Post Type ArchivesRecipes

Crispy Raw Tuna Salad

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Crispy raw tuna salad with crunchy rice cucumber avocado

There’s a whole genre of crispy rice salads on the internet, and for months I scrolled past them. Every single one used fried chicken or some kind of heavy protein that felt like it defeated the point. I wanted the crunch. I wanted the freshness. I wanted something that actually felt light while still hitting hard on flavour.

So I went back to basics: raw fish. Sushi-grade tuna, barely dressed, with cold cucumber and avocado and spring onions. Then a deeply savoury, slightly spicy gochujang mayo sauce with ginger and garlic that ties everything together. And the rice — baked in chili oil until deeply golden and shatteringly crispy — plays the starring textural role.

The result was genuinely a masterpiece of varied textures and bold tastes. It sounds dramatic but I stand by it. Raw tuna + gochu mayo = always a banger, and here it’s been brightened up with lime juice, rice vinegar, and ginger so it sings. I like it better after 1 hour in the fridge, but honestly it doesn’t last that long.

Crispy Raw Tuna Salad – About the dish

This salad sits somewhere at the intersection of Japanese poke culture, Korean gochujang cooking, and the crispy rice trend that took over social media recently. Crispy rice as a vehicle for toppings is a format borrowed from onigiri and sushi culture — rice pressed, seasoned, and crisped until it holds its shape and delivers crunch in every bite.

Gochujang (고추장) is a Korean fermented red chili paste — thick, deeply umami, moderately spicy, with a subtle sweetness that comes from the fermentation process. It’s one of those ingredients that elevates anything it touches. Combined with Kewpie mayo (the Japanese mayo made with egg yolks and rice vinegar, creamier and richer than Western mayo), it creates a sauce that’s both addictive and remarkably balanced.

The inspiration came from all those crispy rice salads using fried chicken, but raw fish is simpler, fresher, and — if you ask me — infinitely better. This is the version I wanted to exist. And if you’re nervous about raw fish, just make sure you’re using properly labelled sushi-grade tuna from a trusted fishmonger or quality supermarket.

Crispy Raw Tuna Salad – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Japanese rice: 300g, for 3 servings. Short-grain Japanese rice is ideal here — it’s sticky enough to hold together and crisp up properly in the oven. Wash it well before cooking to remove excess starch.
  • Chili oil (without the flakes): 1.5 tbsp. You want smooth, pure chili oil here — no crunchy bits, which would burn and turn bitter in the oven. Lao Gan Ma smooth chili oil or plain chili-infused oil both work. If heat is a concern, sub half of it with neutral oil.
  • Sushi-grade tuna: 300g, diced. Make sure it’s labelled sushi-grade or sashimi-grade — meaning it has been handled and frozen safely for raw consumption. Dice into large cubes so it holds up in the toss.
  • Avocado: 1, diced. Use a ripe but firm avocado — soft enough to eat but not so soft it turns to mush when you toss the salad. Cut it at the last moment to avoid browning.
  • Cucumber: 1/2 large, sliced (not too thin). You want half or quarter-moons about 5mm thick. Too thin and they’ll go soggy. The cucumber provides crunch and freshness to contrast the richness of the sauce and avocado.
  • Kewpie mayo: 3 tbsp. Made with only egg yolks and rice vinegar — creamier, richer, slightly tangier than regular mayo. Regular mayo works too, but Kewpie is worth tracking down. Find it at Asian grocery stores.
  • Gochujang: 1 tbsp. Korean fermented chili paste. It brings heat, depth, and umami in one ingredient. If you’re very heat-sensitive, start with 1/2 tbsp and taste.
  • Furikake: 1 tbsp (optional but recommended). Japanese seasoning blend — dried fish, sesame, nori, and salt — that adds a final layer of umami and crunch. Find it at Asian grocery stores. If unavailable, toasted nori and sesame seeds work.
  • Crispy onions/shallots: 2 tbsp (optional but recommended). Store-bought fried shallots from an Asian grocery work perfectly. They add the final textural hit and a subtle sweetness.

Recipe – Advice & key points

  • Cook, cool, and split the rice: Cook the rice as usual, then spread it out and let it cool completely — warm rice will steam rather than crisp in the oven. Once cool, set exactly half aside for the salad. Toss the other half with chili oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil, spread on a baking tray, and bake at 220°C for about 30 minutes until deeply golden and crispy.
  • Keep the crispy rice dry: The key to great crispy rice is no moisture. Make sure the rice is fully cooled before baking. Spread it in a single, even layer — don’t pile it up. Parchment paper underneath helps prevent sticking.
  • Mix all sauce ingredients first: Combine Kewpie mayo, gochujang, soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated garlic, grated ginger, and sesame seeds in one bowl. Taste and adjust.
  • Toss gently, don’t smash: When assembling, add all salad ingredients and toss carefully — especially the avocado and tuna. You want everything coated in sauce without crushing the avocado or breaking up the tuna. Add the crispy rice and toppings last.
  • Serve immediately or rest in the fridge: Good right away, but genuinely better after 1 hour in the fridge. The flavours meld and the tuna absorbs the sauce. The crispy rice softens slightly but develops an almost chewy-crispy texture that’s arguably even better. Serve cold.
  • Heat control: Use less chili oil and more neutral oil for the rice if you can’t handle much heat. The gochujang sauce is flavourful but not aggressively spicy — more warming than burning.

This is the kind of dish that looks like a lot of components but actually comes together fast once the rice is done. The rice can be baked ahead and kept at room temperature. The sauce keeps in the fridge for days. The actual assembly takes five minutes. A fantastic make-ahead lunch or a slightly impressive dinner that takes almost no effort to pull off.

Enjoy !

Cold Tomato Noodles

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cold grated tomato soup with somen and basil and cherry tomatoes on top

I never had this dish at a restaurant. I never stumbled upon it on a trip. It came to me the way a lot of my best recipes do these days — scrolling through a screen at some ungodly hour, and suddenly stopping dead.

I saw it on cabagges.world and I was immediately obsessed. Grated fresh tomatoes as a cold soup base, somen noodles chilled in ice water, a Japanese-inspired sauce with soy, mirin, dashi. It looked insane. It looked refreshing. It looked like exactly what a 35-degree afternoon demands.

I made it almost exactly as written — just a couple of tiny tweaks — and it delivered. Completely. Cold noodles are already my thing, but these are vegetarian and they somehow still hit every note I want: umami, acidity, freshness, that satisfying slurp. We are glowing and hydrated.

Cold Tomato Noodles – About the dish

Somen (素麺) are ultra-thin Japanese wheat noodles, typically eaten cold in summer — often served in ice water and dipped into a chilled tsuyu broth. They cook in about two minutes, which makes them the perfect hot-weather noodle. The tradition of eating cold somen in Japan is centuries old, and it’s one of those things that just makes complete sense the moment you try it on a sweltering day.

What makes this dish clever is using grated raw tomatoes as the soup base. When you grate a tomato on a box grater, the skin stays behind and the flesh collapses into a bright, watery, intensely flavoured pulp. It’s a technique used across the Mediterranean — hello Catalan pan con tomate — but here it gets a Japanese treatment: soy sauce, mirin, dashi powder, and lime. The result is something that feels both familiar and completely new.

No somen? Don’t stress — thin spaghetti, regular spaghetti, or soba all work well here. The point is cold noodles in a cold, punchy broth. The format is flexible, the flavour is not.

Cold Tomato Noodles – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Somen noodles: 100g per person. These thin, delicate wheat noodles are the star — they cook in 2 minutes and become silky when chilled. Find them at any Asian grocery store. No somen? Thin spaghetti (spaghettini), regular spaghetti, or soba noodles all make solid substitutes. Same technique applies: cook, drain, rinse with cold water, chill in ice.
  • Ice: Non-negotiable. You need a bowl of ice water to shock the noodles after cooking and keep them cold until serving. This firms up the texture, and makes the dish what it is. Lots of ice.
  • Tomatoes: 2 medium, ripe ones. The riper the better — you want maximum juice and sweetness when you grate them. Watery, flavourless tomatoes will make a watery, flavourless broth. Use the good ones.
  • Cold water: Just 1/4 cup — it loosens the grated tomato into a pourable soup consistency. Add it after grating.
  • Soy sauce: 2.5 tbsp. The umami backbone of the broth. Use a good quality regular soy sauce — light or all-purpose, not sweet kecap manis.
  • Mirin: 2 tbsp. This sweet Japanese rice wine rounds out the saltiness and adds depth. It’s what makes the broth taste Japanese rather than just tomato-water-with-soy. Find it at any Asian grocery or well-stocked supermarket.
  • Dashi powder: 1/2 tsp. This is your instant umami booster. Just a small amount adds that deep, savoury quality that makes the broth complex. Available at Asian grocery stores. If you can’t find it, a tiny pinch of MSG or a small splash of fish sauce will work, too.
  • Lime juice: 1 tbsp, adjust to taste. The acidity that ties everything together and makes the broth bright. Start with 1 tbsp and add more after tasting.
  • Basil: 6 leaves, chiffonade. A chiffonade means stacking the leaves, rolling them tightly into a cigar shape, then slicing crosswise into thin ribbons. It’s the right cut here — it distributes the basil evenly and looks elegant. Fresh only, please.
  • Cherry tomatoes (optional topping): A few halved on top. Just for texture, colour, and extra freshness. Completely optional but highly recommended.

Recipe – Advice & key points

  • Grate the tomatoes directly: Cut the tomatoes in half and grate them cut-side down on a box grater over a bowl. The flesh pulps into juice, the skin stays in your hand — just discard it. This is faster and less wasteful than peeling.
  • Build the broth in the same bowl: Once the tomatoes are grated, add the soy sauce, mirin, dashi powder, cold water, and lime juice right into the same bowl and stir. Taste it — it should be savoury, slightly sweet, acidic, cold. Adjust lime if needed.
  • Cook the noodles al dente: Somen cook fast — usually 3 minutes in boiling water. Don’t overcook or they’ll become mushy and fall apart in the broth. Follow the package timing and pull them at the right moment.
  • Rinse aggressively with cold water: After draining, run cold water over the noodles until they are completely cool, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. This removes excess starch (which would make them clump and gluey), stops cooking, and chills them down.
  • Keep everything cold: The broth should be cold, the noodles should be cold. This dish only works when it’s properly chilled — don’t serve it at room temperature.
  • Serve in the right order: Ladle the tomato broth into the bowl first, then add the drained noodles. Top with basil chiffonade and cherry tomatoes. This way the noodles don’t absorb all the broth before it reaches the table.

That’s it. No heat, no stress, pure summer. Credit to cabagges.world for the original — this one’s basically theirs with a couple of small tweaks, and it’s one of the best things I’ve eaten this season.

Enjoy !

Sardine Toasts

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toasts with a sardine and tomatoes mixture

It’s the kind of recipe that happens when summer says “no.” No big dinners, no elaborate prep, no standing over a hot stove. Just you, a couple of cans from the pantry, and a toaster.

I made these sardine toasts during the worst heatwave of last summer. The fridge was embarrassingly empty. I had sardines — two tins of them, the good kind with the fillets in olive oil — a handful of cherry tomatoes threatening to go soft, and a lemon sitting on the counter like it had been waiting for this moment. Fifteen minutes later I was on the balcony eating the best thing I’d had all week. Honestly a little embarrassed by how good it was.

It’s a sandwich. But elevated. And I would serve this to guests with zero shame.

Sardine Toasts – About the dish

Sardines on toast is one of those old-school staples that never really went out of style — it just got forgotten for a while. In the UK, tinned sardines on buttered toast was comfort food for generations. In Portugal and Spain, sardines are practically a national obsession: grilled fresh in summer, but also preserved in tins with excellent olive oil, eaten on bread with nothing but a squeeze of lemon. Simple, ancient, and very good.

This version takes that base and gives it a North African nudge — harissa for heat, preserved lemon for that salty floral depth, fresh herbs, and cherry tomatoes that bring both acidity and freshness. The result is something that tastes way more complex than the effort involved. No cooking beyond toasting bread. The sardines come ready; you’re just building something worthwhile around them.

And yes — sardines have a strong smell and a bold flavour. That’s the whole point. They’re also insanely good for you: omega-3s, protein, calcium, the whole package. Glowing skin, happy gut. We’re eating well here.

Sardine Toasts – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Sardines: Use fillets in olive oil — 2 tins of 115g. The quality of your tin matters here. Go for the best you can find; the good ones are meatier, less fishy-tasting, and the oil is actually worth using. Don’t throw that oil away.
  • Sardine tin oil: A drizzle of the oil from the tin goes right into the mix. It carries all the flavour and keeps everything moist and cohesive. This is not optional — it’s the secret weapon.
  • Olive oil: A small extra drizzle on top for richness and to smooth out the texture.
  • Cherry tomatoes: 12, cut into small pieces. They bring acidity and freshness that cut through the sardines’ richness perfectly. Go small — you want them mixed in, not dominating.
  • Onion: 1/4 finely minced. Skip it if you’re not a big fan or for less sharpness, or use red onion.
  • Harissa: 2 teaspoons. This is your heat and depth. Every brand is different in intensity, so taste as you go. If yours is very strong, start with 1 tsp. If you’re heat-sensitive, skip it or replace with a pinch of smoked paprika.
  • Garlic: 1 clove, minced or grated. It disappears into the mix and just makes everything taste more alive.
  • Preserved beldi lemon: 1 teaspoon, finely chopped. This makes the whole thing special — that salty, floral, intense citrus hit. If you can’t find beldi (Moroccan-style), use any preserved lemon. Rinse it first and use only the skin.
  • Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon, optional. Brightens everything up if you want extra acidity. Taste first — if the preserved lemon is doing its job, you might not need it.
  • Fresh herbs: 1 tablespoon of your choice — basil, coriander, or mint all work beautifully. Each brings a different vibe: basil is Mediterranean, coriander goes more Moroccan, mint adds freshness and lift.
  • Bread: Sourdough is ideal — its slight acidity and chewy crust hold up to the sardine mix without getting soggy. Cornbread or country bread are great options too. Toast it properly: it should have crunch.

Recipe – Advice & key points

  • Mash gently: You’re not making pâté. Crush the sardines with a fork until they break down into a rough, textured mix — not a paste. You want some chunks to remain so each bite has personality.
  • Add the tomatoes last: Mix everything else first, then fold in the cherry tomatoes carefully. This keeps them intact and prevents the whole thing from getting watery.
  • Taste before assembling: Once everything is mixed, taste and adjust. More harissa? More lemon? More salt? The preserved lemon is salty, so don’t add salt until you’ve tasted the full mix.
  • Toast the bread properly: Don’t under-toast. A good golden crunch on the surface is what holds the sardine mix without turning to mush. If you have a cast iron pan, toast it in butter for next-level results.
  • Serve immediately: This is not a make-ahead situation. The tomatoes release liquid over time and the toast softens. Build it, eat it right away.
  • Strong smell warning: Sardines have a bold, distinctive smell — that’s part of their charm, but you need to love it. If you or your guests are not sardine fans, this is not the recipe to convert them. Consider yourself warned.

Open tins, mash, mix, toast, eat. Peak heatwave cooking. We’re glowing — and not just from the sweat.

Enjoy !

Zucchini Gazpacho

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bright green zucchini gaspacho

It was one of those weeks where your fridge slowly fills up with vegetables you bought with good intentions. There they were: three zucchinis, sitting in the crisper drawer, not getting any younger. And outside? A proper heatwave. The kind of heat where even opening the oven feels like a personal attack.

Cooking was out of the question. But I still had to eat, and I still had to deal with those zucchinis. I thought about a cold soup — but zucchini? Raw? Without cooking? I was skeptical. More than skeptical, honestly. I kind of didn’t believe it would work. Zucchini doesn’t exactly scream “exciting” to begin with, and raw zucchini sounded like punishment dressed up as food.

I threw everything in the blender anyway — zucchini, a slice of bread, garlic, cherry vinegar, olive oil, ice cubes, herbs. Blended it. Tasted it.

Absolutely unreal. Fresh, deep, slightly grassy, perfectly seasoned. Cold like a dream. And completely vegan, no cooking involved, ten minutes start to finish. I had it twice that week. If you’ve got zucchinis to use and a heatwave to survive, this is your answer.

Zucchini Gazpacho – About the dish

Gazpacho is one of the great Spanish summer inventions — a cold, raw vegetable soup from Andalusia that has been around in some form since at least the 19th century. The classic version is tomato-based (with bread, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil as its backbone), and it remains one of the best arguments for not turning on the stove when it’s 35 degrees outside.

But the formula is more of a template than a fixed recipe. The real genius of gazpacho is the technique: raw vegetables, blended with bread (for body), vinegar (for brightness), olive oil (for richness), and ice or cold water (for temperature). The bread is non-negotiable — it’s what gives gazpacho its thick, slightly creamy texture instead of just being vegetable juice.

Zucchini works beautifully in this format. It blends smoothly, has a mild, clean flavour that lets the garlic, vinegar, and herbs shine, and — crucially — the skin stays on, which gives the soup a gorgeous pale green colour and keeps all the nutrients. The Maggi drops are optional but highly recommended: they add an umami depth that makes everything taste more complex than the ingredient list suggests.

Zucchini Gazpacho – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Zucchini: Keep the skin on — don’t peel them. The skin gives the soup its green colour and blends completely smooth in a powerful blender. Medium-sized ones (around 600g total) are ideal; avoid oversized ones which can be watery and slightly bitter.
  • Bread: One slice of sandwich bread is all you need. It acts as an emulsifier and gives the gazpacho its body — without it, you’d have vegetable water. Don’t skip it, and don’t use too much or it’ll get starchy and thick.
  • Garlic: One large clove. Raw garlic in gazpacho is strong — taste as you go. If you’re garlic-sensitive, start with half a clove.
  • Sherry vinegar: This is what makes it sing. Sherry vinegar is fruity and slightly sweet — it lifts the whole soup without harsh acidity. If you can’t find it, a good quality white wine vinegar works fine.
  • Ice cubes: Three ice cubes go directly into the blender. They chill the soup instantly and help achieve that silky, perfectly cold consistency. Don’t skip them, or refrigerate the soup after making.
  • Maggi: Optional, but highly recommended. A few drops add umami depth and make the soup taste like it has a secret ingredient. Fine salt alone works too — just be sure to season generously, otherwise the whole thing falls flat.
  • Herbs: Basil and mint together is the move here. Basil adds depth and a slight anise note; mint keeps it cold and refreshing. Use both if you can.

Blending – Advice & key points

  • Use a powerful blender: This truly helps. A high-speed blender will give you a completely smooth, silky texture. A weak blender will leave bits of zucchini skin and bread — the soup will still taste good but the texture won’t be as satisfying.
  • Blend everything together: No need to blend in stages. Cut the zucchini into large chunks, quarter the onion, throw everything in at once and blend until completely smooth.
  • Adjust consistency with water: After blending, check the thickness. Too thick? Add a splash more cold water and blend again. The goal is a pourable, slightly creamy consistency — not a smoothie, not a thin broth.
  • Season properly — this is critical: Gazpacho is notoriously bland if under-seasoned. Taste after blending and adjust salt aggressively. If it tastes flat, it needs salt (or more Maggi). If it tastes one-dimensional, it needs a touch more vinegar.
  • Serve ice cold: Eat it right away, or refrigerate and serve within a few hours. It’s a cold soup — if it’s not properly cold, it loses half its charm.

Serve with grilled bread on the side — a slice or two of toast, rubbed with a little garlic if you’re into it. A soft-boiled egg, some good ham, or a slice of cheese alongside turns it into a proper lunch. Or eat it straight out of the blender cup standing in front of the open fridge. No judgement here.

Express Tuna Gochujang Sandwich

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spicy tuna sandwich with cucumber slices

It was 38 degrees outside. The kind of heat that makes cooking feel like a punishment.

I had a can of tuna, half a cucumber, and absolutely zero will to turn on the stove. I also had a box of gochujang sitting in the back of my fridge — the one I’d been using for jeyuk bokkeum, the one that makes everything it touches taste banging. And of course I had Kewpie mayo -a staple in this house.

I mixed them together, sliced the cucumber paper-thin, added a few drops of Maggi, and that was my lunch. Five minutes. Five ingredients. Done.

My sandwich savior. Not high cuisine no, definitely not pretending to be. But on a sweltering summer afternoon, this is exactly what the people need — and a slight upgrade on the basic tuna mayo.

Express Tuna Gochujang Sandwich – About the dish

The tuna sandwich is one of those things that exists in every culture, in some form. Universally humble, universally satisfying. What makes this one interesting isn’t the format — it’s the sauce.

Gochujang (고추장) is a fermented Korean chili paste made from glutinous rice, red chili powder, fermented soybeans, and salt. Unlike raw chili heat, gochujang brings something deeper: a slow, building warmth with a faint sweetness and umami backbone from the fermentation. It’s what makes Korean food taste distinctly Korean — not just spicy, but complex.

Combined with a good mayonnaise — ideally Kewpie, which uses rice vinegar and egg yolks only (no whites), giving it a richer, tangier flavour than Western mayo — it becomes something that feels far more sophisticated than the two-second effort it takes to mix together. The cucumber adds the crunch and the cool. The Maggi (or fine salt) just sharpens everything.

This is the kind of sandwich you make when tomato-cucumber salads feel like a broken record. Same summer vibes, but with SPICE.

Express Tuna Gochujang Sandwich – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Tuna: Use tuna in water (or oil if you can spare the extra calories!), and don’t drain it fully — a little of that liquid loosens the mix perfectly and keeps it moist. 200g is the sweet spot for 2 sandwiches.
  • Mayonnaise: Kewpie is recommended here. It’s richer, slightly tangier, and more flavourful than standard mayo. You’ll find it at any Asian grocery or online. If you can’t find it though, any full-fat mayo works.
  • Gochujang: 2 teaspoons gives a noticeable but very chill heat. If you’re heat-sensitive, start with 1 tsp and taste as you go. If you love fire, go up to 3. Every brand varies in spice level, so adjust accordingly.
  • Cucumber: Slice it as thin as possible — this isn’t a sandwich filler, it’s a contrast element. Thin slices give you crunch without bulk, and they don’t make your bread soggy.
  • Maggi vs. salt: Maggi seasoning sauce adds a deeper umami hit than plain salt. If you have it, use it. If not, fine salt works fine.
  • Bread: Standard sandwich bread works perfectly here. I prefer mine untoasted for this one -I love a soft, moist tuna sandwich- but up to you!

Assembly – Advice & key points

  • Mix the tuna well: Make sure the gochujang and mayo are fully incorporated into the tuna — no orange pockets of unmixed paste. Taste and adjust before spreading.
  • Cucumber goes on top: Spread the tuna mix first, then layer the cucumber slices on top. This way the cucumber stays crisp and doesn’t make the bread soggy from the bottom.
  • Add the Maggi/salt last: A few drops directly on the cucumber slices, right before closing the sandwich, gives you a final sharp savoury note that ties everything together.
  • Eat it right away: This sandwich doesn’t hold well. The cucumber releases water over time, which softens the bread. Make it, eat it. No meal prep here.

That’s genuinely everything. No stove. No waiting. Just a bowl, a knife, and five minutes between you and something that tastes like it has no right to be this good.

Enjoy !

Thai Steak & Egg

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rice bowl covered with beef slices and a marinated egg yolk + Thai chimichurri sauce

It started with a video. Someone I follow posted a reel of a vendor slicing a hunk of grilled beef so slowly and deliberately that you could almost feel the heat coming off the pan. She drizzled a bright green herb sauce over it, placed a single raw egg yolk on top, and that was it. Twenty seconds. No voiceover. No recipe. Just vibes.

I watched it six times. Then off to the kitchen I went.

The result wasn’t exactly what she made, but the video inspired me in a few ways that mattered to me. The Thai chimichurri I built around it ended up being something I’d put on almost anything : punchy with fish sauce, electric from the chilis, grounded by palm sugar and neutral oil. And the soy-marinated egg yolk sitting right in the center of the bowl, slowly running into the rice and the beef as you break it — this is comfort food to me, in its highest shape and form.

This bowl is the kind of thing that looks intimidating but is really just smart assembly. The beef is seared, the sauce is blended, the yolks are marinated. Everything meets in a bowl and something greater than the sum of its parts happens.

Thai Steak & Egg – About the dish

This bowl draws from a very specific Thai tradition : the idea that grilled or seared meat (often called neua yang — literally “grilled beef”) served with a punchy herb-and-chili sauce is one of the great combinations in the cuisine. You’ll find versions of it from street stalls in Chiang Mai to upscale restaurants in Bangkok, always resting on rice, always with something sharp and acidic to cut the richness of the meat.

The sauce here is essentially a Thai chimichurri — a loose herb-and-chili condiment built on fish sauce, lime, garlic, coriander, and Chinese chives, sweetened slightly with palm sugar and emulsified with neutral oil. It has no exact canonical name because it’s more of a template than a fixed dish : every cook makes it differently. Think of it as the Thai answer to salsa verde or Argentine chimichurri — herby, bright, and completely alive.

The marinated egg yolk is the kind of thing that feels like a trick but is just patience. Soy sauce, 6 hours. The sweet spot is real: at exactly 6 hours, the yolk is barely set at the surface, still completely runny at the center, and it carries a deep savouriness that makes it taste like something far more complex than two ingredients. But under 6 hours is fine, too! I just wouldn’t advise to go beyond 12 hours, as the yolk will be a bit too firm for what we’re aiming here.

The beef wants to be good. This isn’t a dish where you hide average meat behind sauce — the chimichurri is a complement, not a cover. A well-marbled entrecôte or a good faux-filet, possibly dry-aged if you can find it, will be perfect here. Sear it hard, rest it properly, slice it against the grain. That’s all the technique there is.

Easy Zaru Soba

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Japanese bamboo plate with two soba noodles nest, a dipping sauce bowl with mentsuyu and water, scallions and wasabi on the side

I remember the first time I made zaru soba. I never went to Japan, but as always, I researched my topic obsessively.

I found soba noodles at my Asian grocery store, grabbed some mentsuyu from the shelf — the concentrated kind, in a little bottle — and went home feeling very smug about myself. 10 minutes later, lunch was served.

It instantly became one of my all-time favourite summer lunches. It requires zero motivation nor cooking skill, and somehow tastes incredibly elegant. The cold noodles are nutty and satisfying, the dipping sauce is deeply savoury and a little sweet, and the whole thing is just… refreshing in a way that a big bowl of hot pasta simply cannot be when it’s 30 degrees outside.

A bit of context

Soba (そば) are Japanese buckwheat noodles. The word itself means “buckwheat” in Japanese. They have been eaten in Japan since at least the Edo period (17th century), making them one of the country’s oldest and most beloved noodle traditions.

Zaru soba (ざるそば) is the cold preparation — noodles chilled on a bamboo draining basket (the zaru), served with a dipping sauce called tsuyu or mentsuyu. It is the quintessential summer dish in Japan : light, quick, and refreshing. You will find it everywhere, from convenience stores to high-end soba restaurants where a chef has spent years perfecting hand-cut buckwheat noodles.

Mentsuyu is the key component here. It is a concentrated dipping sauce made from dashi (Japanese fish and seaweed stock), soy sauce, mirin and sake. You can make it from scratch, but the bottled version — sold in most Asian grocery stores — is genuinely excellent, and exactly what most Japanese households use at home. This is not a shortcut, it is just smart cooking.

Easy Zaru Soba – The steps to eat them

Before we get to the recipe, a quick guide on how to eat zaru soba — because getting it wrong (as I did) completely ruins the experience.

1. Don’t pour the sauce

This is dipping noodles, not noodle soup. The mentsuyu goes into a separate cup. The noodles go on a plate. Those are two distinct things and they stay separate until you eat them.

2. Add scallions in the sauce

Not on the noodles ❌ — into the dipping sauce ✅. Add a small amount at a time. Don’t dump everything in at once.

3. Add wasabi bit by bit

Same logic : add a tiny amount of wasabi directly onto your chopsticks before grabbing and dipping your soba noodles. It should add heat and depth, not blow your head off.

4. Dip, don’t soak

Pick up a small bundle of noodles → quick dip into the sauce → eat. The goal is a light coating, not drowning the noodles. A light dip = balanced flavour. Drowning them = too salty + the nutty flavour of the soba itself gets lost.

5. Slurp (yes, really)

It’s not rude. In Japan it is considered a sign that you are enjoying your meal. More practically : slurping cools the noodles as you eat them and, apparently, also enhances the flavour. Don’t be shy.

6. The final step (most people don’t know)

👉 If you have it : sobayu — the hot cooking water from your noodles. Once you’re done eating, pour it into your leftover sauce and drink it like a light broth. It is slightly starchy, warm, and absolutely delicious. Japanese soba restaurants always bring it to you at the end of the meal. Don’t skip it.

Aguachile Verde

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large oval dish filled with aguachile -raw shrimps, a green marinade with cucumber and fresh green chilies plus cubed cucumber onion cilantro and sliced green chilies and avocado slices

I remember the first time I had a proper aguachile. It was in Islas Mujeres, Mexico. I had been warned : “it’s basically raw shrimp marinated in lime juice.” And I almost passed. Almost. Then I took one bite, and I sat very still for a moment, because I did not know food could do that. Bright, electric, fiery, cold. Every bite was like a slap you kind of want again. I went home obsessed. That was it for me.

The thing about aguachile is that it is deceptively simple. There is no real cooking involved. The shrimp “cooks” in lime juice — a process called denaturation, where the acid changes the protein structure much like heat would. The result is shrimp that turns opaque and tender, still with that slight bounce of rawness. Do not let this scare you : it is perfectly safe, as long as you use very fresh shrimp (more on that below).

Aguachile (which literally means “chili water” in Spanish) is a dish from the northwestern state of Sinaloa, Mexico. It is closely related to ceviche, but unlike ceviche — which typically marinates for longer and uses a mix of citrus — aguachile is meant to be served and eaten immediately. The shrimp barely “cooks” : two to five minutes in the sauce, and you are done. The sauce itself is blitzed raw : lime juice, green chili, cucumber, cilantro, garlic, and a cube of ice to keep everything vibrant and cold. In Mexico, it is often finished with drops of Maggi seasoning, which adds a deep savory note that you will not expect but absolutely need.

Traditionally, aguachile verde uses serrano or jalapeño chilies for a clean, grassy heat. I used large green chilies (the kind you find easily in French supermarkets) and it worked beautifully — milder, but still very much alive. Serve it with tostadas, or tortilla chips if that is what you have on hand. The contrast between the cold, acidic shrimp and the crispy tostada is the whole point.

One very important note : this dish needs to be eaten immediately. Do not make it in advance. The lime juice will keep working on the shrimp and you will lose that perfect just-right texture. Make the sauce, prep your garnish, butterfly the shrimp — then pour and eat. That is the deal.

Also, a tip to make tostadas quickly : Simply fry each tacos (tacos de maiz) 30 seconds per side in a hot pan with 1cm neutral oil. When it’s slightly colored & crispy, remove!

Or simply enjoy with tortilla chips. During heatwaves, it’s pure bliss.

Gyros Tacos

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gyros tacos - tacos with potatoes, chicken, garlic yogurt, cucumber, onion, parsley and dill

I have a thing for fusion food. Not the kind of vague, “we put avocado on it, that counts” fusion — I mean the real deal, the kind where two completely different food cultures clash and somehow produce something that feels inevitable. Greek meets Mexican. Gyros meets tacos. Yes.

It all started one evening when I had a craving for gyros — that herby, garlicky marinated chicken — but I was too lazy to make pita bread. (Let’s be honest, I’m always too lazy to make pita bread.) I had a pack of wheat tortillas sitting in my cupboard. And then it happened. The lightbulb moment. What if I just… swapped the pita for a tortilla ?

Reader, I did it. And I have not looked back since.

The result is honestly one of my favourite weeknight dinners now. The chicken is marinated overnight -or just 30 minutes- in a proper Greek-style marinade with dried oregano, garlic, lemon juice, yogurt and a touch of cumin. While it cooks in the air fryer or oven, you make a quick tzatziki-style sauce and cut up your crudités. Then you pile everything onto a warm tortilla and go to town.

The air fryer potatoes deserve a mention too. I know, potatoes in tacos might sound weird — but this is a Greek taco, my friend, and Greeks love their potatoes. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, seasoned with paprika and a touch of cornstarch to get that extra crunch. They’re honestly the best part of the whole thing. (Don’t tell the chicken I said that.)

Gyros Tacos – A bit of context

Gyros (pronounced YEE-ros, not JY-ros, though I won’t judge you) is one of Greece’s most beloved street foods. The word comes from the Greek γύρος, meaning “circle” or “turn” — a reference to the rotating vertical spit on which the meat is traditionally cooked. It’s thought to have been inspired by the Turkish döner kebab and the Arab shawarma, and all three share the same DNA : marinated meat, slow-cooked, thinly sliced, served in a bread with sauce and vegetables.

The Greek version is typically made with pork or chicken, seasoned generously with oregano (non-negotiable — Greek dried oregano is really something special, don’t use Italian oregano here if you can avoid it), garlic, and lemon. It’s served in a pita with tzatziki, tomatoes, onion, and sometimes fries tucked inside. Yes. Fries. Inside the wrap. The Greeks understood the assignment long before anyone else did.

My version keeps all the flavours faithful to the original — the marinade is as Greek as it gets — but swaps the pita for a tortilla and reshapes the whole thing as a taco. It’s a weeknight-friendly, air fryer-powered, absolutely delicious adaptation that I’m genuinely proud of. Give it a shot !