Spice Trade — recipes

I have been to Okinawa only once, and that was when I had just broken up with my first relationship (hahaha, I wanted to enjoy life even though I was still sad, so I chose to travel alone. While I was there, I tried local cuisines such as Okinawa soba and goya chanpuru. I also tried yummy sweets, sata andagi. They were so good. But taco rice! I missed taco rice while I was there. So I cooked my own version when I came back. Different households have a different way of cooking taco rice. Many people use lettuce and...

This is a recipe for homemade ketchup using fully ripened tomatoes. I hope you will like them Tips: (1) Please have your sterilized clean glass jar ready before making this. (2) If you don’t mind bumpy texture, you can omit the use of blender. (3) Each tomato differs in its acidity and sweetness. Please adjust the amount of vinegar and sugar to your taste. (4) You can also add chopped carrots or celery into the tomato mixture.                             Recipe: Homemade Ketchup Yield: About 1 cup Ingredients 1kg fully ripened tomatoes...

I was again checking what’s on sale at Regency Spices this morning, and I saw tarragon flakes! I have hardly seen fresh tarragon sold in Hong Kong’s supermarkets (maybe I wasn’t looking carefully enough?) Tarragon when combined with homemade mayonnaise or some nice seasonings like the Jamaican Jerk Spices makes for a really good sandwich.                      Recipe: Chicken Sandwich with Tarragon Serving: 2 Ingredients 1 clove garlic 2-3 tsp Jamaican Jerk Seasoning 2 tablespoon cooking wine 220g chicken breast 2 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon skin, zest ½ apple 4 tablespoon mayonnaise (if you have homemade...

Both my Chinese and Japanese grandma make zongzi (or chimaki in Japanese). Yet, they differ quite a bit. The ones made by my Japanese grandma are very simple and eaten with sweetened kinako (roasted soy bean powder). On the contrary, the ones made by my Chinese grandma contain lots of seasoned ingredients. Today, I’d like to share the recipe for a Chinese version. It takes a bit of preparation time but it’s worth it.                                                Recipe: Zongzi Yield: About 10-12...

In the year Japan was struck with Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake, I was living in Tokyo. I used to go to Ueno Park often for a stroll and whenever I got hungry, I went into Hard Rock Cafe located in Ueno station. I always ordered the same dish, Nachos. The combination of crispy corn tortilla with slightly hot tomato salsa and melted cheese on top was a treat for me. It was one of the dish I had missed from the United States. Whenever my father bought tortilla chips and tomato salsa, they were gone in few days because I couldn’t stop...