jan's garden

Cookbook [project]

This space is an evolving, live reference for short everyday recipes that I have prepared and enjoyed. They are written in a shorthand way that makes sense to me, primarily.

Veggie and cheese wraps

Heat up medium wheat tortillas, fill with feta, rucola/romaine/other greens, cucumber, red onion, fresh hot peppers, cream cheese/mayo based condiment, hot sauce. Optionally fry an egg onto the tortilla first (very rich).

Nacho chicken burger

Nachos, buns, green salad, tomato, mayo, sriracha, guac, yoghurt, chicken thigh. Velvet & marinade chicken with baking soda, spices, yoghurt, oil. Fry & assemble. Put sauces on the bun.

Potato curry

Toast allspice, coriander seeds, crush with mortar & pestle. Sauté lots of onion, ginger, garlic. Add crushed spices + curry powder, garam masala, cumin powder, fresh chili pepper. Add parboiled potato slices, canned tomatos, coconut milk. Taste and adjust spices and salt. Reduce and serve with basmati.

Creamy gnocchi/tortelloni pan

Fry portobello bits, add gnocchi/tortelloni, cream, plenty of spinach. Add grated parmigiano. Adjust spices (garlic, heat).

Harissa bean dip w/ bread

Cherry tomatoes, harissa paste, oil in 225C in a small dish. At the same time fry and reduce into paste onion, garlic, white beans and stock. Combine and serve with more harissa paste and good bread.

Dubu jorim

Press and dry firm tofu slices. Toast sesame seeds (optional). Sauté shallot, garlic, set aside. Fry tofu. Stew everything for some time in sauce of equal parts toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, water, gochugaru (or half and half paprika and chili flakes). Serve with seeds, green onion, jasmine rice.

Mozzarella pesto pasta

Toast seeds, set aside. Prepare one pan pasta with onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes, pesto. Add sliced mozz and seeds.

Sweet potato chicken salad

Velvet & marinade chicken thigh, fry and chop to bite size. Fry sweet potato bites. Fry kale. Let cool a bit and mix in a bowl with cherry tomato halves and toasted cashew. Add kewpie, serve.

Pineapple shrimp curry

Press pineapple juices into bowl. Sauté shallots, garlic. Add coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, tamarind paste, chili flakes, brown sugar, kaffir lime leaves, MSG. Add pineapple, chopped bell pepper. Add thawed large shrimp 1 min before serving. Adjust with pineapple juice & spices. Serve with jasmine rice, green onions.

Satay noodles

Make satay sauce from peanuts, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy. Fry pressed and dried tofu slices or velveted chicken thigh or mifu (veg protein brand). Sauté fridge veggies. Combine, add chili flakes, soy sauce, starch slurry. Serve with udon noodles, green onions.

Marry me chicken

Marinate and bread chicken. Fry chicken, brown with butter. Add garlic, cream, sun dried tomato bits, stock, chili flakes, oregano. Serve with grated parmigiano and fresh basil on pasta.

Lemon garlic shrimp orzo

Brown onion, lots of garlic. Add orzo, boil in stock. Add shrimp and lemon juice 1 minute before serving. Add dash of chili flakes. Adjust with herbs and spices. Add parmigiano.

Egg fried rice

Sauté shallots, garlic, chili peppers. Add egg, smash to bits. Add day old rice. Add soy sauce on edges, MSG, fish sauce. Serve with green onion, fresh chili peppers. Variants: with mushroom, chicken thigh or tofu.

Fish, tzatziki and veggies

Starch white fish fillets, fry in oil. Add butter to brown. Cook veggies (e.g. potato, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, onion) in oven with oil and salt. Combine and serve with tzatziki (grated cucumber, yoghurt, garlic, salt, lemon).

Caper lemon pasta

Fry a bunch of capers, set aside and dry off excess oil. Fry garlic and rosemary leaves. Deglaze with a nice amount of white wine, let bubble. Add cream, fine lemon zest, lemon juice, parmigiano, capers. Salt and pepper, serve with a chonky pasta.

Tuna mayo rice with soy beans

Couple cans of tuna in chili oil, mix in bowl with mayo, soy, mirin sauce, MSG, brown sugar. Boil/soak frozen or fresh soy beans. Serve with cooked rice.

Schnitzel, asparagus and sweet potato bites

Cut up sweet potato into fry size pieces. Fry in oil, move to bag, add garlic powder, salt, MSG, paprika. Shake. Parboil asparagus, fry in same oil, add salt. Fry schnitzel in oil on medium high (not too long!), add some butter, let brown and give the meat a nice color. Serve with bearnaise (chili bearnaise is tasty).

Chicken veggie stir fry

Marinade chicken thighs in mixture of toasted sesame oil, soy, baking soda (velveting), salt, MSG, chili flakes, garlic powder. Fry mixed veggies in oil. Set aside. Prepare egg noodles while frying the chicken thighs. Turn thighs around every now and then to check that the surface is nice and golden. While frying, prepare sauce slurry: starch (corn ok), water, soy, chili flakes, fish sauce. Throw in veggies and slurry with the chicken and mix, serve over noodles. Add garnishes like spring onion and fresh chili if available.

Halloumi and strawberry salad

This is an early summer time specialty. Grill or Fry chili-flavored halloumi in oil or grill. Lightly soften chopped asparagus in boiling, salted water. While those are cooking, mix quartered strawberries, pomegranate seeds, leafy greens. Add sliced halloumi. Top with hot vinaigrette: honey, olive oil, lemon juice, ground cayenne pepper, salt.

Korean-style rice bowl

Lightly fry onions or shallots, garlic and ginger. Fry minced meat or similar protein. Add kimchi to the pan. While those are frying, prepare sauce of soy, gochujang, gochugaru, black pepper, brown sugar. Reduce somewhat. Serve with rice and green onions.

Fish finger tacos

Fry fish fingers. Toast small corn-wheat-tortillas to make tacos or just use them as soft shells. Fill taco with shredded red cabbage, jalapeno mayo or similar, spicy salsa verde, shredded cheese and the fried fish fingers.

Oven pesto fish fillets

Put fish fillets into an oven tin/casserole. Add salt and oil on both sides, add a good layer of pesto on top. Serve with potato mash and spinach with a wedge of lemon.

Caramel tofu rice bowl

Crumble and pat dry a bunch of tofu. Fry in light sesame oil. Add in chopped white parts of spring onion and chili. Optionally add other veggies like green beans. Add Jim Lim caramel sauce or similar. Serve with spring onion, chili and crushed salted peanuts.