Like their thicker skinned cousin the egg roll, spring rolls are a popular staple at Chinese-American restaurants. As a kid, I never much cared for either variety because there was often more wrapper than filling and what meager filling they held tasted more like tired fryer oil than anything else. All that changed while I was living in San Jose, when one of my roommates brought home a bag of King egg rolls....

Wagyu Katsu Sandwich Wagyu Katsu Sandwich is the English name for a dish called Gyukatsusando (牛カツサンド) in Japanese. Gyu means “beef” in Japanese, katsu is the Japanese abbreviation of “cutlet,” and sando is the Japanese abbreviation for “sandwich.” As its name implies, it’s a sandwich made with a deep-fried beef cutlet. It’s a simple dish, but high-grade Japanese beef makes it unique, commanding ridiculous restaurant prices. Unlike its Western counterparts, Wagyu (和牛), or “Japanese beef,” has a ton of intramuscular marbling with low melting point fat....

Eggnog is one of those traditional holiday foods that went from seasonal treat to culinary pariah over the past century. Along with jewel-speckled fruitcakes and mincemeat pie, it’s become an anachronism from a bygone era when we didn’t think twice about eating eggs raw, and cholesterol was nothing more than a scientific curiosity. I don’t know if health concerns had anything to do with eggnog’s waning popularity, but the artificially flavored travesties sold in stores these days would turn even the most ardent ’nog-lover off of the creamy, eggy concoction....

Chocolate Mug Cake Mug cakes are a class of cake that is cooked in a ceramic or glass mug in a microwave oven. Due to the efficient nature of these ovens, this Chocolate Mug Cake can be prepared in about one minute! The result is a warm chocolate cake that’s light and fluffy in the center with a rich, fudgy sauce enrobing the cake. I’ve been a recipe developer for over 12 years now, and I’ve probably created over 2500 recipes in that time, but this Chocolate Mug Cake has the best taste to effort ratio of anything I’ve ever made....

Vanilla extract is as easy to make as dropping a few vanilla beans into a bottle of vodka. I like using single serving minibar bottles of various types of alcohol so you have different flavors of vanilla that don’t take a lot of space. On my trip to Bali late last year, I picked up a bundle of a few dozen vanilla beans for about $5 USD. If you’ve ever dropped a Hamilton on a jar holding a lonesome vanilla bean, you can probably imagine how excited I was about my find....

Sweet, savory, and endlessly satisfying, inari sushi is a beloved Japanese dish made by stuffing vinegared rice into pockets of seasoned fried tofu called inari . The tofu pouches are simmered in a sweet-savory broth until they’re juicy and full of umami, then filled with bright, tangy sushi rice that balances the richness of the tofu wrapper. I like adding a bit of pickled ginger and toasted sesame seeds for extra texture and flavor....

I know I’ve been going off topic lately, covering everything from baseball to my travels, but I assure you this post isn’t about that 80’s boy band that incubated the likes of Ricky Martin. This Menudo recipe hits your palate like a great Mariachi ensemble hits your ears: classic, harmonious, and full of soul. Menudo is piquant, hearty, and comforting; the perfect recovery food after a long night spent throwing back cervezas....

A building block to good flavor and the foundation of many stews and sauces involves caramelizing onions. Think French Onion Soup. It’s not difficult to do, but it does require a bit of patience as it takes at least an hour depending on the number of onions you’re doing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an hour to sit around and stir onions on a busy weeknight....

Along with the Banh Mi and the Monte Cristo , the Po’boy is among my favorite sandwiches of all time. Although they can be filled with anything from sausages to roast beef, I’m a fan of the ones with fried seafood such as oysters, catfish or shrimp. “Dressed” with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and a generous slathering of remoulade, Po’ Boys are like a festival of crispy, crunchy, creamy, savory and tangy textures and tastes that keep your mouth coming back for another bite....

If you’ve never had one before, slow cooking an egg creates something magical from a mundane egg. It’s cooked in its shell, much like a boiled egg but that’s about where the similarities end. When you crack it open, it slips out with a white that has the texture of a thin custard and a If you’ve never had one before, slow cooking an egg creates something magical from a mundane egg....

Vegan Unagi Don (うなぎもどき丼 - Unagi Modoki Don) After the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, the consumption of animal products was banned for about 1200 years. This led to the invention of a wide variety of meat and fish substitutes, and unagi is no exception. While there are various methods to make vegan unagi, I’ve found that the easiest method that results in the closest texture is to use eggplant....

What is Umami and What Does It Taste Like? Umami is a term coined by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda in the early twentieth century to describe the fifth basic taste alongside salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. It’s that rich, meaty taste you get when you sink your teeth into a perfectly grilled Wagyu steak , slurp up some miso soup , or bite into a chunk of aged Parmesan cheese....

This easy Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe is as enticing to the eye as it is to the palate. Every component comes together to create a vibrant dish loaded with contrasting colors, tastes, and textures. Each refreshing bite is nestled in a lettuce cup with umami-packed basil chicken and zesty lime pickled onions. The sweet, tangy, quick pickles dance on your tongue with the fragrant chicken to create a symphony of flavors that leaves you craving more....

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) is without a doubt one of the most well known Indian dishes around the world. Maybe it’s the name (can you think of a more decadent sounding name?), or perhaps it has a flavor profile that appeals across cultures. Whatever the reason, Murgh Makhani has managed to find its way around the globe, showing up on menus from Toronto to Tokyo to Turin. While I love butter chicken, I have a few problems with many restaurant versions....

Chaliapin Steak Don (シャリアピンステーキ丼) Although it has a Western-sounding name, Chaliapin Steak was created in Tokyo about 85 years ago. Since then, it’s become an overlooked staple of yōshoku (Western cuisine) in Japan. Recently, it’s come back into the spotlight thanks to a few episodes of Food Wars (食劇のソーマ Shokugeki No Soma), which prominently features it in an epic rice bowl battle between two chefs. The battle of Chaliapin Steak Food Wars starts in episode 6 of season 1....

Cold Soba Salad with Sesame Dressing Summertime in Japan is all about chilled dishes like hiyayakko and hiyajiru and chilled noodles like this soba salad are no exception. Most traditional recipes call for preparing a dipping sauce and condiments, but it’s become more common to eat cold soba like a salad by tossing the condiments and sauce together with the noodles. For this easy Soba Noodle Salad recipe, I’ve tossed the noodles with a light and nutty sesame dressing, making this a refreshing plant-based option for a hot summer day....

Summer is in full swing, and that means it’s corn season! Although I love all the bounties of summer, corn may be my absolute favorite. It’s fantastic boiled, grilled, or even shucked and turned into salad . Its juices are also loaded with glutamic acids which makes it a fantastic base for soups like this Japanese corn soup, or Corn Potage (コーンポタージュ) . What is Corn Potage? How did Potage end up in Japan?...

While Wontons are traditionally boiled, Fried Wontons have become increasingly popular both in the West and in China. With a chip crisp wrapper and a small morsel of savory filling in each bite, it’s no surprise why, and they border on addicting. Written in Chinese, the word Wonton (雲吞), literally means “to swallow clouds”, a reference to the billowing cloud-like wrapper of a Wonton (particularly when they’re boiled). This is why Wontons typically have a lot less filling that other dumplings such as Shaomai and Jiaozi , because you are meant to enjoy the wrapper more than the filling....

Crispy Ramen Chips These fried Ramen Chips are an umami-packed savory snack that turns curly instant ramen into addictive crispy noodles that can be eaten like potato chips. They’ll last for weeks in a sealed container, and you can break them into smaller pieces; add some peanuts, almonds, cashews, or macadamia nuts to make for a protein-packed kid friendly snack mix. This ramen snack is also a great way to add crunch to a salad or a sandwich....

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://norecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/hashweh-6-1290x1934.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Hashweh, which literally means “stuffing” is a classic Levantine dish made with ground lamb and rice, seasoned with sweet spices such as allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. It comes together in about 20 minutes making it the perfect weeknight meal. - 1”> Hashweh (a.k.a. Hushwe, Hushwee), which literally means “stuffing” is a classic Levantine dish made with ground lamb and rice, seasoned with sweet spices such as allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg....