I’m not a huge fan of baking mac and cheese because it makes the pasta mushy on the inside and chewy on top. Also, the dairy solids and fat in the cheese tend to separate in the oven, leaving you with a greasy mess. For me, the only redeeming part about an oven baked mac and cheese is the crispy bread crumb topping. That’s why I set out to make a macaroni and cheese that still has the crispy topping but can be made in around the time it takes to prepare the kind the comes out of a blue cardboard box....

The heat in hot and sour soup comes from the generous addition of white pepper, which lends a mellow body-warming heat, unlike the intense mouth searing heat that comes from chili peppers. That said, if you really want your soup to be hot, you may want to add a few chili peppers. You can also finish this off with a little chili oil instead of toasted sesame oil. The tartness in the soup is created by adding some vinegar at the very end....

Why This Recipe Works? Ginger contains proteolytic enzymes such as zingibain, which breaks down protein. This naturally tenderized these Japanese pork chops. By dividing up the ginger sauce, you’re able to marinate the meat in the ginger (to get it tender) without adding other ingredients that will burn as you cook the pork. Shogayaki is traditionally made with thinly sliced meat (like the stuff used for hot pot), but using pork chops yields more juicy and tender meat and doesn’t take much longer to prepare....

All that changed while I was living in San Jose, when one of my roommates brought home a bag of King egg rolls. Their crisp oversized rolls are literally bursting with meaty filling and they border on addictive as it’s next to impossible to stop at one (or even two or three) Like many dishes of Chinese origin, spring rolls tell an interesting story of migration and adaptation because they can be found on just about every continent with variations in filling, wrapper and sauce....

The name Takikomi Gohan literally means “cooked with rice,” so there are a lot of variations, but most of them involve other autumn ingredients like mushrooms, chestnuts, or sweet potatoes. The style-of Takikomi Gohan I want to show you in this recipe is also known as Gomoku Gohan because it includes a variety of mixins. It’s often made with chicken and dashi stock, but for this recipe, I’m using a shiitake mushroom-based dashi along with other umami-packed ingredients to make a vegan-friendly Takikomi Gohan that’s brimming with flavor....

Most of these contain meat extracts as well as loads of hydrogenated oils and “flavor enhancers,” so I’ve been making my Japanese Curry from scratch for the past decade. In this Vegan Japanese Curry recipe, I’ve adapted my method to derive tons of umami from plants, mushrooms, and seaweed to ensure this vegan and vegetarian friendly curry is just as satisfying as the original! Why This Recipe Works? Pureeing the onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger makes them caramelize faster, and the vegetables break down to thicken the curry without making a roux....

I’ve always found it a little annoying that marketing cretins “geniuses” at baking mix companies have co-opted the term “pot pie” to use on their back-of-package recipes for making a biscuit topped chicken dish. These are the same folk that invent words like “lite”, as if removing some consonants from the word “light” makes their product contain less calories. All I have to say to these nincompoops is that if it doesn’t have a pie crust, it’s not a pie....

For my version, I use a juxtaposition of tastes, textures, and temperatures to create an appetite-boosting bowl of spicy noodles that only requires a few minutes of cooking on the stove. Why This Recipe Works? Using a mixture of chicken stock and soy milk for the sesame broth lends it loads of umami while boosting its richness. The contrast of the cool nutty soup with the spicy beef and chili oil on top gives these sesame noodles a richness that isn’t cloying or heavy and the appetite-enhancing heat that won’t make you sweat....

Pescado a la Veracruzana or fish in the style of Veracruz is a simple dish that comes together in under 30 minutes and works with almost any type of fish. Despite its uncomplicated preparation it’s one of those perfect dishes that is light, yet full of flavour, while festive enough to serve to dinner guests. The list of ingredients reads more like it originated around the Mediterranean than the Gulf of Mexico, but as the name implies, it’s a regional specialty from the southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz....

I always have at lease one bottle of this in the fridge because it’s great to use in marinades or as a flavorful sweetener for tea and coffee. I especially like mixing this with mint tea brewed from fresh mint leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice. Added to lemonade, the acid turns the ginger slightly pink, adding a spicy zing to the classic. I’ve even been drizzling this on homemade yogurt with some toasted oats for a delicious breakfast treat....

While pre-shucked oysters are convenient, bivalves tend to lose their freshness much faster than other seafood, which is why I’d never eat a pre-shucked oyster raw. Still, oysters can be just as tasty when lightly cooked, and can make an incredibly flavorful broth, which is why I decided to make this Kaki Meshi (牡蠣飯) With crunchy bamboo shoots, savory abura-age, and creamy morsels of oyster hidden amongst mouth-wateringly savory grains of rice, this Japanese classic is a one-bowl meal that tastes even better than it looks, bursting with umami in every bite....

Other Names stomach, tripas, tripoux, trippa Description Tripe is a generic term referring to the stomach of various animals including cows, pigs and sheep. It’s most commonly used to refer to honeycomb tripe (pictured above) which is the second stomach of a cow, however the first and third stomachs can also be called tripe. Confused … Other Names stomach, tripas, tripoux, trippa. Description Tripe is a generic term referring to the stomach of various animals including cows, pigs and sheep....

Growing up, my mom was undeniably the queen of the kitchen. Although my step-dad owned Thanksgiving, I can count the number of times he cooked dinner each year, on one hand. On the rare occasions he did cook, Beef Stroganoff was a perennial favorite, and something I crave to this day. It wasn’t fancy but something about the way the intensely savory flavors of the mushrooms, onions and beef melded with the rich and slightly tangy sour cream made it irresistibly appealing....

Growing up, in a Japanese-American household, we had an interesting mix of foods that graced our dinner table. It’s only after I left home that I came to recognize them as comfort foods. Mac and Cheese didn’t make the list, but Japanese Curry and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce were some regulars. Lasagne is another classic comfort food that made it onto our dinner table for special occasions and to this day, it’s one of my all-time favorites....

But the real game-changer here is the easy restaurant techniques I’ve used to keep these meatballs incredibly juicy and tender. These techniques can be used for any meatball, whether you’re using lean ground beef for Italian Meatballs or ground pork to make sweet and sour meatballs. Why This Recipe Works? Making an egg and oil emulsion helps keep the lean ground chicken juicy. Panko breadcrumbs make these homemade meatballs tender while helping the chicken retain its juices....

I’ve never been a huge fan of muffins. Although they look a bit like unfrosted cupcakes, most muffins are a far cry from their distant sweet cousins. White cupcakes are sweet, moist, flavorful and fluffy, muffins are often, tough, dry, and flavorless. They’re a bit like the American version of scones. But like scones, muffins can be absolutely delicious when properly made. These lemon banana muffins are ultra moist and buttery with the perfect balance of fruity banana and zingy lemon zest....

Why This Recipe Works? Fresh panko bread crumbs puff up when fried due to the evaporation of moisture in the bread. This creates a lighter crust for fried food. The crust of bread is more dense than the white center and removing it makes the panko lighter. Using a food processor allows you to make coarse panko which allows for a thicker coating of crisp breading. Panko vs Bread Crumbs Although both Japanese panko and regular bread crumbs are made from crumbled bread, the type of bread they’re made from and a different method of production results in two different ingredients....

Although it’s pretty similar to a Western winter squash soup, the main difference is that Kabocha Squash Soup is often eaten for breakfast. Traditionally, Japanese breakfasts involved a bowl of rice, miso soup, and protein like grilled fish. These days, many younger people prefer a more Western-style breakfast, including fried eggs, bacon, and toast. Old habits die hard, though, and the meal is often served with a bowl of vegetable soup like this....

One of my favorite Indian take-out places in New York makes a vibrant magenta onion and beet pickle they include with every order. It’s a bit unexpected, but aside from being a visual contrast from the earthy tones of Indian food, it provides a sweet and tangy flavor contrast that’s marvelous with a fiery Vindaloo. I actually contemplated ordering a container of just the pickles to keep around for other uses, but then it occurred to me that I probably had all the ingredients I’d need to make them myself....

The best part of this sensory experience is that these Asian lettuce wraps can be thrown together in under fifteen minutes, making it the perfect weeknight chicken recipe when you’re in the mood for something light, refreshing, and yet deeply satisfying. Why This Recipe Works? Stir-frying ground chicken with garlic, oyster sauce, and basil is an easy way to make an ultra-flavorful filling for lettuce wraps. Quick pickling red onions in lime juice creates a vibrant color, taste, and texture contrast to the savory chicken....