i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
Now that spring is officially here, in general, the only things I usually buy from the store, when I do go, are meat and dairy products (sometimes grain/flour as well, but I buy rice in bulk and bake my own bread so that’s an every …
I’m on a hosta shoot binge because they’ve started to unfurl in my garden, and while you can eat them up until they reach about 7 – 8 inches and fully uncurl, they become progressively more bitter and tough, rather than sweet and tender. This …
I’m currently reveling in the hosta shoots that are coming up–another two weeks and they’ll be too tough and bitter to eat and then I’ll have to wait until the flower buds come in. Right now they’re deliciously tender and mild, perfect for skewering and grilling. With a flavor and texture similar to asparagus/artichoke hearts (which is not too strange, considering it’s part of the asparagacea family), they take on a smoky quality once charred. Because the flavor is so mild, it lends itself beautifully to all sorts of spices and herbs. You can marinate it and then grill it, or you can grill it and then smother it in whatever sauces you want–a thai peanut or umami rich teriyaki would both be divine! Even just a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon would do beautifully with them.
It’s spring and my hostas are starting to come up. This means hosta shoots galore. With a flavor and texture like artichokes, they are absolutely delicious as tempura, which is what I made today for lunch. You might feel weird eating something you’d thought of …
If you don’t like natto, you could most likely skip this post, but if you do, then this wouldn’t be too out of your depth. This is something out of my childhood and my ancestral province of Sze Chuan. I used black soybeans but traditionally, …
There is an answer to a question that I had been asking myself for the better part of this week: Can I make… Pizza taiyaki?
The answer is, apparently, yes. Yes I can.
I was baking bread today and figured I could take some of the dough and make pizza–but not just any pizza. Pizza in my taiyaki pan. The great thing about being an adult is that you could pretty much make whatever you want, giant stuffed pizzas included, and there will be no one to stop you. I mean, it’s basically a calzone, and you can stuff it with whatever toppings you prefer in your pizza. Sausage? Sure, why not. Olives? Great, the more the merrier! Onions and peppers and anchovies? Pineapple and ham? Ahh, they all sounded wonderful to me.
You can use pizza dough and sauce bought from the store, or you could endeavor to make your own. I happened to have bread dough on hand (the recipe I will provide below.) You could also use the batter from my cheeseburger taiyaki recipe follow it that way, if you want a sweeter crust.
My taiyaki pan is at it again! This time I’m making takoyaki but in the shape of a taiyaki. This is super easy and delicious, especially if you, like me, are very heavy handed with the octopus. You can use shrimp, mussels, oysters, calamari, fish, …
This is a simple lunch or dinner you could make that reheats well as leftovers for lunch the next day! I like this dish with thinly sliced pork belly, but if you can’t get that, thinly sliced pork loins work too. You can top it …
What is the most dangerous thing you bought for your kitchen this year? For me, it’s my taiyaki pan. It’s clearly one of the most dangerous things in my arsenal because of all the insane things I could make with it.
Here’s a recipe for a savory taiyaki–cheeseburger flavored! My kids LOVED it and each devoured one immediately.
I have so many more ideas for fillings that taiyaki will have its own category at this point!
This batter is not a taiyaki batter–it’s not as heavy/cake-y and instead is light and sweet, almost like a pancake. It makes it perfect for pairing with savory stuffings.
This recipe makes 8 taiyaki. Don’t overmix the batter or else it may become too dense. If it still is dense and you are sure you didn’t overmix it, your baking powder may be too old.
Recipe for Batter
Cheeseburger Stuffing Recipe
I was browsing around H-Plaza (a Korean home goods strip mall) in Great Neck today and came across this adorable taiyaki pan. I loved taiyaki as a kid, especially the custard cream ones, so of course I snatched it up and ferreted it home so …