Tag: weekday meals

Stuffed Eggplants

This is another traditional Maharashtrian recipe. There are a lot of variations, but this is the one my mother always made. It never fails to take me back to the times when I came home from school and found this waiting. It tastes amazing when it’s just cooked, but the flavors are more complex the next day. So make a lot!!

Doesn’t it look delicious?

The eggplants used in this are small Indian eggplants. Grocery stores in US don’t usually carry these. Berkeley bowl in Berkeley, CA was an exception. We buy them from the Indian store when they’re fresh. They need to be used fast since they’ll rot sooner than other veggies ( Accor to my observations). This recipe is also completely vegan!

Servings: 2, Prep time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • Small Indian Eggplants 5-6
  • Yellow onion 1 medium
  • Garlic cloves 3-4
  • Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
  • Chili powder 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder 1.5 tsp
  • Garam masala 1 tsp
  • Jaggery crumbles 2 tbsp
  • Lemon juice 1/2 lemon’s worth
  • Salt to taste
  • Canola oil 3 tbsp

Instructions

  1. Finely chop onion and garlic, add to a bowl and set aside
  2. Remove stems of the eggplant. Slice into the eggplant from the cut side, about 3/4 of the way in. Make 2 cuts, so you have four quadrants. DO NOT cut all the way through!
  3. Add all the spices, lemon juice, salt and jaggery to the onion and garlic. Mix well
  4. Stuff this mixture into the eggplants.
  5. Heat the oil in a deep pan, then add the prepared eggplants and any leftover stuffing.
  6. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom. That’s it!

Tips

  • Make sure the eggplants are fresh. They will take forever to cook if they have been in your fridge for a while and they might taste bitter
  • Make sure you don’t cut the eggplants all the way into four pieces. If you do, it will still taste great, but won’t be stuffed anymore. 😂
  • This needs a little more oil than other recipes, but do not skimp on it! It will not taste as great.

I hope you will love this recipe as much as I do! As always, let me know in the comments if you made this.. 😬💜

Asparagus Lemon Orzo

I’m posting after forever! I’ve been very busy with school and I post more often on my Instagram channel now. Here’s a barcode for that! Follow me if you want! 😊💜

Instagram barcode

So today I’m gonna share a super fast and easy pasta recipe. This can be eaten cold, but the butter in it taste best when warm 😉. It is also completely vegan! I make this when I don’t have much time or I have loads of asparagus to finish.

A bowl of deliciousness 🤤

Servings: 2, Prep time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Dry Orzo pasta 3 oz
  • Asparagus 1 lb
  • Vegan butter 1 tbsp
  • Lemon juice 2-3 tbsp
  • Olive oil 2 tbsp
  • Nutritional yeast (optional) 1 tbsp
  • Garlic powder 1 tbsp
  • Onion powder 1 tbsp
  • Pepper 1/2 tsp
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
  2. Trim the asparagus from the bottom to remove the woody and chewy parts.
  3. Arrange asparagus on a baking tray, then sprinkle oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix well and bake for 10 minutes
  4. Remove to a chopping board and dice into bite size pieces
  5. In the meantime, boil the orzo pasta according to package directions. In heavily salted water
  6. Drain the pasta. Mix in butter, asparagus, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and more salt if needed. That’s it!

Tips

  • I trim off the ends of asparagus, but you can peel the outer layers to make the parts tender. It’s still too chewy for me, but I’ve seen friends being fine with it
  • When I say heavily salt the water, I mean HEAVILY! Ideally the pasta should absorb enough salt so we don’t need to add more at the end
  • The nutritional yeast is optional, but it gives a nice umami and cheese flavor to the pasta
  • You can skip the butter if you plan to serve this cold. It tastes good that way too.
  • The lemon juice measurement is entirely according to taste. I dislike extremely sour things, so I add half a teaspoon extra to my husband’s bowl!

This is a recipe that makes me enjoy asparagus, which doesn’t happen often. 😅 It is also super easy to make and very delicious! I hope you’ll make this one, and as always let me know what you thought in the comments. 😊

Green Beans Sabzi

This is a taste of home!

It’s hard to find traditional Maharashtrian dishes in the US. Most restaurants sell typical North Indian food like heavy curries, or South Indian food. I’ve also seen plenty of Gujarati places, but I’ve only found one restaurant for Mahatashtrian food. This came as a shock to me considering almost every family I know has a satellite family in the US. Slowly things which I didn’t like earlier became luxury dishes which required effort on my end to make. Gradually, I started loving most of these dishes. Green beans sabzi is one such dish. 😊

While this dish is made with French beans, the green beans found in supermarkets across the US work just fine. Of course, if you find French beans in an Indian market use those!

Perfect mix of flavors and textures

Servings: 4, Prep time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Green beans OR French beans 1 lb
  • Raw coconut (do not use dry coconut) 1/2 cup
  • Garlic cloves 6
  • Jaggery 3 tbsp OR Sugar 2 tbsp
  • Lime juice 1/2 lime
  • Salt as required
  • Canola oil 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds 1 tsp
  • Asaphoetida OR Hing a pinch
  • Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
  • Chili powder 1/2 tsp
  • Water 2 tbsp

Instructions

  1. Chop green beans into 1/2 inch pieces
  2. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves
  3. Heat the oil in a pan till smoking
  4. Add the mustard seeds and pop them
  5. Add the rest of the spices. Make sure they do not burn.
  6. Immediately add in the garlic, green beans, water and salt. Cover and cook till beans are tender. Add more water if sabzi is burning and beans are not cooked yet
  7. Add the coconut, jaggery and lime juice. Mix and sauté for 2-3 minutes. That’s it!

Tips

  • It is really easy to burn spices in hot oil. Remove the pan from heat for a few minutes to reduce the oil temperature after popping mustard seeds if needed. This will make sure the oil temperature isn’t too high for the spices
  • Sometimes the sabzi will stick to the bottom and start burning before the beans are cooked. Green beans shouldn’t take more than 10-12 minutes, but they’re temperamental. Add water 2 tbsp at a time till the beans are cooked if this happens
  • Although jaggery and sugar are both sweeteners, jaggery is so much healthier for you. Additionally, it gives an earthier flavor to the dish.
  • If you don’t have lime juice, use about 2 tsp vinegar. It gives almost the same acidity
  • The coconut used here is raw wet coconut. This can be found in the frozen section at any Indian grocery store. Do not use dry coconut here, it will not taste the same.

This is just one of the many traditional Maharashrian dishes I’ve started cooking at home. It gives me a feeling of nostalgia, and also ensures that I learn my own culture and respect it. This has also made me realize just how many things are lost with people. My grandma used to make the best Satori (a stuffed sweet roti), but nobody in my family really knows how to make them anymore. Everyone tries, but it’s just different. I want to learn as much as I can from the people around me so I can remember them every time I make these dishes.

So I hope you try this out, and it inspires you to start making dishes from your family as well! As always, let me know how it goes in the comments. 😬

Cauliflower and Potato Dry Curry (Sabzi)

Every once in a while I crave simple Indian food. There is no rival when it comes to cauliflower sabzi. I bought a small head of cauliflower this time, and it was starting to go bad. So my husband decided to cook it up with some potatoes for an easy lunch. We ate it with some frozen rotis from the Indian store. We always have a couple of these in the freezer for when we don’t feel like making fresh ones. Always buy Haldiram frozen rotis… The rest aren’t as good. 😬

This sabzi is a favorite among caterers, and anyone packing their own lunchbox. It’s super easy to make a. Plus, it freezes really well! It is also completely vegan! To be honest, most Indian curries are vegan, at least the ones we make at home daily. Only the rich curries served in restaurants aren’t vegan.. Anyway, here’s our recipe for potato and cauliflower sabzi!

Servings: 2, Prep time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Potatoes 2 medium
  • Cauliflower 1 medium head
  • Canola oil 2 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds (black) 1 tsp
  • Asaphoetida powder 1/4 tsp
  • Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
  • Chili powder 1/2 tsp
  • Garam masala 2 tsp
  • Coriander powder 1 tsp
  • Salt as per taste
  • Water as needed

Instructions

  1. Cut the cauliflower head into 1/2 inch pieces. Peel and chop the potatoes into 1/4 inch pieces as well
  2. In a pan, heat the oil till smoking. Then add the mustard seeds and let them pop
  3. Add the asaphoetida and watch it bubble for about half a minute
  4. Add the chopped veggies, cover and cook for 2 mins
  5. Add all the spices and salt. Stir well, then add a splash of water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
  6. That’s it! Serve and enjoy..

Tips

  • The asaphoetida I have is from an excellent source and it is very strong. So, I only add a punch if it. The asaphoetida we get in Indian stores in the US isn’t all that great. Add 1/4 tsp if you have the US version.
  • I cut the veggies in different sized pieces so I can cook them all together. If you want the sabzi to look very pretty, cut all veggies in the same size and add the cauliflower to the pan after the potatoes have cooked for about 5 minutes so the cauliflower doesn’t over cook.
  • Eat this with any bread on hand! You can also stuff this inside a sandwich, or mix into rice and dal. I have also made Indian style burritos out of this sabzi.. Basically, you can eat this as you like. It’ll taste good with everything
  • Do not change the proportion of garam masala and other spices. This is a garam masala forward recipe, and that is what you should mostly taste

Once we start eating this sabzi, we know we’ll end up finishing it. I always try making enough for two meals. It never makes it past the first meal. 🤣 This dish is only as good as the quality of your produce, so make sure it’s top notch. I hope you guys give this a try, and as always let me now how it goes in the comments… 😬

Pasta in White Sauce

I know that’s a super vague title. I first ate pasta as a teenager at a fancy restaurant in India. Back then, there wasn’t much distinction amongst pasta dishes, except to call them white, red and pink. White sauce was always passed off as Alfredo. Then I moved to the US, met new people, and ate new food. I quickly realized what I always thought was Alfredo was actually a Mornay. 🥲

Now, I add my pasta to a Bechamel sauce. I love the creaminess and the taste of it, and this is what I grew up eating (without the cheese). It is so fascinating how dishes get taken from around the world, and modified to suit the local palate. I’ve seen this happen to virtually every cuisine in India. Here in the US, spices in dishes are toned down to match the palate here. I’ve been asked many times what I think of restaurants adapting Indian food to match what people will eat. I always give the same answer. It doesn’t matter what you cook, it should taste good… 😊 Of course, I wouldn’t call it authentic, but that doesn’t make the dish any less Indian.

So here’s my recipe for a Bechamel, with a bunch of veggies and pasta in it!

Add that cheese on top!!! At least this way, I feel less guilty and still eat cheese… 😅

Servings: 2, Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • Garlic cloves 2-4
  • Yellow onion 1/2
  • Mushrooms 5-6
  • Cabbage 1/4 head
  • Dry pasta 4 oz
  • Oil 2 tbsp
  • Butter 2 tbsp
  • All purpose flour 3 tbsp
  • Milk ( I used oat milk) 2 cups
  • Salt 1 tsp
  • Ground black pepper 1 tsp
  • Italian seasoning 2 tsp

Instructions

  1. Finely chop the garlic cloves. Dice the onion, and slice the mushrooms and cabbage!
  2. In the meantime, boil water in a kettle. Then add the water to a pan and salt it generously. Cook the pasta till it’s done to your liking, then drain. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
  3. Return the pan to the stove and heat 1 tbsp oil in it. Add the garlic and onion. Sauté till fragrant, then add the mushrooms and cabbage. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
  4. Remove the veggies to a plate, then add the remaining oil and butter to the same pan.
  5. Add the flour, then cook till the flour is turns light brown. Slowly add in the milk, and stir vigorously. Make sure there’s no lumps!
  6. Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to the sauce. Mix well.
  7. Add the veggies and cooked pasta in the sauce and combine well. At this point, taste and add more salt if needed.
  8. Serve up a portion, sprinkle some cheese if you want. Enjoy!

Tips

  • I always use shell pasta, because it’s shape is perfect for the sauce to cling. This just makes the pasta extra special!
  • I added mushrooms, cabbage and onion here. However, you can use any vegetable that needs to be finished. Make sure you do not overcook the veggies. Cooking time will also depend on the size you cut your veggies. Eg: If you’re using small diced zucchini, only cook it for about 2 minutes. It can get soggy super fast!!
  • You can also add a bit of grated nutmeg and some paprika to the sauce. This will add depth of flavor.
  • Make sure you reserve a bit of the pasta water. This is the best way to make the sauce thinner.

While I was writing this, I was watching Friends (again). It was that one episode where Ben likes a Barbie. Ross’s reaction to this has not aged well. I can’t believe I was okay with this when I was younger. 😞

There was a lot of reminiscing and just random stuff in this post, but make this pasta!! If you don’t want pasta, just make the sauce. It’s great for dipping, salad dressing etc.. As always, let me know how it goes!!

Tomatillo Pasta Sauce

I’ve gotten into looking up weekly deals and coupons recently. There were some really good deals on Buitoni pasta, and I got amazing cheese tortellini. Since my dairy issue turned out to be something else, I’ve been enjoying eating a little dairy. I’m a little relieved I don’t need to give up cheese entirely. However, I still think it’s better to find vegan alternatives whenever possible!

I also bought some tomatillos after eating a tomatillo pasta sauce at someone’s house. It was tangy and delicious. Then I forgot about them and they sat in my fridge for a long time! Once I realized I still had them, I had to try a one pan roasted vegetable pasta sauce! This recipe is vegan and you can add any pasta you like to it. I added the Buitoni pasta, but really anything will work here. The recipe is also super easy and it comes together so fast! All you need to do is chop up some veggies. Your appliances will do the rest!

Servings: 2, Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • Tomatillos 3 medium
  • Carrot 1 medium
  • Jalapeño 1/2 pepper
  • Garlic 6 cloves
  • Pasta of choice 9 oz (I used Buitoni cheese tortellini)
  • Olive oil 2 tsp
  • Salt 1/2 tsp
  • Pepper 1 tsp
  • Cheese of choice (use vegan if you want!) 2 tbsp
  • Chopped parsley 1 tbsp (optional for garnishing)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
  2. Remove outer skin on tomatillos and cut into quarters. Roughly chop the carrot into about 1/2 inch pieces. Snip of the hard ends of the garlic cloves, but DO NOT peel them.
  3. Arrange all the veggies on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and roast for 20-25 minutes till soft
  4. While the veggies roast, boil the pasta according to package directions. Once done, drain all but 1/2 cup of the pasta water. The veggies and pasta should be done cooking around the same time.
  5. Peel the roasted garlic cloves. The flesh should pop out if you squeeze the end of the clove.
  6. Combine the roasted veggies in the blender along with the pasta water and blend into a smooth paste.
  7. In a bowl, add the pasta. Top with the sauce, cheese and parsley. Enjoy while it’s still hot!
Vibrant and silky deliciousness!

Tips

  • I cannot stress this enough: please do not peel the garlic cloves. If you so, they will loose all the moisture and become unusable. The skin protects the moisture inside the cloves and prevents hardening
  • Using store bought stuffed pasta like the one I used can elevate this dish to an entirely new level. While this would taste amazing with any pasta you like, I highly recommend using a filled pasta. It is very easy to make your own ravioli with wonton wrappers! Let me know in the comments if you’d like a post on that…
  • While tomatillos are available throughout the year, they’re best eaten from June through November. If you cannot find tomatillos, use cherry tomatoes instead. Half a package of cherry tomatoes should yield the same amount of sauce. Roast them whole!
  • Tomatillos have a outer skin which protects them inside the fridge. I forgot I had them for about three weeks, but they were fine when I used them. So it’s very important to store them with the skin on.

This easy recipe makes for a great weekend meal. It is also high in fiber and nutrients, and has an amazing color! It’s also a good way to finish that leftover carrot you couldn’t find a use for. So I hope you make this and as always let me know how it goes!

Satay Noodle Soup

I’m not a huge fan of peanuts, but these noodles are amazing! The broth has a delicious flavor and it’s so quick to make. It doesn’t use any specialty ingredients as well. I first saw a similar recipe on YouTube and it had been on my must try list for a while. I also bought ramen noodles to add to the broth. I always make this dish when it’s raining or when I have too much Bok Choy! The recipe is also completely vegan!!

Servings: 2, Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the broth

  • Canola oil 1 tbsp
  • Garlic cloves 3
  • White button mushrooms 8 oz
  • Baby Bok Choy 2
  • Soy sauce 1 tbsp
  • Smooth peanut butter (preferably no sugar added) 3 tbsp
  • Salt a pinch
  • Water 4 cups

For one serving (to be added to the bowl)

  • Dry noodles (I used ramen) 2-3 oz
  • Sugar 1 tsp
  • Vinegar 1 tsp
  • Chili oil 1/2 tsp (optional)
  • Sesame oil 1/4 tsp (optional)
  • Salt if needed

Instructions

  1. Finely chop the garlic cloves and roughly chop the mushrooms and Bok Choy
  2. Add canola oil to a heavy bottom pan set on medium heat
  3. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the chopped mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté till the water released from the mushrooms evaporates
  5. Add the chopped Bok Choy and sauté for a minute.
  6. Add the peanut butter and sauté for a minute. Then add the water and mix while scraping the bottom to make sure any stuck on peanut butter is dissolved
  7. Add the soy sauce and stir. Allow the broth to come to a simmer, then keep warm on a low heat
  8. In the meantime, cook the noodles according to package instructions
  9. In a deep bowl, add the sugar, vinegar and chili oil. Mix well and add the noodles to the bowl. Repeat in another bowl
  10. Divide the broth and veggies between the two bowls and enjoy hot!

Tips

  • I used ramen noodles here, but you can use anything you have on hand. Fresh noodles will also work here. I’ve made the dish once with spaghetti noodles as well abd it tasted just as good
  • The recipe requires using mushrooms, but any kind of mushroom should work here. As for other vegetables, I think anything that cooks fast can be used like spinach etc.
  • While the chili oil is optional, it does give this a nice kick. We make our own chili oil. Let me know if you want a post on that too!
  • If your peanut butter has sugar, eliminate the sugar from the serving process.

This dish is the ultimate comfort food for cold days. It’s also a quick lunch to put together when you’re working or just don’t have the time. So I hope you give this a try and as always let me know how it goes!

Vegan Jjajangmyeon

As with everyone else during lockdown, I’ve been obsessed with Korean dramas as well. I’ve hinged watched everything from Mr. Sunshine to Crash Landing on You. I couldn’t help but notice that everyone was eating some delicious looking dark colored noodles in most of these k-dramas. So of course I had to find out what these were and how I could get some.

I used to follow Seonkyoung Longest for a while, and remembered she makes a bunch of Korean food. I was hopeful of finding a good recipe on her website. I was right, and what’s more she has a vegan version of jjajangmyeon! I adapted her recipe to things I had available and to suit our taste. This turned out so well, I recommend it to anybody who likes noodles. Here’s a link to the original recipe if you’d like to try that out: https://seonkyounglongest.com/vegan-jjajangmyeon/#tasty-recipes-26914

Servings: 4, Prep time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Fresh jjajangmyeon noodles or udon noodles 10 – 12 oz
  • Yellow onion 1 medium
  • Green onions 3-4
  • Green cabbage 1/4 head
  • White button mushrooms 8 oz pack
  • Garlic 5-6 cloves
  • Ginger 3/5 inch piece
  • Chili pepper 1-2 whole (optional)
  • Canola oil 3 tbsp
  • Chunjang or black bean paste 1/3 cup
  • Sugar 1 tbsp
  • Vegetarian oyster sauce 2 tbsp
  • Cornstarch 1 tbsp
  • Salt and pepper as required
  • Water or vegetable broth 1 cup plus more as needed
  • Cucumber 1/2 medium (optional)

Instructions

  1. Chop the onion and cabbage into large chunks and slice the mushrooms
  2. Finely chop the garlic, ginger, green onion and chili pepper
  3. Heat the canola oil in a pan and add ginger, garlic, the white part of green onions and chili pepper
  4. Add the chunjang and sauté well, about 2 minutes
  5. Add all the chopped veggies and stir fry for 3 minutes
  6. Add the water, oyster sauce and sugar. Cover and cook till vegetables are tender. Then uncover the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
  7. In the meantime, cook the noodles in boiling water as per package instructions. Drain and wash with cold water to remove any excess starch
  8. Once the veggies are cooked, mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water. Add this to the sauce and cook till it thickens
  9. Add the green part of the green onions. Taste and season with salt and pepper as required
  10. Add noodles to a bowl and top with the jjajang sauce. Julienne the cucumber and add to the noodles if you like cucumber…
  11. Mix well and enjoy hot…

Tips

  • Stir the sauce frequently and keep a close eye on it. It can burn quickly and it’s very hard to judge by color since chunjang is black
  • You can add any veggies you like, but onion and cabbage are required. I’ve made these with zucchini and carrots.
  • Fresh jjajang noodles are the best and I’ve found them in most Asian stores. The same goes for Chunjang and vegetarian oyster sauce. I know that H-mart has all these things for sure. However, udon noodle would work as well if fresh noodles are not available
  • I add chili pepper since we like a little spice, and the noodles are on the sweeter side. However, skip these of you want.. They’ll still taste great!

There is only one drawback to these noodles, it’s very very hard to stop eating them. Also, they’re not the healthiest of noodles out there. However, they’re so worth it! So I hope you give these a try and let me know how it goes… 😬

Rice Cake Soup

I recently went to the Asian supermarket to buy some rice noodles, and happened to see some frozen rice cakes. For days afterwards, they sat in my freezer because I had no idea what to do with them!

After intense discussions with a colleague, I decided to make a soup. It went well…mostly.

The first thing I did was look for Tteokguk recipes. Tteokguk is a traditional Korean rice cake soup served on New Years.. I think I got this right, but please let me know if I didn’t!

I liked this recipe by Seonkyoung Longest: https://seonkyounglongest.com/tteokguk/. I actually also love watching everything else she makes on Facebook, especially the love videos!

I had to modify it quite a bit since I didn’t have half the ingredients on hand and since we’ve been eating mostly vegetarian. For context, my partner has recently started thinking about humane treatment of animals. However, being almost broke means you can’t always buy meat that’s ethically sourced. Hence the vegetarianism.

Anyway, I started a broth first and kept it going for about 50 mins or so. It was simple, but packed a punch. Once the broth was done, I moved on to cooking the rice cakes. I boiled them in the broth itself. The starch in them thickened my soup a bit and added flavor.

I tasted one rice cake and it seemed cooked. I plated up the soup with julienned cooked eggs, some radish and green onions. It turns out that the rice cakes weren’t cooked completely. Sigh…

I cooked all the ones we did not eat in boiling water for another 10 mins and they were perfect! So, I would recommend soaking frozen rice cakes for at least 15 mins for thawing and then boiling for another 20. Mins were thick cylinders, which is why it took so long. If you use the sliced ones, they’ll be done faster. If nothing else, they should be cooked for more time than the package says.

Here’s the recipe for the soup!

Ingredients

For the soup

    2 stalks green onion
    2 inch piece of ginger
    1 star anise
    1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
    1 small bunch cilantro
    1 tbsp soy sauce
    Salt and pepper to taste
    Rice cakes 10-12 pieces
    Water 1/2 gallon

For the garnish

  1. 2 eggs separated
  2. 2 red radishes
  3. 1 green onion
  4. Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Cut the green onions into two parts and bruise them slightly
  2. Add the peppercorns to a mortar and pestle and grind into a coarse powder
  3. Separate coriander stalks from leaves.
  4. Bruises stalks lightly with the back of your knife. Save the leaves for some other recipe
  5. Cut the ginger into large pieces and bruise lightly
  6. Add enough water to a heavy bottomed pot and turn heat on to medium.
  7. Add the green onions, peppercorn powder, cilantro stalks, ginger and star anise.
  8. Cover and boil for 45-50 mins. Check periodically and add water if required
  9. In the meantime, soak the rice cakes in room temperature water for at least 15 mins
  10. Remove cover and add soy sauce, salt and pepper.
  11. Drain the broth and bring back to a boil on medium heat
  12. Add the rice cakes and cook for 15-20 mins or until quite soft
    Heat a non stick pan on medium heat.
    Beat the egg yolks and egg whites in separate bowls with salt and pepper
    Add the beaten egg yolks to the pan and cook on low heat. Make sure the bottom doesn’t get burnt.
    Repeat the same with egg whites
    Roll the cooked omelettes and slice thinly
    Slice the radishes thinly and finely chop the green part of the green onion
    Add the cooked rice cakes to the bottom of a bowl.
    Top with the broth as needed
    Arrange the garnishes on top and enjoy!

This recipe seems like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. You just need time to infuse the broth with all the flavors. It’s a wonderfully light recipe for a weekday.

I do hope you’ll try it out and let me know how it goes!!!