Vegetarian Japanese Udon

May 13, 2020
by Kelsey
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Asian cuisine

Quick and easy

“Udon is a type of thick, wheat-flour noodle used frequently in Japanese cuisine. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions.”

I’ve always loved japanese food, it’s culture and country. Recently, since the start of 2020, I made a personal choice to focus on eating more vegetarian meals throughout the week the choice was to see whether my health would improve; such as sleep, energy levels. Before covid-19, I used to always talk about food and watch the club lounge chef prepare meals in our tiny back of house and decided to steal this easy to make recipe by chef Robert, a work colleague of mine at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. It’s a very healthy and fuss free meal which takes me back to my Japan travels.

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Asian risotto

May 13, 2020
by Kelsey
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Asian cuisine

Quick and easy

“Asian style risotto inspired by Master Chef of Thailand Pam, recipe from Taste Life.”

It’s always exciting to combine both cuisines from different cultures like East meets West. This fusionised risotto is so easy to make with a heaty kick in the end, all you want to do is have another bite of this rich creamy dish. This dish does really well with duck breast as an alternative to pork tenderloin.

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Losing my passion with Tastingtales

February 18, 2019
by Kelsey
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My thoughts

For all my readers out there wondering what has happened to Tastingtales, it is with sad news to say that I find it hard to find the motivation to log into my blog following the death of my dad. Everything about food, cooking and eating doesn’t feel the same and everything about Tastingtales reminds me of him and it pains me to feel emptiness when attempting to get back into the kitchen or brain storm future blog posts. Tastingtales is about family, memories and the food that binds us together. It is with a heavy heart to admit to everyone that i have loss my sense of purpose. For the last year, I have finally managed to log back into my blog and update you with my decision to post this message to let everyone know of my hiatus and have chosen to take time away to focus on myself, my wellbeing, mental state and continue to understand the stages of grief until I find the strength to pursue my love for cooking once more. I hope that in time i am able to get my spark back and fall back in love with food and Tastingtales. I promise to be back on here soon to share my knowledge and stories.

All my love, and happy cooking, Kelsey x

Mexican lasagna

February 9, 2018
by Kelsey
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Western cuisine

Quick and easy

“This is a latino inspired lasagna style. A healthy and quicker alternative than it’s traditional Italian rival.”

This is a shorthand Mexican-influenced piled up in a lasagna-like fashion. In place of pasta layers, there are soft tortillas and in between them an assembly of minced beef tomato sauce, sour cream, avocado and tortillas sheets and plenty of cheese. I recently came across this dish when someone cooked this dish for me one evening. I was very impressed and asked for the recipe, to our amusement, it had been confided that it came from Taste.

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Chilli crab

February 8, 2018
by Kelsey
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Asian cuisine

Quick and easy

“Chilli crab is a Singaporean seafood dish. Mud crab are commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce. Despite its name, chilli crab is not a very spicy dish. It is listed at number 35 on the World’s 50 most delicious foods compiled by CNN Go in 2011. “The king of all crab dishes, this popular dish is served with the shell on, and is typically eaten with one’s hands. Make sure you have plenty of napkins handy – it’s messy work!″ Adam Liaw

Recreate the flavours of Singapore chilli crab at home. It’s a lot quicker and easier than you might think. Normally, mud crabs are commonly used to prepare this dish. In Perth, Australia, I chose to use fresh Mandurah blue swimmer crabs instead but the result was still very delectable. The last time I had Singaporean chilli crab was during my dad’s business trip when I was 19, I had just had my wisdom teeth removed. Even with stitches in my mouth, it didn’t stop me from over indulging and pigging out with my fingers at East Coast at Jumbo.

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Butterflied roast chicken

August 10, 2017
by Kelsey
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Western cuisine

Quick and easy

“Butterflying a chicken means to remove the backbone of the chicken so that the whole chicken can lay flat on a baking sheet or rack while it roasts. The culinary theory behind butterflying is very simple: it allows the breasts and the legs to cook more evenly. With all the parts of the chicken at the same height, the heat in the oven will reach them more evenly. This way, you don’t get dried-out breasts or undercooked thighs; all the parts of the bird are done at the same time, and all the meat is juicy and delicious.”

One great thing about such guaranteed-delicious meat is that you don’t need to spend a lot of time fussing with the seasonings. All you need is a little rosemary/thyme, salt, and pepper, with some olive oil and butter to crisp the skin. For extra convenience, this recipe includes directions for roasting some vegetables, making an entire family dinner ready to go with very minimal work. You can add sweet potatoes or whatever else you like to the vegetables, or adjust the amounts to fit however many people you need to serve.

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