Growing up in Japan, I remember we had a lot of cultural, seasonal, and sometimes religious celebrations that often come with specific foods. Ohagi or Botamochi is one of those special foods we enjoyed during spring and autumn equinoxes every year. They are sweet rice balls filled or coated with red bean paste. Today, I’ll share little cultural tidbits of this traditional sweet along with the recipe! What is Ohagi (Botamochi)?...

Aside from onigiri (rice balls), I also enjoy making onigirazu for my family. Onigirazu—known as Japanese rice sandwich or sushi sandwich—is very similar to onigiri but is formed into a larger square or rectangular shape. We “sandwich” the fillings with steamed rice, just like how you would make a sandwich with two pieces of bread. It is one of the best foods to pack for summer lunch or picnic! To form the rice sandwich into the perfect shape, I have been using a wooden onigirazu mold (onigirazu maker) for many years....

Hi Guys! I hope you had a great weekend! It’s back to school week here. Even though my son, Ethan is just going to be in Pre-K 4, that still means I’m going to have a set routine in the morning. So my break is practically over and I’m ready to get back to the grind. It also helps me in being more regular with blogging. Chinese inspired dishes are amongst those that get me drooling just by looking at the food....

Oyster sauce is relatively less salty as compared to soy sauce. Sometimes other sauces like hoisin sauce, soy sauce, or even vinegar are added to oyster sauce to enhance its flavor. It can be further thickened by the addition of other sauces. Having a dark brown color, it has a texture and consistency similar to caramel. When compared with oyster sauce, soy sauce is thin as well as salty, so a good substitute....

That’s it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this papas arrugadas recipe. They are seriously delicious, and they will surely be requested often by your discerning friends. Let me know if you make them. I’d love to hear how the dish turned out for you. We’re talking Papas Arrugadas, and I think you’re going to love them as much as I do. Papas Arrugadas means “wrinkled potatoes” in Spanish. Essentially, small new potatoes are boiled in salt water that evaporates, leaving the potatoes with a thin layer of salt and wrinkled potato skins....

Ingredients needed 🧾 How to make it 🔪 Recipe 📖 Experimenting with pasta sauces is my favorite thing to do. I often make Broccoli Sauce Pasta and Picada Pesto sauce which we love. Using sun-dried tomatoes to make pesto is something I’ve wanted to try for a long time. Finally, I got the opportunity. While shopping at Whole Foods, I came across a packet of vegan and gluten-free cauliflower gnocchi. Since I had never had gnocchi before, I got it....

Ideally making rabdi is quite a tedious task, as is the case with a lot of Indian dairy-based desserts. Traditionally, rabri is made by the continuous simmering and reducing of milk in a wide thick bottomed pan, whilst collecting the layers of cream, known as lachha malai which form at the sides of the pan. Hence, it is also known as lachhedar rabri. Now, this process can take at least 2 hours, depending on the quantity of milk, which is quite laborious....

One of my readers in Singapore told me Sanma (Pacific Saury) is still in season and it’s pretty cheap there (about $4 for 2 whole Sanma in the US). So today I’m sharing an easy Sanma recipe. In case you haven’t seen my other Sanma recipe, check out Sanma Shioyaki recipe. In my Beef Teriyaki post, I briefly explained that Teriyaki is a cooking technique, in which we cook ingredients (protein or veggies) till the sauce starts to luster, but “that” sauce we make became very popular outside of Japan....

Once upon a time, in February 2014, I started a blog called Carlsbad Cravings. I didn’t think it would reach millions of people, so I didn’t think too hard about the name until I saw it referenced as “Carl’s Bad Cravings” on several sites. I laughed and realized I should have thought harder about the name. My photography was poor but my recipes were delicious. Fast forward over a year later, and readers still tell my their favorite recipe of mine is my Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta that I posted my second week of blogging!...

During our short stay in Okinawa, we had a few chances to enjoy different flavors of Okinawan doughnuts, Sata Andagi (サーターアンダギー). Not only these doughnuts were on a list of must-eats when we visit, they are also known as an easy homemade snack in Okinawa. Since the idea of easy is always appealing, it had been on my mind to try my hand at these yummy doughnuts for a while....

As Japan is surrounded by water, the Japanese eat a lot of seafood as part of their diet. My mom used to serve fish and seafood way more frequently than I do for my own family. San Francisco is located by the ocean so I’m lucky to be able to have pretty of fresh seafood available all year round. Because enjoying seafood has been always part of my life, it wasn’t until I learned from food bloggers living in areas not close to the ocean that seafood can be hard to get....

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H. Since I’m the mixologist, of course it would be a shot or a cocktail. We have done the “finger food” parties for Halloween where you make everything look like a creepy finger....

Ingredients needed 🧾 How to make it 🔪 You can also watch this recipe video on my Instagram. You can add ingredients like whole spices, different spice mixes, and herbs like red pepper flakes, dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, or dried parsley, sauces like soy, veggies, aromatics like garlic, lemon juice, ginger, peppers, leeks, scallion, onions, or zest, and fat like butter or ghee. Bhat is very customizable and it absorbs all the flavors easily....

Because of so many questions, I thought it would be a good time to open a general discussion about chili pepper seeds. Here are some points of interest to consider. Are Chili Pepper Seeds Toxic or Poisonous? No, they are not. People eat them every day without issue. Are Chili Pepper Seeds Spicy? Chili pepper seeds are actually NOT spicy, as they do not contain capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot....

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H. I am going to be overly dramatic about this recipe. Fair warning. I am all about this burger right now. I can still taste the fat from the meat, just the right proportion, still taste the butter melting into the soft blue cheese and down around the burger, the spiciness and smokiness of the serrano peppers, the extra pop of flavor from the seared jalapeno pepper slices, the gooey-melty pepperjack cheese....

Do you believe in the healing power of noodle soup? If so, I have this Somen Noodle Soup just for you. Restorative, warming, and flavorful, it’s a perfect soup for a cold rainy day or a sick day. The recipe is also incredibly flexible, making it a lifesaver when you’re craving something healthy, simple, and nourishing. What’s not to love! Somen Noodle Soup: the Regional Food of Nara Somen noodle soup is called Nyumen (にゅうめん, also written as 煮麺, which literary means “boiled noodles” in kanji characters) in Japan, and it’s a regional dish of Nara prefecture....

So in case you are here looking for the egg rolls made famous by an American franchise, my Canadian self has to confess that she has not had them. These Southwest Rolls were just me bringing together flavours I love. What Goes in Southwest Rolls? Spring Roll WrappersBlack BeansShredded ChickenRed/Green PepperJalapenoCorn Cream CheeseSpicesScallions How do you fold a spring roll? This how I fold these - please don’t overstuff! These will turn out so well with this amount of stuffing or even a little less!...

While the food blog community is sharing some Irish meals, Leprechaun cupcakes, and green food for St. Patrick’s Day this Saturday, I am singing a different tune and my post for today is focused on “seasonal” food. Since the weather keeps changing between warm and cold, sunny and rain, and I’m not sure if we are in winter or spring, I thought this dish might be fun to prepare as it uses ingredients from both the winter and the spring....

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H. Pineapple salsa is a big favorite for game day gatherings and any party situation, where quick and easy recipes that satisfy a big crowd rule the day....

Are you ready for some noodles, melt-in-your-mouth chashu pork, pickled bamboo shoots, fresh chopped scallion, and a spicy broth that you can’t stop slurping? I hope you are hungry because we’re going to make some hot bowls of Spicy Shoyu Ramen (ピリ辛醤油ラーメン) together. If noodle soup is your comfort food, you are going to enjoy this one. What is Shoyu Ramen? Shoyu (醤油) means soy sauce in Japanese. Shoyu ramen simply refers to ramen served with a soy sauce-based broth that is usually in clear, brown color....