I Am... Brown Butter Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I have been on a quest for really, really good chocolate chip cookies. I tried all of the ones in NYC that everyone loves (post is written, coming up soon once the photos are done!) and I’ve been sampling the random chocolate chip cookies I’ve been seeing here and there in Tokyo, but there’s something about homemade that beats out store bought. Unless the store bought is amazingly good. Anyway, I made these brown butter macadamia nut dark chocolate chip cookies back while we were at home and they were everything I wanted in a macadamia nut chocolate chip cookie.
Read More →
I Am... One Pot Hainanese Chicken Bibimbap Rice Bowl
Hainanese chicken rice is one of the greatest dishes in the world, beloved by almost everyone who tries it. It’s not too spicy, not too fancy, just universally loved comfort food that any palate can enjoy. It’s also one of the hardest dishes to find at a restaurant; even if you live in NYC or LA, there are only a handful of places specializing in Hainanese chicken rice at most, and decent ones even less. Thankfully though, Hainanese chicken rice is super easy to make at home. Because it's traditionally a street food, Hainanese chicken rice is made by cooking the rice and chicken separately, then serving on a platter along with multiple sauces, soup, and cucumbers. It’s done this way because when serving hundreds of customers, separating out the components and cooking them separately means you can make more at once. At home though, this one pot, one bowl version just makes sense, and it’s easily just as delicious as the best versions you’ll find.
How to make Hainanese Chicken Rice
At its heart, Hainanese chicken rice is rice that’s been lightly sautéed with aromatics and cooked in a chicken broth with green onions and ginger, then served with perfectly poached chicken and a variety of sauces. If you want to make it the right way, you cook the chicken first with green onions and ginger, then use the resulting broth to make the rice. Of course, every family tweaks the recipe to their own liking, and we’re no different. In all the years we’ve made it, our (not-so-uncommon) family trick is to sauté the rice in chicken fat for extra chicken-y goodness. This makes the rice glossy and rich, and irresistibly good. We also serve ours with green onion oil instead of the usual ginger-garlic sauce.What is Bibimbap?
Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish which is essentially a bowl of rice with vegetables and meat and gochujang (a fermented chili sauce). The whole thing is presented as a beautiful, composed bowl, then mixed at the table before eating. If the whole thing is presented in a hot stone bowl and you get crispy rice at the bottom, that’s dolsot bibimbap. Both versions are utterly delicious. We’re calling the way we serve this Hainanese chicken rice “bibimbap-style” because it ticks all the marks of a good bibimbap: a warm rice bowl topped with cold veg, bite-sized chunks of meat (chicken) and topped with an egg and chili sauce. It’s truly the best way to eat Hainanese chicken rice because every bite is a perfect bite of rice, chicken, veg, and sauce. Especially if you’re hungry, you can spoon in the goodness as fast as possible without messing around with multiple utensils.Tips and Tricks for the best Hainanese chicken rice
Follow these tips for the best one-pot Hainanese chicken rice: 1. Buy skin-on chicken thighs 2. Fry your rice in chicken fat until it turns a little transparent and golden 3. Cook your rice and chicken in a high-quality, low-sodium chicken broth instead of water. We use Swanson Chicken Broth to add loads of flavor and to bring the whole dish together! 4. Go homemade for the sauces but don’t go crazy. Use our green onion oil recipe here. For the chili sauce, we like to go with equal parts sriracha, white sugar, ketchup, and ginger. Mix well and let stand for 5 minutes. If you have sweet soy sauce on hand, that’s a great third sauce (Hainanese chicken rice is usually served with 2-3 different sauces).One Pot Hainanese Chicken Rice Bibimbap-Style
A Surprisingly Authentic Super Easy Take on Hainanese Chicken Rice
Hainanese Chicken Rice
- 1 cup Swanson Chicken Broth
- 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 cup white rice (jasmine preferred)
- 1 tbsp chicken fat or neutral oil
- 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Green Onion Oil
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
To Serve
- salt (to taste)
- 1 tbsp sambal oelek
- 1/2 cucumber (sliced)
- 1/2 carrot (julienned)
- 4-6 shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 eggs (sunny side up)
In a pan, fry the ginger, garlic, and shallot in 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in the rice and fry gently until glossy.
Add Swanson Chicken Broth, then place the chicken, skin side up, in the pan. Add the green onions on top. Bring to boil over medium high heat and when it starts to simmer, cover and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 17 minutes, turn off the heat, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Remove the chicken and chop into bite sized pieces.
Make the green onion oil: place the green onions in a deep heat proof bowl and set aside. In a small pot, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat until it reaches 275°F. Remove the pot from the stove and very carefully pour over the green onions – they will sizzle and bubble up. Stir in salt to taste.
When the rice is done, fluff and place into a bowl. Top with the chicken, green onion oil, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, sambal oelek, and egg. Enjoy!
I Am... 11 Keto Recipes to Make Right Now
Are you tired of eating uninspired keto food? These are the recipes for you! There are a surprising number of ways to make all the things you love keto-friendly. Swap out regular noodles for magical shirataki noodles or zoodles and taco shells for egg crepes. All your keto needs, right here, right now :)
Read More →
I Am... The Best Place for Tuna Lovers in Tokyo: Maguro Mart Nakano
Maguro Mart is the place for tuna lovers, so if you’re looking for where to eat tuna in Tokyo, this is it!
Read More →
I Am... Macadamia Parmesan Pesto Penne Recipe
I know it’s the middle of winter and basil isn’t exactly in season but sometimes in the cold, the best way to warm up is a taste of summer. And to me, summer tastes like pesto and oven burst cherry tomatoes. I did a little twist on the classic pesto that’s made with pine nuts and used extra buttery macadamia nuts instead for a nutty, savory macadamia parmesan pesto.
Read More →
I Am... The Best Combini Sweets to Try in Japan
Everything you’ve ever heard about Japanese Convenience stores is absolutely true: they are full of magical, wonderful, delicious, cheap eats! They’re a must visit when you go to Japan and probably one of the easiest and most rewarding things you will do. Locals go to them, tourists go to them, they are an essential service opened 24/7, 365 days a year.
Read More →
I Am... 10 Super Cozy Japanese Inspired Recipes to Warm You Up This Winter
Mike and I are currently in Tokyo. Our place does happen to have a kitchenette (with the cutest two tiny burner stovetop), but I have to admit that we haven’t really used it much, aside from making some cozy oden at home. The grocery stores here in Tokyo have so many amazing oden things! I want to cook something and post it soon because I absolutely love grocery shopping here. It’s so fun to see what produce people buy and what’s popular. I’ll manage to cook at least one thing here, I hope. Is there anything you’re hoping to see, Tokyo post-wise? Maybe a photo tour of a typical grocery store? Or is that just something weird that I’d be into? Please let me know and in the meantime, here are 10 super cozy Japanese inspired recipes that you can make right at home to get you through the winter! 1. Fluffy Japanese Pancakes I know, I know, pancakes aren’t really a winter food, but they are Japanese and they really are cozy. Spend a snowy morning mastering these towers of fluff. You won’t be disappointed! 2. Nikujaga Nikujaga translates to meat and potatoes! It’s a super homey, super yummy quick and easy Japanese beef stew made with thinly sliced beef, potatoes, sake, soy, mirin, dashi, carrots, and if you are into it, konnyaku! I love it, it’s one of my favorite things to eat in the winter. 3. Japanese Egg Salad Sandos I have to confess: I’ve eaten like 6 convenience store egg salad sandos while here in Tokyo. They’re really good! But if you’re not hopping on a plane anytime soon, don’t worry, this recipe has got your back! Japanese egg salad is really easy to make, I hope you give it a try! 4. Duck Ramen Super savory duck ramen with soba noodles instead of ramen noodles because the nuttiness of soba goes perfectly with the juiciness of duck. 5. Super Simple Chicken Udon You’re only 7-10 ingredients and oh, about 10 minutes away from this healthy delicious chicken udon recipe. Like chicken noodle soup but with a Japanese udon twist. 6. Turkey Curry Udon Speaking of udon, if you haven’t had Japanese curry and udon together, please, please try it! The thick slightly sweet savory curry sauce goes perfectly with those thick chewy noodles. 7. Slow Braised Chashu Super tender slow braised pork shoulder perfect for topping off ramen, rice bowls, or even eating in tacos :) 8. Miso Soup the Right Way Ever wonder why your miso soup at home doesn’t quite taste like what you think it should? Read this post to find out how to make it the right way! 9. Yaki Imo Roasted Sweet Potatoes It isn’t winter if you haven’t had a roasted sweet potato. Golden and fluffy, sweet and creamy and so comforting. If you can’t find a Japanese variety of sweet potato, really, any sweet potato will do! 10. Tamago Yaki and Rice This is a super simple way of making tamago yaki – that bright yellow egg sushi that everyone (or is it just me?) loves. It’s a deconstructed sushi, kind of. Soft scrambled eggs seasoned with sugar, soy, and mirin on fluffy rice. Heaven. That’s it! I hope this has inspired you a bit and I hope you’re keeping warm and eating all the delicious winter things! xoxo steph
Read More →
I Am... Pesto Cauliflower Gnocchi Recipe
Happy 2020! How is the new decade treating you so far? Mike and I rung in the new decade in Tokyo with a quick little lucky trip to the local shrine right after midnight. I almost didn’t make it because of jetlag, but thankfully I managed to wake up from the nap that I took (I know, I know, you’re really not supposed to nap if you don’t want jetlag). Now, we’re eating up a storm and the fact that I did keto is a far away dream way back in 2019.
Read More →
I Am... Lucky New Year’s Soba: Why You Should Eat Soba on New Year’s Day
Have you heard of new year’s soba? In Japan, on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, lots of peeps like to eat toshikoshi soba. Toshikoshi literally means “year crossing noodle.” It’s a super simple humble dish of soba for good fortune for the new year. Eating soba symbolizes letting go of the hardships of the last year while looking forward to strength and resiliency in the new year.
Read More →
I Am... Sundubu Jjigae/Spicy Kimchi Soft Tofu Stew
Hi! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of good cheer and all the best kinds of food! I can’t believe Christmas is over for another year and the new year is fast approaching. We’re getting into deep winter. It’s super cold outside and all I want to do is hibernate and eat all the cozy winter foods. I think I’m pretty much in love with winter because it means there’s lots of staying inside, keeping warm, and eating. The name of the game is keeping warm and the best way to keep warm is to eat spicy things, am I right?
Read More →
I Am... Super Simple Cut-Out Gingerbread Cookies
This is my favorite gingerbread recipe, partially because it’s the same one I’ve been making since I started baking on my own and partially because it’s just a darn good gingerbread recipe. It comes together easily, rolls out like a dream and tastes good, with just the right amount of ginger and sweetness. It’s also not super hard or crunchy, as long as you take it out of the oven at the right time.
Read More →
I Am... Friday Finds 12.20.19
It’s the last Friday before Christmas! Are you in a Christmas panic or are you chilling out in your festive Christmas sweater laughing because you finished your shopping in November. I’m pretty much a cool cucumber because we don’t actually really do many gifts for family. Just for my nephews and those were easy because, well, they’re kids! Mike and I aren’t don’t gifts this year so that’s sorted too, so I’ve just been chilling, reading things on the internets and baking. Here are some fun finds, if you’re just chilling too!
Read More →
Latest Comment
“Cafe & Pancake Gram has three locations in Tokyo: Harajuku, Kichijoji, and Kudanshita. The Harajuku location is clos...”ILAN on Tokyo Food Guide: Where to Eat Fluffy Japanese Pancakes in TokyoPopular
2015 Holiday Giveaway 
One-Pot Lemon Scallop Pea Spaghetti 
Beer Battered Onion Rings, Jalapeno Aioli 
2014 Holiday Gift Guide and a Giveaway 
Easy Gourmet Hot Wings and a Giveaway! 
The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich 
Vegan(!) Creamy Corn Soup Recipe 
Sunday Brunch: Grilled Cheese Eggs Benny
