
3. To roast a pepper, using medium heat, directly char a red bell pepper on the flame. Rotate it to char evenly. Once the skins are blackened, cover it with a lid in a mixing bowl until cool enough to handle
4. To peel the pepper, set up a bowl of warm water, dip your fingers in and use your wet fingers to peel off the charred skins. Dice up the pepper to the desired size.
5. Once the vegetables are caramelized, add them to the pot and add 1 more cup of water. Turn up the heat to medium high and cook the vegetables until softened. At this point, either use a blender to puree the vegetable mixture or use the back of a spoon to mash it up. The is the soup base.
6. Add the soup base, black beans, and water back in the pot and bring it up to a boil and turn it down to simmer. Season with salt.
7. To serve, ladle soup into a bowl, garnish with any condiments that are suggested in this recipe. Bon Appétit! 

Moussaka is a lovely dish for getting more veggies into your meal. Moussaka is a nice deviation from lasagna. I make my moussaka the way I make lasagna; instead of using pasta, moussaka is layered with eggplant and potatoes. Once baked…moussaka offers the same comforting and cheesy taste. I decided to skip on the meat because I think it’d be nice to have a vegetarian meal once in a while.

For the latest New Lifestyle Home Cooking:

Moussaka
Serves: 6 Portions

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

Ingredients:
For Vegetable Ragu:
4 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups diced onions, medium dice
2 cup diced carrots, medium dice
2 cup diced celery, medium dice
1 head garlic, sliced
2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoon thyme
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried chilis
1 teaspoon black pepper

For Moussaka:
2 medium sized eggplant, cut to 1/2 inch thick
2 cups sliced potatoes, 1/16 inch thick
2 cups ricotta, seasoned with salt + black Pepper
4 cups shredded Mozzarella

1. First, slice eggplant to 1/2 inch thick, lay them on a tray with a parchment paper or on a rack, season with salt on both sides and let sit for 1 hour to extract moisture.
2. Toss eggplant with about 2 tablespoons of EVOO and roast in 400F oven until soft. Set aside
3. To make the veggie ragu, heat up oil in a pot on medium-high heat, cook onions, carrots, and celery until soften. Season with salt, black pepper, and dried chilies. 
4. Add thyme and cook until fragrant, and then add chickpeas and crushed tomatoes. Bring the ragu to a simmer. Set aside
5. Pre-heat oven at 400F
6. Meanwhile, slice potatoes and gently poach potatoes until soft, but not falling apart.
7. Season ricotta with salt and black pepper until tasty.
8. To assemble the moussaka, brush the casserole with EVOO.
   Assemble moussaka in an orderly fashion; layer ingredients in order of eggplant, vegetable ragu, ricotta, mozzarella, and cooked potatoes. Finish the top layer with ricotta and mozzarella. Bake the casserole in 400F for 30 minutes to 1 hour until nice and bubbly. 
9. Rest the casserole for another 15 minutes and serve…Bon Appétit!

I came across a fried rice recipe with anchovies and parmesan in a cookbook. I decided to try this dish because both anchovies and parmesan have tons of umami flavor and could perhaps replace soy sauce in a pinch. The result of this dish is satisfying. Although this dish is far from being Asian, anchovies and parmesan provide delightful flavors to make this dish sing. In the end, you’d end up with something deep, salty, garlicky, and earthy with a handful of parsley. I have made a lot of fried rice in my life…and this recipe is definitely on the top five.

For the latest New Lifestyle Home Cooking:

Anchovies Parmesan Fried Rice
Serves: 2 adults

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 can (2 oz.) anchovies fillet
4 + 1/2 cup cooked long grain rice, at least 1 day old
1 cup grated Parmesan, split into 2 parts
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper, adjust to season
1 teaspoon dried chilies, adjust to season
6 fillets of Boquerones (marinated white anchovies), optional
1/2 cup grated Parmesan*, for making a chip (see note)

1. Using a non-stick skillet, heat up EVOO on medium heat, sauté garlic until golden brown.
2. Add anchovies and rice at the same time. Spread out the rice in the skillet and leave it untouched for a minute to warm up. Once the rice is warmed up, it’d be easier to handle
3. At this point, anchovies should start to disintegrate into the rice. Gently stir up the rice to mix it in. Season the rice with black pepper and chili.
4. Add 1/2 cup of grated parmesan and chopped parsley, toss or stir to combine.
5. To plate, spoon the fried rice onto a plate and sprinkle the rest of the 1/2 cup parmesan on top. Add a few fillets of white anchovies, but that’s optional.
6. If you are not squeamish about raw eggs, stir in a raw yolk. Bon appétit!

Note: To make Parmesan crisp, add the 1/2 cup grated Parm into a clean non-stick skillet and melt the cheese over medium heat. Keep the Parmesan on medium heat and it will become brittle. Flip Parmesan over and cook the other side for less than 20 seconds, and then you’d end up with a piece of crispy Parmesan.

Creamed Corn Egg Drop Soup is one of the first dishes I learned to make when I was young. Creamed corn gives the soup a nice velvety texture while adding some sweetness. I added extra corn kernels, from a can, to give the soup some texture; each bite of the soup has a nice crunch of the corn. The result of this egg drop soup has a porridge consistency, and the texture of the egg curds are soft and pillowy. My nanny added ham, and my mom added chicken. I added peas to keep it vegetarian. You could enjoy this dish on its own or add to rice or noodles.

For the latest “New Lifestyle” Home Cooking:

Creamed Corn Egg Drop Soup 
Serves: 2 adults & 2 children

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time 30 Minutes

For Ingredients:
For Veggie Stock:
2 quart (or 8 cups) water
2 tablespoons sliced ginger
3 stalks of scallions, white parts only
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of black peppercorn
4 cups diced cabbage

For Egg Drop Soup:
5 Cups of Veggie Stock
2 cans (14.75 oz can) creamed corn
1 can (15.25 oz can) corn kernel
5 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried chilis
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 bunch dried noodles, about 4 oz. (optional)
Thinly sliced scallions, the green parts
Sesame Oil, to season at the end

1. Make veggie stock before making egg drop soup by combining everything in a pot and bring it up to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Use only 5 cups of the veggie stock and reserve the rest for another use.
3. Bring 5 cups of veggie stock to a boil and turn down to simmer, add creamed corn and cook until the soup thickens a little. Add corn kernels and seasoning.
4. Turn the stove to medium-low and slowly pour in the eggs in a steady stream, leave the eggs to cook for 5 to 10 seconds and break up the curds gently. Keep the fire on medium-low to finish cooking the eggs. Add the peas and warm them through.
5. To serve, ladle a generous amount of soup into a bowl and pile on some noodles or rice. Drizzle some sesame oil and garnish with scallions. Bon Appétit!

Oyakodon mean “chicken and egg rice bowl”, and it is a popular dish at home or at restaurants in Japan. In Japanese, “oya” means parents, and “ko” means child; therefor, oyakodon means “parents and child rice bowl”, which also makes perfect sense because chicken is cooked with eggs. Oyakodon is easy to prep and simple to cook. You don’t have to stick to the script, by following a traditional recipe, when making oyakodon. To me, oyakodon is cooking chicken and eggs with care, and adding flavors and ingredients that’d make this dish soulful and comforting.

For the latest (New Lifestyle) Home Cooking Series:

Oyakodon
Serves: 2 Adults & 2 children

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:
For Oyakodon
1 + 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt, and adjust to season
2 teaspoon crushed black pepper, and adjust to season
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes, and adjust to season
2 + 1/4 cup sliced onions
2 cups chopped kale
1 + 1/4 cup diced chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
(1 large or 2 small thighs)
3 Eggs, beaten
1 Yolk (optional)
Few sprigs of cilantro for garnish (optional)

For Rice:
1 + 1/2 cup long grain jasmine or basmati rice
2 + 1/2 cup water

1. Wash your rice until water runs almost clear (it won’t be 100% clear). Let rice drain over a colander until dry, in about 20 to 30 minutes
2. Cook rice using a rice cooker or a pot (pot should be big enough to fit both rice and water and still have at least 4 to 5 inches of space above the water line). If using a pot, bring rice and water to a boil and turn to simmer with a lid on. Cook until water is completely absorbed and leave the lid on for extra 10 minutes before opening it.
3. To make oyakodon, in a non-stick skillet, bring stock to a boil on medium high heat and season with salt, black pepper, and chilies. Add onions and kale, and reduce the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Cook onions and kale until soft, in about one and half minutes.
4. Once the onions and kale are soft, add chicken and put the lid back on. Cook the chicken until done, in about 4 minutes. Open the lid and slowly pour your eggs in in steady stream. Adjust the heat to keep the soup bubbling. Cover the skillet and let eggs cook for 15 seconds. Depending on your preference for the eggs, cook them longer if you want them well done.
5. To serve, put rice in a bowl and ladle a generous amount of oyakodon over it. If you are not squeamish about raw eggs, add a raw yolk for extra richness. Garnish with cilantro, and Bon Appétit!

Crispy noodles are great for stir fry. The noodles soak up the sauce and give a nice texture contrast to the rest of the ingredients. To me, each bite is a delightful surprise; some parts are crunchier and some parts are saucier. Being patient with frying noodles is the only hurdle to overcome in this simple dish.

For the latest COVID 19 Home Cooking Series:

Cantonese Crispy Noodle Stir Fry with Fried Egg
Serves: 2 adults & 2 children

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients:
4 servings of dried Asian dried noodles
*Could substitute with angel hair Italian dried pasta
8 cup quartered Button Mushrooms
2 cup thinly sliced Carrots, on bias
10 cup (2 + 1/2 quart) medium diced Savoy Cabbage
4 cup sliced onions, in strips
6 cup sliced celery, on bias
5 t Salt, or to taste
1 Tablespoon crushed Black Pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoon dried chilies, or to taste
4 Fried Eggs
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon Corn Starch Slurry (mix 1 teaspoon corn starch with 2 teaspoon water)
Few springs of Cilantro, for garnish

1. Using a medium pot to bring a pot of water up to a boil and cook noodles until al dente. (Took me about 2 minutes and 30 seconds) Drain and toss in some canola oil. Set aside and cool. Portion noodles to 200g per portion
2. Stir fry each individual vegetables separately or together depending on the size of your skillet. Season the vegetables as you go. Mix everything at the end and adjust seasoning to taste
3. Reduce chicken stock by almost half and add corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce. Add stir fried vegetables to the sauce and stir to combine
4. To make crispy noodles, use a non-stick skillet and pour enough oil to form a thin layer. Turn stove to medium high and heat up the oil until it shimmers. Form each portion noodles into a disk on a serving plate. Slide the noodles from the plate into the skillet and shallow fry them on medium heat. After few minutes, you should be able to move around the noodles in a disk. Flip noodles over when the first side is nice and golden brown. Cook the other side until golden brown as well. Drain the noodles on a rack or tilt it on the side in a tray. Season with salt.
5. To make fried eggs, add 2 tablespoon of oil for every egg. Crack the eggs into the skillet on high heat and cook until the sides are crispy. Spoon hot oil over egg whites to make Sunny Side Up Eggs. Spoon hot oil over both yolks and whites to make Over Easy Eggs
6. To serve, place each crispy noodles in the center of the plates and pile on the stir fry on 1 side and place the eggs on the other side. Garnish with cilantro. Bon Appétit! 

We are going to focus on using only salt, black pepper and chili flakes this week. Since we are going to be wfh for a little longer, practice using these three seasonings could help you keep the cooking simple and fast, without feeling committed to doing a chore. Our first dish is Black Pepper Onions and Sausages. Black pepper and onions are best friends and they compliment sausages really well. This dish is my homage to fried rice, a version of it I ate growing up, with black pepper onions and Chinese sausages, which in my opinion, is the Queen of All Sausages!

For the Latest COVID 19 Home Cooking Series:

Black Pepper Onions and Sausage
Serves: 2 adults & 2 children

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients:
For Onions and Sausages
5 Italian Hot Sausages
3 cup sliced onions, about 2 medium size
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dried Chili Flakes
1/3 cup Chicken Stock, or water
1 tablespoon chopped Parsley, for garnish, optional

For Olive Rice
450g (2 + 1/4 Cup) Long Grain Rice (Jasmine or Basmati)
45g (4 Tablespoon) Canola Oil
1 tablespoon minced Ginger
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata Olive, roughly chopped
700g (approximately 3 cups) chicken stock or water

1. Use a skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat it up on medium heat until shimmering. Add sausages and cook them until nicely browned on the outside. Take the sausages out of the skillet and add the onions. Season onions with salt, black pepper and chili.
2. Cook onions until they are golden brown and deglaze the skillet with chicken stock or water. Bring the liquid to a boil and turn down to simmer.
3. Put the sausages back on top of the onions. Cover the skillet and let the onions and sausages stew until they are cooked. Once the sausages feel bouncy and stiff, then they are done. Alternatively, insert a thin metal skewer into the middle of a sausage and then feel the temperature of the skewer. If the skewer is hot, then sausages are done.
4. Meanwhile, cook rice. Using a medium size pot, heat up the oil on medium heat and cook ginger gently until fragrant. Add rice and olives to toast until fragrant. Add water and bring it up to a boil and then simmer, with a lid on.
5. For this recipe, rice will take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook after the liquid has come to a boil. Once the liquid is gone, turn off that heat and let the rice steam further with a lid on.
6. To finish, you could either serve onions-and-sausages separately from the rice, or together over rice. Sprinkle some chopped parsley for garnish and flavor. Bon Appétit! 

Chicken Adobo to me is the Asian version of vinegar chicken or lemon chicken. I learned to make vinegar chicken with sherry vinegar, garlic, basil, and butter at one of my first jobs. I’d sear the chicken and then glaze it with sherry vinegar and chick stock over and over and over until chicken is laced with its own juice. In this recipe, we are going to make an adobo sauce and re-heat the chicken inside of a rich soy vinegar sauce.

For the latest COVID 19 Home Cooking Series:

Chicken Adobo
Serves: 2 adults & 2 children

Ingredients:
Leftover Chicken (2 drumsticks and 2 thighs)
1/2 piece onion, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
1 head Fresh Garlic, cut into little chunks
1 piece 1-inch long ginger, sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 + 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 + 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Peppercorn
1 Bay Leaf
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar (or Distilled White Vinegar)
3 cup Chicken Stock
2 teaspoon Crushed Black Peppercorn
1 tablespoon Honey
1 sprig Cilantro, for garnish

To Serve with:
Rice
Chili Oil

1. In a medium pot on medium high heat, cook onions, garlic, and ginger until softened and a little brown. Add salt, ground black pepper and the liquids. Reduce the sauce by 1/3.
2. Add leftover chicken to the pot. Spoon adobo sauce over chicken several times on low heat. While heating up the chicken, reduce the liquid by another half until thin syrup. Spoon sauce over chicken few more times until nice and shiny.
3. Take out chicken and strain the sauce. Put chicken and the sauce back in the pot and season with crushed black pepper. Add honey for a little sweetness to balance out the vinegar.
4. To serve, put a generous amount of rice on a plate and layer chicken right on the top. Spoon more sauce over the chicken and add some chili oil over the rice. Garnish with cilantro. Bon Appétit!

Spanish Tortilla is a simple egg dish that could be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I love making Spanish tortilla when I have excess of onions and potatoes that are about to go bad. Serve it with a side of shredded chicken salad, you’d have yourself a delicious meal made of entirely with cheap and leftover goods! 

For the latest COVID 19 Home Cooking Series:

Spanish Tortilla w/ Shredding Chicken Salad
Servers: 2 adults and 2 children

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
For Spanish Tortilla
8 Eggs, beaten
1 pound ( about 4 medium size)Yukon Potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/16-inch thick
1 medium size onions, sliced thin
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoon EVOO
1/2 teaspoon Salt

For Chicken Salad
1 piece Chicken Breast, shredded
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/8-inch thick moon shape
1/8 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoon sliced Jalapeño, ring shape
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
3 tablespoon EVOO

1. Pre-heat oven at 350F
2. Slice potatoes using a mandolin into 1/16-inch thickness and rinse in cold water to rid of excess starch
3. Peel and cut an onion in half and using a mandolin to slice it into strips; start from the side and tilt the onion in 45 degrees. Go down the mandolin swiftly
4. Cook the potatoes first. Using a medium pot, add cold water to potatoes and cover. Bring it up to simmer and cook until soft but not falling apart. Drain and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, make chicken salad. Using a pairing knife or a peeler, peel celery to get rid of the stringy part; clip a little piece of celery off from the top and pull your knife down. You’d see strings of celery come off. Using a mandolin, slice celery into moon shapes
6. Slice jalapeño thinly into ring shape with a mandolin as well. 
7. Adding all the shredded chicken salad ingredients together in a mixing ball and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
8. Once the potatoes are done, cook the onions. Heat up EVOO in a 9-inch non-stick skillet on medium heat and gently cook onions until translucent and soft. Season with a pinch of salt. Add cooked potatoes when onions are done and stir both to combine.
9. Turn the heat up to medium high and pour in beaten eggs. Move the eggs around to ensure they reach the bottom. Once the sides are set, put the skillet in the oven and set timer for 15 minutes. The tortilla are done when the middle is solid. Let rest for couple minutes.
10. Flip the tortilla onto a flat surface (a lid or a cutting board) and slide it back into the skillet to warm up the other side. Using a rubber spatula to press in the sides and form a circular disc. Tip out the tortilla onto a cutting board and slice it into wedges like pizza.
11. To serve, place a wedge of tortilla off the center on a plate and place a small handful of chicken salad next to the tortilla. Drizzle couple teaspoons of chili oil and dig in. Bon Appétit!

I always seek out a “chicken over rice” dish when I travel. I believe there is a form of “chicken over rice” in most of the cuisines in the world. I love the concept of “chicken over rice” because of its simplicity. I’d argue that rice is the star of this dish because the best version of it uses chicken fat and stock made from the trims. The rice is the backbone of this humble dish.

For the latest COVID 19 Cooking Series:

Southeast Asian Chicken Over Rice
Serves: 2 adults & 2 children

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients:
For Chicken
1 Breast
1 Drumstick
1 Thigh
2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground White or Black Pepper

For Rice
450g (2 + 1/4 Cup) Long Grain Rice (Jasmine or Basmati)
45g (4 Tablespoon) Canola Oil
5 cloves fresh Garlic, minced
700g (approximately 3 cups) chicken stock or water
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
1 teaspoon Salt

For Cucumber Salad
2 cups bite size cut cucumber (English cucumber is the best)
8g (2 +1/2 teaspoon) Salt
8g (2 teaspoon) Sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried chilies (optional)
2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoon Cilantro Stems, cut into batons (optional)

To Serve With:
Scallion Oil
Chili Oil

1. In a medium pot, gently cook garlic with canola oil until fragrant on medium heat, and add rice to coat. Toast rice until fragrant. Be careful not to let garlic get too toasty or black.
2. Add the spices and salt, stir to combine, and add liquid immediately.
3. Bring the pot to a boil and turn down to simmer. Cover with a lid. Once the liquid has been absorbed, turn off heat and leave the lid on for additional 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the cucumber salad. Bash cucumber gently with the side of your knife and cut it into bite size. Season cucumber with salt and sugar and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, drain cucumber and season with dried chili, lemon juice, and sesame oil. Add herbs to enhance the flavor if you wish
6. You could microwave your chicken until hot. If you don’t have a microwave, you could bring a small amount of water to a boil and place your chicken in and turn the heat down to simmer until the chicken is heated through. Re-season chicken with soy sauce and white or black pepper
7. To Serve, put a generous amount of rice on a plate, level the rice and place your chicken in the middle, and drizzle more soy sauce if necessary. Serve cucumber salad, scallion oil, and chili oil on the side. Bon Appétit!