recipes | Cooking with Alison

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food, gluten-free, Indian, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Favourite Mushroom Bhaji Recipe

In Indian on February 9, 2010 at pm

I tried mushroom bhaji for the first time recently when a friend ordered take out from an Indian restaurant that’s pretty well known in Ontario. It was simple, delicious and oily. So I set out to make my own (for a fraction of the cost). I tried traditional recipes with and without tomato; with and without fenugreek (which isn’t in most traditional recipes but was in the restaurant’s version); a variation using curry powder; and a traditional thick sauce versus a slightly watery sauce (like the one served at Curry Original’s in Kingston, ON). Here’s my favourite mushroom bhaji recipe. See here for tips on how to get the most flavour out of your Indian spices.

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Siu Mai Recipe

In Dim Sum on February 9, 2010 at pm

I love dim sum and I was ecstatic when I started making it successfully at home. Dim sum refers to various types of small dishes that are served with tea during the meal, yum cha (“drinking tea time”), which starts early in the morning and ends between noon and 3 pm, depending on the restaurant. (Check out the other dim sum recipes that I have posted in the Asian – Dim Sum category.)

Siu mai is one of the simplest ones to make. You can make a large batch at once because they freeze nicely.

Below left: Siu Mai after being cooked.

Below right: Siu Mai before going into the steamer.

Shrimp Dumpling (ha gow)

In Dim Sum on February 2, 2010 at pm

I never thought that I would be able to make chinese dim sum from scratch. I am so glad that I tried 🙂 because I love love love shrimp dumplings (ha gow) and now I can enjoy it without the MSG. Dim sum refers to various types of small dishes that are served with tea during the meal, yum cha (“drinking tea time”), which starts early in the morning and ends between noon and 3 pm, depending on the restaurant. (Check out the other dim sum recipes that I have posted in the Asian – Dim Sum category.)

Ha gow (shrimp dumplings) are a bit time consuming to make but you can make large batches and freeze them. Photo instructions for how to wrap ha gow are at the bottom.

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Pork and Shiitake Mushroom Steamed Buns

In Dim Sum on February 2, 2010 at am

Chinese steamed buns are such great snacks and are often eaten at brunch or lunch. These are really simple to make and although slightly time consuming, you can make large batches and freeze them. I think it’s worth the effort to make these from scratch because the frozen ones, although delicious, contain MSG, preservatives and too much sodium. You can buy pre-mixed steamed bun flour or you can make the buns from scratch; instructions for both have been provided below. Photo instructions for how to pleat steamed buns are at the bottom.

Photos Below: Left – Pork steamed buns after coming out of the steamer; Right – Before going on the rack in the steamer

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Chinese food, food, gluten-free, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Turnip Cake Recipe (lo bak go)

In Dim Sum on January 29, 2010 at am

When I discovered how easy it is to make taro cake (link here), it only made sense to try turnip cake next. This is very similar to the dim sum they serve in the restaurants. Personally I like turnip cake much more than taro cake. I revised this recipe and improved it for Chinese New Year, February 2011. (The original photo that was posted is at the bottom of this post.) If you have leftover daikon radish, see here for a list of other recipes.

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Chinese food, food, gluten-free, recipes

Taro Cake

In Dim Sum on January 29, 2010 at am

My mom really likes taro so I tried making taro cake from scratch. It is very easy to make.

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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Squash Soup

In Soups and Salads on January 29, 2010 at am

If you try this recipe, I definitely suggest using the sour cream, bacon and green onion because those make a huge difference to the experience of this squash soup. Alternatively, for a vegan or vegetarian soup, add a few drops of good balsamic vinegar onto each bowl of soup instead of the bacon and toppings. This makes for a more elegant soup.

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food, gluten-free, recipes

Balsamic Chicken Wings

In Poultry on January 29, 2010 at am

This is a neat twist on honey garlic wings. With the toasted sesame seeds as garnish, I feel like it’s a very classy way to serve chicken wings. Giada’s recipe was originally intended for chicken drummettes but I prefer using chicken wings. I’ve also used drumsticks before.

Chinese Almond Cookies

In Asian Desserts on January 27, 2010 at pm

Chinese Almond Cookies are one of my favourite chinese cookies. I liked these even more long after they were baked because then they were crunchy (and probably stale) like the store bought ones that I’m used to 🙂

Preserved Duck Egg and Kraft Dinner

In Other Asian Foods on January 27, 2010 at pm

I caught a really bad flu in the winter of 2009. Maybe it was the 3 day fever, but I had a huge craving for preserved duck egg and macaroni and cheese. You might not be so impressed, but at the time I thought I had come up with an ingenious combination, haha

When working with preserved duck eggs, there’s no need to cook them and remember to wash them very well before serving.

food, recipes

Pizza Dough

In Pasta, Rice, and Doughs on January 27, 2010 at am

I love love love pizza – from the greasy generic Pizza Pizza to pretentious gourmet pizzas. When I discovered how easy (and cheap) it is to make your own pizza dough from scratch, I went crazy with it, haha. I even bought this “band saw” pizza cutter from Fred and friends. I personally don’t like kneading dough so I prefer to use my food processor for pizza dough. Some of the variations that I’ve tried include (but aren’t limited to):

– smoked salmon, mascarpone cheese, avocados, lemon juice

– mixed greens, goats cheese, basil pesto, cherry tomatoes, marble cheese

– chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, garlic cream sauce, spinach

– chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, basil pesto, sundried tomatoes, goats cheese

– hot italian sausage, roasted red peppers, tomato sauce, red onions, mozzarella cheese

– hot italian sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce, bacon strips, dried chilli flakes

– pepperoni, marble cheese, green peppers, tomato sauce, mushrooms, bacon strips

– steak, mozzarella cheese, cooked white onions

– pesto, mozzarella cheese, sundried tomatoes