Harissa is a fiery paste which is commonly used in North African cuisine. You see it show up in Tunisian and Moroccan food quite often. It is packed with flavor and comes in many varieties, but common ingredients are chilies, olive oil, garlic, sundried tomatoes, salt, coriander, cumin and caraway seeds.
Continue reading “Quick and Easy Shrimp Recipe with Harissa Paste”
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a large collection of modern, vintage, and antique cookbooks. One of the things I enjoy most is comparing how recipes have evolved over the decades and seeing how cooks adapted authentic dishes to the ingredients available at the time.
Continue reading “Twice-Cooked Pork: From Joyce Chen’s 1961 Kitchen to Today’s Sichuan Pantry”
Kung Pao Shrimp is one of those dishes that proves Sichuan cooking isn’t just about heat. The first thing you’ll notice is the balance of flavors. Sweet, sour, salty, and the unmistakable tingling warmth of Sichuan peppercorns all come together in a glossy sauce that coats the shrimp.
Continue reading “Kung Pao Shrimp- Sichuan Classic”
My journey to discover different cuisines began in the early 80s. I became interested in Chinese, Thai and Indian food, but I had no idea where to start learning about these cuisines, which at that time were still quite obscure. Certainly there were Chinese and Indian restaurants, but Thai restaurants were a bit more few and far between.
Continue reading “Thai Ginger Chicken- Gai Pad King”
Also known as Larb Gai, this is one of Thailand’s classic dishes. Unlike many stir-fries, it uses no oil and comes together in just a few minutes. The combination of fresh herbs, lime juice, fish sauce, and toasted rice powder in Larb Gai gives it a wonderful balance of bright, fresh flavors and a unique crunch.
Continue reading “Gai Larb- The Classic Thai Chicken Salad”
If you enjoy South Asian cooking, getting started can be a little daunting. There are some unfamiliar ingredients and in general these ingredients aren’t something that we all readily stock in our pantry, unless we cook these foods frequently. The question is, where do I start?
So I thought that a good overview of the essentials that will allow you to prepare most of the Indian recipes you’ll find here on The Pasadena Chef would be helpful.
Continue reading “Building an Indian Pantry: Essential Ingredients”
In spite of what people think, not all Thai food is very spicy, and even some Thai curry’s are not very spicy, but this one is a notable exception.
This is a very spicy “dry” curry from southern Thailand and the region of Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung and the southern islands like Krabi and Trang. By dry, I mean it doesn’t have a lot of sauce and does not use coconut milk.
Continue reading “Thai Spicy Chicken Curry, Khua Kling Gai -A Southern Thai Classic”
Chili oil is a condiment that can be used so many different ways, but it is indispensable when it comes to dumplings.
Continue reading “Step by Step Guide to Making Sichuan Chili Oil”
Orange Chicken was always one of my favorite takeaway dishes from our local Sichuan restaurant in Pasadena, Fu Shing. Although the restaurant specialized in authentic Sichuan cuisine, their Orange Chicken was impossible to resist.
Continue reading “Spicy Orange Chicken- Panda Express Copycat Orange Chicken”
On my many trips to Thailand, this was always my absolute favorite dish to have, and there were many days that I ate it every single day. It was such a simple dish, but the flavor was pure Thailand.
Continue reading “Gai Pad Prik – Thai Chicken with Chilies”