hopes.dreams.aspirations

Brown Sugar Iced Milk with Boba Pearls

My favourite boba/bubble drink used to be Taro milk tea. In my uni days there weren’t many Taiwanese tea houses in Auckland and I considered these a treat, rather than for a weekly consumption. I remember purchasing big bags of the drink mix to make bubble teas for friends at a gathering. It was manic…

Chawanmushi 茶碗蒸し

Little tiny dishes with delicately plated ingredients, perfect execution of cooking and tastes of deliciousness. I love Japanese meals that are presented as several courses, and especially when they integrate well, following naturally from one to the next. One iconic dish, Chawanmushi, is often served as part of the course. This savoury egg custard is…

Congee (rice porridge: 白粥) with pork and salted egg

(mum’s version always has dried scallops for added sweetness) Congee and fried dough. 白粥油炸鬼 The story behind this dish speaks to one of the foundational dishes of the Chinese culture, which is my heritage. Congee (pronounced as ‘jook’ in Cantonese), is jasmine rice boiled down till soft, much like porridge. There used to be a…

Soba noodles with a Basil, Cardamom and Coriander lime sauce

A few weeks ago I went to a pottery workshop in beautiful Titirangi, Auckland New Zealand. They served a delightful vegetarian lunch and one of the dishes served was from Yotam Ottenlenghi‘s SIMPLE. The cookbook is filled with really easy recipes and after tasting this soba dish, I just had to remake it at home….

Granola

Making my own granola is such a game changer and incredibly satisfying. It’s all about personalising your cereal – you can add all your favourite cereal ingredients into the mix, and leave out all the things you don’t like. Personally, I don’t like shredded coconut, but love freeze dried fruits, such as Fresh As’s raspberries….