Carrot Tartare with Microgreens, Fried Carrot Tops, and Edible Flowers

Carrot Tartare with Microgreens, Fried Carrot Tops, and Edible Flowers

Carrot Tartare with Microgreens, Fried Carrot Tops, and Edible Flowers

This carrot tartare plays with your senses, surprising and delighting you. On first glance, you might mistake this dish for beef tartare; the ground red carrots closely resemble raw ground beef. The presentation is visually striking; the colors draw you in, seducing you. It’s beauty on a plate and it’s so much fun to create.

Layering and textures play a critical role in this carrot tartare preparation, both in aesthetics and taste. The bottom layer of the carrot tartare consists of diced avocado with a squeeze of lemon juice, to prevent discoloration, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. The avocado provides a lovely creaminess to the tartare. read more

Pad Thai Spring Rolls with Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Pad Thai Spring Roll Ingredients Ready for Assembly

One of my favorite dishes is Pad Thai. I love the refreshing sweet and sour sauce, the bright herbs, and the juicy shrimp. I recently tried to create an appetizer that captured all the flavors of traditional Pad Thai, but presented in a totally new way. That’s how these Pad Thai spring rolls with tamarind dipping sauce came to exist.

Ingredients for Pad Thai Spring Rolls Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Ingredients for Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Tamarind Dipping Sauce

This sauce is at the heart of Pad Thai. It’s a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salt, spice, and acidity. To make it, you need rice vinegar, fish sauce, fresh tamarind concentrate (concentrated juice and pulp from the tamarind fruit), palm sugar (an unrefined sugar made from the sap of palm trees), Thai bird chiles, shallots, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves. read more

Spicy Harissa Hummus

Spicy Harissa Hummus

Spicy Harissa Hummus with Olives and Homemade Pitas

I’ve been a fan of harissa ever since my honeymoon in France where we ate Moroccan olives flavored with the Tunisian chili paste. I love how it spices up a dish and gives it a nice, smoky flavor. Today I made a spicy harissa hummus drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chili flakes. It was amazing!

Lately, I’ve been making more of an effort to incorporate beans into my diet and hummus is a great way to do this. It’s perfect for snacking and is a wonderful way to transform chickpeas into a delicious dip. You can serve it with celery, carrots, fresh pitas, pita chips, or any other tasty chip or vegetable. read more

Crunchy Shrimp Balls

crunchy shrimp balls

Crunchy shrimp balls are fun to make and incredibly tasty. Their unique, satisfyingly crispy texture contrasts nicely with the shrimp filling. Spring roll wrappers—similar to wonton wrappers, but thinner and made with rice flour—are the secret to this delicate texture. They’re sold in the refrigerated or frozen aisles and are not to be confused with the dried rice wrappers used in Vietnamese spring rolls.

This recipe comes from Bee Yin Low’s cookbook, Easy Chinese Recipes. Her blog, Rasa Malaysia, is one of my favorites. She features authentic Asian recipes, with a particular emphasis on Chinese and Malaysian cuisine, but also occasionally dapples in Western baking. The stunning photography, frequent giveaways, and easy-to-follow recipes make her blog worth checking out. read more

Chinese Lettuce Wraps

Chinese Lettuce Wraps, Chinese appetizer, authentic Chinese appetizer, hoisin sauce

I love Chinese food, especially appetizers! I get hungry just thinking about crispy wontons, fried shrimp toast, savory spring rolls, and the endless varieties of delectable dumplings. The flavor combinations, textures, and delicious sauces of Chinese cuisine make it one of my favorites.

Oftentimes, American Chinese restaurants poorly represent the fare, offering unhealthy and/or bland dishes. Today I present you with an authentic Chinese appetizer that’s both healthy and delicious: Chinese lettuce wraps. read more