Watch the video for a in-depth tutorial on how to make this dish. If you enjoyed watching, please give me a thumbs up/subscribe to me on YouTube!

Mapo Tofu was one of my favorite dishes to eat growing up. My mom—who’s originally from Sichuan—used to make this this all the time since it’s a effortless staple in a Chinese household. It works as a main or a side, and tastes amazing on top of a hot steaming bowl of rice.

For those who have a fear of tofu: is it because of its bland flavor or the strange texture? If so, it’s probably because you’re cooking it wrong (apologize for my sass).

Mapo Tofu, on the other hand, is full of flavor from the spicy chili bean sauce (which acts as its base) and salty fermented black beans. Traditionally, it’s topped with a red chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Its silky texture comes from the combination of the soft tofu with a cornstarch slurry that makes the sauce thick and gooey. The soft texture is balanced with ground beef or pork, which is fried throughly with the chili bean paste in the beginning.

Though the ingredients might seem kinda intimidating, you can buy most of these at your local Asian market. No guarantees, but you can probably find most of these in the Asian section at a regular grocery store as well.

At the usual grocery store: ground beef/pork, tofu, scallions, cornstarch, sesame oil, chili oil

At the Asian grocery store: doubanjiang, or pixian douban (Chinese spicy bean paste), douchi (fermented black beans), Sichuan peppercorns (or peppercorn powder)

Definitely serve this on top of rice, since the dish can be pretty spicy and salty when eaten by itself.

How to make Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) - my mom's recipe!

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)

• 1 block of soft tofu
• ¾ cup of ground beef/pork
• 3 scallions
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp water
• vegetable or canola oil
• 1 tbsp pixian douban/doubanjiang (Chinese chili bean paste)
• 3 tsp chili oil
• 1-2 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns or Sichuan peppercorn powder
• ½ tbsp douchi (Chinese fermented black beans) *optional
• 2 tsp sesame oil *optional

Takes 15 minutes, Makes 3-4 servings.

Instructions

1. Chop the lower ends (white parts) of the scallions into 1 inch pieces. Chop the leaves (green parts) into smaller pieces that we’ll use for garnish at the end


2. Cut the block of tofu into half inch cubes. Bring some water to a boil in a large pan and add in the tofu. (You can definitely skip this step, but this process will ensure that the tofu is super soft and silky, and removes impurities from its original packaging).


3. Finely chop the fermented black beans.


4. Add oil to a hot wok. When the wok is hot enough, add in the chili bean paste.


5. Add ground pork to the wok and stir fry it with the bean paste. Make sure you break up the ground pork so that it cooks evenly and is completely coated with the bean paste.
 

6. Add the chopped fermented black beans into the pan. Since these are pretty salty, just a little bit will go a long way.


7. Toss in the roots of the scallions and stir fry it with the sauce


8. To make the sauce thicker, combine the cornstarch with water. Stir it up to make sure it’s well combined. With the heat turned down low, add this mixture to the pan. The slurry will make the sauce and pork really gooey and silky.


9. Toss in the whites of the scallions and stir fry it with the sauce.


10. Toss in the boiled tofu and lightly fold it in with the meat sauce. Be super gentle with it, since you don’t want to break up the soft pieces of tofu.


11. Add the Sichuan pepper powder, sesame oil, and chili oil. If you like your tofu to be spicier, feel free to add more chili oil than what's specified in this recipe. Finally, toss in the chopped scallion leaves and lightly fold them in. You won't need any extra salt since the doubanjiang and douchi already contribute a lot of saltiness to the dish.


12. Spoon the Mapo Tofu on top of a bowl of white rice and top with more scallions.

I loved watching my mom in the kitchen when I was younger, and I’m pretty fortunate to have picked up this dish from her. Because she never really measures her ingredients, it was pretty hard for me to come up with the measurements for this recipe. So feel free to adjust the amounts to your liking—tasting your food while cooking is the best part!

♥ Cindy

Watch the video for a in-depth tutorial on how to make the dish. If you enjoyed watching, please give me a thumbs up/subscribe to me on YouTube!

One night after a long day of exploring Sydney, I decided to order room service at the Four Seasons hotel. I would’ve stayed out to discover more of Sydney’s restaurants, but since I was solo-traveling that day, I got lazy and figured it would be easiest for me to just order something to my room for dinner. Luckily, laziness won me a super delicious and unique pasta dish.

It was so delicious to the point where I lost all sense of tact and started asking the concierge to see if they could get me the recipe from the chef. Fortunately, the chef agreed to spill the beans and told me all the ingredients that went into the dish (but not necessarily the step-by-step instructions). Turns out what made the pasta so delicious was the uni butter.

After hearing the uni butter part I got a little bit disappointed, thinking of how rare and potentially expensive an ingredient uni—or sea urchin—is. Like, where the hell am I gonna get sea urchin just to cook this damn meal? Then it clicked: I can just go to my local Japanese market to get the uni. No need to scour a fancy seafood market.

For reference, here’s what the original dish looked like.

Even though uni butter might seem like it’s a rare and unconventional ingredient to cook with, the flavor payoff you’ll get is unrivaled. Plus, it’s actually super easy to make. The extra effort of visiting your Japanese market or seafood market will definitely show since the uni butter gives the dish a really fresh taste of the ocean, and also a creamy texture.

Seafood Pasta with Uni Butter

Ingredients (serves 2-3 people)

• 6-7 (2 oz/60g) pieces of uni (sea urchin)*
• 4 tbsp butter
• 8 oz (230g) spaghetti or linguine
• 10-15 shrimp (or any seafood of your choice)
• 3 small pieces of cuttlefish (or any seafood of your choice)
• about 8 heirloom cherry tomatoes
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• white wine
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp chili oil
• black Pepper
• salt
• olive oil
• parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish

Takes 30 minutes, Makes 2-3 servings.

*You can find this at your local Japanese market and fish market

Instructions

1. Chop the heirloom tomatoes into halves, and dice up the garlic. Chop up the parsley for garnish at the very end.


2. Add salt to a boiling pot of water. Drop in spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking process (we'll finish cooking it in our sauce later).


3. Add olive oil to a pan and sautée the seafood with the garlic and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to season accordingly.


4. Bring the heat down and add a splash of white wine. Add in the tomato sauce, chili oil, and uni butter, stirring constantly to make sure everything is combined.
 

5. Fold in the cooked spaghetti, making sure it picks up the sauce. Add in half the parsley and allow it wilt down.


6. Arrange pasta and seafood on a plate and garnish with more parsley. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

If you decide to make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram (@cinders_zhang). If you enjoyed the cooking video, lease give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel. also A huge shout out to the Four Seasons hotel in Sydney for the inspiration and recipe!

♥ Cindy

Lately, I've made it a goal to start eating clean and healthy weekday dinners. I admit that cooking for myself is not the most exciting pastime, and so it was natural that I ended up putting very little effort into my meals and consequently ate a lot of junk food. I have to admit that doing this didn't make me feel the best, and probably even escalated the amount of stress and anxiety I was feeling on a daily basis. The amount of sugar I was eating left me feeling tired yet antsy all the time. So, in an attempt to start taking care of my physical and mental health, I've started waking up early to go to the gym and to eat more healthy, non-processed foods. This decision wasn't necessarily to lose weight (I'm lucky that I'm still young and have a fast metabolism). It was more geared towards making me a happier and more positive person. I can tell you that I felt 10 times more energized going to work after exercising in the morning. Of course, during weekends, I'll still treat myself to a Tonkotsu ramen or even some Korean fried chicken. But on weekdays, when I need to be at the top of my game and to feel confident, I'm really trying to improve my emotional health through exercising and avoiding sugary and processed foods.

One of the first Korean dishes I was introduced to was bibimbap. I had the normal cold version at a Korean church and later learned about dolsot bibimbap (the one in the hot stone bowl) from going to Korean restaurants with friends. I loved putting loads of gochujang (sweet, spicy paste) in my bibimbap and mixing it around with the sunny-side up egg. It was so satisfying. But bibimbap can also get a bit heavy with amount of white rice that's in the dish, which you might not even notice when mixing it around with the other ingredients. The portion given at restaurants for this dish can also be quite big.

In my version, I took out the rice completely and added in edamame and avocados to replace the carbs with protein. I took out the bulgogi and replaced it with imitation crab meat—which is insanely delicious and is only 80 calories per 3 ounces. Then, I swapped out the fried egg for a soft boiled egg. On top, I took out the gochujang for its high sugar and salt content and replaced it with a small drizzle of sesame oil and freshly cracked black pepper. I guess the only ingredient that ended up staying was the kimchi. On the side, for some banchan (side dishes), I steamed a small block of tofu and drizzled it with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

Healthyish "Bibimbap" calories

Ingredients

For the "Bibimbap"

• Half an avocado
• ½ cup Edamame
• 1 oz Imitation Crab
• A few pieces of Kimchi
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Black Pepper
• Sesame Seeds

Steamed Tofu

• ¼ a block of soft tofu
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar

Takes 15 minutes, Makes 1 serving.

Instructions

1. Put the edamame and tofu into two separate bowls and bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the two bowls into the boiling water and steam the edamame and tofu for 5 minutes.


2. Chop up half an avocado into small bite-sized cubes.


3. Layer the edamame, avocado, imitation crab, and kimchi into a bowl. Lightly drizzle with sesame oil.


4. For the soft-boiled egg on top: put an egg into boiling water for around 6 minutes and then immediately submerge the egg into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Peel the egg carefully, slice it into halves, and layer it on top of the ingredients in the bowl.
 

5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.


6. For the tofu side dish, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and drizzle on top of the steamed tofu.

This dish super is easy to make and requires very minimal cooking (all you need to do is steam the edamame and tofu, and soft-boil an egg!). Since you're only boiling/steaming the ingredients, your clean-up will super simple as well. See? Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of time cooking at all!

Eating healthy also doesn't mean cutting out all of your favorite foods. There are loads of delicious ingredients that also contain numerous health benefits—avocados are my favorite, haven't you noticed? There's no one simple solution for everyone to eat healthy, so find your own favorite healthy ingredients, and start getting creative!

♥ Cindy

It’s autumn in California, and you know what that means—fig season! For breakfast, I decided to ditch my usual avocado toast (unheard of, I know), for a more seasonal favorite—figs and ricotta on toast. This simple 4-ingredient dish will complete a fancy breakfast or snack in minutes. Let your toaster do most of the cooking, and then just finish up with the assembly of ingredients on top.

As I entered through the doors of Trader Joe’s, the boxes of figs were the first to catch my eye. It’s always delightful to see them pop up every autumn at groceries stores and (occasionally) at the office. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to pair them with one of my Trader Joe’s favorites—the Sliced French Brioche. This bread is the perfect size for this kind of open-face toast. Not to mention they are so delicious just by themselves because of their buttery, sweet taste. I have to confess that I’ve eaten them plain and un-toasted without any butters or jams multiple times.

Figs are super versatile in what kind of dishes they can contribute to. For the savory category: toss them into a salad with arugula and walnuts, sprinkle them onto flatbread with gorgonzola, or add them on top of a crostini with prosciutto. As for the sweet, well, there are too many recipes to list. But cakes, tarts, pastries, bars, and cookies are just some ideas. One of my coworkers even incorporated them into an ice cream!

Fig, Ricotta, and Honey Toast

Ingredients

• 2 Figs
• 2 tbsp Ricotta Cheese
• 1 tsp of honey
• Sliced Bread (preferrably on the thicker side)
• Honey for drizzling

Takes 5 minutes, Makes 1 serving.

Instructions

1. Remove the top stem of the figs and slice them into thin, round disks.


2. Thoroughly mix the ricotta cheese with the honey.


3. Toast the bread using a toaster, oven, or a pan.


4. Spread the ricotta cheese and honey mixture onto the toast and assemble the slices of fig on top. Drizzle with honey to finsh. Enjoy while the toast is still hot.
 

Did I mention figs also have a high content of potassium, fiber, and calcium? They will add a great boost for a nutritious breakfast without contributing much to the calories.

Happy fall, everyone 🍁

♥ Cindy

Ah, the classic Millennial breakfast item: avocado toast. Every café in San Francisco has its own variation of it, and yes, they will charge you an unreasonable price for it. So why not beat the system and make it yourself in the comfort of your own home? There's really no rocket science to avocado toast, so there's no reason why you shouldn't make it yourself for a fraction of the price. All you need is bread, avocados, and maybe, if you're feeling fancy, an egg. Another great advantage to making avocado toast yourself is you can put whatever you want on top of it. Avocado Toast is a great canvas for showcasing your favorite ingredients—so get creative, and pile up your favorite veggies, proteins, and spices.

Variation 1: Diced, with smoked salmon and ramen egg on toast

Ingredients: Avocados, smoked salmon, bread, eggs, salt & pepper.

For this first variation, dice up the avocado into small cubes and mix with salt and pepper. Put a slice of bread (preferably thick) into the toaster and toast until golden. Spoon the avocado cubes onto the toast and layer a few small slices of smoked salmon. Top it off with half of a soft-boiled egg. Sprinkle on salt and freshly ground pepper to finish.

For the soft-boiled (ramen) egg

Soft boiled eggs have gotten incredibly popular these days after people got accustomed to them in their broth at Ramen restaurants. Although I've always hated boiling eggs due to the difficulty of the peeling process, I find that these soft boiled eggs are actually really great to make in bulk, and make for an easy cleanup after cooking. All you have to do is bring a pot of water to a boil, put your eggs in for around 6 minutes, and then transfer them immediately into a ice water bath (to stop the cooking process). I also suggest watching this very satisfying video for a more detailed demo.

Variation 2: Deconstructed Japanese style -

With furikake and Tamagoyaki

Ingredients: Avocados, Furikake seasoning, Eggs, Salt & Pepper

Deconstruct your avocado toast and transform it into a Japanese breakfast item by simply slicing it and sprinkling some furikake flakes on top of it. Serve it with some sushi rice and tamagoyaki on the side. It's difficult to explain how tamagoyaki achieves its shape in words, so I'll link you to this video which taught me how to make it. You don't necessarily need to a square pan to make it, but it definitely helps to have one.

Interested in what a Japanese breakfast consists of and how to make it? Hop on over to this post to learn all about it.

Variation 3: Sliced avocado on top multi-grain toast with everything but bagel seasoning and a poached egg

Ingredients: Avocados, Bread, Eggs, Everything But Bagel Seasoning (or any seasoning you like)

This is the classic variation of avocado toast, and probably one of easiest to make. Grab a piece of multi-grain toast and pop it into the toaster. Slice up an avocado and fan it across the toast, sprinkling a generous portion of Everything But Bagel Seasoning on top. Poach an egg, leaving the it runny and place it on top of the avocados. Finish up with freshly-ground black pepper on top.

If you're feeling a bit adventurous, why not dress up your classic avocado toast with some sriracha on top?

Variation 4: Protein-Style

On top of a salad

Ingredients: Avocados, Eggs, Lettuce, Grilled Chicken, Tangerines

We're all familiar with "protein-style" burgers—this term basically describes a burger without the bun. You can also apply this concept to avocado toast, and put what you would normally put on top of a piece of toast on top of a bed of greens instead. For my salad, I tossed together green and purple lettuce together with some grilled chicken and tangerine slices. I layered a few avocado slices above the salad and finished up with a sunny-side up egg on top. And voilà, the perfect post-workout meal!

Variation 5: Smashed with sesame oil and sesame seeds

Ingredients: Avocados, Eggs, Bread, Sesame Seeds, Sesame oil

Dice up the avocado into small pieces and place them into a bowl. Smash together the avocado until you reach the consistency of guacamole, and then drizzle in sesame oil to taste. Continue smashing the avocado until the sesame oil is well combined. Spread this mixture on top of a toasted slice of multi-grain bread and finish up with a poached egg. Sprinkle some black and white sesame seeds on top for garnish and texture.

Before I end the post, I also want to give a shoutout to some of my favorite cafés in San Francisco that offer some great versions of avocado toast.

mazarine coffee's avocado toast with poached eggs and sprouts

The main reason why I love Mazarine's avocado toast so much is the lovely brick toast that everything sits on top of. Mazarine gives you 2 perfectly poached eggs, a hearty scoop of avocado, chives, and sprouts on top of their pain de mie, which is toasted to perfection and tastes a bit sweeter than most breads. In addition to their avocado toast, they offer a variety of other toasts, such as toasts topped with fig jam & ricotta and salmon with cream cheese and cucumber. 

Mazarine Coffee

720 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102

b/t Ofarrell St & Kearny St
Union Square, Financial District

mazarinecoffee.com

Blue Bottle Coffee's avocado toast with red radishes and sesame seeds

I do have to admit that $9 is an awful lot to pay for a slice of bread with some avocados and veggies on top, but when it comes in a heart shape, how can you say no? Blue Bottle Coffee has multiple locations across San Francisco, but my favorite has to be the location in Mint Plaza because of the yummy breakfast items they serve. This avocado toast comes with red radishes and a generous sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds. You also receive 2 perfectly poached eggs on the side.

Blue Bottle Coffee

66 Mint St
San Francisco, CA 94103

b/t Jessie St & Mission St
SoMa, Union Square

bluebottlecoffee.com

I hope you felt inspired by this post to head on over to the grocery store to pick up some avocados to incorporate into your own breakfast. Not only are they super delicious, but they're also full of health benefits. They're loaded with fiber, heart-healthy fatty acids, and Vitamin C (hello beautiful skin!). Not to mention, they have more potassium than bananas. They're also super versatile, and can contribute to so many different dishes of different cuisines, and work for all meals of the day—breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

Let me know how you end up using your avocados in the comments below!

♥ Cindy

Maple syrup, though lovely on a high stack of pancakes or waffles, also does a surprisingly good job in cakes and cookies. After having the maple pound cake at Icing on the Cake, a bakery in Downtown Los Gatos, I knew I needed to recreate it at home and experiment with my own additions. By the way, if you ever get a chance to visit the quaint, suburban, peaceful neighborhood of Los Gatos, Icing on the Cake is an amazing bakery on Main Street to stop by. They have a wide selection of delicious cookies and cakes with super quirky flavors. They also sell a huge variety of cute kitchen tools and decor... which are honestly really hard to say no to.

I really don't care if you hate the word "moist"—I'm just gonna say it. There's no other way to describe a good cake. What makes this cake particularly moist is the mix of maple syrup, honey, and condensed milk.

In terms of the frosting, I tried to balance out the maple syrup, honey, and condensed milk (which all add a lot of sweetness) with a savory element: pistachios. I always find nuts helpful not only in adding texture to desserts, but also in balancing out the overwhelming sweetness of certain ingredients. Pistachios also have a super sophisticated flavor profile—one that's really hard to recreate artificially. Kudos to the Gelaterias in Italy that do Pistachio-flavored gelato so damn well by making it seem like I'm eating freshly-toasted pistachios right out of the shell. The gelato ice creams here in the US definitely do not compare.

Maple Honey Cake with Pistachio + Ricotta Frosting

Ingredients

Cake

• ¾ cups Canola Or Vegetable Oil
• ½ cup Sugar
• ½ cup Honey
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Eggs
• ¼ cups Pure Maple Syrup
• 2-¾ cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ½ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

Frosting

• ¼ cups Maple Syrup
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
• ½ cups Shelled Pistachios

Takes 1 hour and 30 min, Makes 8 servings.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C). Line the bottom and sides of a circular pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray


2. In large bowl, combine all the wet ingredients: oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, maple syrup, sour cream, milk, and honey.


3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and combine all of these dry ingredients in another bowl.


4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in multiple stages. Ensure that everything is mixed well by pausing the mixer to scrape down the sides. You'll know when you're done when the mixture is ribbon-like and has no clumps.
 

5. Pour the mixture into a deep circular pan and bake for 55 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake rest for 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven.


6. After resting the cake, poke small holes on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Pour the condensed milk onto the cake and let it sink into the holes of the cake created by the toothpick.


7. For the frosting, combine the ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extra until well-mixed.
 

8. Toast the shelled pistachios by either putting them in a hot pan or in the oven for a few minutes. Frost the cake with the ricotta mixture, and top it off with toasted shelled pistachios.
 

Recipe adapted from Lauren's Latest

It's clear that this recipe, unlike the other ones you've seen from me, is pretty time-consuming and requires a plethora of ingredients. But it's definitely great to try out if you're looking for something to bake and eat on a rainy night-in. The cake is so so worth it—and, so moist :^)

♥ Cindy