Favourite Recipes

The night before: Line a baking sheet with parchment, grease lightly with butter and dust with powdered sugar.

Whisk eggs and powdered sugar on high speed for about 20 minutes. Do not underwhisk — this foam structure creates the foot. Gently fold in flour and aniseed by hand.

Place cherry-sized amounts on the prepared sheet, spacing ¾ inch apart. Set aside uncovered in a cool place overnight. The surface should be dry to the touch by morning.

Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. Bake 8–10 minutes until light golden. Cool and store in an airtight container.

The foot (Füßchen): The dried surface traps steam beneath during baking, lifting the base into a raised ring. Requires a cool, dry overnight rest — humidity is the enemy. Flavour is mild when fresh; deepens significantly after 1–2 weeks. At their best after a month. A traditional German Advent cookie — make early.

If using fresh tomatoes, blanch in boiling water for 15 seconds, peel, and mince.

Heat oil in a 7–8 inch pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; stir and fry 3–4 minutes until soft.

Add tomatoes and cook 3–4 minutes until paste-like. Add chickpeas, parsley, thyme, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes.

Wash lentils. Soak overnight in 2 cups of water.

Bring lentils to a boil with just enough water to cover. Add stock cube; simmer 1 hour, keeping lentils just covered and stirring occasionally to avoid burning.

Add potato and carrot; cook a further 30 minutes. Add vinegar before serving.

Optional: stir in cooked noodles, rice, and/or meat and heat through.

Heat oil in a large pan; cook garlic until browned. Add tomatoes and cook until paste-like, about 5 minutes. Add lentils and water; bring to a boil. Cook 10–15 minutes until reduced by half. Stir in salt and lemon juice to finish.

Prepare rice noodles according to package directions.

Beat eggs with sesame oil; season with salt and pepper. Mince garlic, chop onion, slice dried chilies and green onions. Set both aside.

Heat wok with oil; stir-fry egg mixture until set, then remove and chop. Reheat wok with fresh oil; add garlic, onion, chilies, and green onions, stir-frying quickly. Add noodles; season with rice wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and chili sauce. Add stock and simmer until most liquid has evaporated. Mix in egg and serve.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix until just combined — don't overwork it or the burgers will be dense.

Divide into equal portions and shape into patties. Press a slight indent in the centre of each one with your thumb — this stops them from puffing up into a ball on the grill.

Cook on a hot barbecue, flipping once, until done to your liking — about 4–5 minutes per side for medium.

The rolled oats are the secret — they bind without the gumminess of breadcrumbs. No need for Worcestershire, garlic, or anything else. Don't skimp on the salt.

Place beans in a 6-quart casserole with 4 cups water. Cover; boil 2 minutes, then shut off heat and let stand 1 hour. Add all remaining ingredients except vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cover; simmer 2 hours until beans are tender, adding a little water as needed to keep beans just covered.

Debone the hocks, chop the meat, and return it to the pot. Add vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and heat through. Serve with white rice.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly. Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk all at once. Combine and add a little water if too dry. Pour into a greased and floured bread pan; bake 35–40 minutes. Cool and serve.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. While cooking, halve the tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add herbs, olive oil, garlic, and vinegar; season to taste and scrunch with your hands to slightly mush the tomatoes. Let this sit until the pasta is ready.

Drain the pasta and, while still steaming hot, toss well with the tomatoes. Check the seasoning and serve. Easy peasy.

Combine dry ingredients; add mayonnaise. Add mashed bananas and beat until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and vanilla. Bake at 375°F for 20–25 minutes.

Combine the first five ingredients as for pastry. Form into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Press into a greased 10″ springform pan, pressing higher around the edges. Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.

For the filling: beat the egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until light yellow. Add all other filling ingredients and mix well. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Pour filling over the pre-baked base. Bake at 350°F for 40–50 minutes until golden yellow. Cool slowly.

Place on a cake plate and dust with icing sugar before serving. Serve cold from the refrigerator.

For a higher cake, use 2 lb quark. Can also be topped with sugared fresh strawberries, blueberries, or canned fruit and served with whipped cream. Always serve cold.

Prepare the base and filling as for the Cheese Cake. Before folding in the egg whites, add to the quark filling:

• 2 oz blanched almonds, chopped
• ½ cup raisins, soaked overnight in 3–4 Tbsp rum (if desired)

Fold in the egg whites and bake as directed.

The rum soak is optional but recommended. Soak the raisins the night before so they are plump and fragrant by baking time.

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. Beat fresh ginger and butter until lightened, about 4 minutes. Beat in brown sugar, then molasses.

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Beat in half the flour mixture, then the baking soda mixture, then the remaining flour. Mix in chocolate. Turn onto plastic wrap, pat to 1-inch thickness, seal, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll dough into 1½-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on sheets. Chill 20 minutes, then roll in granulated sugar. Bake 10–12 minutes until surfaces just begin to crack. Cool 5 minutes on sheet; transfer to a rack.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy; set aside.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Combine egg, milk, and oil; add all at once to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Spoon about 2 Tbsp of chocolate batter into each muffin cup. Drop 1 tsp of cream cheese on top, then cover with more chocolate batter. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.

Combine butter, milk, sugar, and cocoa; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and oatmeal; mix thoroughly. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let dry.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Beat butter with icing sugar until creamy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Stir flour with salt and cocoa; gradually beat into butter mixture.

Roll dough to ⅛-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 25–30 minutes until slightly firm. Cool on sheet 5 minutes.

Heat oven to 375°F. Melt 1 cup of the chocolate pieces in a small saucepan; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy; add melted chocolate, egg, and vanilla. Add combined flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; mix well. Stir in remaining chocolate pieces.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8–10 minutes. Cool 1 minute on sheet; transfer to a wire rack.

Place frozen strawberries in a blender and pulse until broken into small pieces. Add egg white and sugar; beat with an electric mixer until foamy and stiff.

Fill the dough into a greased ring/bundt form. Bake at 175–195°C for 35–45 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

For the buttercream: take 6 Tbsp from the cold milk and mix with the pudding powder and sugar. Heat the remaining milk to boiling; remove from heat and stir in the pudding mixture. Bring briefly back to a boil. Stir occasionally as it cools to prevent a skin forming. Beat the butter until fluffy. Add the cooled pudding spoonful by spoonful, beating continuously. Important: neither butter nor pudding should be too cold or the cream will curdle.

For the krokant: melt the butter with the sugar in a pan, stirring, until the sugar is lightly browned. Stir in the almonds and continue cooking until the krokant is well browned. Pour onto an oiled surface and allow to cool. Break into small pieces.

Slice the cooled cake horizontally twice to make three layers. Spread cherry jam on the bottom layer if desired. Fill and stack with buttercream, reserving some for decoration. Frost the outside of the cake with buttercream, press krokant all over, and pipe or spread the reserved buttercream on top. Decorate with glacé cherries.

The buttercream temperature is critical — if butter or pudding is too cold it will split. Both should be at cool room temperature when combined. The krokant can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.

Beat sugar and eggs until thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then toffee. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Drop batter by ¼-cupfuls, spacing 2½ inches apart. Bake until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft, about 15 minutes. Cool on sheets.

Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

To julienne the apple and fennel, slice thinly in one direction then slice in the opposite direction to create matchsticks. A mandoline makes quick work of this.

In a medium bowl, toss together all salad ingredients except the walnuts. Let marinate at room temperature for up to 4 hours.

Top with walnuts just before serving.

Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days. The walnuts go on at the last moment to stay crisp. Use a tart green apple — Granny Smith or similar — for the best contrast with the fennel.

Place all prepared ingredients in a half-gallon canning jar. Cover with raw apple cider vinegar by at least 3–4 inches. Seal tightly.

Place in a warm spot and macerate for 3–4 weeks, shaking the jar every day.

Strain out the herbs. Warm honey slightly and add to taste — the finished cider should be hot, spicy, and sweet. Rebottle.

Raw unpasteurized ACV is important — the mother of vinegar contributes to the maceration. Start the cayenne milder than you think; you can add more after straining. Take 1–2 Tbsp as a daily tonic, particularly in cold season. Keeps several months in a cool pantry; better refrigerated.

Mince green onion and ginger finely. Keep on separate plates — ginger goes in first.

Heat wok on high. Add oil and bring to 350–400°F (shimmering, forming ripples). Add ginger and cook 15 seconds. Add scallion and cook 20–30 seconds. Transfer immediately to a bowl.

Add salt and sesame oil. Mix 30–60 seconds. Taste and adjust salt.

Oil temperature is everything — too cool and the aromatics steep rather than bloom. Sesame oil goes in off the heat to preserve its fragrance — do not skip it. Ratio is flexible; more green onion than ginger is typical. Surplus sauce keeps well and is good on rice, congee, noodles, or steamed vegetables.

Family connection: a simpler version of this dish — whole chicken poached with dried vegetables, water used to cook the rice — was a family recipe long before the Hainanese connection was recognised.

Cook the spaghetti in well-salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Brown the ground meat in a pan over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain off excess fat if needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the condensed soup and water or milk. Stir to combine and simmer for a few minutes until heated through and slightly thickened.

Serve over the spaghetti.

Cream of mushroom gives a deeper, earthier sauce; cream of chicken is lighter and a little sweeter — both work. Use milk instead of water for a richer result. The soup is already quite salty so taste before adding more.

In a bowl, combine the lemongrass, chilli, garlic, and fish sauce. Place the chicken in a separate bowl and add half the lemongrass mixture, reserving the rest. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok or large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the reserved lemongrass mixture, then the curry powder; stir-fry for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry for 4–5 minutes until the pieces have good colour on all sides.

Pour in the chicken stock and stir in the sugar. Simmer for a few minutes until the stock has reduced to a thick sauce.

Serve with steamed rice, garnished with the fresh herbs.

Chicken thigh is essential here — breast will dry out. If you can find coriander with the roots still on, chop a little root into the garnish; Asian grocers are more likely to stock it that way than supermarkets.

Combine the egg white, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and potato flour; add the chicken pieces and marinate for 25 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the marinated chicken and boil for 1 minute, then drain in a colander.

Pour peanut oil into a wok to a depth of about 1″. Heat to around 350°F — hot but not smoking. Add the basil leaves and deep-fry for about 1 minute until bright green. Remove with a strainer and drain on paper towels; the leaves will be very fragile. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of oil from the wok.

Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp oil until barely smoking. Add the chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the chillies and Szechuan peppercorns; stir-fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant. Reduce heat slightly, add the sauce, and stir until everything is coated and hot.

Serve the chicken garnished with the fried basil.

Variations: any leafy herb can be used in place of basil. For a richer sauce, increase the fish sauce and oyster sauce and reduce the chicken stock. The basil must be completely dry before frying or it will spit dangerously.

Mix all ingredients together. Cook on medium heat for 3–4 minutes on one side until golden brown, then flip and cook for a further 1–2 minutes.

Serve warm with rice.

Enoki keep for about a week in the fridge. Trim the base of the cluster before using. The fish sauce seasons and adds depth — don't skip it.

Fry the minced garlic in oil until fragrant. Add the sugar, fish sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, chicken stock, salt, and scallops; stir-fry for 4 minutes until the scallops are nearly cooked.

Add the garlic stems and stir-fry for a further 2–3 minutes. Sprinkle with ground white pepper. Serve hot with rice.

Golden Mountain seasoning sauce is a Thai condiment similar to light soy sauce — light soy sauce works as a substitute. Also excellent made with shrimp, or a combination of scallops and shrimp. Don't overcook the scallops — add the garlic stems while they still have a minute to go.

Whisk flour, egg, sugar, and milk together until smooth. The batter should be thicker than a crêpe batter but still pourable — adjust milk by eye. No resting required.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat with a small amount of butter or oil. Pour a ladleful of batter and tilt to spread. Cook until edges are set and the surface mostly dry, then flip and cook the second side until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with jam, maple syrup, or Grafschafter Goldsaft. Or roll around cheese, cold cuts, or any fridge filling for a quick sandwich — no bread needed.

No salt, no leavening — intentional. The result has more body and chew than a crêpe. Grafschafter Goldsaft (dark sugar beet syrup from the Lower Rhine) is the traditional Westphalian pairing — also excellent on Kastenpickert. A spoonful of quark added to the batter gives a richer, slightly tangier result.

Preheat oven to 300°F / 150°C.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add the icing sugar, cinnamon, and salt and beat for another 30 seconds until incorporated. Fold in the hazelnut flour.

If using Oblaten, place one wafer per cookie on the baking sheet first. Spoon the dough onto the wafers (or directly onto a lined baking sheet). Press a whole hazelnut into the top of each cookie if desired.

Bake for 23–25 minutes until browned on the bottom and cooked through.

Oblaten (thin communion-style wafers) are the traditional German base for Makronen — they prevent sticking, hold the shape, and are eaten along with the cookie. Available at German import stores or online.

Beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the raisins or currants, lemon zest, Lebkuchen spices, and salt; mix into the egg mixture.

Melt the honey and butter together, then allow to cool. Add to the mixture and stir to combine.

Mix in the flour and baking powder in 4 batches, enough to make a dough.

Grease a large baking sheet. Spread the dough out evenly. Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

For the glaze, mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake.

Lebkuchen spices: if you can't find a ready-made package, use 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and 2 tsp ground cardamom. Other warm spices — allspice, nutmeg, anise — can be added to taste. The lemon glaze is the highlight; don't skip it.

Sift the flour and baking powder onto a board or into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs, sugar, melted butter, milk, lemon zest, and grated bitter almonds into the well. Mix the wet ingredients together in the well, then gradually incorporate the flour. Knead last until you have a soft, smooth dough similar to a noodle dough (about 500g total).

Wrap the dough and allow to rest for 20–30 minutes.

Roll the dough out thinly on a floured board. Cut into strips about 2cm wide and 10–12cm long. Cut a slit lengthwise in the middle of each strip, leaving the ends intact. Take one end of the strip and push it through the slit, pulling it through to create a twisted loop shape.

Heat oil or coconut fat in a deep pan until hot — test by dipping a wooden spoon in; bubbles must rise actively from it. Fry the twists in batches until pale golden and puffed. Do not crowd the pan.

Drain on paper and allow to cool. Dust generously with icing sugar before serving.

Palmin was the standard German coconut-based frying fat for decades — coconut oil is the closest substitute. Bitter almonds are traditional but hard to find in Canada; a few drops of almond extract works. The twisting step is satisfying to do and a good job for helpers at the kitchen table.

Cream butter. Add sugar, eggs, nuts, cocoa, and spices. Mix in flour and baking powder until combined. Press into a lightly greased 12 × 8 inch baking pan.

Bake at 300°F for 40 minutes, turning the oven off for the last 10 minutes.

Beat egg white into icing sugar until smooth; thin with a little water if needed. Spread over the still-warm slice. Cool completely, then cut into triangles.

Hazelnuts are far superior to almonds here — double the hazelnut portion if you like. The oven-off finish is deliberate; it prevents the slice from drying out. Cool completely before cutting or the slice will crumble.

Finely grate the potatoes. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Combine flour, crumbled yeast, squeezed potatoes, sugar, and egg in a large bowl. Pour in the lukewarm milk and mix with the dough hooks of a hand mixer until you have a smooth, supple dough. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Rinse the raisins and pat dry. Knead into the risen dough along with the butter or margarine.

Pour dough into a greased 26 cm loaf tin. Leave to rise a further 15 minutes. Place in a cold oven and bake at 200°C / Gas Mark 3 for approximately 55 minutes. Cool and turn out of the tin.

Slice the Kastenpickert and fry each slice in fat until golden brown on both sides. Serve with dark (treacle) syrup or alongside coffee.

Starts in a cold oven — this is intentional. Suitable for freezing; keeps up to six months. (Total time without rising: approx. 1 hour 30 minutes.)

Finely grate the potatoes. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Crumble yeast into the lukewarm milk with the sugar and stir to dissolve. Combine squeezed potatoes, flour, salt, and egg in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast milk and stir to a thick, pourable batter — thicker than pancake batter, closer to a drop scone consistency. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 40 minutes until visibly bubbling and slightly risen.

Heat lard or butter in a heavy pan — cast iron ideal — over medium-low heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls to form rounds about 8–9 cm across. Cook until the surface is set and bubbles have formed, then flip and cook the other side until deep golden brown. Cook low and slow so the centre sets before the outside burns.

Serve warm with jam, dark syrup, or apple sauce.

Sourdough variant: Replace the fresh yeast and milk with 200 g of active 100% hydration starter (fed 4–8 hours before use). Rest the batter overnight in the fridge. The longer ferment gives a mild tang and produces a darker crust — closer to the family Kastenpickert colour.

Mix the rice flour and tapioca flour into the mashed banana until well combined. Add the sugar and ½ cup of the shredded coconut. Gradually add the coconut milk, mixing everything together well.

Toss the remaining shredded coconut with the salt; set aside for garnish.

Spoon the banana mixture into small bowls or silicone baking cups. Top each with a little of the salted shredded coconut.

Preheat the steamer until very hot. Steam the prepared bowls for 25–30 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the bowls to serve.

Thai bananas are smaller and more fragrant than Cavendish — worth seeking out at Asian supermarkets. They used to run $7–10, but Mexican-grown Thai bananas have become more common and brought the price down considerably. The cake firms up as it cools; don't try to unmold while still hot. The salt on the coconut garnish provides a nice contrast to the sweetness.

Add water, wine, and vanilla pod to a large pot; bring to a boil. Add cherries and boil 5 minutes.

Stir corn starch into a small amount of cold water until smooth, then pour into the pot. Simmer until the liquid thickens. Remove the vanilla pod.

Sweeten to taste. A splash of lemon juice and a little extra red wine can be added to finish. Cool and serve.

Beat butter until smooth. Alternately add sugar, vanilla sugar, and eggs. Add rum extract and salt last. Sift flour and baking powder together; add alternately with milk, adding only enough milk so the dough falls stiffly from the spoon.

Grease a Springform pan. Transfer about ⅔ of the dough into it and spread evenly.

To the remaining dough, sift in cocoa and 25 g sugar. Add 2–3 Tbsp extra milk until the chocolate dough also falls stiffly from the spoon.

Spoon chocolate dough on top of the plain. Draw a fork through from the bottom, twisting in a spiral so some of the yellow comes to the top. Continue all the way around the pan.

Bake at 350°F / 180°C for 75 minutes, turning the oven off for the last 10. Cool completely before releasing from the Springform.

The dough should fall stiffly from the spoon — add milk gradually. Do not overwork the marbling. The oven-off finish is deliberate and prevents the top drying out.

Mix butter and nougat together. Beat in egg, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sift flour and baking powder into the mixture; stir until combined. Cover dough and let rest 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease baking sheets. Roll small portions of dough into pencil-thick logs on a lightly sugared surface; cut to 6 cm lengths and shape into quarter-moons. Bake on middle rack 6–8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

If desired, dip each end in melted chocolate and let set on parchment paper.

Roll the dough into a 32×24 cm rectangle and place on a baking sheet. Spread thinly with apricot jam.

For the topping: melt butter with sugar, vanilla sugar, and water; bring once to a boil. Stir in the hazelnuts and allow to cool. Spread the cooled hazelnut mixture evenly over the dough. Place a loosely crinkled strip of greased parchment along the front edge of the dough.

Bake at 175–195°C for 20–30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into 8×8 cm squares and cut each square diagonally to make triangles.

For the glaze: sieve the cocoa and icing sugar together; stir in enough hot water to make a thick, spreadable paste. Add the melted butter and stir until smooth. Brush the two pointed corners of each triangle with the chocolate glaze.

The hazelnuts should be half ground and half roughly chopped for the right texture. The chocolate tips are what make them Nußecken rather than just hazelnut squares — don't skip them.

Grate the onion using a fine grater. Wash, peel and grate the potatoes using a coarse grater into a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze out as much liquid as you possibly can — more than you think necessary. Let sit a minute, then squeeze again.

Transfer to a bowl. Add eggs, the grated onion, flour, salt, and pepper; mix until just combined. The batter will be loose and shaggy, not smooth — this is correct.

Heat a generous amount of oil or lard in a heavy pan — cast iron ideal — over medium heat, then lower slightly. Test with a small drop of batter; it should sizzle loudly immediately.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture onto the hot fat, spacing well apart. Immediately press each one flat and thin with a spatula — aim for 8–10 cm across. Leave completely undisturbed until the edges are visibly golden and crisp, about 3–4 minutes. Flip and fry the second side until deep golden brown, another 2–3 minutes.

Transfer to paper towel and keep warm in a low oven while frying the remaining batches. Serve immediately while hot and crisp, with apple sauce alongside.

Lard gives the best result — the lacey edges depend on hot fat at the right temperature. Apple sauce should be cold; the contrast with the hot pancake is part of the experience. Some serve with sour cream, but apple sauce is the right way.

Beat butter until soft. Add sugar and vanilla sugar and cream together until light. Add eggs one at a time, stirring between each. Add salt, lemon extract, and rum extract.

Stir flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together, then sieve onto the butter mixture. Mix well.

Line a loaf tin with parchment paper and butter the parchment all over. Pour in the batter. Bake at 350°F / 180°C for 60 minutes. Cover the top with a second sheet of parchment if it begins to brown too quickly.

Cool in the tin before turning out.

Half flour, half cornstarch is what makes it Sandkuchen — the cornstarch inhibits gluten and gives the fine, dense, slightly crumbly crumb. Real lemon extract only, not juice — no acidity, just flavour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together the spelt flour, mesquite flour, baking soda, and salt.

Cream the butter with both sugars. Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and honey.

Add the dry ingredients in two additions, stirring to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips and salba seeds.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until golden all over. Cool for 2 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a rack.

Mesquite flour has a naturally sweet, slightly smoky flavour that fills the kitchen while baking. Salba was the brand that introduced chia seeds to Canada — white chia, more expensive because the tiny seeds had to be sorted by hand. These days dark chia seeds are the standard and work equally well here. Spelt flour gives a slightly nuttier, denser crumb than all-purpose.

Make the Quark-Öl-Teig dough. If using raisins, knead them into the finished dough. Roll out onto a greased baking sheet.

For the streusel: sieve the flour into a bowl and mix with the sugar, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter in small pieces and work everything together with your hands or two forks until it forms coarse, clumpy crumbs. Spread evenly over the dough. Place a greased, loosely crinkled sheet of parchment in front of the dough as a guard.

Bake at 175–195°C (350–385°F) for 20–25 minutes until golden.

The streusel should be worked until it just clumps — don't overwork it or it becomes paste. The raisins are "nach Belieben" in the original — optional, as you prefer.

Remove most of the liquid from the cheese. Combine cheese, milk, oil, sugars, and salt; stir until smooth. Mix flour and baking powder; add half by tablespoonfuls to the cheese mixture, then knead in the rest.

Roll or press the dough out onto a greased baking sheet. Wash the plums, cut each in half, and remove the stone. Lay the plum halves cut-side up over the entire surface of the dough.

Place a greased, loosely crinkled sheet of parchment paper over the top. Bake at 375°F for 15–25 minutes until the dough is cooked through.

After cooling slightly, sprinkle sugar over the plums.

The parchment cover holds in steam and keeps the plums from drying out during baking — crinkle it so it doesn't sit flat. Italian prune plums (small, blue-black) are ideal for Pflaumenkuchen and are worth waiting for in season. Backyard plums, if you have them, are better still.

Mix together the quark, flour, cream of wheat, sugar, and egg. The dough will be soft.

Form into patties the size of hamburgers. Coat each patty in bread crumbs or graham wafer crumbs.

Brown on both sides in a frying pan.

Serve topped with canned fruit or maple syrup.

Graham wafer crumbs give a slightly sweeter crust than plain bread crumbs. Quark can also be added to German Pancakes (Eierkuchen) for a richer result.

Remove most of the liquid from the quark (the weight above is without liquid). Combine quark, milk, oil, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt in a bowl; stir until smooth.

Mix flour and baking powder together. Add half the flour mixture by tablespoonfuls to the quark mixture and stir to combine. Add the rest and knead until you have a smooth, soft dough that holds its shape. It should not be sticky — add a little more flour if needed.

Use immediately: roll out, fill, and shape as required. No resting time needed.

Schnecken: roll to 45×35 cm, brush with butter, spread the currant-almond filling, roll up from the short side, slice into rounds, bake at 350°F for 15–20 minutes.
Dattelbrot: roll to 30×40 cm, brush with milk, spread chopped dates, roll up from the short side into a loaf, score the top, bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Teebrezel: roll to 2 mm thick, cut strips 30 cm × 1 cm, twist two strips together and form into pretzels, brush with condensed milk, sprinkle with coarse salt or coarse sugar, bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
Club Teilchen: roll to ½ cm thick, cut into squares, place a spoonful of jam in the centre, fold into triangles or rectangles, brush with condensed milk, bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
Jägerbrötchen: fold 75 g currants into the finished dough, roll into a log, cut into 16 equal pieces, form into balls, brush with condensed milk, bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.
Pflaumenkuchen: roll dough onto a greased baking sheet; halve and stone 1–1½ kg plums and lay cut-side up on the dough; cover with greased parchment, bake at 375°F for 15–25 minutes; sprinkle with sugar while still warm.
Streuselkuchen: optionally knead 75 g raisins into the dough; roll onto a greased baking sheet; top with streusel (300 g flour, 150 g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla sugar, pinch cinnamon, 150 g butter rubbed to crumbs); bake at 175–195°C for 20–25 minutes.
Savoury: omit sugar and vanilla sugar; add herbs or a pinch of caraway to the flour. Use as a base for quiche, stuffed rolls, or a quick flatbread.
Cheese substitutes: ricotta works well; pressed cottage cheese also works, though quark gives the best flavour and texture.

Remove most liquid from the cheese. Combine cheese, milk, oil, sugars, and salt; stir until smooth. Mix flour and baking powder; add half by tablespoonfuls to the cheese mixture, then knead in the rest.

Roll out dough to 45 × 35 cm. Brush with soft butter; mix remaining filling ingredients and spread over dough. Roll tightly into a log from the short side, then cut into ½-inch slices. Place on a greased baking sheet, press down slightly, and bake at 350°F for 15–20 minutes.

For the topping, mix hot water into icing sugar until smooth and brush over warm Schnecken.

Vigorously stir the butter, then add the other ingredients in turn, adding vanilla last. Knead the dough for several minutes, then roll into balls. Press a small hollow in each ball with your thumb and fill with raspberry jam. Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 15 minutes.

Remove most of the liquid from the cheese. Combine cheese, milk, oil, sugars, and salt; stir until smooth. Mix flour and baking powder; add half by tablespoonfuls to the cheese mixture, then knead in the rest.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 2 mm. Cut strips 30 cm long and 1 cm wide. Take two strips and twist them around each other, then form into a pretzel shape. Place on a greased baking sheet.

Brush with condensed milk and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

For a sweet version, sprinkle with coarse sugar instead of salt. If the dough is too soft to braid, roll a single slightly thicker strip and shape directly into a pretzel — the result is equally good.

Mix coconut milk with sugar and bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. Filter to remove any undissolved chunks. Bring back to a boil, then set aside to cool.

Mix the sifted rice flour with the toddy palm flesh until fine-grained with small lumps. Slowly add the prepared sugared coconut milk, kneading as you add, until it comes together. Add the remaining coconut milk and mix. Cover and rest for 6 hours or overnight.

Add 1 tsp baking powder per 2 cups of batter; mix well.

Pre-steam the small bowls in a steamer for 10 minutes. Fill each heated bowl with batter just to the rim. Steam for 20 minutes. Garnish with shredded coconut. Remove from bowls to serve.

Toddy palm flesh is available bottled in Asian supermarkets. The overnight rest develops the flavour and texture considerably — don't skip it. Desiccated coconut works as a garnish substitute if fresh or shredded coconut isn't available.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Sift together flour and baking soda.

Cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes. Add egg; mix on high. Add vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides.

Add flour mixture; mix on low until combined. Mix in oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces in turn.

Spoon heaping tablespoons onto prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, 14–16 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack. Store airtight up to 2 days.

Thinly slice the cucumber (1/8–1/4 inch thick). Toss gently with salt and set aside for 15 minutes.

Drain excess liquid — do not squeeze, as this bruises the slices. Mix well with all remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Korean cucumbers or Kirby pickling cucumbers work best — thin-skinned and firm. Use less gochugaru for a milder result. Best eaten within a day or two — keeps in the fridge but softens as the salt continues to draw moisture.

Peel ginger and slice very thin on a mandolin. Soak in salted water.

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool completely.

Squeeze soaking water out of ginger completely. Pack into a tight-sealing container, pour cooled brine over, and squeeze in the lime juice — the acid turns the ginger naturally pink. Seal and refrigerate.

The pink colour is natural — anthocyanins in young ginger react with the lime acid. Older ginger will not pink the same way. Allow at least a day before eating. Keeps refrigerated for several weeks.

Beyond sushi: Good chopped into dressings, alongside grilled or braised meat, with congee, or stirred into stir fries. A 1 kg batch goes a long way.

Rinse knuckle thoroughly. Cover with cold water, add parboiling ginger, green onion, and Shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil for 5–8 minutes, skimming foam. Drain, rinse under cold water, pat dry, remove any remaining hairs.

Using the Sauté function, cook ginger, garlic, and shallot in a little oil until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn off Sauté.

Add knuckle to the Instant Pot. Add spices (preferably in a spice bag), light and dark soy sauce, rock sugar, Shaoxing wine, and oyster sauce. Add water to submerge about 75%.

Seal and pressure cook on High for 45 minutes (tender) or 60–80 minutes (fall-off-the-bone). Natural release for 10–15 minutes, then quick release.

Remove knuckle. Reduce braising liquid on Sauté to a glossy sauce — natural reduction is best; cornstarch slurry if you need to speed up. Serve over rice or noodles with sauce drizzled over.

Rock sugar gives a cleaner, glossier finish — available at T&T or Galleria. For the gelatin-rich skin, longer pressure cooking is better. The braising liquid is rich in collagen and thickens beautifully on its own given time.

Serve with pickled mustard leaves — the classic accompaniment. The sharp fermented bitterness cuts through the gelatin-rich pork in a way nothing else quite matches.

Combine salmon, green onions, dill, panko, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, and egg in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until well incorporated.

Form into 5 evenly-sized patties. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook in batches until golden and crispy, 3–4 minutes per side. Add more oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.

Drain the salmon thoroughly or the patties will be too wet. Small soft bones are fine to leave in. Pickled young ginger chopped fine makes a good accompaniment.

Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Wipe dry, then air or sun dry for at least 4–5 hours until completely dry to the touch. This step is critical — surface moisture can contaminate the entire jar.

Dissolve salt in cooled boiled water (or mineral water). The brine must be completely cool before use. Sterilise a glass jar with boiling water or 50% alcohol; wipe completely dry.

Pack dried long beans into the jar. Add chilies, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. Pour cooled brine over until vegetables are fully submerged. Pour cooking wine over the top to seal. Close lid tightly.

Store in a cool, airy place away from direct sunlight for at least 7 days. Longer fermentation produces a more sour result.

Critical: No oil, no raw water anywhere — on the vegetables, container, or utensils. Oil prevents fermentation and causes rotting. Select firm, slightly skinny beans; avoid fluffy or soft ones. Once opened, consume promptly and use only clean dry tongs to remove beans.

Heat the pressure cooker and add oil. Brown the meat. Add enough water to cover the meat, then add the beef stock cube, whole onion, and seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika).

Cover and cook with the pressure regulator gently rocking for 30 to 45 minutes. Let the pressure drop — the quick way is to run cold water over the sides of the pressure cooker until the vent button drops.

Mix 2 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water in a measuring cup until smooth. Bring the meat mixture to a boil, add the thickener slowly, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick.

Serve with rice or wide flat egg noodles.

For the Instant Pot, use the Meat/Stew setting on high pressure for about 35 minutes with natural release, then switch to Sauté mode to add the slurry. The whole onion goes in for flavour and can be removed or broken down into the sauce before serving.

Soak the dried fish maw in cool water for 30 minutes, then blanch in boiling water for 2–3 minutes. Cut into long slices if using large size.

Grind the coriander roots, garlic, and white peppercorns together with a mortar and pestle.

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add the ground coriander root mixture, star anise, cinnamon, and ginger. Add the fish maw, shiitake mushrooms, and celery; cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

Add shredded chicken and season with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and ground white pepper. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until the soup thickens.

Garnish with sliced coriander and spring onion. Serve with chili sauce.

Coriander root is essential here — it has far more depth than the leaves. Asian grocers are more likely to stock coriander with roots attached. Fish maw is available dried in Chinese supermarkets; smaller pieces are more traditional but larger ones work well too.

Soak glass noodles and rice cakes in cold water to soften. Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with bay leaves and peppercorns. Add bones and Shaoxing wine; boil 10 minutes. Remove bones, rinse with cold water. Skim fat and reserve 1.5L broth.

Place rinsed bones in the Instant Pot, add sauce, mix to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes. Add reserved broth and potatoes. Cook on the meat setting for 35 minutes. Allow to release pressure naturally.

Trim and halve bok choy; slice remaining vegetables. Remove meat and potatoes from Instant Pot and transfer to a separate pot. Add vegetables, remaining perilla seed powder, and Instant Pot liquid. Add drained noodles and rice cakes; cook until soft. Adjust seasoning — more gochugaru and fish sauce to taste.

Dipping sauce: mix mustard, sugar, and vinegar first, then add soy sauce and water.

Untried. The base recipe is slightly underseasoned — add more gochugaru and fish sauce at the finish. Blanching is essential for a clean broth. Pick the meat off the bones before serving if preferred.

Heat a generous pour of oil in a large pan. Fry the mustard seeds with the curry leaves until the seeds start to pop. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, and chili; cook on medium heat for 5 minutes until softened.

Mix the Madras curry powder and turmeric with a splash of water to make a paste; stir into the pan. Fry for 1 minute, then add the fish, coconut milk, and tomatoes. Season well.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until the fish is cooked and the sauce has reduced. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander.

Madras curry powder provides good heat on its own — omit the green chili if cooking for mixed tolerances. Haddock and cod both hold up well to the long simmer. The mustard seeds must be fried until they pop before adding the other aromatics — this is what gives the dish its characteristic flavour base.

Boil the potatoes until tender, then rice them while still hot. Spread out and allow to cool completely before mixing — excess moisture will make the dough sticky and the dumplings dense.

Turn the riced potatoes out onto a board. Add the flour, cream of wheat, egg, and salt. Mix and knead together well until a cohesive dough forms.

Divide the dough and shape into balls roughly the size of a baseball. Press a few bread cubes into the centre of each ball and seal the dough around them completely.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully lower the dumplings in, cover, and cook for about 12 minutes. The dumplings are done when they float to the surface.

Serve with bacon pieces fried in butter, canned pears, or maple syrup.

The cream of wheat binds the dough without making it heavy — don't skip it. Rice the potatoes while hot but let them cool fully before mixing; a warm, wet dough means dense dumplings.

Leftover dumplings sliced and fried in butter until crispy on both sides are genuinely excellent — arguably better than the original. Refrigerating overnight also converts some of the starch to resistant starch: lower glycemic index and good for gut bacteria. The next-day fry-up is a bonus on both counts.

Soak the mu shu and mu er in water several hours before cooking, or overnight. After softening, cut off any hard stems from the mu shu; remove any hard wood pieces from the mu er. Set aside.

Lightly coat the sliced pork with starch. Add salt, alcohol, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger; mix to combine.

Heat oil in a wok. Scramble the beaten eggs; set aside.

Heat more oil in the wok. Fry the pork, stirring occasionally, until well done.

Add the eggs, mu shu, and mu er to the meat in the wok. Cook until warmed through and combined.

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed pan until hot. Stir-fry the sausage slices until almost cooked, 2–3 minutes. Break the eggs into the pan and stir to break up. Add the garlic, tomato, spring onions, and fish sauce; stir-fry for a minute or two until the egg is cooked and the tomato is slightly softened.

Serve alone or with jasmine rice.

Isaan sour sausage — fermented pork and rice, available at Thai grocers — is particularly good here and authentic to the northern Thai origin of the dish. Chorizo or European garlic sausage are both excellent alternatives. If the fish sauce makes it too salty, cider vinegar is worth trying as a substitute.

Cut the hard skin off the pumpkin. Remove the seeds and spongy flesh around them. Cut the remaining pumpkin into pieces about ½ inch thick and 2–3 inches long.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Stir-fry the crushed garlic and peppercorns until fragrant. Add the pumpkin pieces and stir to coat with the garlic and peppercorns.

Add the water and cook for 5 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and the water is almost gone. In the final minute, add the fish sauce and sugar. Add the egg and stir-fry until cooked through.

Serve with hot rice.

Japanese pumpkin (kabocha) gives a dense, sweet flesh that holds up well to stir-frying. Butternut or acorn squash are good substitutes. The white pepper and garlic crushed together in a mortar is the flavour base — don't skip the mortar step.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Brown the pork on all sides. Add the carrots, rutabaga, turnip, and onion; give it a good stir. Add the bouillon cube, water, and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the dried herbs over the vegetables.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are soft. Add a little more water if needed during cooking.

Season to taste with the runny honey and freshly ground pepper before serving.

The roots carry this dish — don't skimp on variety. Daikon and kohlrabi are good substitutions or additions; parsnip would also work well. The honey goes in at the end as seasoning, not during cooking.

Remove the skin and fat from the duck breasts; thinly slice the raw meat, or shred if using roasted duck. Mix with the sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and allspice; marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Stir-fry the red curry paste for 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the duck, coconut milk, and stock; cook for 5–6 minutes until the meat is cooked through (about half the time if using pre-roasted duck). Add the fish sauce, palm sugar, lychees, and cherry tomatoes; cook for 1–2 minutes — don't let the tomatoes overcook. Add the kaffir lime leaves and heat for one more minute.

Serve over steamed jasmine rice, garnished with Thai basil leaves.

Roasted duck from a Chinese roast duck shop works beautifully here and cuts the cooking time in half. Pineapple or young coconut can substitute for the lychees. The cherry tomatoes are part of what makes this dish — they burst when you bite them.

Combine meat, water, and seasoning in a saucepan over medium heat. Brown the meat. Add the potatoes and remove the bay leaf. Cook for 15 minutes more.

Line a pie plate with half the pastry. Add the meat mixture (drained if needed). Cover with the other half of the pastry.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Sauté pancetta for a moment or two in the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat, until browned on one side. Add the peppers, rosemary, and onions; continue cooking until the onions are browned and the bell pepper is softened.

Add lentils to the pan. Cook for a few minutes so the lentils absorb the flavours of the other ingredients. Add a pinch of salt.

Remove rosemary sprig and plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you like it hot, add some chili — the original recipe used hot peppers in place of the roasted red peppers.

Place whole cabbage head in simmering water for 5 minutes. Let cool briefly, then peel off leaves. Repeat one or two more times as needed.

Mix together ground meat, onion, salt, pepper, rice, and water.

Place 2–3 cabbage leaves overlapping. Place a handful of the meat-rice mixture on the leaves. Wrap the leaves into a package; secure with kitchen twine or steel pins.

Fry cabbage rolls in oil for several minutes until browned on both sides.

Stack all cabbage rolls in a pressure cooker with stock or water; cook for 30 minutes. Make gravy from the leftover stock and pour over the cabbage rolls to serve.

Ground turkey or chicken work well in place of the beef-pork mix. Be careful of any sharp bone shards if using the traditional recipe with whole cuts of meat.

Pour oil into a wok and heat till it smokes. Add sugar and allow it to caramelize, swirling the wok — it will smoke a lot. Add the chicken and cover immediately on high heat. After one minute, uncover and stir until all pieces are browned. Add a splash of wine. Cook another minute or two, then add the water, Szechuan pepper, star anise, and soy sauce if desired. Cook covered on medium-low for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add water if the liquid level gets too low.

Prepare potatoes — clean, remove eyes, do not peel, cut into medium chunks. Slice tomatoes into large wedges.

Add tomatoes about halfway through cooking time. Add salt when 80% through, stirring in. Add cubed potatoes at the one-hour point; cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add La Mian noodles at the end; cook until soft, about 2–3 minutes.

Mix 2 cups flour with enough warm water to make a stiff dough. Knead, using the heel of the hand to push the edge into the centre, rotating as you go. Cover with a wet towel for one hour. Continue kneading until the dough becomes soft and elastic. Cover until ready to use.

When ready, cut off a section of dough, flatten with a rolling pin, and slice off long sections. Pick up with two hands and twirl, stretching or pulling until 1½ times the starting length. Make sure all parts are thin. Repeat with remaining dough.

La Mian means “pulled noodles.” The technique requires practice — everyone who tried it got better by the end of the meal.

Set out three shallow dishes: seasoned flour in the first, beaten egg in the second, breadcrumbs in the third.

Dredge each chop in the flour and shake off the excess. Dip in the egg, letting the excess drip off. Press firmly into the breadcrumbs on both sides to coat evenly.

Heat oil or butter in a large pan over medium to medium-high heat. Fry the chops until deep golden and cooked through — about 4–5 minutes per side depending on thickness.

Press the breadcrumbs on firmly so they adhere. Don't crowd the pan or the breading will steam rather than crisp. Leftovers reheat well in a hot oven or air fryer.

Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Pour oil into a wok and heat till it smokes. Add sugar and allow it to caramelize, swirling the wok (it will smoke a lot). Add the pork and cover immediately on high heat. After one minute, uncover and stir until all pieces are browned. Add a splash of alcohol, cook another minute or two, then add the hot water.

Add the ginger, Szechuan pepper, and star anise. Add a splash of soy sauce if desired. Cook covered on medium-low for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add water if the liquid level gets too low.

Prepare potatoes — clean, remove eyes, do not peel, cut into medium chunks. Clean and cut cauliflower into large pieces. Add salt at 60% through cooking time, stirring in. Add cauliflower at 75%, stirring together with the meat. Add cubed potatoes at the one-hour point; cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Take a large bunch of lemon balm and clean well in cold water. Bring an inch of water to a boil in a pot, then submerge the lemon balm for 30 seconds to one minute, until tiny bubbles form around the leaves. Drain in a colander. Drizzle with a sauce of 1 Tbsp soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil, and a dash of oyster sauce.

Lemon balm is said to lower internal heat and is often eaten during hot summer months. It has a wonderful slight lemon smell and taste.

Place the shrimp in a food processor and process to a fine pulp. Add the red curry paste and blend well. Stir in the egg yolk, then the long beans and lime leaves; mix everything together well.

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed pan over high heat until almost smoking. Reduce to medium heat. Drop in tablespoons of the mixture, flattened slightly, without crowding the pan. Fry for 2 minutes on one side, flip and fry 2 minutes on the other, then flip once more and fry for a further 30–40 seconds until both sides are golden brown.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Serve with Thai Cucumber Salad alongside — drizzle a little over each cake before eating. Chinese long green beans give the cakes their characteristic texture; regular green beans can substitute but the result is slightly different.

Beat fish paste with a mixer for 3 minutes.

Add egg, red curry paste, salt, and sugar; beat until all ingredients are well combined.

Add long beans and lime leaves; mix by hand until combined.

Shape the paste into balls and flatten them.

Fry in medium-hot oil until medium brown on the outside. Serve with dipping sauce, chopped fresh cucumber, and cilantro.

Fish paste and Thai sweet and sour sauce can be found in most Chinese supermarkets.

Hard-boil the eggs. Make the tamarind water by combining the tamarind paste with 4 Tbsp water.

Pan-fry the whole hard-boiled eggs in oil, turning, until the outside is crispy all over. Remove and set aside to cool.

In the same pan, fry the sliced shallots on low heat until crispy. Remove, leaving the oil in the pan.

Grind the coriander root in a mortar. Fry in the oil until fragrant. Add the tamarind water, sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce; mix well and fry for a minute or two to make a sauce.

When the eggs are cool enough to handle, slice in half and arrange on a plate. Top with the crispy shallots and pour the tamarind sauce over. Garnish with sliced coriander leaves.

The crispy egg technique is the heart of this dish — the outside should have real texture and colour before you pull them. Coriander root is essential, not optional; it has a depth of flavour the leaves don't. Asian grocers are much more likely to stock coriander with roots intact than supermarkets.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until fine. Alternatively, grind together in a mortar and pestle.

Serve in a small bowl with a spoon to drizzle over dishes.

Keeps for weeks in the fridge in a clean sealed glass jar. Start with 2 bird chillies and adjust upward — they vary considerably in heat. Good on rice, grilled meat, fried eggs, or anything that needs a lift.

Place the cubed potatoes and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, add some salt, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the apples, raise the heat and bring back to a boil. Turn off the heat and leave for 10 minutes. Pour off the water.

Stir the potatoes and apples well. Season to taste with salt, a little sugar, and some vinegar.

Optional: fry up a little bacon and a small diced onion, and stir into the potatoes. The apple to use is Golden Russet if you can find it — a flavour far superior to supermarket varieties.

Wash the cabbage in cold water and cut the leaves into small pieces. Cut the chillies into small pieces, removing seeds if you want less heat. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and salt together to make a sauce.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat until it starts to smoke. Add the peppercorns and chilli pieces and stir; a few seconds later add the cabbage. Stir-fry for about 1½ minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt.

Pour over the prepared sauce and continue stirring until well combined.

Drizzle with sesame oil just before serving.

Start with 2 dried chillies and work up — they vary in heat. The sesame oil goes on at the very end, off the heat, to keep its fragrance.

Fill a bowl with water and gently remove any dirt by hand. Do not scrub — the skin protects the sweetness and aroma during roasting.

Place the sweet potatoes whole on a baking sheet. Roast at 320°F (160°C) for 80 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 450°F (230°C) and roast for a further 10 minutes to caramelize the outside.

Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

The low heat stage cooks the flesh through slowly and draws out the natural sugars; the high heat finish caramelizes the outside without drying the interior. No oil or seasoning needed — the technique does the work.

If you refrigerate the cooked sweet potatoes, the starch converts to resistant starch — lower glycemic index and a good prebiotic for gut bacteria. You can warm them up gently if you don't want to eat them cold; the resistant starch largely survives mild reheating.

Coarsely grate the carrots. Pour the lemon juice over the grated carrots in a bowl, then sprinkle the sugar all over. Toss until the sugar is dissolved.

Set at least 4 cups of salted water to boil; once boiling, reduce to a gentle simmer.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the beaten egg. Stir the egg with a spoon, gradually incorporating the flour. Begin adding water gradually until the batter is stiff but smooth. If the dough becomes sticky, add a little more flour and gently knead in.

Spread the dough flat on a floured cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut off small pieces of dough and drop them into the simmering salted water, a few at a time. The pieces will sink, then rise to the surface as they cook — encourage them with a spoon if needed.

Gently boil for 5–8 minutes, or until cooked through to the centre. Remove with a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining dough.

Serve alongside rouladen or any braised meat. Cut the pieces small before dropping — they puff up considerably in the water.

Heat oil in a deep pan or wok. Remove the skin from the taro root, then slice coarsely.

Make a thick batter from the flour, baking powder, salt, and enough water to coat. Coat the taro slices in the batter.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of battered taro into the hot oil, raising the heat as you add them to prevent the oil temperature from dropping. Fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Serve with plum sauce mixed with ground peanuts and chili flakes, garnished with coriander leaves.

Taro skin can irritate bare hands — wear gloves or handle carefully when peeling. The oil temperature is critical: too cool and the batter turns greasy rather than crisp.

Wash and dry the cucumber. Slice into ¼″ rounds and place in a bowl. Julienne the red pepper and red onion; place on top of the cucumber.

Whisk together the sugar, rice vinegar, and salt. Pour over the vegetables. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Korean cucumbers are worth seeking out if you can find them — their flavour and texture are noticeably better than English cucumbers here. This also works well as a general dipping accompaniment to Thai fried dishes.

To roast the cashews, place in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside.

Combine the mango strips with the fish sauce, sugar, and most of the chopped coriander and mint. Mix well. Add the red pepper strips and sliced red onion; mix well.

Garnish with the cashews and the reserved coriander leaves.

Thai green mango gives the best result — firm, tart, and fragrant. Mexican mangos work but are sweeter and softer. The salad goes particularly well alongside hot Thai dishes as a cooling contrast.

Cream together the sugar, butter, vanilla sugar, egg, and salt until fluffy. Mix the flour and baking powder together, then fold in half of this mixture. Knead in the remaining flour until a crumbly streusel mass forms.

Press half the streusel dough onto a greased sheet pan, pressing firmly or rolling flat with a rolling pin.

Mix together all the filling ingredients until smooth. Spread evenly over the dough base.

Scatter the remaining streusel crumble over the filling. Bake at 180°C for 40–50 minutes until golden.

Melt the butter and allow to cool slightly. Combine with the sugar, eggs, vanilla pudding powder, vanilla sugar, lemon juice, and quark. Mix everything together until smooth.

Pour into a greased springform pan. Bake at 175°C for approximately 80 minutes.

No base is needed — the torte sets firm enough to slice cleanly once cooled. Allow to cool completely in the pan before releasing.

Melt the Palmin; add the sugar and chocolate powder and stir. Allow to cool to lukewarm, then add to the ground oats along with the rum. Form into small balls; put in the fridge to set.

Hafermark is simply oats ground fine — a blender or food processor works well, or use oat flour directly. Palmin is coconut oil sold in hardened blocks; regular coconut oil works equally well.

Remove most of the liquid from the cheese. Combine cheese, milk, oil, sugars, and salt; stir until smooth. Mix flour and baking powder; add half by tablespoonfuls to the cheese mixture, then knead in the rest.

Fold the currants into the dough. Roll into a log and cut into 16 equal portions. Form each into a ball and place on a greased baking sheet. Brush with condensed milk.

Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.

See the Quark-Öl-Teig master card for the full range of things this dough can do. The lower temperature here (325°F vs 350°F for the others) keeps the rolls tender rather than crisp.

Beat the eggs, icing sugar, cocoa, and rum together.

Heat the coconut oil on minimum heat — subject it to as little heat as possible. Slowly add the melted coconut oil to the chocolate mixture. It should end up fairly thick.

Line a loaf pan with cling wrap. Pour a thin layer of the chocolate, then a layer of butter biscuits, then another thin layer of chocolate, alternating until you end with a final layer of chocolate. The biscuits will rise to the top — push them down gently into the chocolate.

Place in the fridge and let cool for at least four hours. Unmold from the loaf pan and slice thinly to serve.

Palmin is coconut oil in hardened block form — the low-heat handling is essential. The result is a firm, sliceable loaf best served cold.

Beat egg whites until stiff, adding the sugar gradually as you beat.

Drop or pipe onto greased and floured pans. Dry slowly in the oven at 200°F for 2–3 hours.

The key is low and slow — 200°F is barely warm; you are drying rather than baking. They should lift cleanly from the pan when done and be completely dry through. The recipe is as Dad wrote it: nothing more, nothing less.

Cream the shortening and sugar together until light. Add the eggs and mashed bananas; mix well.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the sour milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined.

Pour into a greased 8″ square cake pan. Bake at 350°F for 45–50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

Use very ripe bananas — the darker the better. Lard gives the most tender crumb and is probably closest to what the original card intended. Butter gives a richer flavour. Coconut oil works well with banana. Buttermilk is the easiest modern substitute for sour milk.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.

Melt butter, honey, and sugar slowly in a saucepan. Boil for one minute. Leave to cool (caramel will thicken).

Beat in eggs one at a time into the saucepan. Whisk in flour in two batches. Mash the ripe bananas and mix well into the batter.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50–55 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Watch the centre — it may need the full 55 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack. Warm the 2 Tbsp honey and brush over the top to glaze. Leave to cool.

If you can't get muscovado sugar, demerara makes a reasonable substitute. Muscovado has a better, deeper toffee flavour. The cake tends to puff higher than the original honey cake.

Preheat oven to 220°C / 425°F. Line a 20–22 cm springform tin with parchment paper — scrunch the paper into a ball first, then unravel it; this helps it conform to the tin sides.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese (or quark) and sugar together until smooth. Add the cassava and mix until well combined. Add the coconut milk and mix, then the condensed milk, then the eggs one at a time. The batter will be quite runny but should be completely homogeneous with no streaks.

Give the batter one final stir to ensure the cassava hasn’t settled, then pour into the lined tin.

Bake on the middle rack for 35–40 minutes. The centre should have a slight wobble when you take it out. Cool on a rack for a minimum of 4 hours — 6–8 hours is better. Release from the tin only once completely cool.

Quark makes a good substitute for cream cheese — a little lighter, with a pleasant tang that works well against the sweetness of the condensed milk.

Rinse the mung beans and place in a small saucepan with 1¼ cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and let bubble for 2 minutes, stirring. Reduce to medium and cook 10 minutes until the beans are plump. Turn off heat and let residual heat finish them for another 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F / 175°C. Line a 17×13-inch (43×33 cm) rectangular baking pan with parchment paper, sides slightly overhanging, and grease the pan.

In a blender or food processor, combine the cooked mung beans, cassava, coconut cream, and egg. Add the water. Blend for 10 seconds. Add sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla and blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter shredded coconut evenly over the top.

Bake for 70 minutes until the top is dried and golden. If the coconut starts browning too much at the 40–50 minute mark, loosely cover with foil.

Test with a skewer inserted to the bottom — it should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1½ hours before unmolding. Lift by the parchment, then cut into 16 pieces with a very sharp knife. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Cut all root vegetables into chunks and steam each separately until soft. Mash each finely with a potato ricer or masher. For beetroot, use a food processor to chop finely.

Knead each mashed vegetable with up to 100 g glutinous rice flour, starting with half the flour. Add warm water gradually, 1 Tbsp at a time (½ Tbsp for sweet potato), kneading until the dough is smooth and not sticky. If sticky, add more flour. Break off small pieces and roll between your palms into balls smaller than a marble.

Tie 2 pandan leaves into a knot and add to the coconut milk along with the water, palm sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil to make the sweet coconut broth.

Tie the remaining 2 pandan leaves into a knot and add to a separate pot of boiling water. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Boil the rice balls in batches — once they float they are cooked. Transfer immediately to the cold water to stop cooking and prevent sticking.

Divide the balls among bowls, mixing varieties for colour. Pour the hot sweet coconut milk over to serve.

Keep each vegetable variety separate through the kneading and rolling stages. The balls must be very small — marble-sized or smaller — both for even cooking and for the best texture. Pandan leaves are available frozen in Chinese supermarkets.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together the sifted flour and cocoa powder.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy on medium speed.

Beat in the egg, milk, vanilla, and salt until combined. Stir in the cocoa-flour mixture by hand or on low speed until well combined.

Pack the dough into the cookie press and fit with the desired disk. Press onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing cookies 1 inch apart.

Bake until lightly golden, about 10–12 minutes. Leave on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The baking sheet must be ungreased, cold, and not non-stick for the cookies to release cleanly from the press.

Remove most of the liquid from the cheese. Combine cheese, milk, oil, sugars, and salt; stir until smooth. Mix flour and baking powder; add half by tablespoonfuls to the cheese mixture, then knead in the rest.

Roll out the dough to ½ cm thick and cut into squares. Place a spoonful of jam in the centre of each square, then fold over into triangles or rectangles, pressing the edges to seal.

Brush the tops with condensed milk. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Ricotta or pressed cottage cheese can substitute for quark. Use a jam with good fruit flavour and not too much sugar — it holds up better in baking and the flavour comes through more clearly.

Remove most of the liquid from the quark (the weight above is without liquid). Combine quark, milk, oil, sugars, and salt; stir until smooth.

Combine flour and baking powder. Add half the flour mixture by tablespoonfuls to the quark mixture. Knead in the rest of the flour mixture.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle of 30×40 cm (the short end must fit into a bread pan). Brush milk over the surface and spread the dates evenly.

Roll up the dough from the short side and place into a greased bread pan. Score the top several times to a depth of ½ cm. Bake at 350°F for approximately 45 minutes.

Ricotta or pressed cottage cheese can substitute for quark. Honey dates from Iran work particularly well here.

Mix the lemon juice and sugar with the cold black tea. Fill with water to make 2 quarts total. Stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Serve cold.

Add the spices to the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat; boil for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Reduce heat to medium and add the red wine; bring back up to almost boiling. Take off the heat and remove the spices.

Pour into glasses. A slice of lemon in each glass is a nice finish.

Optional: leave the water out entirely and increase the red wine to ¾ L.

Cut up the fruit, removing pits, stems, or anything you don't want to eat; cut into large pieces. Place the fruit in a large container and sprinkle with sugar. Add enough white wine to cover all the fruit. Let the fruit and sugar soak in the wine for 1–2 hours, cold in the fridge or on ice.

After soaking, add the remaining white wine and the sparkling water; stir to mix. Serve cold in glasses.

Local, freshly picked fruit makes a noticeable difference. Adjust sugar to the natural sweetness of whatever is in season.

Choose coconuts with white skin, no bruises, and that feel heavy when lifted — indicating plenty of liquid inside. They shouldn't slosh when shaken; they should feel full.

Place the young coconut on the floor or a very sturdy table. Using a large knife or cleaver, chop downward along one edge of the top of the coconut. Repeat several times until you hear the tough inner shell crack — some liquid may spill. You don't need to go deep; just enough to crack the inner shell.

Repeat on each of the other three sides, making a square around the base of the pyramid shape at the top.

When all four sides are open, use the sharp edge of the cleaver to pry open one side of the square. If a side isn't open enough, chop it again.

Lift off the freed square. You will find either a layer of coconut meat in the opening (cut it out with a knife) or it will come away with the piece you removed.

Pour the coconut water into a container. Scoop out the young coconut meat from inside.

Really young coconut meat will be slightly purple in colour; it becomes white as it matures. Both the water and the meat are good together. The meat has a soft, jelly-like texture quite different from mature coconut.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 6. Grease and line one 8-inch (20 cm) cake tin.

In a food processor, blitz the cooked beetroots until smooth. If necessary, add a small quantity of the warm water to achieve a smoother consistency.

In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs until light and pale.

Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and fold in the beetroot, olive oil, warm water, and finally the eggs, until the mixture is smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin, level out the edges, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for approximately 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate and continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted.

While the mixture is still warm, stir in the butter — this gives the glaze its glossy shine.

Pour over the cooled cake and allow to set.

Use the best cocoa powder you can find. The beetroot keeps this cake moist for several days. The glaze sets to a soft finish rather than a hard shell.

Comb through the fresh rice noodles to separate any clumps. Peel and mince the garlic. Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and the Chinese broccoli into 1.5 cm strips.

Heat a wok over medium heat and add the oil. When hot, fry the garlic for about 10 seconds until sizzling and fragrant. Add the chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute until nearly cooked through.

Turn the heat down (or move the pan off the burner briefly if using electric). Add the noodles, Chinese broccoli, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Gently fold the noodles using a spatula — pick from the bottom and fold over. Do not stir-fry hard or the noodles will clump together.

Continue folding on low heat for 1–2 minutes. If it looks a little dry, drizzle in a tiny bit more oil.

Scoot the noodles to one side and crack the egg into the empty space. Now crank the heat up high. Scramble the egg until half-cooked, then fold the noodles over it. Let the heat sear everything for a few seconds, then fold together — you want a little char on both the noodles and the egg. Fry for about 30 more seconds, keeping the folding gentle.

Dish out and finish with freshly ground pepper. Serve with chili flakes and vinegar on the side.

The two key techniques: gentle folding (not stirring) when the noodles go in, and a final blast of high heat for char. Fresh sen yai noodles are not negotiable — dried wide rice noodles will not give the same result. Dark soy sauce gives colour and a slight sweetness; do not skip it.