I Am... Dishoom Black Dal aka Dal Makhani
Dishoom's Black Dal is Creamy, luscious, and absolutely addictive I love dal. It’s warm and cozy, full of flavor, creamy, rich, and hearty. It can be an all day affair or a quick 1 hour in the instant pot. This particular dal recipe is a riff on the dal at popular London restaurant, Dishoom. Think: tender lentils in a rich and creamy tomato gravy seasoned with cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, fennel, garam masala, and more. Trust me when I say that it is the BEST vegetarian comfort food dish you’ll ever eat. Dishoom is a beloved Irani-style Bombay inspired cafe in London. Their most popular dish is the house special, black dal. When you go, you’ll see every table with a little pot of dal alongside warm naan. Dishoom is one of our go-to restaurants in London and we always, always get the dal. The rumor is that the iconic black dal made at Dishoom is cooked for over 24 hours. They have released the recipe for the dal in their cookbook, but it’s a scaled down, home-style recipe that simmers for 5-6 hours. I loosely based this recipe on that, but we went all out and cooked ours for 24 hours because we wanted it to taste as close to the real deal as possible. The result is a decadent, indulgent dal that you will not believe came from your own kitchen. For those not interested in waiting over 24 hours for an amazing dal, we have an instant pot version too.
What is dal?
Dal are dry pulses such as lentils, peas, and beans. The term refers to both the types of soups and stews made from the pulses and the pulses themselves. Dal is cozy, nourishing, and packed with plant-based protein and fiber. It’s an excellent choice for a satisfying meal, especially served along side rice or naan.What is dal makhani?
Dal makhani is a dish that originated in New Delhi, India. It’s a modern take on traditional dal but made with black beans or black lentils. What makes it different is the inclusion of butter and cream. Makhani means “buttery” and the butter is what makes this dal special.What does dal makhani taste like?
Think of a thick, flavorful soup made from lentils. This particular recipe’s flavor profile is deep and dark and full of savory flavors. The lentils hold their shape yet also burst in your mouth with the slightest pressure - tiny bursts of explosions of flavor. It’s thick and spiced with a hint of sweetness from the tomato and lush and rich from the butter and heavy cream.Dal ingredients
- black lentils: technically dal makhani uses urad dal, which are in the mung bean family. They’re not super common though and usually need to be special ordered, at least where we are. The black lentils that we usually see are black beluga lentils or petit black lentils. Most likely the black lentil you’ll find at the grocery store will be beluga black lentils which are perfect. Other lentils such as red, brown, or green lentils will work too, but their skins are thinner so they might break down more while cooking. French lentils have a slightly thicker skin so they won’t break down as much.
- spices: whole cloves, star anise, ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne, fennel seeds, garam a masala, cardamom, bay leaf, and a cinnamon stick. Whew! There’s a large amount of spices in this dish and I feel like they all contribute equally. That being said, I know that many people make their dal makhani with little to no spices and let the lentils, butter, and cream shine. Personally, I find that the warming spices add so much. Lightly toasting the spices in a dry pan will bring out their flavors and aromas, so don’t miss out on that.
- onion: finely minced onion adds sweetness, especially when slow cooked in butter.
- ginger: the warmth of fresh ginger cooks and mellows out deliciously. You’ll want to mince it very finely or use a grater. I like to use a Japanese style ginger grater and measure out 1 tbsp of the grated ginger and all of the ginger juice too.
- garlic: who doesn’t love garlic? Use a garlic press so the pieces of garlic are tiny and melt into the gravy.
- tomato paste: the tomato paste in this recipe condenses, sweetens, and adds so much umami. Again, the smoothness of tomato paste is key here. You want the texture focus of the dal to be the lentils so tomato paste is ideal compared to fresh tomatoes.
- butter: it wouldn’t be dal makhani without butter. I use unsalted butter I can control the salt content, but I must admit, when it’s time to serve, a pat of salted butter that melts down into the warm dal is amazing. cream: heavy cream adds a luscious creamy thickness.
What is the difference between black lentils/black beluga lentils and urad dal?
Urad dal, which are in the mung bean family, are larger and look like a whole mung bean. They’re about 1/4 inch in length and oval shaped with a small white speck on one side. Black lentils are smaller and disk-shaped. They’re about 1/8 inches in diameter and have a tiny yellow speck.How to make dal
This dal takes 24 hours to make, but I promise you, it is so worth it. It’s almost entirely hands off so you don’t actually do much. A covered pot just sits in a low oven and all you do is give it a stir every now and then. The results are incredible!- Soak. Give the lentils a rinse and then soak them in plenty of cold water, overnight. Lots of lentil recipes say you can skip this step and that might be true, but I always soak mine. I feel hydrating them makes them keep their shape even after cooking.
- Cook. The next day, rinse the lentils off and drain well. Place them in a large pot with cold water and bring to a hard boil, then lower the heat and simmer. Cook until the lentils are soft, but still hold their shape, topping up with water if needed. When they’re soft, drain and set aside.
- Toast. While the lentils are cooking, toast the spices in a dry pan to release their aromas. Crush or use a spice grinder to blend everything up and set aside.
- Sweat. Heat up a bit of oil and butter in a pan and slowly cook onion, garlic, and ginger until everything melds and melts into a soft paste. Stir in the spices, tomato paste, cooked lentils, and a bit of water to make everything come together in a thick soup. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat.
- Braise. Take a note of the time. Cover the pot tightly and place in a 325°F oven for 3-4 hours, checking every so often to see if the dal is dry and you need to add water.
- Overnight. Turn the oven to 200°F and let the dal cook overnight.
- Finish. The next day, turn the temperature up to 300°F until you’ve reached 24 hours in the oven. Stir in cream and butter and season with salt. Enjoy!
How to make Instant Pot dal
If 24 hours is much too long for your dal craving, Instant Pot dal is here for you. Here’s how you do it:- Lightly toast the spices in a dry pan over low heat to bring out the aromas, then crush or grind them.
- Add butter and oil to the Instant Pot insert. Turn on to sauté high and stir in diced onions, minced ginger, and minced garlic. Cook briefly. Stir in the spices then add uncooked rinsed black lentils, tomato paste, and 2 cups of water.
- Seal and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Quick release, carefully vent, and open the lid. Stir in butter and cream to finish. Taste and season with salt and enjoy!
Instant Pot dal vs stove top/oven dal
It’s really hard to choose, but if I had to choose, I would choose the 24 hour dal. The 24 hour dal has so much more depth of flavor! It’s smoky and rich and dark. The Instant Pot version is light and creamy. It definitely had something to do with the amount of time the tomato paste has to cook and condense down. The 24 hour dal has just a hint of tomato – you almost have to be looking for it to identify the flavor, where as the Instant Pot version has tomato as one of the first flavor notes. I love both so it’s hard for me to say if one is better the other, but if I’m in a dal-rush, the Instant Pot version is AMAZING. Also, sometimes you’re just hungry. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Tips and tricks
- Soak your lentils overnight. This is the number one thing you need to do for this recipe. It will help your lentils hold their shape and be tender after cooking. Many lentil recipes say that you don’t need to, but it’s not a difficult step and I’ve never skipped it.
- There’s a certain smokiness comes from the long braise in the oven. This isn’t a quick recipe, but the hands-off time comprises most of the time. Slow cooking in the oven gives you a smokiness that you won’t get if you just make this on the stove.
- A small pot is your friend. Use a small heavy bottomed cooking vessel with an oven-safe lid. I use our 1.5 quart petite Staub and the depth and width makes it the perfect dal pot. It’s about 5 inches across and 6.5 inches high. If you use a pot with too large of a base the dal will come up shallow and may lead to burning/drying out. If you don’t have small pot, transfer your dal to a taller oven safe dish and cover it with foil.
Extra smoke
If you’re looking for extra smoke you can complete this last step. You’ll need a small metal bowl, a piece of all natural hardwood lump charcoal, and a way to light the charcoal on fire.- When the dal is ready and you’ve stirred in your butter and cream, place a small metal bowl directly onto the surface of the dal. The thickness of the dal should hold it up.
- Safely light your charcoal outside and let it burn until it is hot and lightly covered with white-gray ash, about 4-5 minutes.
- Use a pair of tongs and carefully put the hot charcoal in the mental bowl and add 2 tablespoons right on top of the hot charcoal. It will instantly start to smoke.
- Quickly cover the dal with the lid and let smoke for 5 minutes then remove the lid and the bowl with the charcoal.
What to serve with dal
- Naan is always the right answer and fluffy, chewy, homemade naan is the perfect accompaniment.
- Cheesy naan or garlicky naan are good too!
- Creamy butter chicken
- Sweet and spicy ruby chicken curry
- Savory, hearty chicken biryani
Dishoom’s Black Dal Recipe
Creamy buttery lentils, zero effort.
- 1 cup black lentils (I used black beluga lentils)
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 small onion (finely diced)
- 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
- 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5.5 oz tomato paste (1 can)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- salt (to taste)
Soak the lentils in cold water overnight. The next day rinse and drain well. Place the lentils in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a hard boil over high heat for 5-10 minutes, skimming if needed. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft, but hold their shape, about 40 minutes to 1 hour. If needed, add water to the pot to prevent the lentils from drying out. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oven to 325°F. In a small dry pan, over low heat, lightly toast the cloves, star anise, coriander, cumin, cayenne, fennel, garam masala, and cardamom, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. Make sure not to burn! Remove the spices from the pan and add to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Crush/grind until fine. Set aside.
In an small, oven-safe heavy-bottomed pot, heat up 1 tbsp each of butter and neutral oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the spices, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Add the tomato paste and 1 cup of water to bring everything to a thick, soup-like consistency. Add the drained lentils to the pot, adding a bit of water to thin out, if needed.
Tightly cover the pot with foil (or the oven safe lid) and place in the oven for 3-4 hours, checking every 30 minutes or so to stir. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, if needed, to maintain a soup-like consistency.
After 4 hours, take a note of the time and turn the oven to 200°F. The next morning, when you get up, turn the temperature up to 300°F, check if you need to add a tiny bit of water, stir, then continue to cook in the oven, covered, until you hit 24 hours from the time you started the dal in the oven.
Remove the pot from the oven and stir in 2 tbsp each of heavy cream and butter. Taste and season with salt. Enjoy with basmati rice or naan.
If desired, you can pull the dal after 4 hours in the oven at 325°F and finish with butter and cream.
I Am... One Pan Sesame Chicken
This one pan sesame chicken is the answer to all your quick and easy weeknight dinner dreams. Sesame chicken is a sweet and saucy dish of crispy bits of chicken coated in a sticky savory sauce, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. It’s a classic Chinese take-out favorite and one of my must order dishes. It’s extremely versatile – go with whatever pieces of chicken you have in the fridge or picked up at the store on sale, either breasts or thighs will work. I prefer skin off, but skin on works too. The name of the game is ease. From there, your chicken gets a little coat of cornstarch for both tenderizing and to add a bit of crisp.
What is sesame chicken?
Sesame chicken is a super popular American Chinese chicken dish that is most likely inspired by real Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork or lemon chicken. It’s almost just like General Tso’s chicken but instead of on the spicy side, it’s sweet. Like General Tso’s chicken, no one is quite sure of the origins of sesame chicken. Sesame chicken is uniquely Chinese-American and incredibly delicious.How to make sesame chicken
- Season and cornstarch your chicken. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces then mix it up with some cornstarch.
- Fry the chicken. Heat up a bit of oil and pan-fry the chicken until golden and crisp.
- Make the sauce. Push the chicken to the side and fry the garlic for a minute, then add all the sauce ingredients. Cook until it starts to bubble and thicken, stirring occasionally.
- Make it rain. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and enjoy hot with fluffy white rice!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken - I used boneless skinless thighs but you can use whatever boneless chicken you happen to have, skin on or skin off doesn’t really matter. Both breasts and thighs will work in this recipe. Versatility is the name of the game.
- Cornstarch - this is what we’re using to dry coat the chicken with before it gets pan fried. Cornstarch doesn’t have any gluten in it which will help make the chicken a little bit crispy and golden. Garlic - just a bit of garlic for those mellow warm garlicky flavors we all know and love.
- Honey - this is what is going to add the sweetness and also cook down nicely into a sticky, thick sauce.
- Soy sauce - There are so, so many soy sauces out there, but in this case, the best one is the one in your pantry. That being said, if you’re running out or want to expand your soy sauce collection, make sure you go for a naturally brewed soy sauce for its complex deep aroma and flavor. We like both Amoy and Lee Kum Kee.
- Rice vinegar - rice vinegar adds that signature little bit of tang that sesame chicken has. The tanginess highlights the sweetness and that contrast is what makes sesame chicken irresistible. We like to use Marukan or Kikkoman unseasoned rice vinegar. If you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute white vinegar.
- Toasted sesame oil - Toasted sesame oil will add a huge hit of sesame flavor! It’s intensely nutty, toasty, and so so good. It’s not the same as regular sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil is made from toasted sesame seeds and is a finishing oil, much like a really good olive oil. Our favorite brand is the Japanese one, Kadoya, with its signature bottle shape and yellow cap. You can find it in the Asian aisle at most grocery stores, in your local Asian grocery store, or online.
- Toasted sesame seeds - These guys are the finishing touch. Look for toasted sesame seeds at the store, they have a nuttier, toastier flavor.
What’s in sesame chicken sauce?
Sesame chicken sauce is made of garlic, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil, which gives it that sesame-ness.Crispy sesame chicken
Personally I love the ease of this one pan sesame chicken but if you NEED crispy sesame chicken, I’ve got you. The recipe is exactly the same, the only difference is: you’re going to shallow fry the chicken in more oil. You can also choose to bake or air fry for a crispier coat.How to fry
In a cast iron skillet, or heavy bottomed pan, heat up 1/2-1 inch of oil over medium heat. When it’s hot and shimmery, add in the cornstarch coated chicken, making sure to shake off any excess cornstarch. Fry the chicken, flipping as needed, until the chicken is golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on a rack so it crisps up more while you use another pan to make the sesame sauce. When the sesame sauce is thick, add the crispy chicken to the sauce and toss to coat.How to bake
Baking will give you a slightly crisper chicken than simply pan frying but it takes a lot longer in the oven. To bake: heat the oven to 420°F and lightly oil a rack. Place the coated chicken on the rack and bake for 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear, flipping once, halfway. When the chicken is almost done, use a nonstick pan to make the sesame sauce. When the sesame sauce is thick, add the crispy chicken to the sauce and toss to coat.How to air fry
Air frying will give you a similar crunch to shallow frying but is a bit more hands off. To air fry: oil the air fryer basket and lay in the cornstarch coated chicken in a single layer. Air fry at 400°F for 12-15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear, flipping halfway. When the chicken is almost done, use a nonstick pan to make the sesame sauce. When the sesame sauce is thick, add the crispy chicken to the sauce and toss to coat.Why this is the best sesame chicken recipe out there
Most sesame chicken recipes are deep fried chicken but I love this one-pan version because it’s the easiest way to make homemade sesame chicken from scratch. Instead of coating each piece of chicken in a batter and deep-frying, we’re going to toss our chicken cornstarch to give it a slightly crispy coat. Not quite the same as deep fried, but 1000 times easier and quicker, which is what everyone needs on a weeknight. This sesame chicken is definitely faster (and healthier) than ordering take out!Pro tip
If you want your sesame chicken to have a deeper, nuttier, sesame flavor, and you don’t have toasted sesame seeds on hand, you can toast untoasted sesame seeds yourself. Toasting them right before you add them to the chicken will unlock the ultimate nutty sesame aroma. To toast sesame seeds, add a table spoon of sesame seeds to a dry pan and heat over low, shaking the pan constantly until the seeds start to smell nutty and turn slightly golden. Remove the seeds from the pan immediately as they have a tendency to burn.What to serve alongside
More Chinese takeout dishes you should try
Sesame Chicken Recipe
This one pan sesame chicken is the answer to all your quick and easy weeknight dinner dreams.
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (~4 thighs, or sub 2 breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces)
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground pepper, then toss with 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Heat up oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the chicken in a single layer, until cooked through, golden brown, and crispy, flipping once. Cook in batches, if needed.
Push the chicken to one side, then add the garlic to the pan and cook until soft, but not brown.
Add soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sauce turns slightly thick and glossy and coats the chicken. Finish with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy hot!
I Am... Chinese Pork Dumplings Recipe
Potstickers, Chinese pork dumplings, jiaozi, guotie, whatever you want to call them, they’re delicious, and homemade dumplings are the most delicious of all. Dumplings are definitely a staple in our home. We always keep a bag of frozen homemade dumplings for those emergency hungry times. Pan-fried dumplings are incredibly satisfying: crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, filled with so much flavor. You could just buy a bag of frozen dumplings at the grocery store and call it a day or you could make your own at home and impress yourself with your amazing dumpling making abilities. Golden brown and crispy on the bottoms with a juicy pork filling inside, these Chinese pork dumplings will make you feel like you’re at your favorite dumpling spot.
But what even are dumplings though?
Dumplings are juicy, crispy little bundles of deliciousness. In this particular case, we’re talking about Chinese dumplings, or jiaozi. Jiaozi are a ground meat filling (sometimes vegetable) wrapped up in a piece of thinly rolled out dough. Chinese dumplings can be deep-fried, boiled, steamed, and pan-fried. They’re served in soup and on their own with a dipping sauce. Dumplings are super versatile, you can eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a late night snack, you name it, and dumplings can be there for you.The best dumplings are the ones you make at home.
There is something gratifying about making something from nothing. It’s why sourdough is so popular - making food from scratch will give you a deep satisfaction. It’s why generations of families sit together at the kitchen table at dumpling making parties. But also, let’s face it, those dumpling making parties are just an excuse to wrangle kids in to doing free labor. Still, take an afternoon to make some homemade dumplings – heck make a triple batch and freeze the extras – and you’ll be eating like dumpling royalty for days. Also, if you make your dumplings at home you can customize them infinitely. Dreaming of shrimp and chives? Maybe a green chile cheeseburger dumpling? You can have it all, wrapped up in one beautiful bite.The perfect homemade dumpling dough
The key to any good dumpling is the dough. You want it to be plush and chewy and pliable. There is a space in the world for thin skinned dumplings (like xiao long bao) but for homemade potstickers you want a rustic al dente wrapper that you can really sink your teeth into. There are different kinds of doughs for different kinds of dumplings - how much flour and water you add yields different textures. For our potsticker dumpling dough we’re going to be using a hot/warm water dough which makes a very pliable, easy to work with dough. It has a 55% hydration, which is perfect for crispy, yet chewy dumpling skins. All you need to make homemade Chinese dumpling wrappers is water and flour. Because it’s a warm/hot water dough, this basic dumpling wrapper recipe is perfect for potstickers or steamed dumplings. Incidentally, boiled dumpling dough usually uses cold water so the dough can hold up to the rigors of boiling. Boiled dumplings, or shui jiao, are actually considered more difficult to make than dumplings for pan-frying or steaming.How to make homemade dumpling dough
Put some flour into a bowl. Add hot/warm water. Mix. That’s it, you have dumpling dough! It really is that simple, but let’s break it down a bit.- Add flour to a large bowl. I like to use a kitchen scale because it means less washing up and more accuracy. It’s really win-win. After you add the flour to the bowl, make a well in the middle, just like when you make pasta.
- Add warm water to the dough. Pour warm water in to the well. Warm water helps the starch form gluten which means our dough will be soft, stretchy, and easy to work with. Use a pair of chopsticks to mix the water into the dough so that it forms a shaggy ball.
- Knead. From here you can knead the dough by hand until it becomes a smooth ball or you can do what I do and use a stand mixer. I almost always prefer using a stand mixer when I can, it makes kneading hands off.
- Rest. This is just where the dough takes a little nap so it’s easier to roll out the wrappers. You can optionally re-knead and let it rest again so that it’s even easier to roll out.
- Roll and shape. The classic way to portion out dumpling dough is by poking a hole in your dough and then stretching it out into a big thin doughnut/bagel. From there you cut it and you have a thin rope of dough that you can cut small pieces off of. The pieces are then rolled out using a small rolling pin and you’re ready to make dumplings!
What are Chinese dumplings filled with?
You can pretty much fill dumplings with anything. Most of the time they’re filled with ground meat (pork, beef, chicken, lamb), vegetables, aromatics, and sesasoning. The vegetables are what makes the inside of your dumplings extra juicy and the aromatics add flavor.How to make homemade dumpling filling
- Prep: The first step to making a good dumpling filling is prepping the vegetables. You could go with an all meat dumpling but I find that all meat dumplings tend to be missing something – vegetables add an extra bit of moisture, flavor, and texture that just compliments the meat. We’re going to be using cabbage but you can use chives, spinach, carrots, kale, hearty greens, mushrooms, anything you want. The key is not having too much moisture. In the case of cabbage, we’re going to salt it a bit then squeeze it to remove some moisture so our dumplings don’t get too soggy.
- Mix: Once you vegetables are being salted, it’s time to mix up the meat. Mix together a bit of cornstarch with water then stir it into the ground pork. Stirring in a bit of cornstarch and water will make the insides of your dumplings super tender. It’s the secret to juicy, tender dumplings! When you stir in the water-cornstarch mix everything will come together into a homogenous paste, which is exactly what you want. When the pork is nice a smooth, mix in the vegetables.
- Season: It’s all about the aromatics and seasoning! Ginger, garlic, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and salt are you friends. Stir them all in and your dumpling filling is ready to go.
How to wrap dumplings
There are infinite ways of wrapping dumplings. My tip to you is: don’t worry about it! If your first batch of dumplings is just folded over and pressed together it’s totally fine! You can even just pinch up the sides, it’s a style. The goal is to make homemade dumplings, not to stress out about different dumpling folds.How to freeze homemade dumplings
You might be wondering, can I eat 40 dumplings in one sitting? The answer is yes, but if you are more regular person this recipe will probably give you some extra dumplings. Or, if you’re smart you’ll double or even triple this recipe so you can have extra dumplings in the future. Dumplings are one of those things that do extremely well frozen. They take almost no extra time to cook from frozen and it’s basically an instant home cooked meal. To freeze your dumplings, space out uncooked, formed potstickers in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to freezer bags.How to cook dumplings
All hail crispy bottom dumplings! Crispy bottom dumplings are the best dumplings, am I right? That textural contrast between super crispy burnished bottoms and the tender steamed tops is the best. To get crispy bottoms on your dumplings, pan fry them in a bit of oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, the add a bit of water and cover to steam to 4-5 minutes. Lift the lid off and continue to cook off the water and the bottoms of your dumplings will be golden and crisp and the insides will be tender and cooked through.How to make a crispy dumpling skirt
- Heat up a bit of oil in a non-stick pan over medium to medium high heat.
- Add your dumplings, leaving a bit of space between them.
- Crisp up the bottoms of the dumplings, 2-3 minutes.
- Whisk 2 teaspoons of flour with 1/3 cup of water and add to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and steam for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue to cook until the flour slurry starts to evaporate and crisps up golden brown.
- Flip the dumplings over on to a plate and admire your extra crispy dumpling skirt.
You should make homemade dumplings if you:
- want to learn a new cooking skill
- want to impress your dumpling loving friends
- don’t live anywhere near an Asian grocery store and can’t get your hands on frozen dumplings let alone dumpling wrappers
- want to customize your dumpling fillings
- love dumplings
How to Make Homemade Dumplings
Homemade crispy bottomed dumplings are 100x worth it.
Homemade Dumpling Wrappers
- 300 g all purpose flour (about 2 cups)
- 165 g very warm water (about 2/3 cups, 110ºF-120ºF)
Dumplings
- 1.5 cups cabbage (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 tbsp ginger (minced)
- 2 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup green onions (thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
Make the dumpling wrappers
Add the flour to a large bowl and create a well in the middle. Pour the very warm water into the well and use a pair of chopsticks to whisk, incorporating the flour little by little until everything comes together into a very shaggy dough.
Tip the dough out onto a work surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, knead the dough again so that it is smooth and elastic. You can use it right away but it will roll out even better if you let it rest for another 30 minutes. Shape it into a ball. (See notes for stand mixer instructions).
Make the dumpling filling while you wait for the wrappers to rest
Toss the cabbage with a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix well. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes, the squeeze out and drain as much of the extra water as possible.
Mix together 2 tbsp water with the teaspoon of cornstarch and stir into the pork until it forms a paste.
Mix in the ginger, garlic, green onions, soy, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and squeezed out cabbage until incorporated.
Make the dumplings
After the dough has rested, poke the center of the dough with your finger and stretch it out to create a bagel shape. Keep stretching and rotating it out into a large, thin ring.
Cut the ring and you should have a rope of dough. Roll it out until it is about 1.5 inches in diameter. Cut off 6 pieces and weigh the pieces of dough, about 10-12 grams each, which looks like about 1 tablespoon of dough. Cover the rope of dough so it doesn’t dry out.
Take each piece of dough and roll it into a ball then flatten it with your palm until it is about 1.5 inches, lightly dusting with flour as needed. On a lightly floured work surface, use a small rolling pin and roll out the edges of the flattened disk, rotating and rolling so that the edges of the wrapper are slightly thinner that the middle. Aim for the wrapper to be 3.25 to 3.5 inches in diameter. Lightly flour and cover with plastic wrap while you roll out the other 5 portions of dumpling dough. Once you’ve rolled out 6 wrappers, shape your dumplings. (See notes on how many dumplings you should make at a time).
Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold over into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal. You can also pleat/fold the dumplings: start by folding the dumpling skin in half and pinching. From the middle, fold over/ pleat one side of the dumpling skin and push against the back skin to secure. Repeat until you reach the edge the pleat the other side. If you're using store bought wrappers, lightly moisten the edges of the wrapper with water before folding.
After you’re done making the 6 dumplings, continue to roll out and make your dumplings with the rest of your dough, 6 at a time.
Cook your dumplings
In a nonstick pan, over medium heat, heat up a touch of oil. When hot, lay the potstickers in the pan, in one layer. Cook, until slightly browned, then add 2-4 tablespoons of water and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. When the water has cooked off, lift off the lid and continue cooking until the bottoms are brown and crisp. Enjoy hot, with soy sauce and chili oil!
Stand mixer dumpling wrappers
Add the flour and water to the bowl and whisk together with chopsticks. Use the dough hook and knead on low until all the water has been absorbed. Mix on medium-low until a dough starts to form, about 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. When the dough comes together, shape it in a ball, and let rest, covered for 30 minutes before kneading it again.
How many dumplings to make at once
If you’re working with a partner, one of you can roll out dumpling dough while the other makes dumplings, otherwise if you’re by yourself, 6 is probably the right amount. Freshly made dumpling wrappers need to be used almost immediately otherwise they become dry and difficult to shape and the pleats won’t hold together.
Storage
It’s best to use the dumpling wrappers fresh but if you absolutely need to store them for later, make sure you brush them well with tapioca or potato starch in between each wrapper before stacking them together.
Once they are generally dusted and stacked, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and then place in a air-tight container, refrigerate, and use within the next 2 days.
To freeze dumplings once you've made them: space out uncooked potstickers in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to freezer bags. Cook from frozen adding a couple of minutes to the covered cooking time.
Estimated nutrition is based on one serving = 6 dumplings.
I Am... Chinese Sticky Rice (糯米雞 / Lo Mai Gai)
This Chinese sticky rice, aka lo mai gai, is the perfect stick-to-your ribs kind of meal. It’s been getting chilly. All of a sudden it got really cold. So cold that we can see our breath in the air and had to pull our puffer jackets and mittens out. We’ve been going on long sunset walks and I’m just about frozen when we get home. All I want after being out in the cold is something warm, hearty, and filling. Chinese sticky rice is the perfect thing, and best of all, it's getting close to lunar new year too.
What is Chinese sticky rice/lo mai gai?
Lo mai gai is a classic Cantonese dim sum dish. If you’ve been to dim sum, you’ve probably ordered a steaming basket of little leaf wrapped parcels filled with sticky rice, chicken, chinese sausage, and a shiitake mushroom or two. They’re a crowd favorite and it’s easy to understand why: a tasty little package with everything you need right inside. I’ve made lo mai gai with lotus leaves (this is the standard Cantonese way) and I’ve made them with parchment paper (a convenient hack) but my favorite way to make lo mai gai is the way I’m most familiar with: the Singapore-style overturned bowl. All the ingredients are packed into a bowl, steamed, flipped over onto a plate, and served hot. The sauce melts down into the sticky rice, the toppings glisten prettily, and your lo mai gai is there for you, a perfect plate of sweet and savory umami flavors.Why is lo mai gai so tasty?
It’s that combination of sweet and savory that gets most people: the slightly sweet umami-rich sauce and savoriness of the meats combines together to form a balanced bite. It’s a marvel in textures too: the Chinese sausage is bouncy and firm against the sticky soft rice and silky mushrooms. It’ll keep you coming back for bite after bite. Serve it up with your favorite chili hot sauce and a simple side of blanched vegetables and you’ve got the ultimate comfort meal.How to pronounce lo mai gai?
It’s low-my-guy, with a rising intonation on the “guy.” Fun fact, lo mai gai (糯米雞) is Cantonese for sticky rice chicken.Lo mai gai ingredients
The list of ingredients is kind of long, but most of them are sauces and if you have the sticky rice and sauces at home, you can make lo mai gai easily whenever you crave it. The usual suspects that you probably have in your fridge/pantry: chicken thighs, cornstarch, soy sauce, shallots, garlic, and oil.And this is what else you’ll need
Shaoxing wine
The secret ingredient to all good Chinese food. It adds that extra oomph that you probably thought was MSG. It wasn’t, it was shaoxing wine. Read more about it here.Dark soy sauce
You might be tempted to skip dark soy sauce, but if you have a chance to buy a bottle, do it because it’ll last you a long time and bring a lot of joy into your life. Dark soy sauce adds a beautiful glossy brown to Chinese dishes and also adds caramel sweetness and depth.White pepper
White pepper is more delicate and floral than black, as well as being a bit brighter and sharper. It pairs exceptionally well with Chinese food.Toasted sesame oil
Pure nutty, toasty aromatic umami in the form of a oil. Get the toasted stuff, it’s completely different from regular sesame oil. Our favorite is Kadoya, which comes in that iconic yellow topped bottle.Dried shiitake mushrooms
These are a foundation in Chinese cooking. They’re intensely flavored and full of umami. You can buy them online or at an Asian grocery store and keep them in your pantry (or the fridge) for whenever you need a mushroom hit. To use them, you just rehydrate in hot water until they plump up and become tender, chewy, and delicious. They go so nice with sticky rice.Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce is a thick and flavorful brown sauce that can be found in the Asian aisle of any grocery store. If you see the Lee Kum Kee bottle with the two people in boats, go for that one. It’s the premium oyster sauce which lists oysters as its first ingredient, unlike the one with the red panda label which has oysters listed further down the list. Oyster sauce is going to boost the umami in the lo mai gai even more.Five spice
A mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel. These spices add warmth and flavor.Chinese sausage
I love Chinese sausage. Also known as lap cheong, Chinese sausage is firm, sweet, smoky, and fatty. It keeps just about forever (because it’s air cured) in the fridge and can be used in almost everything: fried rice, noodles, or alone as a snack. It is a classic ingredient in lo mai gai.And last but not least: sticky rice
The star of lo mai gai. Also known as glutinous rice or sweet rice, sticky rice is a rice with a very low amylose (specific starch) content which makes it sticky when cooked - it’s what they use to make mochi. When you’re buying sticky rice, just look for a bag that says sticky rice, glutinous rice, or sweet rice.How to make Chinese sticky rice
You need to do a little bit of planning to make lo mai gai, but the actually making and assembly is really easy.- Prep your ingredients. The night before (or 6 hours before you’re going to cook) soak the sticky rice, marinate the chicken, and rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms.
- Cook the mushrooms and chicken. We’re going to cook the mushrooms and chicken using the soaking liquid from the mushrooms to create a rich and flavorful sauce.
- Cook the rice. Drain the soaked rice and fry it up with some shallots, garlic, soy sauce, and spices until the grains turn glossy. Frying the uncooked grains of rice gives this lo mai gai an extra layer of flavor. After the rice is glossy, we’re going to add water to the pan and cook, stirring, until the rice absorbs the water, just like how you cook risotto, but not as saucy. When the rice is tender, it’s time to assemble.
- Assemble. Grab 4 heat proof bowls (these can be ceramic or stainless steel) and lightly rub with oil. Arrange the toppings at the bottom of the bowl and then top with the rice and any leftover sauce. Wrap with tin foil and steam for 15 minutes.
- Serve. Carefully remove the foil and flip over onto a plate. Garish with some cilantro or scallions and serve with chili sauce. Enjoy!
A couple of last things:
- Lo mai gai is a dim sum dish, which is usually eaten in the morning or at lunch, but you can eat lo mai gai whenever you want. It’s not really a main dish per say, but I like it so much that we’ve taken to eating at all times of the day, as a meal with veggies.
- I added an extra jammy egg to the mix because I love the bright pop of color it gives an otherwise brown dish and mixing the jammy yolk into the rice is so good. It’s also a nod to the fact that there’s usually a salted duck egg yolk in lo mai gai.
- Serving lo mai gai with scallions and cilantro is also more of a Singaporean thing, most Cantonese restaurants don’t do that (because it’s served in lotus leaves) but I love the fresh contrast it provides. Also, don’t skip out on the chili sauce - we like either sriracha or sambal oelek.
Pro tip
You can freeze this! After steaming and cooling down, you can tightly wrap the whole thing up and freeze for it future you. If you don’t want to freeze the bowls, tip them out onto plastic wrap and wrap tightly. When you want to steam, unwrap and place in the same bowl you made it it. Steam from frozen until hot and cooked through, 15-20 minutes.Chinese Sticky Rice
糯米雞 - Lo Mai Gai
Chicken
- 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 2" pieces)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Mushrooms
- 8 medium shiitake mushrooms (dried)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Rice
- 1.5 cups sticky rice (300g)
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 shallot (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp five spice
Assembly
- 4 Chinese sausages (sliced)
- 4 eggs (jammy soft boiled, halved)
- fresh cilantro (optional)
- green onions (sliced, optional)
Six hours before cooking (or the night before), marinate the chicken. In a container or bowl, soak the rice in water. In a separate container or bowl, rinse, then soak the mushrooms in 1.5 cups of water. Put everything into the fridge.
After everything is soaked and marinated, add the mushrooms, with their soaking liquid, the oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add the marinated chicken and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 5-7 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water. Slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the pot. Stir and let the sauce thicken, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Drain the rice very well and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a wok or a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. When shimmery, add the shallot and cook, stirring, until soft. Stir in the garlic, and when fragrant, add the drained rice, tossing to coat in the oil. Stir in the soy sauces, toasted sesame oil, and five spice. Slowly add in 1.5 cups water, 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring occasionally and cooking until the water is absorbed before adding more, kind of like making risotto. The rice should be almost, but not quite tender at the end.
Assemble the lo mai gai in a bowl: lightly oil 4 heat safe bowls. Divide the sausage, mushrooms, and chicken evenly between the bowls. Add the rice to the top, pressing down with with a wet spoon or silicone spatula. Evenly spoon on 1-2 tablespoons of the mushroom and chicken sauce on top of the rice. Cover with foil then steam over high heat for 15 minutes (do this in batches if needed). Let cool slightly, carefully remove from the steamer, remove the foil, and flip onto plates. Serve with scallions, cilantro, and your favorite hot sauce.
If you don’t have a steamer, you can do this in the oven: place the foil covered bowls in a water bath with boiling water and bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.
I Am... Cloud Bread Recipe: How to make that viral TikTok bread
TikTok is about to be banned so in a virtual way of pouring one out for it, I'm looking back at all the viral recipes that won’t stop, starting with cloud bread because super fluffy cloud bread is so jiggly and cute. Plus it’s only three ingredients! I mean, I loved dalgona coffee and pancake cereal, so maybe there’s something to this TikTok food thing? 2025 update: Tiktok has given us so much more: a salmon rice bowl, cucumber salad, and even frozen gummy bears. After seeing multiple people ripping into and squishing their TikTok cloud bread, I just HAD to make some myself.
What is TikTok cloud bread?
If you’re on TikTok and you’ve looked under #cloudbread you’ve probably seen the fluffiest, most impossible giant puffs of bread you’ve ever seen. All you need to make it is egg whites, sugar, and cornstarch. Cloud bread is essentially a softly baked meringue with some rebranding. If you’re not sure what a meringue is: it’s a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar. Sometimes a binder (in this case cornstarch) is added to give it a bit more structure. Meringues taste kind of marshmallow-y when gently baked and light and crispy when baked and dried out longer. If you’ve had pavlova or lemon meringue pie or macaron, you’ve had meringue and by extension, cloud bread.Ingredients for cloud bread
- Egg whites. Egg whites are what give your cloud bread fluffiness and loft. If you’re going to separate egg whites yourself, be sure to not get ANY yolks into the whites or they won’t whip up. It’s better to separate your eggs while they’re cold, but they will whip up better if they’re at room temp. You can also just buy egg whites in a carton at the store, which is what I did. You’ll need 3 large egg whites or about 6 tablespoons of egg whites from a carton.
- Sugar. Just use regular white sugar. Sugar is what is going to stabilize your egg whites and let them fluff up even more. The sugar is also going to make your cloud bread just a little bit sweet.
- Cornstarch. You just need a tiny bit of cornstarch in your cloud bread, to help soak up any extra liquid in your meringue. Cornstarch also helps make your meringue shiny.
- Food coloring. This is optional, if you want to make your clouds colorful.
How to make cloud bread
- Whip the egg whites. Add your egg whites to a very clean, grease free bowl. Start to whip your egg whites on medium-low, until frothy and pale.
- Stir in sugar. Add the sugar, a little bit at a time on high, until the sugar dissolves and the egg whites start to foam up.
- Add the cornstarch. I like to sift the cornstarch in so that there are no lumps. Continue to whip on high until the egg whites become a glossy thick meringue that holds a peak. The egg whites are done when you lift the beater from the bowl and they hold a peak and look smooth and creamy like shaving cream If you tilt the bowl, the whites should not slide. Be careful not to over whip!
- Shape the cloud. Use a rubber spatula to scoop out the meringue and shape into a cloud on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake in a low oven until golden and cooked through.
What does cloud bread taste like?
To be honest, this cloud bread is more looks than taste. Maybe just like TikTok? It’s beautifully fluffy and full of tiny air bubbles and very squishy and satisfying but it’s not the most delicious. It’s light and airy and reminiscent of a marshmallow. It kinda tastes like angel food cake texture wise, but not taste wise.Tips and Tricks
- Make sure your egg white whipping equipment is completely clean and free from fat or oil or your egg whites won’t whip up.
- Similarly, make sure there are ZERO egg yolks in your egg whites.
- Separate your eggs while they’re cold, but beat them up with they’re at room temp.
- Don’t add all the sugar at once. Your meringue will be fluffier if you add it in gradually, 1 tablespoon at at a time.
- Don’t over beat! If you meringue starts to look grainy or really wet, it means your egg whites have been over-beaten and your cloud bread won’t be fluffy.
Cloud bread FAQs
How do I whip the egg whites?
Make sure your utensils are COMPLETELY clean and there is absolutely no oil or fat residue on your whisk or bowl. If you break your yolks as your separating the eggs the whites won’t whip up. Use a stainless steel or glass bowl and make sure it’s completely clean. Don’t use silicone or plastic bowls or utensils – even when they seem clean, there’s a possibility of oily residue that will make it hard for your eggs to whip up properly. Whipping egg whites takes time, so don’t be surprised if it takes a while for them to whip up.Why didn’t my egg whites whip up? I’ve been beating them forever!
If your egg whites didn’t get fluffy it’s because there was oil or fat in your egg whites. Oil or fat is the enemy of whipping up meringues. Fat interferes with how the proteins in egg whites bond together to whip up. If you’re separating your egg whites by hand and there is fat on your hand, your whites might not whip up. If there is any oil or fat on your whisk or in your bowl, your egg whites won’t whip up.How can I make my egg whites whip up?
You can try adding a touch of cream of tartar (1/4 teaspoon), vinegar (1/4 teaspoon), or lemon juice (1/4 teaspoon) to help whip up your eggs. Cream of tartar, vinegar, and lemon juice are all acids that help stabilize the egg whites and encourage them to get extra whipped.Why didn’t my cloud bread bake through?
If your cloud bread is golden brown on the outside but still under baked on the inside it might be because your oven is running too hot. Some ovens aren’t calibrated well or have hot spots. It probably means that the oven was too hot and that the outside of the bread cooked faster than the inside. Cloud bread bakes at a very low temperature. If the inside of your cloud bread is raw, you can just put your cloud bread back into the oven until it is baked through.Does it taste like eggs?
Cloud bread is made from 3 ingredients: egg whites, sugar, and cornstarch. The egg whites are make up the majority of the recipe so it’s only natural that cloud bread will taste like eggs. If you want a sweeter cloud bread to help it taste less like eggs, add a 1/4 cup of sugar. Warning: if you do this, your cloud will not be as fluffy.Do I need a stand-mixer to make cloud bread?
Technically you don’t need a stand mixer. You can whip these up with a regular whisk or a hand mixer. But it will take a REALLY long time and a lot of arm muscle. You can do it! I use this milk frother and it works amazingly.Why is my cloud bread wrinkly?
That’s just the nature of cloud bread! Because it’s not a cake with a significant amount of flour to stabilize it, it will get wrinkly as it cools, kind of like a soufflé. It’s best to enjoy it while it’s still a bit warm :)Can I make cloud bread in advance?
Unfortunately, just like clouds, cloud bread is extremely fleeting. You can’t make it in advance because the longer it sits, the more wrinkly and shrunken it’ll get. Cloud bread is best made and eaten fresh from the oven.Substitutes for cornstarch
If you don’t have cornstarch, which is also known as cornflour, you can use regular all purpose flour. The amount of flour is very small so it won’t make a difference.Substitutes for sugar
Sugar works best if you’re making meringue but you can also use sweetener if you’re avoiding sugar. The meringue won’t fluff up as much but it will be sugar free. Try things like: stevia, splenda, or monkfruit sweetner.Why does my cloud bread taste like eggs?
Cloud bread only has three ingredients: egg whites, sugar, and cornstarch. It’s tastes like eggs because eggs are the main ingredient. If you want it to be sweeter, more meringue-like and less eggy, you can make it with more sugar or add some extracts like vanilla or almond. Instead of using 2.5 tablespoons of sugar, use 6 tablespoons. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract. The cloud bread will be a bit stiffer and not as fluffy but it will taste more like meringue!Cloud Bread Recipe
3 ingredient fluffy TikTok viral cloud bread
- 3 large egg whites (about 6 tbsp)
- 2.5 tbsp sugar (~30g)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (~10g)
- food coloring (optional, see note)
Heat the oven to 300°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whip attachment to whip the egg whites on medium high until frothy.
Add the sugar slowly, 1 tablespoon at at time and whip on high until small bubbles start to form.
Sift in the cornstarch and continue to whip on high until the whites are whipped up into a glossy thick meringue that holds a peak, about 5-6 minutes.
Scoop out the meringue on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and shape into a fluffy cloud or mound.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. The outside will be a light golden brown. Let cool and enjoy the fluff!
Optional: If you want to add flavoring (baking extracts) or color into your cloud bread, add it in when you add your cornstarch.
Estimated nutrition is for one loaf.
Recipe via @linqanaaa and @abimhn
I Am... Vietnamese Fish Sauce Recipe (nuoc cham aka dipping sauce)
Is there anything that’s more of an umami bomb than fish sauce? A few drops of this magic stuff into a dish can take it from from great to spectacular. It's an amazing secret ingredient to have in your arsenal. This is the ultimate guide to fish sauce for anyone who is curious or interested in adding it to your culinary toolkit. In this post, you'll learn what it is, what brands to buy, how to use it, and most importantly, how to make prepared fish sauce for dipping or dressing at the table. My family's fish sauce roots run deep. We're from a countryside village by the ocean. Several times a year, boats would come to the docks with the various in-season seafood for the villagers to make fish sauce with. Every household would have their own barrels of fish sauce. The rich family in the village made their money selling industrial quantities of the stuff, made in large open air concrete pools. My mom was famous in the village for her prepared fish sauce which she sold with bowls of noodles and fresh grilled cobs of corn.
Nuoc mam vs nuoc cham
Sometimes on restaurant menus you’ll see a reference to nước chấm. Nuoc cham in Vietnamese just means dipping sauce, but what it really means is ready-to-eat/table/prepared, aka fish sauce made into a ready to eat sauce (ie, for dipping) with garlic, lime, and chilies. Very few people would use the raw unadulterated sauce out of the bottle for anything other than cooking. In my family and in our part of Vietnam, we don’t say nuoc cham. We just say nuoc mam and you’re expected to know which kind is meant based on context. At best, it would be called nước mắm chấm, which means dipping fish sauce. If you are cooking, you use it right out of the bottle, but at the table, it’s always prepared. Prepared fish sauce is the stuff of dreams, and almost always a jealously guarded family secret. Every Vietnamese family claims their recipe is the best, or that their family makes it the best. Vietnamese kids who have grown up in America and can't cook as well as their moms joke about always having 2 jars in their fridge. When one goes empty, it’s time to call mom up for another jar.Prepared fish sauce recipe
When Vietnamese people say their mom’s fish sauce is the best, they mean the prepared stuff. Heck, when Vietnamese people say they dream of fish sauce, they also mean the prepared stuff. Not many Vietnamese people would share this recipe (or could, since most don’t measure or write recipes). This is a version I learned long ago from my mom and tweaked through the years by me, and best of all, written down.How to make prepared fish sauce
- Crush sugar, garlic, and Thai chilies in a mortar and pestle.
- Transfer to a jar, then add lime, fish sauce, and water.
- Let mellow in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before enjoying.
An even better (and cheaper) version
It's 2025 and limes are ridiculously priced and not that great. I've started making and serving our ginger fish sauce which is traditionally eaten with poultry, but all the time. And it's been a hit. I'll update the recipe below but basically, it's sub lime for ginger and add a little more sugar and garlic to offset the punch of ginger. Otherwise every step is the same. I've loved it with everything you'd traditionally eat with nuoc cham, such as spring rolls, salad rolls, rice plates, etc.What is fish sauce
Fish sauce, sometimes referred to as nước mắm, is a sauce made from fermenting seafood in salt that's associated with Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and Thailand. Generally it’s made from anchovies, but it’s also made from tiny shrimp, tuna belly, and more. You can make fish sauce from any seafood. You can even make fish sauce at home by packing 3 parts fresh anchovies to 1 part salt in a large jar and leaving it for a year or so.What brand of fish sauce to buy
Of course, no one is going to make their own at home. There are a lot of brands of fish sauce out there, and more all the time, so it can get confusing as to which one to choose. The best way to choose is the same as olive oil. There’s something similar to first press for fish sauce that has a superior flavor over the cheaper stuff. To find it, look for the words mắm nhĩ on the label. This includes the popular and well known Red Boat brand, but it also includes some other great choices such as Viet Huong, Phu Quoc, and our current bottle of the moment, Megachef.What is mam nhi
Most Vietnamese people know that mam nhi is to fish sauce what extra virgin is to olive oil but not everyone knows why. The etymology of the phrase was a hard one to track down. There’s not even agreement on the correct spelling. Esoterically, it’s either mắm nhĩ or mắm nhỉ. These are pretty small differences, even in Vietnamese, but it’s still not agreed upon. On Vietnamese wikipedia it merely says that mam nhi means “proper sauce” but the explanation is a little stretched and unlikely. My dad's theory is that nhĩ is old school slang for drip or drop. Way back in the day, before mass manufacturing, every family would have wooden barrels like a wine barrel with a spout in which they made the sauce. When they needed some, they would open the spout and let some sauce drip out, and that’s what was called mam nhi. Per my dad’s theory, if they were planning on selling it, they would pour some of those first drippings back into the barrel and later press it to stretch the yield, which formed the inferior “ordinary” fish sauce. Mam nhi was the good stuff, saved for the family.Avoid this unless you know
Over the years I’ve learned that many people don’t know what brands and styles to avoid. The kind we use in most cooking is clear. Avoid any that are opaque unless you know what you are getting into, including - and especially - any that say mắm nêm or mắm ruốc on the label. These will be more pungent than the clear stuff. Used correctly as in BBH, they're delicious, but be warned, they can be dangerous for the uninitiated sense of smell. You should also avoid any supermarket brands, such as Thai Kitchen, Asian Family, Dynasty, etc because they're overly pungent, over salted, and lacking in flavor. When in doubt or in a food desert, buy Red Boat. It’s the safest, most widely available option, and it’s what we buy when we’re far from Asian supermarkets.Can you make this without a mortar and pestle?
When my mom needs to make enough for large parties (we’re talking gallons) she would use a food processor or blender. She considered it substandard but no one seemed to complain. I’ve made it both ways, there’s a very clear - but not huge - difference. The best tool for the job if you don't have a mortar and pestle in my opinion is a garlic press.Can you use lemons?
You can use any acid you want, even vinegar, but limes are best. Everything else doesn't taste quite right.Can you use other peppers or just leave them out?
Thai chilis are traditional because that's what's in that part of the world, but sometimes it's just a little hard to come by. My favorite substitute is habaneros, which are easier to seed if you don't prefer the spice, and give the fish sauce a nice fruit forward flavor as well. If you don't like spice, you can avoid them altogether, in which case Vietnamese people often add julienned carrots for a little flavor, sweetness, and color.Variations
This simple basic fish sauce is not the only game in town. We modify it to suit the dish. You can add ginger for poultry. You can make a more watered down one to flavor vermicelli bun bowls. Add carrots for color. My mom even makes a meaty version that’s essentially gravy that Steph adores for dipping spring rolls, like a peanut free peanut sauce. Basically, feel free to play around with it to get it right for both your taste and your dish.Vietnamese vs Thai fish sauce
In my family, there’s no real difference between the Vietnamese and Thai versions, they are interchangeable to us and we use whatever we have on hand.Fish sauce substitutes
It may be tempting to substitute if you come across a recipe that requires fish sauce, but you shouldn’t. In the same way you probably wouldn’t substitute mustard in a recipe, unless you’re vegan, you probably don’t need to substitute. It’s cheap and there’s lots of recipes you can use it with, in addition to just using it to boost the umami profile of literally anything from steak to ragu bolognese.Recipes that use fish sauce
If you end up with a lot of fish sauce and you don’t know what to do with it, here are some of my favorite recipes that use it:- Crockpot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Bo Kho Recipe
- Spicy Noodles: Vietnamese Garlic Lemongrass Edition
- The Best Pho Recipe
- Coconut Chicken Curry
- Khao Soi: 15 Min Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
- Bun Bo Hue: The Noodle Soup You Never Knew You Loved
- The Mushroom-iest Green Bean Casserole
- Better than Take Out Peanut Free Pad Thai Recipe
- Extra Easy Pok Pok Style Fish Sauce Chicken Wings
Recipes that use prepared fish sauce
- Vietnamese Spring Roll Recipe
- A Very Authentic Countryside Bún Bò Xả Ớt - Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Recipe
- Lemongrass Beef Salad Rolls
- Vietnamese Steak Summer Rolls Party!
- Chashu Summer Rolls Recipe
- Smoked Salmon and Avocado Summer Rolls
- Avocado Chicken Broccoli Rabe Summer Rolls
- Hainanese Chicken Summer Roll Recipe
Fish Sauce Recipe
A secret family recipe
- mortar and pestle
- 2 tbsp sugar (or less if you prefer it less sweet)
- 2-4 Thai bird’s eye chili (sliced, more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (mam nhi preferred, such as red boat)
- 1.5-2 tbsp lime juice (depending on taste)
- 2/3 cup water (see notes)
In a mortar in pestle, crush sugar, garlic, and half the Thai chilies.
Transfer to a jar, then add fish sauce. Add 1/2 lime and water. Taste and add lime as needed. Finish with remaining Thai chilies.
Let mellow in the fridge for about 30 minutes before enjoying. Keeps in the fridge for up to a month.
The amount of water depends on your intended use. For dipping salad rolls, go with 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup water. For vermicelli bowls, go with 2-3 cup to 1 cup water.
For Ginger Fish sauce, use 1 tbsp grated/diced/crushed ginger (about 3/4” of ginger), 3 tbsp sugar, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1-2 thai chilis (optional as the ginger is quite spicy itself), and 1 cup water. Then just follow the steps above.
I Am... Easy One Pot Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken spaghetti is one of those casseroles that needs a little Tiktok glow up because it is good and more people need to make it. The 80s are back and I’m all for it! Give me hair scrunchies, neon, and ALL the casseroles. I don’t know why casseroles have such a bad reputation. They’re one dish, they’re creamy, they taste good, and there’s almost always leftovers. There's even a tiktok spaghetti and it's not this one. If you haven’t had it, chicken spaghetti is pure comfort food goodness. Tender pieces chicken mixed with spaghetti, tomatoes, and peppers in a creamy cheesy sauce. Back in the day it was made with canned soup but we can do better than that! And what’s more, you can make it all in one pan so there’s minimal clean up.
What is chicken spaghetti
Chicken spaghetti is an American baked spaghetti dish made with a cream sauce, topped with cheese and baked until bubbly. The spaghetti is broken up in small pieces before being cooked.How to make chicken spaghetti
- Sauté the aromatics. In a dutch oven, melt some butter and sauté onions, diced red bell pepper, and garlic until soft and fragrant.
- Cook the chicken. Add sliced chicken and cook until golden.
- Stir in the liquids. Stir in diced tomatoes, chicken stock and milk to the pan.
- Add the pasta. Add the spaghetti and bring everything to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, tossing occasionally, until the spaghetti is tender and cooked through. If it gets too thick, stir in a bit more chicken stock.
- Cheese! Season with salt and pepper and stir in some shredded cheese until melted. Top the casserole with more cheese.
- Bake. Bake until bubbly and golden and enjoy!
What is one pot pasta?
One pot pasta is a pasta cooking method that was popularized by Martha Stewart back in the early 2000s. It’s a way of cooking pasta where you don’t need to drain the pasta water. Everything, including all of the ingredients for the sauce are put in a large, wide pan along with extra liquid that boils up and cooks the pasta. After the pasta is cooked, it’s tossed until it’s glossy and coated. I love one pot pasta because you can really get a lot of flavor into the noodles because you’re cooking it in sauce instead of water.Do I need to break the spaghetti?
You don’t have to, but if you want that classic American style, break that pasta! I opted to keep my spaghetti long because I love slurping noodles, but either way tastes amazing. If your pot isn’t wide enough to put all the pasta into the pan, laying flat, I would break the spaghetti so it fits.What about other pasta shapes?
Feel free to use other kinds of short pasta. I’m pretty sure people used broken short spaghetti back in the day because there wasn’t as much pasta variety available.Ingredients
- Aromatics - to add maximum flavor we’re going to use onions, garlic, and a bell red pepper. The onions and pepper add a bit of sweetness and four cloves of garlic add a huge garlicky hit.
- Chicken - sliced boneless skinless chicken breast is what I prefer but you can use chicken thighs too. You’ll want to cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
- Spaghetti- just regular spaghetti, not the fancy stuff. But if you do want to get the fancy stuff, you’re looking for bronze extruded pasta with a rough surface so that the sauce can cling to it.
- Tomatoes - a can of diced tomatoes is going to add some umami.
- Milk - this is what’s going to make our sauce nice and creamy without the cream.
- Chicken broth - instead of using water, a little bit of chicken broth is going to help our spaghetti cook up with extra chicken flavor.
- Cheese - shredded white cheddar (or mozzarella) is stirred into the sauce and layered on top to be baked into a golden brown cheesy crust.
What to serve with chicken spaghetti
This is a rich and filling casserole that doesn’t need much support from side dishes. If you’re going all out, serve it with these:FAQ
Can I use precooked chicken?
Absolutely. If you want to use rotisserie or leftover chicken, just shred it or chop it. You’ll need about 4 cups.Do I have to use peppers?
If you’re not a fan of bell peppers, you can leave them out. You can even substitute any kind of hearty vegetables you like.Can I use another kind of pasta?
Any sort of dry pasta will work with this recipe, except perhaps lasagna noodles.What kind of baking dish should I use?
If you have a large dutch oven or brasier it’s perfect for making the one pot pasta and baking it. The wide bottom means you don’t need to break the spaghetti. Of course, any oven safe pot will work and if you need to break the spaghetti, it just means it’s more authentic.Do I need to bake it?
Nope! In fact sometimes I just make this in the pan and eat it as is like an extra creamy chicken spaghetti. It tastes amazing unbaked but baked is also super cozy, it’s up to you.Why this chicken spaghetti
There are, admittedly, lots of chicken spaghetti recipes out there. What makes this one different is that it’s a one pot chicken spaghetti that can go straight from the stove to the oven to the dinner table. Most pasta dishes, as I’m sure you know have you cook pasta in a large pot of salted water, drain it, then add it to the sauce. We’re going to use the one pot pasta method where pasta is cooked right into the sauce. When you do this the pasta becomes extra flavorful because it’s being cooked in sauce instead of water. The result is a chicken spaghetti that is extremely delicious, creamy, and perfectly cooked.Make ahead chicken spaghetti
Make the casserole and top it with the cheese but don’t bake it. Cool completely and cover tightly and refrigerate up to 2 days. Bake in a 375°F oven, covered with foil for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until bubbly and golden.How to reheat
To reheat you can either portion it out and microwave it or you can bake the entire casserole, covered in foil, in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until bubbly.Chicken Spaghetti
Tender pieces chicken mixed with spaghetti, tomatoes, and peppers in a creamy cheesy sauce.
- 1/4 cups olive oil (or butter)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 1 bell pepper (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (sliced)
- 14 oz canned tomatoes (roasted diced preferred (1 can))
- 2 cups chicken broth (no sodium preferred)
- 1.5 cups milk
- 1 lb spaghetti (or pasta of choice)
- 2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (shredded, or mozzarella/white cheddar)
Heat the oven to 375°F. In a large dutch oven or other oven proof dish, melt the butter or heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the chicken to the pan and cook flipping, until lightly golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. They will continue to cook in the sauce.
Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, milk, and spaghetti (break it to fit into the pan if needed) to the pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, until the pasta is cooked through and tender, about 8-10 minutes. If too thick, slowly add 1/4 cup chicken stock until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in half of the shredded cheese, then top with the remaining cheese and bake in the oven until bubbly and melted, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy! Optionally, you can enjoy the spaghetti as is and not bake it.
I Am... Easy Homemade Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
My ultimate comfort food is a bowl of fluffy rice, doused in sweet soy sauce with glistening glossy slices of Chinese bbq pork aka char siu. It's one of our go-to dinners for Mike and I because it’s just so darn easy. We usually just head to our favorite Chinese BBQ place and buy a pound of char siu along with some roast duck. Sometimes though, ok, actually quite often, we're living in a place without a great Chinese BBQ master, and then you need to take matters into your own hands. Luckily, unless you're trying to make a whole crispy roast pork or a brace of ducks, a home oven is all you need to make some great Chinese BBQ. This is a quick and easy char siu aka Chinese BBQ pork recipe. It’s essentially the same as this one here, minus the red fermented tofu because we don’t actually have any in the fridge. It lacks that hint of distinctive depth of flavor but it’s still really darn tasty!
What is Chinese BBQ pork?
Char siu literally translates to fork roasted and that’s exactly what char siu is, normally: fork roasted pork. Pork – usually pork butt/shoulder - is marinated in a sweet and savory BBQ sauce and then roasted. It’s sweet and salty and has just some nice complexity thanks to five spice. It’s juicy and sticky and just about perfect on a bowl of white rice.How to make char siu at home
- Cut your pork. You want to cut the pork into long strips at least 3 inches wide.
- Marinate. Mix up honey, hoisin, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, five spice, and white pepper and rub it all over the pork and let it marinate overnight (or at least for an hour) in the fridge.
- Roast. Let the pork get all juicy and cooked through on a wire rack in a low oven.
- Make a glaze. Make a quick glaze by bringing the excess marinade and a bit of honey to a boil.
- Brush. Generously coat the pork with the glaze and give it a blast of heat to char it. Slice and enjoy!
What kind of pork for char siu?
You can use pretty much any piece of pork for char siu, from pork loin to pork butt. In fact, when you go to a real Chinese BBQ place, they often ask you, “fei ding sau” (胖或瘦) which translates to fat or skinny. Truthfully they usually only use pork butt at Chinese BBQ places, but even then, there will be leaner and fattier parts on a pork butt. If you want:- a more luscious, rich char siu - use pork butt
- tender, lower calorie, leaner char siu - use pork tenderloin
- a leaner, cheaper char siu - use pork loin
- the best char siu you’ve ever eaten - use pork collar aka pork neck. It’s not a common cut, but essentially it’s the shoulder that runs from the neck to the tip of the loin.
What ingredients do I need?
You do need a couple of Chinese sauces, namely hoisin and soy sauce. They sell hoisin online and at most grocery stores in the Asian aisle, so you’re pretty much good to go. Other than that you need honey, garlic, ginger, five spice, and a pork butt/shoulder.Char siu ingredients
- Hoisin sauce - They pretty much sell hoisin everywhere now, from Target to your basic grocery store. It’s a thick, sweet brown sauce that’s used in marinades and as a dipping sauce. Hoisin is super flavorful: sweet and savory, tangy, and full of umami. It’s essential for Chinese bbq dishes.
- Shaoxing wine - This is the secret ingredient that all your Chinese food needs to taste like restaurant style Chinese food. Shaoxing wine is rice wine and while it’s optional for this recipe, it’ll be 10 thousand times better if you get it. They sell it online and in Asian grocery stores.
- Five spice - So many char siu recipes out there are just glazed pork. But if you want a savory char siu, don’t forget the five spice. It’s added flavor.
- White pepper - If you don’t have white pepper, don’t sweat it, but if you do, use it here. It’s more fragrant, delicate, and floral. It adds pepperiness without overwhelming.
How do you pronounce char siu?
It’s cha as rhymes with "rah rah rah" and siu as in rhymes with “few.”Why should I make this?
Char siu is a low effort high reward SUPER delicious juicy roasted pork that you will love. It has a sticky sweet glaze that is so good that you’ll want to eat it on everything. Plus, if you’re missing Chinese take out, this is the dish for you.What can I serve it with?
You can have it with fluffy white rice, in buns, with noodles, in fried rice, basically anything. xoxo StephEasy Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
A delicious sweet and sticky juicy Chinese bbq pork aka char siu recipe
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp hoisin
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp Shaoxing wine (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic (lightly smashed)
- 1 inch ginger (sliced)
- 1/2 tsp five spice (optional)
- 1/4 tsp white pepper (optional)
- 2 tbsp honey (for glaze)
- 1 lb pork butt/shoulder (cut into strips)
Mix the marinade ingredients throughly. Coat the pork with the sauce and marinate for minimum 1 hour and up to 24.
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 300°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil. Remove the pork from the marinade, shaking off excess. Lay the pork on a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, flipping halfway through.
While the pork is cooking, heat up the remaining marinade (remove the ginger and garlic) with the last 2 tablespoons of honey. Bring to a simmer over medium heat until it reduces and thickens slightly. It should coat the back of a spoon.
Brush the pork with the glaze and turn the heat up to 400°F, brushing with glaze and flipping, until slightly charred. Let rest slightly, slice and enjoy!
I Am... How to Make Oden at Home
When the weather turns cold, oden is the answer to what’s for dinner. If you’ve ever been in Japan in the winter and hop into one of the many ubiquitous combini aka convenience stores like 7-11 or Lawson, chances are you’ll have seen oden: a steaming vat of soup featuring featuring things like fish cakes and tofu. A huge pot of oden is a great way to gather around and enjoy winter. Mike and I love oden with a passion. We’ve eaten oden on the streets of Japan, at izakaya, in various kombini, and at dedicated oden restaurants. Dare I say we’re oden connoisseurs? Fancy oden restaurants aside, I’m here to tell you that you’ve been sleeping on oden at home though. It’s just as amazing and so easy to make.
What is oden?
A classic warming winter snack or meal, oden is a one pot dish featuring fish cakes, tofu, and other hearty ingredients simmered in a flavorful soy-dashi broth. It’s a simmered dish that is continually kept warm. The ingredients in oden are meant to be simmered for a long time so you don’t have to worry about anything being overcooked. In fact, the oden ingredients, are meant to soak up the flavor of the dashi.How to make oden
Prep ingredients - peel the daikon and cut into 1 inch thick rounds. If desired, you can trim the edges of the daikon to round it out. Add the daikon rounds to a pot with cold water and bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. While the daikon is cooking, rinse off the konnyaku and lightly score the block with diagonal cuts, then cut into triangles. Add to a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes then drain and set aside. Prep the rest of the ingredients: cut the atsuage tofu into triangles and any of the larger pieces of satsuma age into smaller pieces. Cut the hanpen in quarters and the chikuwa in half on a diagonal. Make the oden stock - In a large, heavy bottomed low pot, add dashi, soy sauce, sake, and mirin. Bring to a simmer. Simmer - Add the prepared daikon, and konnyaku, then simmer over medium to medium low until the daikon starts to turn tender. Add the chikuwa, atsuage, and any other oden ingredients you’ve chosen. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until everything warms through and the daikon is tender. Enjoy - Bring the pot to the table, where you can opt to keep it warm on a very low simmer on a burner. Pluck out your chosen pieces of oden as desired and enjoy!Types of oden and oden ingredients
The beauty of oden is that it’s incredibly simple to make and prepare. Most of the ingredients that go in oden are things that you pick up at the store, like fish cakes, fish balls, and tofu. If you’re feeling like getting a bit fancy and offering up some other oden goodies, I’ll talk more about preparing those later in this post. Here is a list of the most comment types of oden ingredients.Daikon
A classic! Daikon is a giant white radish that is cut into rounds and then simmered until soft and yielding, yet still a bit firm. Daikon oden is juicy and light, with plenty of the oden dashi flavor. Super tasty and a must.Tamago/egg
Boiled eggs are extremely popular even though I don’t prefer them because they tend to be too over-cooked for me. If you want to do tamago, do a soft boiled egg, peel it, then very gently dip them in the oden stock to heat them up, making sure to not over cook.Chikuwa
Fish cake that’s shaped into a tube then grilled. It’s a classic favorite, chewy, hearty, and good.Hanpen
A delightfully soft and squishy fluffy steamed fish cake. When it’s simmered it becomes super big and fluffy, full of dashi.Satsuma-age
A catch all for all the deep-fried fish cakes. They come in flat rounds, flat ovals, balls, and plenty of other shapes. You can tell they’re satsuma age from their deep orange golden color.Konnyaku
Chewy and jelly-like, konnyaku is a love it or hate it ingredient. I love it and if you’ve ever had house made konnyaku at a specialty oden shop, you’ll forever be chasing that flavor and texture.Shirataki
They look like a bundle of white noodles, but really they’re a bundle of konnyaku that’s shaped like noodles. Chewy, filling, and delicious.Atsuage
Deep-fried tofu. A large, thick slab of tofu that’s deep fried and holds up perfectly in oden.Kinchaku
A deep-fried tofu pocket with a secret mochi surprise inside! Careful, because they’re hot and the mochi is molten and melty. I love kinchaku.Ganmo
I love ganmo! It’s a piece of tofu made with vegetables inside and then deep-fried. They’re usually round and have little bits of burdock or wood ear mushrooms studded through the tofu. They soak up the dashi and are incredibly delicious.Other ingredients
These are some other things you can pop into your oden, but you’ll have to make them because they don’t come ready-made at the store. Usually you’ll find these kind of oden offerings at oden specialty restaurants or at izakaya. Tsukune - soft and juicy chicken meatballs on a stick. tebasaki - chicken wings, usually on a stick, simmered until tender and juicy. Gyusuji - served on a stick, beef tendon is simmers until soft and chewy. Rorukyabetsu - literally rolled cabbage, this is similar to a cabbage roll where a cabbage leaf is rolled around a gyoza-like filling.Where to buy oden ingredients
The best place to buy oden ingredients is at a local Asian grocery store. If you have a Japanese grocery store in town, that’s where you’re want to go. You’ll find all of the fish cakes in the frozen section, usually all together. Sometimes they’ll even have oden packs where they have a variety of fish cakes all conveniently together. You’ll find daikon in the vegetable department, and konnyaku and tofu next to each other in one of the fridge cases. For the dashi, you’ll find that in one of the aisles, usually near the soup stock section.What kind of soup should I use
The classic soup base for oden is awase dashi flavored with sake, mirin, and soy. Awase dashi is combination dashi, made from both dried kelp (kombu) and katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna).How to make dashi
There are three ways most people make dashi. 1. kombu and katsuobushi: simmer kombu in water for about 10 minutes, remove the kombu, then steep the katsuobushi before straining. 2. dashi granules: simply add dashi granules to water. 3. dashi packs: this is my favorite way of making dashi - bring a pot of water to a boil, lower it to a simmer and add the dashi pack. Dashi packs contain both kombu and katsuobushi in a handy packet that you can fish out so you don’t have to strain your dashi. Dashi packs are readily available online: this is our favorite brand, Kayanoya, straight from Japan.Where is oden from?
Oden is a classic Japanese stew, a type of nabemono, or one pot dish. Nabe means cooking pot and mono means “things” so nabemono is things in pot. In oden’s case, the things in a pot are a variety of fish cakes, proteins, and vegetables. If you’re more familiar with Korean culture, maybe you know about odeng, which is essentially a Korean take. The Korean version usually features long flat fish cakes on skewers and is sometimes seared with a spicy soup.How to serve
Typically, the way oden is served in Japan is piece by piece. You order your favorite pieces of oden from the chef, and they scoop it out and plate it individually or with a couple of pieces on a plate or in a small bowl. They place it in front of you and you enjoy. Repeat as needed trying new pieces or getting more of your favorites until you’re full. At home, what we tend to do is have a pot of oden in the middle of the table, either gently simmering on a burner or keeping warm in our oden pot. We use tongs to fish out the pieces we like, eat them, and repeat. It’s a super simple serve yourself kind of meal. We’ll have side plates and chopsticks, and tiny dishes for condiments. Sometimes if we’re extra hungry, we’ll have a bowl of rice along side or maybe some udon. Usually though, we just enjoy the pieces of oden. If we’re feeling like we really want to go all out, I’ll grill some yaki onigiri for us to enjoy.What kind of sauce for oden
Typically they don’t serve a dipping sauce because the simmered pieces are really flavorful. That being said, when you go to a restaurant they often have sweet soy sauce, karashi (Japanese mustard), or yuzu kosho (a spicy paste made with yuzu and chili), and a miso sauce for dipping if you prefer. That’s it! I hope you give it a try. It really is the most comforting winter meal and I can think of nothing I enjoy more when it’s snowing out side and we’re all cozy inside with a big pot of oden in the middle of the table. Happy oden-ing! xoxo stephOden recipe
Warm and filling, oden is the perfect hands off, one-pot dish to warm you up
Soup
- 8 cup dashi
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp mirin
Items
- 1/4 medium daikon radish
- 1 block konnyaku
- 1 large piece atsuage/deep fried tofu
- 3 pieces chikuwa
- 1 piece hanpen
- 1 package satsuma age (assorted)
- 4 kinchaku
- 4 soft boiled eggs
- In a heavy bottomed pot, like cast iron, bring the dashi, soy sauce, sake, and mirin up to a gentle simmer. Turn the heat off or down to low while you prepare the oden ingredients.
- Peel the daikon and cut it into 1 inch rounds. If desired, trim so the daikon has no sharp edges. Add the daikon to a pot and top with cold water. Bring the daikon to a boil over medium heat and cook for 20 minutes. When done, remove from the water and set aside.
While the daikon is cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients: cut the atsuage tofu into triangles and any of the larger pieces of satsuma age into smaller pieces. Cut the hanpen in quarters and the chikuwa in half on a diagonal. If any of the pieces of satsuma age are extra large, cut them in half or in quarters.
If using konnyaku: Rinse off the block and lightly score the surface on a diagonal then score on the opposite diagonal, creating a diamond crisscross pattern. Cut the block of konnyaku into 3 even pieces then cut the 3 pieces in half into triangles. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and when boiling, add the konnyaku pieces and boil for 3 minutes. Drain, rinse, and set aside the konnyaku pieces.
When the daikon cooking time is up, add the daikon and konnyaku to the oden broth and bring to a simmer over medium low to low. Cook the daikon and konnyaku for 20 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients, aside from the boiled eggs. Simmer all of the ingredients for 10-15 minutes or until all of the ingredients soak up some of the dashi and are throughly hot.
Bring the pot to the table and enjoy, picking out pieces of oden to enjoy as desired. For the eggs, add them as desired, until just heated through, being sure to not overcook.
Estimated nutrition is highly dependent on what you buy and how much you eat.
I Am... Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
These soft and chewy gingerbread cookies have taken the spot as my top holiday cookie! I love gingerbread so much so I eat it all year round. I order gingersnaps and ginger cookies and all the ginger things even when it’s not the holiday season. The warm and soothing mix of ginger and cinnamon gets me every time, every season, but especially during the holidays. The smell of gingerbread when it’s cold outside and warm inside is so incredibly cozy. It’s an instant serotonin boost, right when you need it the most. What I love most about gingerbread is that it’s an umbrella term for ALL the delicious things flavored with ginger and cinnamon. It can be soft and cakey like this gingerbread loaf to crisp and waiting for icing like these cut outs to soft and chewy like these gingerbread cookies.
Gingerbread cookies
This gingerbread cookie recipe comes to us via NY Times and Sohla El-Waylly. When I saw the picture of them, it was a must bake. NY Times does a Christmas cookie round up every year and every year I tell myself I’m going to make something and this is the year I actually did it! These cookies did not disappoint. Packed with ginger and a hint of black pepper, these cookies pack a punch with the spice and have a fudgy chewy center and crisp edges. If you love gingerbread that tastes like ginger, thick and chewy cookies with crisp edges and soft middles, these are the ginger cookies for you!How to make soft and chewy gingerbread cookies
- Brown the butter: add the butter to a saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring until brown and toasty.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in freshly grated ginger, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, freshly grated black pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Let cool in the fridge for 20 minutes, until slightly solid but still creamy.
- Add icing sugar, molasses, vanilla, salt, and baking soda to the cooled butter and mix until creamy and combined.
- Whip in the egg until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in the flour until evenly combined, then chill for at least 2 hours.
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar and ground ginger. Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough into balls (about 2 tbsp each) and roll them in the ginger sugar then bake for 10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
Ingredients
- butter - in this recipe, you brown the butter until nutty and fragrant, then cool it so it you can cream it with the sugar. Browning butter adds so much flavor to baked goods for just a tiny bit of extra effort.
- freshly grated ginger - there are 3 whole tablespoons of freshly grated ginger in these cookies! They are definitely for ginger heads. The fresh ginger, along with the ground, adds a warm, pleasing, spicy punch.
- spices - here we have the usual suspects: ground ginger, ground cinnamon, nutmeg (freshly ground is best but if you only have ground, that works too!), and freshly ground black pepper.
- sugar - I’ve never used icing/confectioners’ sugar in ginger cookies before and I was pleasantly surprised and how it creamed and how chewy and fudgy the cookies came out. There’s also a bit of regular granulated sugar in the ingredients used for coating to give the cookies a bit of sparkle.
- unsulphured molasses - also known as fancy molasses or light molasses, this is the sweetest and lightest of all the molasses used for cooking and baking. It’s what most people use for gingersnaps, gingerbread, ginger cookies, and ginger cakes.
- vanilla - a tablespoon of vanilla to highlight all those warming spices and add a hint of creaminess.
- egg - don’t forget to let your egg come to room temp, you’ll get much better cookie and the egg will mix more evenly into the batter.
- flour - regular all purpose flour, nothing much to say here!
Recipe Notes
- There’s a whole teaspoon of black pepper so if you’re not a huge fan of it, dial it back to 1/2 teaspoon. Some of the reviews online said it was too much pepper for their palate.
- There’s also a fair bit of salt in this recipe, 1 and a quarter teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. I dialed it back a bit because as much as I love sweet and salty, that just felt like a bit much. I used a slightly heaping 1/2 tsp of sea salt, not kosher.
- This is a baking soda cookie, meaning that it will give you a thick, chewy cookie.
Other cookies to bake for the holidays
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mochi Cookies
- Neapolitan Cookies
- The Best Snickerdoodles
- White Rabbit Snickerdoodle Cookies
Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
These soft and chewy gingerbread cookies are the best holiday cookie ever.
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into pieces (200g))
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar ((240g))
- 3 tbsp molasses (unsulphured/fancy/light (60g))
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal preferred)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 2 cups all purpose flour ((250g))
Spices
- 3 tbsp fresh ginger (finely grated (50g))
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated)
Coating
- 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
- 2 tsp ground ginger
In a medium saucepan over medium, melt butter until foamy, about 3 minutes. Continue cooking butter, stirring and scraping frequently with a stiff silicone spatula, until the sputtering has subsided and the butter solids look deeply browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, then whisk in the fresh ginger and spices. Scrape the butter and any brown bits at the bottom into the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Set aside until cool, slightly solid, but still creamy, about 20 minutes in the refrigerator or 2 hours at room temperature. Add confectioners’ sugar, molasses, vanilla, salt and baking soda to the cooled butter. Mix on low with the paddle attachment, stopping once to scrape the bowl and paddle, until creamy and combined, about 1 minute.
Add the egg and mix on medium until pale and fluffy, stopping once to scrape the bowl and paddle, about 2 minutes. Add flour and mix until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days before baking.
Prepare the sugar coating: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and ground ginger.
Line two sheet pans with parchment paper, arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and heat oven to 375 degrees.
Using a #40 cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon portions (30 grams). Roll the portioned cookie dough into balls and coat in the ginger sugar.
Arrange on the sheet tray at least 1 inch apart and bake until set and lightly browned around the edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Cookies are best eaten the day they are baked. Cookie dough portions can be frozen, then coated in sugar and baked from frozen as needed. No need to thaw; bake frozen portions for 11 to 13 minutes.
I Am... Tini’s Hot Chocolate Recipe
It’s hot chocolate season! I love Tini’s mac and cheese, so when I saw Tini's hot chocolate recipe recently, I had to try it. Come winter, I love getting cozy on the couch, with a heated blanket over my lap and decadent mug of homemade hot chocolate in my hands. If you’ve only ever had instant packet hot chocolate, trust me, it’s not as good as homemade. The only real way to make hot chocolate is from scratch. It’s thick, it’s creamy, it’s full of chocolate-y goodness and after you top it with a dollop of softly whipped cream, all your worries will melt away.
Who is Tini and what is Tini’s hot chocolate?
Tini, aka from Tini’s mac and cheese fame, is Tineke Yonger, the presiding TikTok viral recipe creator that is an absolute beast at creating comfort food. Her mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food and her hot chocolate follows suit. Her hot chocolate recipe is at 16 plus million views and countless people have been making it and singing its praises.How to make Tini’s Hot Chocolate
- Prep - start by gathering all your ingredients and measuring them out. Chop the chocolate and have a mug on hand. If you’re going to make the peppermint whipped cream, I recommend you do that first so your hot chocolate doesn’t cool down while you’re making it.
- Warm - Add milk and heavy cream to a pot and warm it up gently over low heat. You want it warm but not hot, so just be patient. When it starts to warm a little bit of steam will start rising. Giving the milk and cream a stir every so often will help you make sure you don’t burn it.
- Stir - Once the milk and cream are warm, stir in the cocoa powder and sugar until they dissolve. You can use a whisk or a spoon, your choice.
- Melt - When the cocoa powder and sugar have dissolved, slowly add the chopped chocolate in batches, stirring or whisking so that it melts before you add more.
- Thicken - Once all the chopped chocolate melts, you want the hot chocolate to thicken slightly. Let it continue to warm on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about two minutes.
- Enjoy - When the hot chocolate is thick and velvety is time to enjoy! Pour it into your favorite mug, top with your homemade peppermint whipped cream (if you’re having that) and enjoy!
Tini’s hot chocolate ingredients
The beauty of Tini’s hot chocolate is that it has simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen - if it’s well stocked. There’s nothing too fussy, all you need is:Whole milk
Tini prefers whole milk, and I do too because if you’re making homemade hot chocolate, you might as well go all the way. You can substitute in your preferred milk fat type here, it won’t affect the taste, just the consistency. That being said, if you substitute for a milk alternative, the taste will definitely be different.Heavy cream
Heavy cream also known as heavy whipping cream, whipping cream, full fat cream, or double cream, has the most milk fat of all the creams. It’s what you use to make whipping cream and you’ll find it in cartons, next to the milk. It will give your hot chocolate a thick and creamy velvety texture.Cocoa powder
Cocoa powder plus chocolate is what makes this hot chocolate extra decadent. Make sure you’re using unsweetened cocoa powder, not sweetened cocoa powder or instant hot chocolate mix. The only ingredient your cocoa powder should have is cocoa powder. You’ll find it in the baking aisle and if you’re fond of baking brownies, you probably already have some in the pantry.Sugar
Since we’re using unsweetened cocoa powder and a high percent cacao chocolate, you need sugar to sweeten everything and bring all the flavors together. Regular granulated sugar is what Tini uses, but if you have brown sugar at home, that will do too, it will just add a hint of molasses.Chopped chocolate
You need a nice dark chocolate, at least 70% cacao. The easiest thing to do is buy a bar of dark chocolate - the bars of chocolate in the candy section at the supermarket are perfect for this. One you have the bar of chocolate, all you need to do is chop it up.Vanilla
Tini uses vanilla bean paste, but if you only have vanilla extract on hand, that will do too! Vanilla paste is usually found in the baking aisle or online.Homemade peppermint whipped cream
If you’re going to make Tini’s hot chocolate, please make her peppermint whipped cream to go on top. It’s the perfect minty, creamy counterpoint to warm, rich cocoa.Peppermint whipped cream ingredients
heavy cream - good news, you can use the rest of your carton of heavy cream to make whipped cream! powdered sugar - powdered sugar dissolves really easily into cream, but if you don’t have any on had, just use a bit of granulated sugar. You won’t need as much, so start with 1/4 cup, taste and adjust as you go. vanilla extract - again, Tini uses vanilla bean paste but regular vanilla extract will do too. peppermint extract - you need the tiniest amount of peppermint extract because a little goes a long way.How to make peppermint whipped cream
- Add 1 cup of heavy cream to a large bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.
- Sift in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and whisk until all the powdered sugar dissolves.
- Stir in 1/8 tsp vanilla extract and 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Dollop onto your hot chocolate!
Tips and tricks
- If you don’t like thick hot chocolate, don’t use the heavy cream, just use 2 cups of milk.
- Make the whipped cream - soft fluffy peppermint whipped cream is so good with hot chocolate.
- If you don’t like peppermint, leave it out, but make some homemade whipped cream anyway because homemade whipped cream is amazing.
- Add some chocolate shavings, festive sprinkles, or crushed candy canes on top.
Tini’s Hot Chocolate Recipe
Hot chocolate from scratch is the best thing and this recipe won't disappoint
- 1.5 cup whole milk
- 0.5 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 oz chopped chocolate (70% cocoa preferred)
- 1/8 tsp vanilla
Add the milk and cream to a heavy bottomed pot and heat it gently over low heat, just so you warm up the milk, making sure it doesn’t get too hot. When the milk and cream is warm, whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until dissolved.
Slowly add in the chopped chocolate in small batches, whisking and making sure it melts before adding more.
Add a dash of vanilla and let gently heat for 2 more minutes while the hot chocolate thickens. Remove from the heat and pour into a mug. Enjoy as is or top with mint whipped cream or marshmallows.
I Am... Best Green Bean Casserole Recipe
Green bean casserole is a classic but it's so much better when you make it from scratch. This recipe is fast, easy, and delicious, and best of all, needs no processed foods. This made-from-scratch version is more mushroom-y, more flavorful, and only 10 minutes. It's healthier while still scratching that nostalgic itch. It's so good you won't want to stop for turkey or mashed potatoes or anything else.
How to make green bean casserole
Green bean casserole is super easy to make. No matter what version or recipe, the process is the same:- Prepare your mushroom soup, add fried onions and soy sauce.
- Blanch your fresh green beans.
- Assemble and bake until bubbling and toasty.
- Top with fried onions and bake a little longer until onions are warmed and extra crispy.
- Eat!
Soy sauce
Soy sauce was integral to this recipe when it was invented back in the 1950s. If you are shopping for a fresh bottle, check out mushroom dark soy sauce for extra mushroom flavor. It goes great with anything you’d ever want to use soy sauce for. If you already have a bottle of (any) soy sauce, that will work too.Fried onions
Although everything else in this recipe is scratch made, unless you own tens of thousands of dollars of commercial dehydration and deep fry equipment, you likely can’t match the quality of commercially fried onions. In addition to regular grocery stores selling French's, almost all asian supermarkets sell fried onions or shallots. Believe it or not, IKEA sells the best fried onions in their grocery store after the checkouts. And of course, Amazon.How long to bake green bean casserole
Green bean casserole is completely cooked before it ever goes into the oven. The reason it's baked at all is to meld all the flavors together and caramelize the mushrooms and onions in the soup. This can be done in as little as 15 minutes.Make ahead green bean casserole
If you want zero stress and you’re making it within 24 hours, you can put the entire casserole together the night before, cover it, and store it in the fridge. When you are ready to cook, add 10-20 minutes cooking time. If you are pre-prepping the morning of, the best way is to trim the green beans and make the mushroom stock, but don’t blanch the beans until you are ready to assemble.An easy Christmas menu
- Easy Perfect Spatchcock Turkey
- This green bean casserole
- Tini’s Mac and Cheese
- The Best Parker House Rolls
- The Ultimate Guide to Gravy
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and,
- Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert
More delicious sides
- Easiest Homemade Velveeta Mac and Cheese
- Mushroom Shallot Stuffing
- Cheesy Potato Balls
- 75 of Our Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- 14 of Our Best Thanksgiving Noodle Side Dishes
Green Bean Casserole Recipe
A super mushroom-y, freshly made update on classic green bean casserole
- 4 tbsp butter (or olive oil, or mix of the two)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1/2 medium onion (sliced)
- 1 lb mushrooms (pre-sliced cremini preferred)
- 4-8 sprigs thyme (or other herbs)
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white wine (or beef/chicken/vegetable stock)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 0.5-1 cup milk (optional, see notes)
- 1 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)
- 1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
- 1/2 cup french fried onions
Assembly
- 1.5 lb green beans (ends trimmed)
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or Cheddar)
- 1 cup french fried onions (or more, to finish)
Melt the butter over medium heat, being careful not to burn it. Sauté onions for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are toasty brown, about 7 minutes. Add flour, salt, and pepper, and stir for another 2 minutes until the flour is thoroughly incorporated.
Add wine and reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then add cream, soy sauce, fish sauce, milk (If using) and fried onions. Stir, season, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
While you are waiting for your sauce to thicken, blanch your green beans in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, then drain and cool. If you like your green beans on the squeaky crunchy side, use an ice bath. Preheat your oven to 375ºF too.
To assemble: make a bed of green beans in a large oven proof dish. Ladle the mushroom sauce over top of that, and top with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes at 375ºF.
Remove from oven, carefully toss the green beans a little, then top with more onions. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until onions are crispy.
Add milk if you prefer your casserole on the saucier side, leave out if you prefer your casserole thicker. Pictured with no milk added.
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