Author: Hungry Celebrity

  • Easy Kong-Guksu

    This is not the traditional recipe by any means however, it’s a super easy way to make a Kong-Guksu type noodle dish with the same nutritional values. I even incorporated some Japanese flavors into this recipe 🙂

    Ingredients: 

    • Somen, wheat noodles, or soba
    • Tofu
    • Peanut butter
    • Salt
    • MSG 
    • Sugar
    • White Dashi 
    • Water
    • Cucumber
    • Tomato
    1. Make the broth in a blender: add a single portion size of tofu (for me this is usually ¼ of a block), 1 big spoonful of peanut butter, pinch of salt + MSG + sugar, and water and blend.
    2. Add white dashi (to taste) and more water (if needed) to the broth and blend 
    3. Store the broth in the fridge while you cook the noodles
    4. Rinse the cooked noodles thoroughly with ice cold water
    5. Julienne cucumber and quarter tomato 
    6. Pour the broth over the noodles and top with cucumber and tomato. OPTIONAL: add a boiled egg

  • Ginger Soy Chicken

    This is a easy chicken dish that goes with a lot of side dishes. I like to serve this in a bowl with rice, kimchi and a boiled egg.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1 lb Chicken breast or thighs 
    • Cilantro 

    Marinade: 

    • 3 tbsp Soy sauce
    • Grated ginger 
    • Grated garlic 
    • 1.5 tbsp Mirin 
    • 1.5 tbsp Cooking sake 
    • 1 tbsp MSG 
    • 1 tsp sugar 
    • Salt 
    • White pepper 
    1. Cut chicken into chunks and combine marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken in a zip lock bag. Store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
    2. Cook the chicken on medium heat in a non stick pan
    3. Serve with rice and side dishes and top with cilantro 

  • Oven Roasted Lemon Potatoes

    Ever since I had the lemon potatoes at Mandolin, I’ve been obsessed and now I can make them at home! These potatoes pair with anything Mediterranean but I personally love serving it with my Mediterranean Baked Cod.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1 1/2 lb yukon gold potatoes
    • 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • Lemon zest
    • 1/4 cup  olive oil
    • 1/4 cup chicken broth
    • Chopped fresh parsley
    • 2-3 cloves grated garlic 
    • 1 tsp dried oregano
    • Salt + pepper
    • Trader Joe’s onion salt (optional)
    1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
    2. Wash and cut the potatoes in half
    3. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, chicken broth, grated garlic, onion salt, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
    4. Place the seasoned potatoes flat side down in a large baking dish. Pour any liquid remaining at the bottom of the bowl over them. Roast in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.
    5. Remove potatoes from the oven and flip carefully with a spoon. Place them back in the oven and increase the temperature to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). Roast for about 25 minutes, until the liquid in the baking dish has evaporated and potatoes are crispy.
    6. If needed, season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley
  • Greek Chicken Meatballs

    I originally made this recipe in a cast iron as you can see in the photo but through trial and error, I noticed that cooking them in the oven on parchment paper was the most fuss free way to go. I like to serve these meatballs with a lemon kale salad and a diced tomato, olive, onion, feta salad. I also like to eat this with a side of hummus. For a more filling meal, you could serve this with rice or pasta.

    Meatball Ingredients: 

    • 1 lb ground chicken (or Turkey) 
    • 1 cup ricotta 
    • 1 cup spinach (finely chopped)
    • ½ cup bread crumbs (panko) 
    • ¼ cup grated parm 
    • 1 egg
    • 2-3 cloves garlic (finely chopped) 
    • Basil (finely chopped) 
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • Onion salt 
    • Salt + Pepper 

    Tzatziki Sauce: 

    • Greek yogurt 
    • Finely chopped parsley 
    • Grated garlic
    • Grated cucumber
    • Salt 
    • Lemon zest + lemon juice
    1. Preheat oven to 400F 
    2. Mix meatball ingredients till combined then shape into balls 
    3. Place onto baking tray lined with parchment paper and a little olive oil on the bottom  
    4. OPTIONAL: add tomatoes, onions (any roast-able vegetable) to the pan as well (season with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, onion salt prior to baking) 
    5. Roast meatballs for 15min then broil at 450F for 5min
  • Chicken Thighs in Dashi

    This is basically my take on a chicken soup that has a Japanese flavor profile.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1lb chicken thighs (skin on bone in OR skin off boneless – if no skin, you do not need to brown the chicken) 
    • Green onion (2-3 stalks cut into 1 ½ in pieces) 
    • Garlic (2 – 3 cloves depending on size) 
    • Ginger (2 in worth – julienned) 
    • Dashi soup base or powder
    • Tuscan kale (2 handfuls) 
    • Carrots 
    • Daikon
    • MSG
    • Chilli Oil
    • Trader Joes Yuzu Hot Sauce 
    • Fried Shallots
    • Rice 
    1. Brown chicken thigh skin in pan (start with a cold pan – renders the fat better) 
    2. Add chicken in pot with aromatics (julienned ginger, garlic, green onion) also add sliced carrots and daikon 
    3. Fill pot with water (2in above chicken) and add ¼ cup of dashi soup base + 2 tsp of MSG
    4. Simmer chicken on low heat
    5. Once the liquid starts lightly boiling, check the chickens internal temperature – if it’s over 175F its ready to be taken out and shredded
    6. Add tuscan kale to the broth (cook 2 min)
    7. Add more dashi or soy sauce to the broth to taste 
    8. Serve with rice and top with fried shallots, chilli oil, yuzu hot sauce from Trader Joes (so good) and fresh lime juice if you want.
  • Japanese Homestyle Cabbage Rolls

    Thank you to my childhood besties mother, Lisa, for this recipe. It’s so nostalgic to me and reminds me of when I would sleepover at their place and her mom would make this for us. It’s such a comforting meal.

    Ingredients: 

    • Savoy cabbage (can do regular cabbage or napa cabbage)  
    • 1 lb ground beef OR ½  lb beef + ½ lb pork 
    • 1 egg
    • ¼ cup panko
    • 2 tbsp milk
    • Salt + white pepper
    • ½ tbsp Nutmeg
    • 1 tsp MSG 
    • 3 bay leaves
    • Minced garlic and ginger
    • ½ onion finely chopped
    • Kayanoya vegetable stock packs (3 packs)
    • Toothpicks
    • 1-2 Carrot + Daikon (cut with a flower shape vegetable cutter – optional) 
    1. Cut out the core of the cabbage as best you can and then place cabbage in a big pot of boiling water 
    2. Boil for 2-3 minutes then begin peeling the cabbage leaves one by one using tongs and place each leaf into a bowl of ice water
    3. Leave leaves out to dry
    4. Mix meat, egg, milk, panko, onions, garlic + ginger, salt + pepper, nutmeg, and MSG till well combined
    5. Roll up meat into cabbage (using a small piece and a large piece helps, and make sure to cut out the core like a triangle). Secure the cabbage rolls with a toothpick. 
    6. OPTIONAL: Cut up carrot and daikon into small pieces (I used a flower shape cookie cutter because it looked super cute) 
    7. Place the cabbage rolls into a donabe or dutch oven tightly. Add cut up carrots and daikon all around the cabbage rolls and cover completely with water with the dashi packs tucked in. 
    8. Bring to boil and then cook on medium low heat for 30 minutes
    9. Serve with rice and garnish with parsley 

  • Perfect Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

    I made this for the first time the other night and it was beyond delicious. I served it with @kalejunkies – crispy parmesan potatoes and grilled tomatoes and onion. Hot take, skirt steak might be my new favorite cut of beef…

    Ingredients: 

    • Skirt steak
    • Soy sauce 
    • Oregano 
    • Salt + Pepper 
    • Olive oil 
    • 1 Lime

    Chimichurri sauce: 

    • Finely chopped parsley 
    • 1-2 cloves grated garlic
    • Olive oil 
    • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar 
    • Salt 
    • Adobo flakes
    • Paprika 
    • Oregano 
    1. Tenderize the steak by stabbing it with a fork a bunch of times, then cover in marinade (soy sauce, olive oil, oregano, salt + pepper – measure by eye depending on how big the steak is) and let it sit for about 20-30 min (make sure steak is as close to room temp as possible) 
    2. In the meantime, chop up the parsley and make the sauce
    3. Heat up cast iron skillet on medium high heat for 10-15 min until really hot, then add oil to the pan and cook the steak for 2-3 min on each side depending on thickness 
    4. Let the steak rest for 10 min and top with lime juice and chimichurri sauce!
  • One Pot Hainanese Chicken Rice

    This dish is so yummy and filling. You can feed a lot of people at once and it makes excellent leftovers!

    Ingredients: 

    • 2 cups Jasmine or white rice 
    • 1lb Chicken thighs 
    • 4 stalks green onion
    • Ginger 
    • 7 cloves garlic 
    • Red chili 
    • 1 cup chicken stock 
    • Vegetable oil 
    • MSG 
    • Sesame oil 
    • Salt
    • White pepper 
    • Dashi soup base 
    • Cilantro

    Optional: cucumber salad and cilantro 

    1. Marinate chicken w sesame oil, salt and white pepper (if u have if not black pepper is fine)
    2. Julienne about 2 inches worth of ginger and finely chop the rest
    3. Finely chop 4 cloves of garlic and lightly smash the other 3 but keep it whole 
    4. Cut 2 stalks of green onion in to 2 inch pieces and finely chop the other 2 stalks 
    5. Slice the red chilli into thin pieces 
    6. Render chicken fat by cooking skin side down starting from a cold pan on medium heat. Cook until chicken skin is brown and flip and cook the other side for 1 minute.
    7. Into rice maker: Washed rice with a mix of chicken stock and water with a splash of dashi and a pinch of MSG 
    8. Place chicken on top of the rice with aromatics (2 inch pieces green onion, julienned ginger, smashed garlic)
    9. Cook the rice as instructed 
    10. While the chicken and rice cook, make the sauce: heat up ½ cup of vegetable oil in a pot. Once the oil is bubbling or smoking, pour the oil over finely chopped ginger, scallion, garlic and red chilis. 
    11. OPTIONAL – Make the cucumber salad: Cut up cucumber into chunks, dress with salt, fish sauce, and sesame oil 
    12. Once the rice is done cooking, the dish is ready to be served. Serve with cucumber salad and garnish with cilantro.
  • My Favorite Breakfast Tacos

    Ingredients: 

    • 2 eggs
    • Shredded mexican cheese blend 
    • Cilantro
    • Pickled red onions
    • Cholula hot sauce 
    • Salt
    • Tortillas (I like the low cal tortillas from Trader Joes when I’m trying to be healthy) 
    1. In a non stick pan, heat up some olive oil in medium low heat and add a handful of cheese into the pan
    2. Let the cheese cook until browned 
    3. Mix the eggs well with a pinch of salt
    4. Add the eggs to the pan and scramble  
    5. In a separate pan, heat up tortilla 
    6. Serve the scrambled eggs on the tortilla and top with cilantro, pickled red onions and cholula
  • Kamo Nanban (Duck Soba)

    This is my all time favorite way of enjoying soba. I did a lot of research on the best way to cook the duck breast and it is tedious but comes out perfect every time.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1 duck breast 
    • Dashi stock 
    • 1 leek 
    • Soba
    • Finely chopped scallions
    • Yuzukosho (optional) 
    1. Score the duck skin and place it in a cold pan skin side down
    2. Turn on the heat to medium low and let the fat render
    3. Once the duck is making noise and cooking, put a timer on for 4 minutes
    4. Flip the duck and cook for about 30 seconds
    5. Wrap the duck in foil for 5 minutes 
    6. Place the duck back onto the pan skin side down and cook for another 4 minutes
    7. Flip the duck and cook for another 30 seconds
    8. Place duck back into foil and rest until serving 
    9. In the meantime, boil water and get started on cooking the soba
    10. In another pot, warm up dashi broth on medium low heat 
    11. Cut the leaks into 2 inch pieces and cook them in the duck fat until browned 
    12. Add the cooked leaks into the broth 
    13. Place cooked soba into a bowl and pour broth over, top it with the cooked leeks, thinly sliced duck, and scallions. I like to eat the duck with a little yuzukosho on the side but that is optional