Post Type ArchivesRecipes

Authentic Tofu Pad Thaï

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Authentic Tofu Pad Thaï with red pepper flakes, crushed peanuts and a lime on the side

Two months ago, I was lucky enough to go to Thaïland.

This trip was long overdue. I had spent years dreaming about those flavours, that I could picture in my head although they were impossible to find in France. Which was precisely why I wanted to go so bad. What is it about Thailand and Vietnam that makes it so hard to come across authentic dishes outside the countries themselves ?

As much as I was dreaming about Thaïland’s spicy food, I couldn’t care less about Pad Thaï. To me, this dish was quite bland and uninteresting. Actually, I only had one towards the end of the trip, and it was a veggie one.

I love to be mistaken that bad. This was a food epiphany ; how can a beige, humble vegetarian noodle dish taste so complex and delicious ? There was some real tang here, with sour tamarind paste, pickled radishes and lime ; but it was not attacking your palate at all, as it was perfectly balanced with sugar and brightened up with lots of freshness from the chives and bean sprouts.

As a textures’ fan, I absolutely love the combination of chewy rice noodles, tender, creamy tofu and eggs, and crunch from the veggies and peanuts.

The authentic recipe calls for small amounts of dried shrimps and fish sauce, but you can make the dish fully vegan by replacing them respectively with dried shiitakes (double the amount) and soy sauce.

Don’t hesitate to take a chance on this dish, as I know you’d be just as surprised as I was by how this version puts other unauthentic ones to shame.

Authentic Tofu Pad Thaï – Recipe

Ingredients – Where to find them

Some ingredients here might be tricky to find. I’d advise you to go to a well-stocked, quite large Asian store, which will likely sell dried shrimps and sweet & salty pickled radishes. If you cannot find them, I’ll later post a less authentic, but truly satisfying, too, Pad Thai version, with ingredients that are simpler to source.

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • I recommend you get all your ingredients ready and nearby before your start cooking, since the wok part goes quite fast.
  • You could add or remove some veggies if you’d like. I’ve had Pad Thai versions with shredded carrots, for example. Also, if you cannot find chives, you may replace them with scallions.
  • Feel free to add any protein you like. Surprisingly, I don’t find it to be really interesting in Pad Thaï, but a popular Pad Thaï in Thailand was Chicken Pad Thai.
  • For any other ingredient, especially the seasoning sauce, I would recommend against changing the recipe, which can easily lose its precious balance.

All set ? Let’s heat that wok up !

Simple Kimchi (Mak Kimchi)

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Napa Cabbage Kimchi cut into bite sized pieces

Of course I would post a Kimchi recipe.

This is the staple of one of my absolute favourite world cuisine ; I fell in love with Korean food ever since I went there -and I fell hard. You have Korean dishes such as Kimchi Jigae which are proof that you can reach, and quite easily so, a perfect balance between the savoury, the sweet and the sour (plus some lovely umami and a spice kick), keeping your meal interesting and utterly pleasurable right until its last drop.

Kimchi is the foundation of this dish, along with many others I love -such as Kimchi bokkeumbap (Kimchi fried rice) or Kimchi jeon (Kimchi pancakes). It is also the quintessential banchan (side dish); I cannot think of one meal where I wasn’t served Kimchi during my whole stay in Korea.

For those who are not familiar with Kimchi, it is an ubiquitous dish in Korean households and restaurants, made out of fermented vegetables, typically napa cabbage -though other vegetables can also be used. It is seasoned with a variety of spices and ingredients, the main ones being gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes), garlic, ginger, green onions, fish sauce, and salted seafood. The fermentation process gives kimchi its characteristic tangy, spicy, and slightly sour flavor.

I’ve already made traditional kimchi, where you keep the leaves of the cabbage whole and spread your seasoning paste on each leave. It’s a bit more time-intensive to make, and not very convenient once made, as you need to cut the desired amount with scissors every time you want a Kimchi serving. Therefore, I prefer cutting the cabbage in bite-sized pieces : this altered recipe is called Mak Kimchi (which roughly translates as Simple Kimchi). Fear not : the taste and texture is exactly the same. It only tends to ferment faster because of its smaller size ; that’s all.

This Mak Kimchi will still take a bit of effort, and I recommend you clear a 2,5 to 3-hour slot in your schedule to make it, depending on how fast your work in the kitchen ! Not to worry though ; every step is straight-forward. Once you get all the ingredients you need, it is all a basic matter of soaking and cutting and mixing.

Mak Kimchi – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • I recommend going to a Korean mart for this recipe, especially in the hopes of finding Korean red pepper flakes and frozen, salted shrimps in brine. This last item looks like this :

If you cannot find it, it’s OK ! You can simply add one more tablespoon of fish sauce.

You should be able to find the other ingredients in any other medium/large Asian mart which includes a fresh produce section (you’ll need this one for your Daikon and chives).

  • I chose to put quite a lot of red pepper flakes because I like it spicy ! Feel free to adjust the amount ; if you like your Kimchi just a bit spicy, simply halve the amount.

How to make a delicious Mak-Kimchi : main steps

  • Cut and salt your cabbage ; let it sit for 1h30.
  • Meanwhile, you have the time to :
    • make your porridge (which will help binding the seasonings) ;
    • cut your veggies ;
    • prepare your Kimchi’s seasoning sauce.
  • Don’t forget to mix your cabbage every 30mn so that it salts evenly.
  • After 1h30, thoroughly rinse your cabbage.
  • Eventually, simply mix everything together : your seasonings, porridge, veggies and cabbage !
  • Leave your Kimchi for 2 days at room temp, then off to the fridge !

Isn’t that simpler than you thought ? Let’s make it together !

Raw ham & goat cheese wrap

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Goat cheese and raw ham wrap cut in bite sized pieces

Be it for entertaining or for a quick lunch, wraps are a life savior.

Those sweet and savoury wrap bites are quite Frenchy. I chose to mix some raw ham with two goat cheeses ; a fresh one as a spread for the wrap, and a slighty matured one for the stronger taste and creamy texture it brings. The onion confit is really important here to offset the lactic acidity from the cheese, and it pairs wonderfully with the raw ham.

Add a bit of freshness with arugula and chives, and a touch of crunch using nuts (hazelnuts, or walnuts) : there you have it, a quite fancy little bite, ready within 30 minutes. You simply launch your onion confit first, as it takes some time to melt, then chop off a few ingredients ; fill and roll the wraps then, and you’re done !

Raw ham & goat cheese wrap – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Goat cheese : It’s ok if you use supermarket goat cheese for this recipe, as we don’t want too strong a flavour from it.
  • Tortilla wraps : Don’t forget to heat them up slightly before using, or the wrap won’t fold nicely !

Let’s wrap !

Sweet Potato & Black Rice Salad

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With the salad bars trend in Western countries, those shops have simply popped everywhere, especially when there are offices nearby. I usually go for this handy option for lunch around once a week -often on Mondays, when you know you took things a bit too far on the week-end.

There’s this misconception about salads that they’re diet-oriented and boring ; I’d say it all depends on how your build it. To me, a salad can rival the most decadent pasta.

It’s the case for this one. I buildt it up one day in a salad bar, and I fell madly in love with it. In terms of textures, it’s just heavenly : you get the softness of the sweet potatoes and avocado, the juiciness of tomatoes, the resistance/crunch from the rice and onions, and they all pair so well. Taste-wise, it’s bursting with fresh and sharp flavours with what’s almost a pico de gallo sauce – tomatoes, cilantro, onion, lime juice. We soften it all with a bit of olive oil and fresh feta cheese ; wow. I’m craving one right now.

There’s a bit of prep work involved, but nothing too daunting ; you’ll be done within 40 minutes, and that’s because the black rice takes a bit longer to cook.

Sweet Potato & Black Rice Salad – Recipe

Ingredients – Where to find them

Those ingredients are easy to get from your typical grocery store, and for the few which aren’t, you can easily replace them !

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • I love black rice in this recipe, because it has more resistance and bite than your usual white rice, plus this nutty flavour that pairs so well with the sweet potato. If you don’t have some or can’t find it though, I’d recommend to replace it with whole-grain rice, quinoa, buckwheat -or any other cereal with a bit of bite and a nutty taste ! If all else fails, simply use white rice, it’ll be great too.
  • Feel free to play around with the ingredients used ! You could add cucumber, or radishes, or make the salad spicy using hot sauce. Have fun in your kitchen !

Come now, let’s make the best salad ever !

Shrimp & Mango Salad

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Shrimp Salad with tomatoes and mangoes

This is a summery recipe slightly inspired by my road trip in Yucatan, with almost no heat needed.

We’re basically making a fresh salsa, almost a pico de gallo, which is a condiment made from fresh, uncooked ingredients like diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice and chili pepper. I’ve decided to replace the chili by hot sauce, and to add another fruity dimension with mango, that definitely pairs well with shrimp. I also add olive oil to turn it into an actual salad dressing.

Those fresh shrimps get reheated (tip : the pink ones are already cooked ; they aren’t only if they’re grey) in a bit of garlic and Cayenne.

Then your’re almost done, and all you have to do is assemble ! Easy peasy and delicious. I love those simple summer recipes.

Shrimp & Mango Salad – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • If you’re feeling lazy, you can use shelled shrimps, and all will be ready within 20 minutes.
  • You can definitely play around with this recipe !
    • If you want to make it more filling, your can put this salad into a wrap, or add, besides the salad, a bed of quinoa/bulgur.
    • Sometimes I would add avocado to the salsa. Yum.
  • Try to buy tomatoes and mangoes that are not too ripe ; it might make this salad overly sugary and mushy, lacking texture.

Let’s Salsa !

Spicy Tuna Bites (2 ways)

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Spicy tuna bite wrapped in a small nori sheet

I already posted a Spicy tuna onigiri recipe, which is quite fast to make. I find it ideal when packing a quick lunch.

When eating home with your family or guests though, I love a good dish to share and prep on the spot, where everyone is involved, like Korean barbecues, Mexican tacos, or French crepes. In all these instances, you set one large spread of ingredients on the table, and as everyone gathers around and shares it all, you get a sense of closeness and community that makes the moment precious.

I crafted those Spicy Tuna Bites in this spirit. I bought some of these cute small nori sheets, designed to individually pile a mouthful of ingredients upon it. I started to picture rice, then tuna. As a simple sauce to get everything to slide, a gochujang spicy mayo -because what’s better than tuna and mayo ??- with a touch of sesame, that I love with tuna.

Where’s the crunch though ? The special kick ? Well, kimchi here has you covered, with its spicy tang ; add a slice of green chili pepper if you dare, to make the whole bite properly spicy and crunchy and perfect. I absolutely adored this canned tuna bite. It takes some humble tuna to the very next level, in a matter of minutes.

Then I thought ; tuna + rice… Ahi Poke… Of course, let’s make a raw tuna bite !! You simply dice your sushi-grade raw tuna, then mix it with the spicy mayo. That’s it. Then everybody assembles it the way they want.

You launch your rice, then get both kinds of tuna ready within 10 minutes. You spend one minute slicing the green chili pepper, one more to quickly put the rest on the table ; that’s it ! That’s honestly my best time spent to pleasure ratio so far -around 10 minutes of active work, then just wait for the rice to be ready.

Spicy Tuna Bites (2 ways) – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • You can buy small nori sheets at Asian stores. If you can’t find them, simply cut your Nori sheets using scissors !
  • It is important to use short-grain rice here, so that it sticks together on your bite. Nowadays, you can find it in your grocery store.
  • Try to pick an oil-based canned tuna. I know, oil + mayo seems unhealthy, but remember that the oil is drained and that you actually eat a small portion of it.
  • For the raw tuna version, only pick sushi-grade raw tuna, or tell your fishmonger’s you plan on eating it raw.
  • For the Gochujang paste, you’ll likely need to go to an Asian store to find it. You can substitute it with another hot sauce, but Gochujang is a tad more relevant in this simple recipe ; as it is fermented, it brings in a nice depth of flavour.
  • Also, feel free to add any ingredient you like to this spread ! You could go for raw/pickled/spring onions, add pieces of fruit such as a cubed apple, replace your nori sheets with lettuce leaves ; or make a miso mayo if you don’t like it spicy !

Recipe – Advice & key points

  • If you want to prep it in advance, you can, except for the rice !

All set ? Let’s dig into it !

Festival Couscous Salad

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I first made this Couscous Salad at Garorock, a few months ago.

We mostly ate at the festival’s food stalls, but figured our tummies wouldn’t be very happy with a sausage/fries/kabobs diet for 4 full days. Therefore, we were looking for healhy-ish things to prep at the camping… without being able to heat anything up, or to refrigerate stuff.

Before we went grocery shopping, our friend Laurent told us that you could prep couscous with room-temp water. Bingo ! Along with couscous, we chose a mixed vegetable can to get those greens in, and bought some mackerel in oil, lemon & thyme for the protein and to get an easy sauce -as olive oils are mostly sold in glass bottles, which are forbidden on festivals grounds.

This is barely a recipe, I know, but I figured it might be helpful :

  • like us, if you’re going to a festival,
  • if you’re a broke student looking for something cheap and nourishing,
  • on a lazy summer night -3mn prep, no heat, the dream.

It is not worth a classic couscous salad of course, but sometimes it’s about real life cooking and a me-needs-eating-quick situation.

Festival Couscous Sald – Recipe

Ingredients – Where to find them

No difficulty whatsoever here !

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • You don’t really need any salt or olive oil, because of the salt canned goods contain, and the olive oil in the canned fish. Feel free to add some though if you can !
  • Of course, considering everything is made out of canned/boxed goods, there are countless changes you could make :
    • Fish : tuna, sardines, mackerel, shrimps… Anything works ! Do buy fish fillets if you can -it’s easier to make with boneless fish.
    • Veggies : choose any canned ones you like ; you could also go for beans, lentils, etc.

Got everything you need ? Let’s go !

Pink Ceviche

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Peruvian Pink Ceviche with tomatoes, sweet potatoes, red onion and cilantro

Ever heard of how biscuits were invented ? Well, the baker mistakenly baked some cakes twice.

This Ceviche wasn’t supposed to be pink. I accidentally put twice the amount of red onion that was intended. But this is the beauty of cooking ; it was still perfecty delicious, plus quite pretty if I do say so myself !

Ever since I came back from Yucatan, ceviches have been on my mind. I had already eaten ceviches in France, but none of them compared to what you can get in Mexico. Even this recipe is not up to their level -I need to get my hands on some Ají Limo, a pepper that is usually used in ceviches- but I wouldn’t post it if it wasn’t a close proxy !

See for yourself the colours and the beautiful simplicity of this dish : fresh raw fish ; a flavourful fishy broth, zingy and fresh from all the celery, ginger and lime ; and of course, the king cilantro ! Lots of flavour and power that will conquer your heart, even if you’re not a fish lover. The texture department is not lacking, with multiple sensations as you gulp the broth, get a moutful of soft fish, followed by the crunch of thinly sliced raw onions.

My ceviche has some mixed influences, mainly Peruvian, the home country of ceviches, but also Mexican, due to my own ceviches’ experiences. In Peru, steamed sweet potatoes are often added on the side. I chose to add cubed sweet potatoes directly onto the fish, along with some tomato, which is more of an ingredient you’d find in Mexican ceviches as they tend to include more veggies. You can skip those additions if you like, but I find them quite nice when serving ceviche as a meal and not a starter.

Pink Ceviche – Recipe

Ingredients – Pieces of advice

  • Regarding fish, you can choose any of your fishmongers’ freshest, white-fleshed fish. Try to pick one that has firm flesh so that it doesn’t get mushy with the acidic marinade. Common choices are sea bass, snapper, halibut, flounder, tilapia, or even cod. You can also choose raw shrimps if you prefer !
  • When it comes to the potential bitterness, here are 2 tips to avoid getting an overly sour marinade :
    • When squeezing your limes, don’t press all the way until the end ! If you press it until the final drops come out, the end result will be more sour.
    • Salt is your friend here ! It is important to salt both your marinade and your fish properly, as it makes the acidity seem less sharp and more palatable.
  • If you don’t want your Ceviche to be spicy at all, skip the green chili pepper, or at least remove its seeds.
  • I’ve also tried to let this Ceviche marinate 2 more hours, which is a more Mexican-inspired Ceviche version ; I found it really interesting too, with flavours that were more infused, and a softer fish texture. If you don’t enjoy your raw fish’s texture, which is on the firmer side, do try this version !

Off to your kitchen now !

Tomatoes, mozzarella & nectarine Salad

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Tomatoes, mozzarella, nectarines, shallots, basil

This is another quick summer recipe, with no heat needed. Yet, this salad is nothing boring.

It’s basically a simple Caprese salad ; tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil, salt and basil, what more do you need ?

Well, nothing really, but a bit of nectarines & shallots bring a slight sweetness and a crunchy twist.

Tomatoes, mozzarella & nectarine Salad – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • As always, with recipes as simple as these, I recommend your focus to be on the ingredients’ quality. If you do, it instantly becomes a top-notch dish. I would buy :
    • in-season, quality tomatoes, such as Beef Heart tomatoes, Crimean Black tomatoes, or Green Zebra tomatoes ;
    • some decent Mozarella. I adore Mozzarella di Bufala, made out of buffalo milk instead of cow’s milk for the Mozzarella Fior di Latte ; its texture is creamy and soft, more delicate than the Fior di Latte which is on the firmer side ;
  • Also, to make the perfect salad, don’t forget :
    • to season everything properly with enough salt and pepper, and ;
    • ideally, to drizzle your salad with a quality olive oil, which is great to have around, in particular for all your uncooked dishes !

Let’s get this upgraded Caprese done !

Veggie Couscous Salad

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veggie couscous salad with corn, peas, tomatoes, orange bell eppper, green chili pepper, shallots, lemon

Out of respect for our Lebanese friends, I am not calling this dish tabbouleh. But it is definitely tabbouleh-inspired.

I always adored tabbouleh. In France, it is a classic summery dish that we like to eat, mostly as a side for barbecues or summer gatherings. It is so popular that small grocery stores always sell boxed tabbouleh in the fresh section, year-long. I used to eat it quite a lot as a poor student.

But, careful ! The tabbouleh we eat here would make my Lebanese friends angry, as there’s almost no parsley in it, and you mostly get couscous and veggies. I was lucky enough to try what was as close to the authentic tabbouleh as you can get when I traveled to Turkey with my parents. I remember it as if it was yesterday ; the herbs -there were several of them- made all the difference, and the fragrances were amazing. Since then, I’ve tried other Lebanese tabbouleh, but I’ve always found the parsley quite overpowering.

Instead of reproducing the classic recipe, I felt like making a hearty couscous salad, that could be eaten as a main, with lots of different veggies and several condiments and spices to make the flavours pop. 

I was very pleased with the end result. Even my companion, who’s really not into tabbouleh, kept saying how delicious it was. Plus, the recipe is budget-friendly and healthy, yes sir !

Veggie Couscous Salad – Recipe

Ingredients – Where to find them

Those ingredients are easy to get from your typical grocery store, and for those which aren’t, you can easily skip them or replace them !

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • If you don’t like it spicy, just remove the green bell pepper and the green harissa ! If you like it a lil bit spicy, only keep the harissa as it is quite mild.
  • Replace the green harissa with another hot sauce if you can’t find it ! I usually find it in grocery stores or specialized African stores.
  • Feel free to play around with the ingredients used !
    • Replace the veggies with what you have on hands ! You could add cucumber, replace shallots with onions, or add radishes, for example.
    • Go for what feels right for you when it comes to herbs ! You could use one or two instead of three, or add cilantro instead, for example. But definitely use a large amount ; it’s what brings this couscous salad to the next level.
    • You can remove the curry powder or add other spices !
    • If you don’t feel like it, remove the canned peas and corn. I find that they bring a needed sweetness though, that balances out the tang from the lemon and green harissa.

Come now, let’s get your hands dirty !