A Little Food List - BlogFlock

Vietnamese Grilled Eggplant with Garlicky Green Onion Sizzle - Viet World Kitchen

2026-11-01T16:04:07.000Z

Grilled eggplant with green onion oil and a garlicky fish sauce is a classic Vietnamese side dish for homey meals. I grew up eating it and have ordered it at restaurants in Vietnam. I've also made it hundreds of times. Typical versions involve charring eggplants over an open flame, then discarding the skin and presenting the collapsed flesh under a cloak of rich mỡ hành, which entails sizzling green onion in hot oil. The resulting dish, known as cà tím nướng mỡ mành, is a personal favorite but, honestly, it's a lot of work for a side dish.

To make it faster and turn it into a main dish, I grill thick meaty slices of eggplant and keep the skin intact to retain as many nutrients as possible. (Eggplant skin is where all the phytonutrients are located and sadly, it's often discarded in recipes!) The resulting eggplant "steaks" keep well for days, ready for serving under the luscious green onion-garlic sauce spiked with fish sauce and chile -- which is made in less than a minute using the microwave. I still follow my recipe published in Ever-Green Vietnamese but recently experimented butchering the eggplant as spears and cooking them by high heat roasting and air-frying. The different shape is fun for a party and faster to prep. The eggplant still retains its fatty richness.

Who wouldn't want to eat this Viet eggplant with rice and a stir-fried veggie or a simple pasta dish and a green salad? My modern rendition of cà tím nướng mỡ hành is also fabulous stuffed into banh mi. I've added feta and herbs to it, along with roasted cherry tomatoes to enjoy with pita. In this post, I'll share my original recipe from Ever-Green Vietnamese plus the tweaks I've made to air-fry and roast the eggplant, just in case you want to make it to entertain a crowd like I have.

How to buy good eggplant

Eggplant isn't picked when ripe, but you don't want them immature and rock-hard either. Pointers I have gathered from Hmong farmers Tra and Kou Her who farm in Fresno, California, and cultivate about five different kinds of eggplants:

Does eggplant size matter? Size does not necessarily reflect flavor, Tra said, noting that a big eggplant with a pocket inside may taste just as good as a smaller one without one.
What about perfect skin? Camera-ready, firm eggplants aren't necessarily the best. Minor dents or flat patches happen from the eggplants sitting around. They may even feel slightly spongy yet still dense. Softer eggplant is a sign of ripeness and sweet flavor, Kou said. Those are all signs of good eggplants to eat!
What to avoid? Eggplant that is so soft that you a poke a finger into it (a sign of rotting fruit).

In summary, don't pass up soft, spongy-ish eggplants as long as they feel dense and are relatively heavy for their size. And, when in doubt, ask the farmer or produce person.

Eggplant butchering options

You have options on how to cut the eggplant but always think of how you'll be cooking and serving your creation. Thick rounds or half circles are my default for a main course kind of eggplant. They grill easily because of their broad surface and store well laying flat.

Spears are great for a stand-up party because of their smaller size and shape; they roast roast or air-fry well. Spears don't easily grill and lose their good looks if not stored carefully in a container.

How to cut, roast and air-fry eggplant spears

The recipe is for eggplant rounds but when I've made this dish for a party, I quarter each eggplant then cut each quarter into wedges about 1 ½ inches (3.75cm) wide. Put the eggplant on a baking sheet (ok to let them touch) and drizzle and rub a light coating of oil all over. Season with the salt.

Air-fry at 400F (205C) until soft and charred here and there, 15 to 20 minutes. If there's not enough browning for you, raise the heat to 425F (218C) and air-fry for about 5 minutes. Alternatively, roast the eggplant in the oven at 425 to 450F (218 to 232C) but if there's convection in your oven, use it for nice caramelization. Cooking time depends on the eggplant density and size. I've nearly dried the eggplant during my experiments and this dish still tastes amazing because of the sauce so play with it! Cutting spears creates a healthy dish that looks holiday-ish too.

Garlicky green-onion sauce secrets

When developing this recipe for my plant-focused cookbook, Ever-Green Vietnamese, I streamlined the recipe to combine the green onion oil garnish with the dipping sauce. The flavors were much better integrated than the original and there was less dishwashing.

What you'll do: Microwave the green onion and garlic with a little oil -- it should only take about 45 seconds to soften the green onion and slightly cook the garlic. If you plan to store the sauce overnight, add a pinch of baking soda to preserve the green color. After the brief cooking, then stir in the fish sauce, water and chiles to ensure fresh flavor. (Use regular fish sauce, or do as I did in the photo below and use the splendid vegan fish sauce in the book.)

Don't have a microwave? Heat the oil in a very small saucepan or butter warmer until a piece of green onion sizzles on contact. Dump in all the green onion and garlic, stir and once the solids have softened, pull from the heat. Finish as usual.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's been my go-to Vietnamese eggplant recipe for years. Share your feedback and tweaks with all of us!

Grilled Eggplant with Garlicky Green-Onion Sizzle | Cà Tím Nướng Mỡ Hành

This recipe has been very mildly adapted from the one in my book, Ever-Green Vietnamese (2023, Ten Speed Press). Check the main post for additional tips for butchering the eggplant and making the sauce in advance.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword charred eggplant

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 ½ lb | 675g globe eggplants
Fine sea salt
3 to 4 tablespoon neutral oil (such as canola or peanut), plus more for brushing

Garlicky Green-Onion Oil

1 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or peanut
1 pinch fine sea salt
1 ½ to 2 tablespoon fish sauce (regular or vegan)
1 tablespoon water
1 or 2 Thai or small serrano chiles, with seeds intact, sliced

Instructions

Cook the eggplant: Tear off the flaps from the eggplant stem ends, then cut off the stems and a slice of the butt ends. If you're using medium eggplants, cut them into slices, each about ⅝ inch (1.5cm) thick. If your eggplant is large, halve it lengthwise and then cut crosswise to yield thick half-moons.
Put the eggplant in a very large bowl, season with ¼ teaspoon salt, and toss with the neutral oil to coat lightly. Set a cast-iron stovetop grill over high heat and lightly brush with neutral oil (or prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium-high). In batches, grill the eggplant for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until just cooked through (a knife tip inserted should meet little or no resistance). Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet or plate, and let cool to warmish or room temperature.
Prepare the green onion-garlic sauce: In a small, microwavable bowl, stir together the green onions, garlic, neutral oil, and salt. Microwave on high power for 45 to 60 seconds, until bubbly, steamy, and fragrant. Stir, then let cool to lukewarm. Stir in 1 ½ tablespoon of the fish sauce, the water, and chile. Taste, and if needed, add enough of the remaining 1 ½ teaspoon fish sauce to pack extra punch.
Assemble and eat: Arrange the eggplant on a plate. Spoon all the glorious green-onion oil over the eggplant and serve.

Notes

Store the cooked eggplant in an airtight container for up to 3 days; return to room temperature to serve.

If you're new to fish sauce, check my primer on how to buy, store and use fish sauce well.

The post Vietnamese Grilled Eggplant with Garlicky Green Onion Sizzle appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

Parents, let your kids eat as much candy as they want – less restriction could help reduce the urge to overeat - The Conversation (Food Category)

2026-11-01T15:39:51.000Z

Candy becomes less special when it's not a 'bad' food you can't have. Peter Muller/Connect Images via Getty Images

Kids and candy are a classic pairing. From trick-or-treating to Easter baskets, to local parades and birthday parties, it can feel like kids are almost always bringing home another bag of treats. But while these holidays and events may be exciting for kids, they often end with parents dreading what comes next: negotiations around how much candy to consume.

As a registered dietitian and mom of three, I understand the stress that comes with wanting to encourage healthy food choices without removing all the fun of childhood traditions. I also believe the answer to this dilemma may be simpler than the familiar back and forth of “Just one more piece of candy!” and “Haven’t you had enough already?”

Research suggests that by managing the candy inventory less and encouraging more autonomy around sweets, parents can help their kids practice tapping into their hunger and fullness cues, promoting a healthier relationship with food over time.

Making food moral

There is no question that some foods have greater nutritional value than others. A piece of cake – carrot cake included – will never provide the vitamins and minerals of a large garden salad. As a result, people often categorize different foods as “good” or “bad.”

The tendency to place food in two polarizing buckets can affect everything from what foods you purchase at the grocery store to the language you use to describe food. The problem is, “good” and “bad” are moral concepts. When morality is consistently applied to food, a person’s relationship to food can become complicated. Instead of viewing food as fueling, it can become a measuring stick for whether your food choices are something to feel proud of or guilty about.

When a person’s inner monologue about food is preoccupied with whether it is good or bad for their health or diet plan, food choices can become less about enjoyment and more about their willpower to make the “right” decision at the grocery store and at mealtimes. Any guilt or shame that comes from this evaluation can spill over into what foods are served freely at home and which are restricted.

Restriction leads to overeating

The idea of food restriction often sounds punishing. For parents and others who take care of children, food restriction often may simply be an attempt to limit sugary foods and introduce more fruits and vegetables.

But for kids, restricting certain foods may lead them to become preoccupied with those foods. They may be nagged by the knowledge that the foods adults often call “bad” are also the ones that are really delicious. What started as a simple candy rule can continue to influence a child’s relationship to food and eating long after the treats are gone.

Restricting certain foods can lead to increased preoccupation with those very foods. Oscar Requejo/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Parents often approach food restriction in two different ways. In overt food restriction, kids are aware that their parents or guardians are limiting access to specific foods because they can see it or are told specific foods are off limits. In practice, this might mean the kids know candy is in the house but stored out of reach in the kitchen cupboards. Parents or caregivers who practice covert food restriction, on the other hand, may choose to not buy bags of candy at all in order to encourage more balanced food choices.

Research suggests that overt restriction can unintentionally increase kids’ interest in those restricted food items. That preoccupation may mean the child has a more difficult time listening to their fullness cues when presented with those foods. If bags of candy are usually stored out of reach, it may be tempting to eat more than just a few pieces when access is finally granted – and they may completely ignore any signs that their body is full.

Intuitive eating for kids

Incorporating neutral language about food at mealtimes and encouraging kids to eat according to their own hunger and fullness cues can help them build trust in their bodies and improve family connection at the table. Taking the pressure off finishing all the food on the plate can instead place emphasis on savoring the sensory experience of each bite.

Eating according to internal cues is one part of intuitive eating, which aims to increase a person’s trust in their own body to signal when to start eating and when to stop. Kids can also benefit from this same framework, with some age-appropriate modifications.

The Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding provides a simple, research-based approach to feeding kids in a way that avoids power struggles between kids and caretakers at the table. Developed by the Ellyn Satter Institute, a nonprofit focused on improving people’s relationship to food, the goal of the framework is to introduce intuitive eating in a kid-friendly way. When providing food through this approach, parents decide when and what food is served, while kids are in charge of deciding what and how much they eat from their plates. The emphasis is on helping kids eat according to their internal cues without pressuring them to eat specific foods.

Giving kids more autonomy in what they eat during meals is a way of practicing intuitive eating. Michael H/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Candy can be a part of the menu rotation in this feeding framework. Repeatedly exposing kids to a variety of foods, including sugary treats outside of special holidays or events, means no food becomes emphasized for being better or worse than another food – it is all simply food.

This approach can shift the conversation to how different foods affect their bodies in different ways: Some food – like candy – makes them run super fast, some foods grow their muscles, while other foods keep their eyes strong.

Building healthier relationships with food

Regularly using neutral language to describe food and exposing kids to a variety of foods helps reduce the power that sugary treats have over their appetites. This doesn’t mean birthday cake, doughnuts and candy will no longer taste delicious. It simply means children can rest assured they will see their favorite treats again without the added urge to overconsume them.

If you’re interested in exploring how intuitive eating principles could change your child’s or your own relationship with food, here are a few practices you can try at home:

Involve children in menu planning and grocery shopping. Let your kids pick a treat to add to a few meals each week, and serve the treat with the rest of the food on the menu for that day. Presenting all food items at the same time on the plate – versus saving a dessert or treat for after the meal – visually reminds everyone that food does not have to be earned. Rather, each food nourishes their bodies in different ways.

Try giving kids a say on what you pick up during grocery trips. FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

Avoid commenting on what your kids eat. It can be tempting to praise a child when they choose to take a bite of the broccoli you’ve been encouraging for weeks. Praising kids for eating certain foods versus others can create a food hierarchy, leading them to think about food as a way to earn a reward instead of fueling their body.

Challenge your own relationship with food. Do you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full? Do you restrict your own food cravings as a punishment, or do you struggle to control yourself when eating a treat you love? Kids are always watching, and your own food behaviors often speak louder than words.

Consider letting your kids indulge for a day. In my own family, I don’t limit how much candy my three kids eat on Halloween night. I won’t lie – they usually eat quite a bit. When they mention a stomachache afterward, we talk about how eating a lot of candy can make their bodies feel – without adding judgment. Their interest typically fades over the next few days while we continue to offer a piece of two with meals. Eventually the extras become props for elaborate trick-or-treat pretend play.

One day or evening of holiday eating does not define their health, but fun memories with friends and families can last a lifetime. So let them eat … candy!

Bryn Beeder does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The Buried Tamales at the Heart of the Yucatán’s Day of the Dead - Saveur

2026-10-30T14:22:57.000Z

Sam O’Brien

On a fall afternoon in Halachó, a small town in the Mexican state of Yucatán, Wilson Alonzo stood before a smoldering mound of dirt and began digging. Slowly clearing away branches, leaves, and soil, the chef unearthed a large disc enclosed in banana leaves. He peeled the wrapping back and examined the golden edges of the round tamale inside. He nodded. It was ready for the altar.

Every October and November, Yucatecans like Alonzo gather at the edges of underground ovens and cook mukbil pollo (“buried chicken”), a sacred tamale made only for the Yucatán Peninsula’s Day of the Dead. Known as Janal Pixán (“Food for the Souls” in Yucatec Maya) or Los Finados, the holiday welcomes returning spirits: children on October 31, adults on November 1, and all spirits on November 2, followed by a farewell feast eight—or in some cases, 30—days later. Above anything else that might grace an ofrenda, which could include anything from hot chocolate to relleno negro to beer, mukbil pollo is the star that occupies every altar’s center.

“It is the absolute highlight of the offering,” Alonzo said. One bite confirms why: The crispy, caramelized crust of lard-enriched masa gives way to a smoky, savory mouthful of chicken bathed in a brothy crimson sauce of achiote, tomato, sweet and spicy peppers, epazote, onions, and garlic.

Sam O’Brien

But Alonzo—whose restaurant, Ya’axche, specializes in traditional Yucatecan dishes—said it’s not mukbil pollo’s flavor that nourishes spirits; instead of eating it, they consume the tamale through its aroma. And a crucial part of that aroma, he added, comes from the píib. Dating back to the ancient Maya, this underground cooking technique uses wood, stones, and leaves to impart a slightly herbaceous, smoky succulence to dishes like mukbil pollo—also known as pibipollo or pib—and cochinita pibil.

“Cooking it in a gas oven simply isn’t the same,” Alonzo said. “You lose the unique aromas and flavors imparted by the earth itself.”

Not everyone sees the píib as essential. In cities, where outdoor space is limited, most tamales are baked indoors. When Steffan Igor Ayora-Díaz, a retired anthropologist, was growing up in the city of Valladolid, his mother made mukbil pollo at home, then brought it to a local bakery to cook in an industrial oven. “Nobody said, ‘Oh, it has to be in a píib,’ ” he explained.

Ayora-Díaz now lives in the Yucatán state capital of Mérida, where he said beliefs surrounding Janal Pixán lean more secular. Not only do most eschew the píib, but he and many of his friends no longer build ofrendas, instead celebrating the holiday by gathering with family over a meal. Mukbil pollo is still important, but it plays a role more analogous to turkey on Thanksgiving. “We’re still going to eat it because that’s the food that you eat on these days, but you’re not really thinking of dead people when you’re eating it,” he said.

Sam O’Brien

While purists decry these nontraditional approaches to the holiday, Ayora-Díaz points out that mukbil pollo is a blend of ancient and modern. “It’s a ‘traditional’ dish, but I’m putting ‘traditional’ in quotes because it’s relatively new,” he said. The Maya have been cooking in píibs and eating tamales for millennia, but ingredients like garlic, onions, and lard arrived with the Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s. And, according to Ayora-Díaz, mukbil pollo only started appearing in written records in the 1900s.

Janal Pixán, too, is a hybrid of sorts, blending Christian rituals for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day with Maya beliefs surrounding death and ancestor veneration. In Xocén, a small village of largely Yucatec Maya residents about 20 minutes outside Valladolid, honoring the dead can mean not only praying for their souls at Catholic mass but welcoming them into one’s home as guests and offering them the same hospitality as the living.

Sam O’Brien

“We are dealing with spirits who require respect and specific observances, and who actually come to visit us,” Miguel Tun, a Yucatec Maya tour guide, said. “Even the yards look clean during this time. You walk past someone’s house and see that everything is spotless because visitors are coming.”

Tun lives in a modern home next to his parents’ palapa in Xocén. The Tuns, like many Yucatec Maya, make their tamales only for the biix, or eighth day of Janal Pixán, when souls are believed to return to purgatory. In Xocén, the local version of mukbil pollo is perfectly suited for this journey. Called chachak waaj (“red tamale” in Yucatec Maya), it’s like a small hand pie.

“The idea is that the souls can easily carry the food with them,” Tun said. “It’s about seeing them off. It’s like when people travel—say, from abroad—to visit, and we give them a gift.”

This gift isn’t just the tamale itself but the time spent creating it. I visited the Tuns to learn how to make chachak waaj from scratch. We began in the morning. After shredding chicken, slow-cooking sauce, mixing manteca (rendered pork lard) into masa, assembling each tamale, and wrapping them in banana leaves, we needed headlamps to navigate the píib in the darkness.

Sam O’Brien

“If you are going to make an offering as part of a spiritual practice, it has to be something into which you have poured your effort, you have sacrificed your time,” he said. “That holds significant meaning within the Maya worldview.”

The hours spent making chachak waaj also provide an opportunity to reminisce about the dead. “It’s a moment where the whole family is together, remembering things while cooking, making preparations, or kneading the dough,” Tun said. “Sometimes the conversation is about what’s happening in the community, but there are moments where someone makes a comment about something the deceased person used to do or say.”

Sam O’Brien

At 9:30 p.m., Tun and his father returned from the backyard píib carrying several trays of tamales. It was time for the final step. The Tuns, several cousins, and an aunt gathered on plastic chairs and tree stumps and started unwrapping. They inspected each crust, making sure it was sufficiently crispy (the ones that weren’t would head back to the píib). As they worked, scattering charred leaves at their feet, they talked about an upcoming dance recital for one of their cousins.

Later Tun told me this is, for him, the most important part of Janal Pixán. “Even though a loved one is gone, you demonstrate strength, you show that the family remains united,” he said. “You want that person, when they arrive, to see everyone together, to see that bond. That’s what matters most. I believe that’s the true essence of the Day of the Dead.”

The post The Buried Tamales at the Heart of the Yucatán’s Day of the Dead appeared first on Saveur.

Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bao 鹹蛋黃奶黃包點心 - The Hong Kong Cookery

2026-10-29T20:37:41.592Z

For the longest time I've dreamed of making this kind of Chinese bao that I've seen (and eaten lots of!) in Dim Sum 點心 restaurants, where the heat of steaming gracefully splits the top of the snowy bao, allowing the luscious filling to peek temptingly out. But, alas, it was not as easy one would suppose. I've previously attempted a few times to make this kind of bao with ammonia powder and, as of yet, have been happy with the results ;(

So, anyhoo, I recently discovered and tried making a recipe that makes this cracked bao without ammonia powder and this is the record of that rather bumpy food journey. Tho (myself) was fraught with doubts all the way thru, these Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bao 鹹蛋黃奶黃包點心 turned out beautifully perfect: the bun so gorgeously soft, airy and light with a naturally cracked top and the scrumptious salted egg yolk custard filling just peeking through in all its golden glory. Me so happy...hey guys, it's dim sum time!

Thai Marinated Roast Turkey with Lemongrass Coconut Gravy - Hot Thai Kitchen

2026-10-29T20:10:22.000Z

Every year during Thanksgiving, I feel compelled to make a turkey dinner because I love a good tradition. But as a Thai, I can't help but put some Thai twists on it for a little bolder and more complex flavours. In this recipe, turkey breast and thigh are marinated in a classic Thai meat marinade, then roasted on a bed of lemongrass and other Thai herbs. The herb-infused drippings get turned into our coconut gravy. It is sublime. If you still want a traditional vibe to your turkey dinner, but are getting tired of the same old, this recipe is for you! It can also be made gluten free.

Note: Over the years I have decided that my favourite way to roast turkey is to roast breast and thighs instead of roasting a whole turkey. This yields the juiciest, most flavourful meat, a short cooking time, easiest carving, and you can scale it up or down to suit the size of your party. And I think the serving is still just as beautiful! If you still want to roast a whole turkey, I will provide some guidance.

TL;DR - Recipe Overview

Here's a quick snapshot of what's involved, so you can plan accordingly!

The turkey: Turkey breasts and/or thighs are first marinated; I will explain why I prefer roasting parts rather than a whole turkey. They're roasted on a bed of lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, and shallots.

The gravy: The marinade and the herb-infused drippings are added into the gravy, which is then enriched with coconut milk.

How long it takes: Give the meat at least 3 hours to marinate and up to overnight. Roasting takes only about 45 minutes, plus 15-20 mins resting time. The gravy can be started while the turkey is roasting, and finished during resting.

What it can be served with: This will still work perfectly with your traditional sides - mashed potatoes, stuffing, salads, roasted veg, etc. I will provide some Thai side ideas below.

Optional flair: To make it a little more Thai, serve with the classic Thai dipping sauce for meat, nam jim jaew.

Why You Should Roast Turkey Parts Instead of a Whole Bird

I know there’s nothing more impressive than a whole roasted turkey in the middle of the Thanksgiving table, but let me try to convince you that if you prioritize flavour, juiciness AND practicality, you should roast turkey parts instead.

The Problem with Roasting a Whole Turkey

It’s nearly impossible to cook evenly. The bird is so big that the outside usually overcooks before the inside is done, or the breasts are dry by the time the thighs are cooked through. You can try to keep it juicy by brining or dry-brining, but that adds a long, cumbersome step and requires a lot of fridge space.
It’s hard to marinate. This recipe is so flavourful because of the Thai marinade. To marinate a whole bird, you’d need a giant bucket of marinade, which is impractical and wasteful.
It’s pretty stressful! Cooking a whole turkey is basically a whole-afternoon ordeal, and we all know the nervous moment at the end when you’re not sure whether you’re about to cut into a bird that’s raw inside or completely dry. Turkey parts take a fraction of the time and are so much easier to temp properly. Most importantly, you can take the breast and thigh out at different times, so each part cooks to its optimal doneness!

Roasting turkey parts solves all of these issues. And while you don’t get the classic whole-bird presentation, I think turkey breast and thigh on a platter of lemongrass is just as beautiful and impressive!

Can I Use This Recipe for a Spatchcocked Turkey?

If you REALLY want a whole bird, a good compromise is to spatchcock your turkey (or, ideally, have a butcher do it), which helps it cook more evenly. Marinating will still be a challenge, but it’s more doable than with a round bird.

If you have experience spatchcocking, you can use this recipe’s marinade, the herb bed, and the gravy, but you’ll need to consult another trusted recipe, created specifically for spatchcocked turkey, for the cooking time and temperature.

Keep in mind that this marinade contains sugar, so the turkey will brown faster than usual. If you’re extending the cooking time, you’ll likely need to lower the temperature.

Important Ingredient Notes

Here are all the important notes on ingredients, including substitutions. Amounts are in the full recipe card below!

Turkey

Turkey breast and/or thigh. I chose to use one boneless breast and one bone-in thigh so I have both dark and white meat to choose from, just like a whole turkey! If you have a strong preference, you can go with 2 breasts or 4 thighs. Roasting in parts also allows you to scale up according to the number of people, so you can do 2 breasts and 2 thighs if you've got a larger party. You can even add 2 drumsticks and you'll basically have a whole turkey, but much easier to roast!
Lemongrass. You want whole stalks of lemongrass as these will form the "bed" for your turkey to roast on. Frozen whole lemongrass works fine for this.
Makrut lime leaves. These will add a beautiful, citrusy aroma to the gravy which will help make the meal feel fresher. Fresh or frozen work well.
Galangal. Optional, but adds lovely flavour if you can find it! Frozen is fine.
Ginger. I don't normally add ginger to the "Thai trinity" that is the 3 previous herbs, but since this isn't meant to be traditional, I think it works quite well!
Shallots. Red onions or regular onions can also work. These will soften and naturally sweeten the drippings.

Marinade

White and black peppercorns. I like to use both black and white as they both have different flavours, but you can choose one or the other.
Garlic
Cilantro stems, or cilantro roots. Traditionally we would use cilantro roots for marinades as they are very aromatic and hold up well in pastes. But cilantro stems work great as a substitute.
Fish sauce. Use good quality fish sauce such as Squid, Megachef or Red Boat. You can read more about how to choose good fish sauce here.
Soy sauce. I use Thai soy sauce, but any kind of regular or light soy sauce you have will work. To make this gluten free, use gluten free soy sauce.
Black or dark soy sauce. This is added for colour, so the turkey will darken beautifully. You do not have to add it. If making gluten free, you can omit, or use GF dark soy sauce (though I have not seen that yet!)
Palm sugar. The sweetness will balance the saltiness of the soy sauce and fish sauce. You can sub an equal amount of brown sugar.

Gravy

Chicken stock, or turkey stock, of course! The most important thing is to make sure your stock is unsalted or low sodium, as we will be adding soy sauce and fish sauce into it. Store-bought is fine, but if you wanna DIY here's my recipe for an Asian style chicken stock.
Coconut milk. This will add a little creaminess and coconut aroma to our gravy. My favourite brand is Aroy-D in UHT paper carton. It is leaps and bounds better than canned coconut milk!! Read more about that in my Ultimate Guide to Coconut Milk.
Cornstarch. Gravy thickener. You can use all-purpose flour instead if you wish.
Lime juice or lemon juice (optional). You may or may not need this, but I find that if the gravy tastes a little flat or rich, a little squeeze of lime or lemon can sharpen the flavours and make it so much more palatable. You can decide whether to add it at the end when you are doing final taste adjustment for the gravy.
Black or dark soy sauce (optional). If you want your gravy a little darker, which always makes it look more delicious, an extra glug of dark or black soy sauce does the trick!

How to Make - A Bird's Eye View

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. These are NOT the full instructions, they're here to give you a visual guide of what you'll be doing. When you're ready to cook, cook from the full recipe card with detailed instructions, and you can also watch the video tutorial where I talk you through how I did it!

Make the marinade: Pound peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until fine. Add the garlic and cilantro stems and pound into a fine paste. You can also finely mince the cilantro stems, grate the garlic, and use a pepper grinder.

Add the palm sugar and pound until mostly dissolved, then add fish sauce, soy sauce, black/dark soy sauce and water, stir to combine.

Place the turkey breast and thigh into a flat dish just large enough to hold them (they can be in 2 separate dishes, which is what I did). Or you can put them into zip top bags. Pour the marinade over the turkey, putting about ⅔ of it for the breast and ⅓ for the thigh. Flip the turkey over to thoroughly coat and then marinate for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
On roasting day: Pull the turkey from the fridge 2-3 hours before roasting so it is not fridge cold going into the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

Prepare the roasting pan: Cut the lemongrass stalks in half then smash them with a pestle or the back of a knife until the stalks are split open. Place them on the roasting pan, spreading them out enough to create a bed for your turkey. Scatter the galangal, lime leaves, shallots and ginger all around the herb bed.

Place the turkey on the herbs (don't discard the marinade!) and then place into the oven on the middle rack. Pour water into the pan so it's about ¼ inch deep. Roast for 35 - 45 minutes, depending on the size; check at 30 mins. You want the internal temp of the breast to be 145-150°F (63°C), and the thigh should reach at least 170°F (77°C). Keep an eye on the water and don't let it dry or the drippings could burn. Add a little more water as needed!
*You will likely need to remove the breast before the thigh. If they are browning too quickly, reduce the heat to 400°F (200°C).

Once the turkey is done, place the meat on a plate to rest, then take all the herbs and arrange them on a serving platter (this is just for presentation, do not eat the herbs!). Put the turkey on top of the herbs and allow to rest for 20 mins before slicing.

This is the liquid I had left in the roasting pan. Mine is dark because I accidentally let the water dry up halfway through, so the drippings browned onto the pan and I deglazed it with extra water. If yours is not brown that is okay!

For the gravy: In a pot, add the chicken stock and the reserved turkey marinade and bring to a boil to cook the raw turkey juices in the marinade. Pour the turkey drippings into the gravy pot (carefully!).

Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Then taste for seasoning. If it tastes bland, reduce until the seasoning tastes right. If it is too salty, add more unsalted chicken stock or coconut milk to dilute. Once the seasoning is right, dissolve the cornstarch with a bit of water, then pour about half of the slurry into the gravy while you whisk until it comes to a boil. If you want it thicker, add more slurry. Do a final taste and add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice if you feel like it needs it.

Make sure the turkey has rested for at least 20 minutes before slicing, then slice and serve with your sides of choice!

What to Serve with Thai-Style Gravy

Because the Thai flavours used here are subtle, any of your traditional Thanksgiving sides will work with this turkey, from mashed potatoes and stuffing to roasted veggies. But if you want to keep the Thai theme going, you can do what I did!

I served mine with my 5-spice roasted cauliflower and som tum pla ra, a spicy, umami-packed green papaya salad that brings a fresh crunch to balance the rich gravy. For this som tum I used store-bought broccoli slaw to make it more convenient since I was already making so many other things, and it worked fantastically as a papaya substitute. I also had mashed potatoes, which worked well with those two dishes.

For something even more Thai, serve with nam jim jaew, the dipping sauce Thai people must have whenever we serve grilled or roasted meats. Serve it on the side for anyone who wants something spicy and bold!

Thai Marinated Roast Turkey with Lemongrass Coconut Gravy

Turkey breast and thigh marinated in a classic Thai meat marinade, then roasted on a bed of lemongrass and other Thai herbs. The herb-infused drippings get turned into a rich coconut gravy. Can be made gluten free.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Marinating 3

Total Time 4 30

Servings servings

Equipment

mortar and pestle
Meat thermometer very important in making sure the meat is cooked properly!

Ingredients

Turkey

1 turkey breast boneless, skin on
1 turkey thigh bone in, skin on, see note 1
8 stalks lemongrass cut the stalks in half
15 thin slices galangal
10 makrut lime leaves roughly torn into chunks
15 thin slices ginger optional
2 heads shallots roughly chopped
1-2 cups water

Marinade

½ teaspoon white peppercorns
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
6 cloves garlic
8 cilantro stems chopped, or use 3 cilantro roots
1 tablespoon palm sugar finely chopped, or sub brown sugar
3 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce sub GF soy sauce if needed
1 teaspoon black or dark soy sauce optional, for colour
¼ cup water

Gravy

1 cup chicken stock unsalted or low sodium
¼ cup coconut milk
3 tablespoon cornstarch or more as needed
A squeeze of lime juice or lemon juice may not need
Black or dark soy sauce optional for colour

Instructions

Marinate the turkey

Pound peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until fine. Add the garlic and cilantro stems and pound into a fine paste. Add the palm sugar and pound until mostly dissolved. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, black/dark soy sauce and water, stir to combine.
½ tsp white peppercorns, ½ tsp black peppercorns, 6 cloves garlic, 8 cilantro stems, 1 Tbsp palm sugar, 3 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp black or dark soy sauce, ¼ cup water
Place the turkey breast and thigh into a flat dish just large enough to hold them (they can be in 2 separate dishes, that’s what I do), alternatively you can put them into separate zip top bags. Pour the marinade over the turkey, putting about ⅔ of it for the breast and ⅓ for the thigh. Flip the turkey over to thoroughly coat and then marinate for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
1 turkey breast, 1 turkey thigh

Important: Make sure you flip the turkey halfway through your marinating time for even distribution.

Also important: A 24-hour marinade is fine for the breast but too long for the thigh and it is a bit too salty, so if you’re doing an overnight marinade, remove the thigh from the marinade first thing in the morning.

Roast the turkey

Roasting day: Remove the turkey from the fridge 2-3 hours before roasting so it is not fridge cold going into the oven.
Preheat the oven to 450°F and place the rack so that the turkey will be in the middle of the oven.

I recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure you are at 450°F; most ovens are inaccurate, and if it’s too hot, the skin might burn too quickly. My oven, for example, has to be set at 430°F to achieve 450°F.

Cut the lemongrass stalks in half then smash them with a pestle or the back of a knife until the stalks are split open and bruised. Place the lemongrass on the baking sheet or roasting pan, spreading them out enough to create a bed for your turkey. Scatter the galangal, lime leaves, shallots and ginger all around the herb bed.
8 stalks lemongrass, 15 thin slices galangal, 10 makrut lime leaves, 15 thin slices ginger, 2 heads shallots
Remove the turkey pieces from the marinade and reserve the marinade as we will need it for the gravy. Place the turkey on top of the herb bed, skin side up, leaving plenty of space between the two pieces to allow air circulation. Place the roasting pan in the oven, and then pour the water into the roasting pan so there's about ¼ inch (half a centimeter) of water in the pan; this will extract flavours from the herbs and prevent the drippings from burning. How much water you need depends on how large your roasting pan is, so add as much as necessary.
1-2 cups water
Roast the turkey for 35 - 45 minutes, timing will depend entirely on how big your pieces are so I would check them at 30 minutes. You want the internal temp of your breast to be 145-150°F (63°C), and the thigh should reach at least 170°F (77°C). You will likely need to remove the breast before the thigh. If they are browning too quickly, reduce the heat to 400°F (200°C).

Important: Keep an eye on the roasting pan and add more water as needed to ensure there is always a shallow puddle of water to extract flavour from the herbs and prevent the drippings from burning (but don’t add a ton of water). If you accidentally let the water dry up and the drippings have browned (as I did in the process photos above), as long as it's not completely burnt, that’s totally okay, just deglaze with water. Your gravy will just be darker and probably a little more flavourful!

Make the gravy

While the turkey roasts, start the gravy. In a pot, add the chicken stock and the reserved marinade and bring to a boil to cook the raw turkey juices in the marinade. It will curdle a bit, this is fine, just whisk it and the curdles will break apart. Hold it here and wait for the turkey drippings.
1 cup chicken stock
Once the turkey is done, place the meat on a plate to rest, then take the lemongrass and all the herbs and arrange them on a serving platter.
Finish the gravy: Carefully pour the drippings from the roasting pan into the gravy pot, and add the coconut milk. If when you get here, you have collected some juices from the resting turkey, you can pour that in as well. If you want the colour to be darker, you can add a little more dark/black soy sauce; but not too much as you don't want to make it too salty.
¼ cup coconut milk, Black or dark soy sauce
Bring the gravy to a boil, then taste for seasoning. If it tastes bland, boil it for a while to reduce until the seasoning tastes right. If it is too salty, add more unsalted chicken stock or coconut milk to dilute.
Once the seasoning tastes right, dissolve the cornstarch with a bit of water, then pour about half of the slurry into the gravy while you whisk. Bring the gravy to a full boil, whisking constantly, and assess the thickness of the gravy. If you want it thicker, add more cornstarch slurry.
3 Tbsp cornstarch
Do a final taste of the gravy, and if it could use a little acidity to brighten, add a squeeze of lemon or lime.
A squeeze of lime juice or lemon juice
Put the turkey on the herb bed on the serving platter, and there’s your beautiful turkey ready for the table! Make sure the turkey has rested for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

If you prefer to do all-white meat, use 2 breasts (you'll also end up with more meat). If you prefer all dark meat, use 4 thighs.

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The post Thai Marinated Roast Turkey with Lemongrass Coconut Gravy appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

25 North Indian Diwali Recipes: From Appetizers to Desserts - Vegan Richa

2026-10-29T18:35:22.000Z

Celebrate Diwali with 25 delicious Northern Indian recipes, from flavorful appetizers and hearty main dishes to traditional sweets and desserts.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a time to gather with family and friends, share delicious food, and celebrate together. Food is a big part of the festivities, with everything from savory snacks and flavorful curries to traditional Indian sweets made to share with loved ones.

This collection of vegan North Indian recipes includes appetizers, curries, vegetable dishes, rice, flatbreads, and desserts, so you can put together a festive spread that everyone will enjoy! Mix and match your favorites to create a Diwali feast everyone will love!

Continue reading: 25 North Indian Diwali Recipes: From Appetizers to Desserts

The post 25 North Indian Diwali Recipes: From Appetizers to Desserts appeared first on Vegan Richa.

What animal bones in Malawi teach us about the social lives of people long ago - The Conversation (Food Category)

2026-10-29T14:03:33.000Z

The Hora 1 site is at the base of this peak of rock in northern Malawi. Chelsea Smith, CC BY-ND

In the ancient past, when human communities were small and the only way to travel was by walking, what were the chances of meeting a stranger? And what would happen next?

We know that ancient people lived by foraging their food from wild plants and animals, but we know a lot less about their social lives. Would there be conflict as people defended territory? Or would they choose to share? Sometimes survival depends on choosing wisely between these options. Defending a territory has a cost, and it’s not always worth it.

To understand how ancient people interacted with one another, we can start by looking at the food they ate. When food resources are densely clustered in predictable ways, it makes sense to establish and maintain a territory around them. When resources are sparsely distributed, they are harder to defend.

One example of territoriality in modern foraging people comes from the Okiek in the mountains of Kenya. Here, families control the crucially important activity of honey-harvesting. In contrast, foraging groups that live in places where the next meal is less predictable also tend to be less territorial. For example, until recently !Kung foragers in the arid parts of the Kalahari Desert searched for animals to hunt across wide areas, and boundaries between groups were much more fluid.

A smoky torch used to harvest honey. Jessica Thompson, CC BY-ND

The strategies used by the Okiek and the !Kung are different solutions to the same problem: weighing the risk of going hungry against the risk of unfriendly social encounters.

Applying this principle to archaeological finds can reveal clues about ancient human social organisation. The problem is how to find food remains from the ancient past.

We are archaeologists who do research in Malawi, excavating fossil animal bones and stone tools from natural shelters of rock. Our aim is to understand how early humans lived from the end of the last ice age, between 19,000 and 10,000 years ago, until the start of farming and herd-keeping just a few thousand years ago. Although no glaciers were present in tropical Malawi during the last ice age, global environments were different from today. We wanted to know more about food availability then, and how this might have affected social interactions.

We focused on a large shelter called Hora 1, located on a spectacular granite mountain that emerges like a tooth from the open woodlands in northern Malawi. Traces of ancient human activity are everywhere in this area: red coloured paintings on the rock walls, stone tools made of shiny quartz, hearths, human burials and, in the layers of earth carefully excavated over several visits, hundreds of thousands of bones. These are the remnants of uncountable meals for the communities who lived here.

Hora Mountain rising from the landscape of northern Malawi. Chelsea Smith, CC BY-NC

Of this formidable number of broken, cooked, cut, chewed and discarded animal parts we were able to identify almost 13,000 individual fragments, collectively spanning the last 21,000 years of human occupation.

We have published a paper about these fragments and what they tell us about ancient cultural boundaries related to food availability. Our findings challenge the existing view that it was mostly coastal environments that promoted boundary formation in the past.

Hunting close to home

Large animals can provide a meal for a large group, so when hunters encounter them, they may prefer to chase them, even if that means ignoring smaller prey. But most of the bones we found belonged to small animals: tiny antelopes, hares, monkeys, and other creatures. That suggests that large prey with a lot of meat – like zebras, wildebeest and even rhinoceroses – were not very common in this valley in the past.

Although the fragments were very small, we could see that they came from everywhere in the body: limbs, torsos and heads were all present. This suggests that these animals were hunted close to the site, and the whole carcass was brought back (not just the best parts of large animals).

The bones indicate that foragers at Hora 1 hunted close to home throughout the thousands of years recorded in the archaeological deposits. We confirmed this by comparing the chemistry of the local geology to chemical traces in the animal teeth: we found that they matched.

The fossil tooth of a wildebeest from HOR-1, an animal that has not been recorded in modern times in this part of Malawi. The lines in the tooth are where small samples were taken for chemical analysis. Ruoyang Tu, CC BY-NC

But there is a twist to this story.

The animal bones were extremely fragmented, on average only the size of a little finger. Then we looked at some of the smallest and most nutrient poor bones in the skeleton: the phalanges, or finger and toe bones. Most had been broken open to recover even the smallest amounts of fatty marrow from inside. Probably food was not so abundant in this valley if people spent their time on such meagre packages of nutrients.

So why didn’t people just range further to find more food, and what kept them at that site for so long?

We think the answer lies in their social worlds.

In-group cooperation and out-group hostility

We found that animals were of different ages when they died: youngsters, adults, and even animals so old their teeth were worn down. This suggests some form of indiscriminate mass hunting such as the use of nets or traps. It is also possible that fire was used to aid communal game drives of larger animals. All these practices would have required coordination of labour, as well as social norms on how to split the bounty.

This in-group cooperation likely came with some sense of shared identity, like a cultural group.

The next question is how far across the landscape this group would have roamed. Were they like the !Kung, who maintain strong social ties with neighbouring groups? Or were they more like the Okiek, focused on keeping resources within their families?

A clue came from an unexpected source: ancient DNA. DNA preserved in some of the human burials found at these sites showed that relatedness became smaller very quickly as one moved further from the sites. Starting 19,000 years ago, at the end of the ice age, an invisible boundary was taking shape in tropical Africa, separating “us and them”.

Ancient human DNA was recovered from ancient foragers buried at Hora 1 and at this cave, which is about 100km north of the Hora 1 site. Jacob Davis, CC BY-NC

All this evidence together points to behaviour that was very “local” in nature. However, the focus on recovering every scrap of food suggests that prey were not abundant enough to justify active defence of this territory. We also do not see evidence for persistent violent encounters or large, stable settlements, as have been documented near rich sources of food such as lakes and oceans. It is possible that these boundaries were only symbolically defended, for instance through collective practices like the 9,500-year-old funerary pyre that we recently described from Hora 1.

Most “cultural groups” that are known from archaeology are inferred from durable artifacts that preserve well, such as ornaments made of animal teeth and shells, or pottery shaped in a specific way. But most foragers spent so much time on the move that they never made such heavy things. In tropical Africa, our research has unearthed evidence for ancient cultural boundaries even without these objects.

We have also found that there can be a “home” territory and a strong sense of in-group cultural belonging without violence against other groups. Finally, we have shown that the vast interior of the continent, while less studied than its coasts, is a rich source of information on the evolution of human cooperation and competition.

Alex Bertacchi received funding for this research from the US National Science Foundation.

Jessica C. Thompson has received funding for excavations at the Hora 1 site from the National Geographic Society, Wenner-Gren Foundation, Emory University, and Yale University.

Kesar Pista Bars (Saffron Pistachio Cream Bars) - Vegan Richa

2026-10-28T14:45:00.000Z

Luscious saffron, cardamom & pistachio cream layered over an almond crust! These gluten-free Kesar Pista bars secretly pack 7g protein. Perfect for Diwali or any other holiday meal! (soy-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Kesar means saffron, and pista means pistachio. These saffron pistachio bars are just so delicious. I just wasn’t ready for how decadent and luxurious they were going to turn out! They’re kind of like creamy lemon bars, but with nutty pistachio and floral saffron flavors in them.

The saffron-pistachio combination is very popular in Indian desserts and also desserts from many other cuisines. These two flavors just work so amazingly well together, especially raw, fresh pistachios and floral saffron.

I’m using that today to make a fusion Indian dessert based on kesar burfi, kesar pista ladoo, or pedas, but I made them into these bars. We make this almond flour crust with some cardamom and then make the cream topping with cashews, coconut milk, saffron, and a little pistachio, and then top it with generous amounts of chopped pistachio. It all sets up and it becomes just amazing!

If you don’t have saffron, you can skip that flavor, and add extra cardamom, add a pinch of turmeric for color, and an extra splash of vanilla. That flavor profile pairs really well with the pistachios, as well.

Why You’ll Love Kesar Pista Bars

rich, creamy, decadent bars with nutty pistachios and floral saffron and cardamom flavors
quick almond flour crust
easy to make with simple ingredients
naturally gluten-free and soy-free with almond-free option

More Indian Fusion Desserts

Continue reading: Kesar Pista Bars (Saffron Pistachio Cream Bars)

The post Kesar Pista Bars (Saffron Pistachio Cream Bars) appeared first on Vegan Richa.

Three Bowls: Sabah Style Pork Chop Kolo Mee! - ieatishootipost

2026-10-28T11:09:52.000Z

I love pork chops and I love egg noodles, so when I heard about an ex Din Tai Fung (DTF) chef serving pork chop noodles at Whampoa Makan Place, I needed to check it out. I wanted to see if I could get DTF standard pork chops at a fraction of the price. The stall […]

The post Three Bowls: Sabah Style Pork Chop Kolo Mee! appeared first on ieatishootipost.

The 30-Spice Noodle Soup nobody will teach you - Chinese Cooking Demystified

2026-10-28T03:11:52.000Z

Sometimes, recreating a recipe can be an absolute pain in the ass. Guizhou Yangroufen… was one of those recipes.

For those that haven’t had the good fortune of having this noodle soup, Yangroufen (羊肉粉) is an absolute icon in Guizhou — think the cultural equivalent of something like Boat Noodles in Thailand or perhaps Phở in Vietnam. And like Phở, there’s a whole swath of regional variants, but generally speaking consists of (1) a richly spiced goat stock — though lamb or mutton would also be fine for the sake of the recipe below (2) thinly sliced goat pieces (3) a generous topping of herbs (4) fresh rice noodles, and (5) a dollop of crispy chili oil:

Delicious. And even outside of the confines of Guizhou, this rice noodle soup is increasingly starting to enter that pantheon of “regional Chinese noodle soups that you can find practically everywhere in the country”, ala Lanzhou Hand-pulled noodles or Guangxi Snail Rice Noodles. It’s not quite there yet — the stuff’s much more concentrated in the south than the north — but if we narrowed our view to just our old home of the Pearl River Delta? I’d definitely put it in the category.

But internationally? I think it’s fair to say that this soup is… basically unknown. Wikipedia delivers a goose egg, Reddit is more or less silent, and a quick google (even with variants like ‘lamb’ and ‘mutton’) won’t yield you much besides auto-translated Baidu Baike results. But given Guizhou cuisine’s unrelenting trajectory up-and-to-the-right… I think I’d give it about a coin-flip as to whether the soup ends up coming to an immigrant exurb near you over the next few years.

So, a clear opportunity for us to steal a march on the rest of the food internet! More than a few years back we added with soup to our “Master List of Possible Video Ideas”, with the hope of being the first proper English language resource on the stuff when it finally ends up hitting abroad. The research process began, and initial tests were whipped up.

But we quickly ended up hitting a wall.

Because when it comes to actual, proper, restaurant-level recipes for this dish? The Chinese internet is silent too, in its own way.

Why this Dish Lacks Recipes

I should be clear — a quick search on the Chinese internet will absolutely reveal plenty of recipes for Guizhou Yangroufen. But I think, anywhere and everywhere, there are fundamentally two kinds of recipes out there:

a recipe for a thing
a recipe that describes someone’s best guess about a thing

For example, scattered throughout the internet are various recipes for “copycat Taco Bell meat”, but actual Taco Bell meat is industrially processed, blended with water, and comes in a frozen bag. Or alternatively, the English internet is filled ‘Banh Mi’ recipes that are more or less French baguettes, simply because that’s what the creator likely already knew how to make (note — a Banh Mi recipe that is trying to tackle ‘the thing itself’ should probably at least broach the subject of dough conditioners).

Now, no shade to the best guess crowd! Most homecooks are simply looking to feed themselves on a weeknight, and more than happy with a delicious-tasting approximation. The market for guesses is deep and wide for an extremely practical reason. But our particular fascination is with food culture, and you can’t understand food culture without exploring the thing itself.

And the Chinese internet? All it really had were those influencer approximations.

And I mean, sure, we too could also guess a direction that the goat stock would likely go — soak to remove the blood, pair with a Chinese spice mix that goes along with gamier flavors, call it a day. But this is a noodle soup that’s is famously claimed to have over 30 spices in its mix, plus, there’s no way to arrive at its characteristic thinly sliced goat meat with a simple homestyle braise.

So, why the issues?

Well, the fundamental reason is that this is one of those dishes — much like Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles — that is… extremely commercialized. So it’s the type of thing where you’d commonly purchase both the ingredients and the recipe from another Yangroufen shop, so the process itself is a “trade secret” of sorts.

And unlike Lanzhou hand pulled noodles where you can find leaks from their noodle schools online? In Guizhou… they seem to run a tighter ship.

And thus began the multi-year process of trying to recreate this recipe. But before we delve deeper into our struggles, I should probably step back and give you a sense of the geography of what we were looking at.

The Three (or Four) Big Goat Rice Noodles of Guizhou

There are three1 primary styles of this dish in Guizhou, corresponding to three corners of the province:

the Xingyi (兴义) style
the Zunyi (遵义) style, and
the Shuicheng (水城) style.

Xingyi is a city that’s deep within the mountains of the Buyi and Miao Autonomous region — gorgeous corner of the province, as an aside — and has long been… deeply out of the way (the city was graced with high speed rail only within the last year). As the name of the administrative unit implies, the city was and still is very much a multi-ethnic place, the sort of place where even today the Mandarin is spoken with a heavy accent. The food is rustic, and fermented bamboo shoots are a dietary mainstay right next to the chili pepper.

Xingyi style Yangroufen is often heavy on the pickles, but particularly distinguished by its addition of local fermented wheat sauce called maijiang (麦酱). And while this style might just be my personal favorite, we didn’t want to go through the headache of attempting to substitute another extremely niche Guizhou ingredient.

Zunyi is perhaps Guizhou’s ‘second city’, the gateway to the north of the province. In China, Zunyi is probably most famed as the turning point of the long march, and the site of the Zunyi conference — i.e., the conference that elevated Mao to the very top of the Chinese Communist Party (making the spot a bit of a ‘Red Tourism’ destination today).

It’s sometimes claimed that Zunyi’s Yangroufen is the oldest of the three. I’m a little skeptical — I think it’s fair to say that such claims are exactly the type of probably-lost-to-time thing that foodies (the world over) love to argue about. Still, its use of pounded chili paste and its characteristic thick rice noodles are undoubtedly an absolute icon.

Shuicheng, meanwhile, was a city smushed into the Liu Pan Shui (六盘水) administrative unit in 1978, along with Panxian (盘县) and Liuzhi (六枝). For much of the 80s and 90s, this corner of Guizhou could perhaps be thought of as China’s West Virginia — coal towns that attracted migrants from elsewhere, and spawned more than a couple mining fortunes (though these days the city likes to emphasize its ski resorts and markets itself as “The Cool City of China”).

If Chongqing is famed internationally for being ‘cyberpunk’, then, in my opinion, Liu Pan Shui should definitely get points for those of us that’re suckers for the steampunk aesthetic:

And when it comes to Yangroufen, Shuicheng’s version begins and ends with its crispy chili oil. If you love Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, you’ll love this version: large hunks of crunchy fried chili and garlic feature heavily, all fried together with a bit of rendered goat fat.

Given that the Shuicheng style is the most common style that you can find outside of Guizhou, and given the international popularity of Lao Gan Ma chili crisp… this was the style that we decided to aim for.

Cracking the Code

So we’d been traveling to Guizhou for years, trying different variants of Yangroufen, but we never had much confidence in our tests. We even went to wholesale markets, purchased spice bags that were specifically meant for commercial Yangroufen shops, took them apart and analyzed the components. But we were still squarely in ‘best-guess-recipe’ territory.

The breakthrough finally happened a year or so back, when we were traveling through the city of Xingyi. We were eating breakfast at a popular Yangroufen shop in the old town called Liuji Yangroufen Restaurant (刘记羊肉粉馆), when we noticed that for dinner they served a goat soup hotpot — Yangtangguo (羊汤锅). So, we went back at night, compared the soup from the morning to the soup in the pot, and lo and behold! It was the very same soup:

Now, I know it might not be immediately obvious why this was actually a breakthrough, so let me explain.

This goat soup — Yangtangguo (羊汤锅) — is a cultural institution in both Guizhou and Yunnan. Go to a weekend market in either province, and you’re practically guaranteed to see someone there slinging a bit of goat soup. It’s a bit of a special occasion dish, especially up in the mountains, especially among the Yi communities in these two provinces:

And generally speaking? It’s a hell of an easier to find information about cultural institutions than it is trade secrets. As soon as the Yangtangguo/Yangroufen connection opened up to us, everything started to feel… obvious. And we were finally ready to go back and take on that spice mix.

Tackling the Spice Mix

So right. Let’s swing back to that spice mix. For those of you that were playing along at home, this was the result of our analysis:

Now, in the below recipe, we won’t call for over 30 spices. I know a certain segment of you are culinary sadists that love watching influencers online struggle with complicated recipes… but we do want people to actually successfully recreate our recipes at home. Analyzing the above mix and recipes online for Yangtangguo soup, we were able to pare the mix down to a core 14.

Now, why Chinese spice mixes, it’s crucial to understand why you’re adding what you’re adding — not all additions are going to be equally critical to the final flavor. While this concept is most commonly applied to mixes used in traditional Chinese medicine, you can also conceptualize culinary spice mixes according to the following hierarchy:

The Royal Family, Jun (君). Sets the base flavor and direction of the mix.
The Ministers, Chen (臣). Anchors the direction.
The Lieutenants, Zuo (佐). Balances and rounds out the direction.
The Envoys, Shi (使). Provides depth and complexity.

For example, suppose you’re thinking about American-style “pumpkin spice” — that Yuppie Millenial autumn obsession of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and allspice.

The ‘royal family’ — the dominant flavor of the mix — is cinnamon. Cinnamon is a warm spice, and so the job of the ‘ministers’ is to anchor that direction — i.e., clove and nutmeg. But these are three warm spices that, together, are at risk of being overpowering. This is the purpose of our ‘Lieutenant’ — ginger, which will balance the mix with its brightness and sharp heat. The ‘envoy’ — allspice — is there to complement and provide depth and complexity.

Or perhaps we could try to repeat this exercise with Creole seasoning:

The Royal Family, Jun (君). Paprika.
The Ministers, Chen (臣). Cayenne pepper and black pepper.
The Lieutenants, Zuo (佐). Thyme and oregano.
The Envoys, Shi (使). Garlic powder, Onion powder, White Pepper.

Now again, you could quibble about which spice belongs in which category — this is all very far from a science. But as a cook once you understand the purpose of a spice in a mix, you can begin to make adjustments as necessary. For example, bay leaf could be added to the above Creole mix as a ‘lieutenant’, or it could be omitted. Mustard powder (a ‘minister’, functionally) was historically a pretty common addition2, but is usually skipped today.

After a number of tests, this is the mix that we settled on:

The Royal Family, Jun (君). Bai Zhi (白芷), Sha Ren (砂仁), Tsaoko (草果), Nutmeg (肉蔻)
The Ministers, Chen (臣). Green Sichuan Peppercorn (青花椒), Fennel Seed (小茴香), Black Pepper (黑胡椒), White Pepper (白胡椒)
The Lieutenants, Zuo (佐). Cinnamon (桂皮), Coriander seed (芫荽籽), Clove (丁香)
The Envoys, Shi (使). Dried Lemongrass (香茅草), Bay Leaf (香叶), Licorice Root (甘草)

Now, astute observers will notice that there are a number of ingredients in this spice mix that aren’t western supermarket available — I’m well aware that you won’t exactly be able to grab Green Sichuan Peppercorn at a Wegman’s. Usually we like to be a bit more accessible… but making this spice mix will, practically speaking, probably require access to some sort of TCM shop or herb supplier.

This is because the core, fundamental anchor to this mix — the patriarch of our esteemed royal family — is Bai Zhi:

Bai Zhi is the root of the Angelica dahurica plant. It’s widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, but culinarily can be paired with gamier flavors like mutton, goose, and, well… goat. Given its medicinal usage, it’s quite easy to find online, but usually we do try to be nice in our recipes and go in a different direction when we can.

But for this recipe? Absolutely non-negotiable.

How to Make Shuicheng-style Yangroufen (羊肉粉)

So. There will be a few core components for our soup noodle today:

The Goat Stock. This is going to be where we’re applying the spice mix above, and is frankly somewhat intense. We’ll be using a whole leg, deboning it, and cooking the meat of the leg first (~2 hours). We’ll then take that out and replace it with the cleaved bones, and cook it for as long at you have patience to cook it.
The Sliced Goat Meat. The lean goat meat needs to be sliced very thin, and to do so we’ll need to wrap it up tightly and keep it in the fridge overnight. Once firm and cool, then we can cut it. A hotpot meat slicer or a deli slicer will help you get the same absurdly-thin slices that a restaurant uses, but is not strictly necessary.
The Crispy Chili Oil. Again, a core component for the Shuicheng style that uses a bit of rendered goat fat as a base. Nothing too much more complex than, say, a Sichuan red chili oil… but certainly not exactly ‘quick and easy’ either.
The Rice Noodles. Usually at Yangroufen shops they use fresh rice noodles, but at home dried will work absolutely fine. Tested two routes here — Vietnamese Rice Vermicelli and the thicker Jiangxi Rice Sticks. Of the two, we felt the latter was closer to what is served in Guizhou. Thick Rice Sticks will need an overnight soak.
Pickles and Herbs. You can add a whole bevy, but we really enjoy mint and pickled Daikon.

Now, a couple points. First, as you might be able to gather, a number of these components need to happen overnight. Therefore, we will organize this as a two day recipe. Some stuff will be sorted day one, others day two.

Second, after years of attempting to feed people ‘individual noodle bowls’ like you would find on the street… I’m basically done with that approach. At home, it’s much much easier on the cook to (1) put people’s noodles in a bowl (2) have a big pot of soup at the table for each diner to ladle in, and (3) have a spread of seasonings and fixings at the table for people to make themselves.

No need to momma bird your diners. They got hands, they can make their own bowls.

So right. Those are the assumptions. Now lets get to…

Day 1

Note that in the following recipe, you can absolutely substitute the goat for lamb, or (preferably) mutton.

To make the soup and prepare the goat:

Weigh out the following spices and put them in a bag or a tea strainer3:

2g Bai Zhi (白芷) 2g
2g Sha Ren (砂仁) 2g
1g Tsaoko (草果), deseeded
1g Nutmeg (肉蔻)
1g Green Sichuan peppercorn (青花椒), or ~½ tsp. Can substitute for red Sichuan peppercorn.
1g Black peppercorn (黑胡椒), or ~¼ tsp
2g White peppercorn (白胡椒), or ~½ tsp
0.5g Fennel seeds (小茴香), or ~¼ tsp
0.5g Coriander seeds (芫荽籽), or ~¼ tsp
0.5g Cinnamon (桂皮)
1 psc Clove (丁香)
1g Dried Lemongrass (香茅)
2 psc Dried Bay leaves (香叶)
0.5g Licorice Root (甘草)

Soak the spice bag in cool water for 10 minutes then set aside.

Next, prepare the goat. Debone

2kg goat leg

and cleave the bone into ~2 inch sections. Set aside in a separate bowl. From the meat, patiently remove any obvious fatty bits from the meat, and set aside in a separate bowl as well. You do not need to be overly paranoid removing the fat, just slice out what you easily can. Place the leftover lean meat in a third bowl.

Add water to each bowl, together with

~1 tsp salt per ~1L of soaking liquid

and allow these to soak for two hours to extract the “blood”/myoglobin, then rinse well and drain.

To make the goat soup, we will go in two stages. First we will cook the lean.

To a pot that’s at least 5L in size, put in:

The lean goat meat from above
The spice bag from above
30g ginger (姜), smashed
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Baijiu liquor (白酒), or alternatively Shaoxing wine
1L water

and bring to a boil. Skim the soup if you need, then pull it down to a low simmer. Cover, and allow to cook for 2 hours.

After two hours, you should be able to poke through the thickest part of the lean — and the skin — without much effort. If this is the case, remove and allow to cool down and dry on a rack. Once the lean is cooled down to room temperature (~3 hours), wrap it up tightly with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge overnight. We will slice this the next day.

Do not remove the cooking liquid, this will be the base of the second stage of the soup. To your pot, add in an additional

1L water

together with

the cleaved bones
10g ginger (姜), smashed
½ tbsp white peppercorns (白胡椒), crushed

and turn the flame to medium low. Cover and let simmer for another ~2 hours.

After that time, remove the ginger and cover once again. Return the soup to a rapid bowl and then shut off the heat. Leave the soup firmly covered on the counter overnight4, until you’re ready to serve the next day.

To make the crispy chili oil:

The base of this crispy chili oil will be a bit of rendered goat fat. So, to a wok, add in the trimmed out goat fat from earlier, together with

~½ cup water

With your flame on medium, bowl the water away and render out the oil from the fat. When the fat pieces are golden brown, remove and toss these pieces. Scoop the rendered oil into a measuring cup. You will want 2-3 tbsp worth5.

Top it with

Caiziyou (菜籽油), Chinese rapeseed oil, preferably -or- Peanut oil -or- Indian Mustard Seed oil6

until you have 1 cup worth total. Pour this all back into the wok, and add in

40g onion, sliced
25g cilantro
20g scallion, torn into sections
10g ginger, sliced

and fry the aromatics on medium until lightly golden brown, ~5-8 minutes. Then add in

1 pcs sha ren (砂仁)
1 pcs white cardamom (白蔻)
1 pcs sand ginger (沙姜)
0.5g cinnamon (桂皮)
¼ tsp fennel seeds (小茴香)
1 pcs dried bay leaf (香叶)

and continue to fry until the aromatics are good and golden brown, ~5 minutes more.

Strain out the aromatics and spices, then return the oil to the wok. We will now fry our garlic crisps.

Slice

6 large cloves of garlic

and add them to the oil. Fry on medium low until the garlic is just barely beginning to get lightly golden brown. Remove immediately and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. They will continue to crisp up as they sit.

Next, we will fry our chili crisp. Cut

20g of a mild-medium fragrant dried chili, e.g. Guizhou Chicken Claw (鸡爪辣), Yunnan Xianjiao (线椒), Sichuan Erjingtiao (二荆条), Mexican Guajillo, Aleppo Pepper

into ~½ inch sections. Add them to the oil and fry over a medium low flame, until the chilis turn a reddish-brown, roughly the color of roasted chestnuts. Remove and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

We will now finish the chili oil. Heat the oil up to ~180C and then shut off the heat. Toss in

2 tbsp toasted or smoked chili flakes, e.g. Chinese Hulajiao (煳辣椒), Northern Thai Prik Bon, or Mexican/American Chipotle flakes

and stir vigorously. Once the oil has dropped to ~160C, add in

1 tbsp red fragrant chili powder, e.g. Xinjiang chili powder (上色辣椒面), Kashmiri chili powder, Hungarian paprika, or Korean gochugaru

and stir to mix. Add back in the chili crisps and fried garlic. Once the oil has dropped to ~140C, swirl in

½ tbsp dark Chinese vinegar (陈醋/香醋)

and stir to mix and sizzle. Finish with

¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp MSG (味精)

and mix well. Place the chili oil in a container, cover, and let sit for at least 24 hours before using.

Soak the rice noodles

Take

150g dried rice noodle per serving, preferably Jiangxi rice stick (江西米粉). You could also use Vietnamese rice vermicelli.

and soak in cool water overnight in the fridge.

Day 2

Cook the rice noodle

To a wok of boiling water, add in the rice noodles, and cook in until just passed al dente. This will be about ~2-3 minutes for Jiangxi rice sticks, or ~1 minute for Vietnamese rice vermicelli.

Drain and rinse under running water for 2-3 minutes, jiggling the noodles along the way. The texture should change in your hands, becoming obviously more ‘slippery’. Once at that point, drain, and then spread the noodles out on a wider strainer to let dry.

The noodles will have the best texture once they no longer feel ‘wet’ and are slightly sticky when you touch them, ~1 hour.

Prepare the rest of the toppings

Goat meat

Take the goat out from the fridge, cutting it along the membrane to separate the meat into smaller chunks. You will want enough to get ~100g of goat per serving.

Thinly slice against the grain into 1mm thick slices and set on a plate. You could alternatively use a deli slicer or a hotpot meat slicer if you prefer.

Herbs

Pick the leaves from

15g (per serving) mint

and put in a bowl for serving.

Roughly mince

10g (per serving) cilantro
10g (per serving) scallion
1 clove (per serving) garlic

and place each in their own individual bowls for serving.

Pickles

Roughly mince

10g (per serving) preserved mustard green (酸菜), preferably a Guizhou or Sichuan style

into half inch bits and place in a bowl for serving.

Dice

10g (per serving) pickled radish (酸萝卜), preferably a Guizhou or Sichuan style

into a half inch dice and place in a bowl for serving.

Assembly

Bring your goat soup back up to a heavy bowl. Preferably serve the soup at the table on a portable burner to keep the soup at a boil when serving, but you could also transfer to a pot that keeps heat well (e.g. a claypot) and keep covered.

For each diner, place in one serving of rice noodles together with a seasoning of

¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp MSG
¼ tsp chicken bouillon powder (鸡精)
⅛ tsp green Sichuan peppercorn powder (青花椒粉), preferably, though red is also okay

Each diner can then ladle in their hot soup as they see fit — the above seasoning was assuming ~3 cups of hot soup. If the diner is adding raw garlic, be sure to add the garlic at first to allow the soup to be able to cook it.

Top with sliced goat meat, pickles, herbs, chili oil, and crispy fried garlic/chilis as according to your own tastes.

Cook this recipe and love it? Did you just open a Yangroufen shop and now making gobs of money slinging delicious goat noodles? Your trade secrets are safe with me. But if you’re feeling generous, you could also…

I should mention that in Guizhou there’s also a commonly-cited fourth style alongside these three — the Jinsha (金沙) style — but this style is the most obscure of the four, and was extremely difficult to find solid information on

To my understanding? I’m far from an expert on Louisiana cuisine, very much a hobbyist from Pennsylvania

This is a mix of 12g spices, which is meant for 3 liters of water.

For scaling, the spice to water ratio is 4g or 5g spice mix to 1 liter water. If you’re aiming to make a bigger batch of soup, you can weight out a bigger portion of spice mix, pulverize and store in an air-tight container, it stays fresh for a month or two.

This is a rather common Chinese technique that has historically elicited bloody cries from the ServSafe neurotics on Reddit. If this describes you, feel free to allow the soup to comes down to room temperature (~2 hours), then store in the fridge overnight.

If your goat is fatty, you may have more rendered fat. But for this chili oil I’d suggest you use no more than ¼ cup of goat fat, otherwise it’d be solid once the temperature’s under 26C, which is a bit hard to use

If using Indian mustard seed oil, you will need to cook the oil before using, else the oil will taste rather harsh. To do so, bring the oil up to smoking and leave it smoking for ~30 seconds, then shut off the heat and allow to come down to temperature.

Piave PDO’s Super Power - TASTE

2026-10-27T20:56:01.000Z

Why we can't stop eating this under-the-radar alpine cheese.

The post Piave PDO’s Super Power appeared first on TASTE.

BONUS: Epic Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats - Hot Thai Kitchen

2026-10-27T19:42:44.000Z

This bonus recipe has nothing to do with Thai food but it is one of the best things I make, so I have to share it with my biggest supporters. Brown butter protein rice Krispie treats...and before you say "are you serious?," let me tell you why these are different and worth your time.

Whenever I have a container of these sitting at home, which is often, when people come over, I offer them a piece, and predictably, the next thing you know half the container is gone! They're not too sweet, a little salty, extra milky from the protein powder, and extra nutty aroma from the brown butter and pumpkin seeds. They are highly addictive. People have a hard time having just one!

The protein powder was a happy accident. With a picky eating child, I wanted to find a way to sneak extra protein into every little thing he eats. What I did not expect was that the milkiness from the whey protein made these treats actually taste better! So whether or not you want to make these higher protein, I would recommend adding it, but if you don't want to go buy a whole tub of protein for this, you can also omit. I have detailed notes about the right protein powder to use and what you can use instead in the recipe card!

They're perfect for bringing to get togethers, especially if kids will be around!

Epic Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie Treats like no other, these are nutty, milky, not too sweet and a little salty. Studded with crunchy pumpkin seeds, they are highly addictive! Less sweet and higher protein than regular ones!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings pieces

Ingredients

6 cups Rice Krispie cereal see note 1
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or sub other kinds of nuts or seeds
¼ cup hemp hearts optional, feel free to sub other small seeds like chia seeds or sesame seeds, see note 2
1 scoop unflavoured whey protein powder optional, see note 3
¾ teaspoon table salt or another fine grain salt
½ cup unsalted butter
9.5 oz marshmallows mini ones dissolve more quickly but regular size ones are fine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper, or whatever containers you want.
Combine the rice krispie cereal, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, protein powder, salt and mix well.
6 cups Rice Krispie cereal, ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup hemp hearts, 1 scoop unflavoured whey protein powder, ¾ teaspoon table salt
In a pot or a large wok, ideally nonstick, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Once melted and the bubbling starts to subside, stir frequently until the milk solids at the bottom of the pan is dark brown. Do not walk away, it burns fast!
½ cup unsalted butter

I highly recommend you watch the video tutorial for this process if you've never browned butter before.

Once the butter has browned, immediately add the marshmallows and quickly stir to mix and then turn the heat down to LOW. Add the vanilla and keep stirring until the marshmallows are mostly melted but still a little bit lumpy.
9.5 oz marshmallows, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Remove the pan from the heat, add the cereal mixture and quickly toss with two spatula until the rice krispies are evenly coated in the marshmallow. (If using an electric stove, move the pan off the element during mixing).

If for some reason the mixture has cooled and firmed up before mixing is complete, you can put it back on LOW heat to soften it and make the mixing easier.

Transfer into the prepared pan and smooth out the rice krispies without compressing it in order to keep it light and airy. It will not fill a 9x13 pan completely, so you'll have space around the edges to use your hand/spatula to press the edges to straighten them (press through the parchment, don't touch the treats with your bare hands!) Allow to cool and then cut into pieces once cooled. Store in an airtight container, they last a couple of weeks at room temp.

Video

Notes

If you're not using Kellogg's brand rice Krispie cereal, use the cup measure instead of the weight. I tried this with gluten free rice cereal to make a gluten free version, but because they are much heavier and denser, 180g did not provide enough volume for the amount of marshmallows in this recipe.
I add hemp hearts for a little extra protein, fiber and omega 3. You will not taste them. Feel free to omit, or sub other seeds like chia seeds or sesame seeds.
The whey protein powder gives a lovely milkiness to these treats (I use Nutrabolics hydrolyzed whey protein, but you can use other brands). Do not use flavoured protein powder because it will make it too sweet. If you don't have it, you can try adding 3 tablespoons of milk powder and I think it should provide the same milky flavour! Do not add any more protein powder in the attempt to make these higher protein; I tried it, and it just makes it too dry as the protein powder absorbs moisture.

The post BONUS: Epic Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats appeared first on Hot Thai Kitchen.

Food insecurity is on the rise in Australia. We need more effective responses - The Conversation (Food Category)

2026-10-25T18:32:30.000Z

Food insecurity is a growing problem in Australia. As food costs rise amid national and international pressures, affordability is becoming a growing concern for many Australians. However, we still have limited evidence on how widespread food insecurity is, how it changes over time, and who is most affected.

Our analysis of data in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) annual survey shows that severe food insecurity increased nationally by around 40% between 2020 and 2024.

This matters because food insecurity is not only a sign of financial hardship; it can have lasting consequences for health and wellbeing. We identify that single-parent families with children are especially exposed, but risks have also increased for other families. Understanding these changes, and where they occur, is essential for targeting support and policy effectively.

How do we measure food insecurity?

Food insecurity is difficult to measure because people experience it in different ways. Some worry about not having enough food, while others cut back on some foods, skip meals or go without eating altogether.

There are a range of measures. Foodbank estimated one in three Australian households experienced some degree of food insecurity in 2025. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ national nutrition survey estimated 13.2% of Australian households experienced food insecurity in 2023, but its survey has not been updated since.

Our analysis uses an internationally comparable measure developed by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This consists of eight questions about people’s experiences with food insecurity. It has been included in the 2020 and 2024 HILDA surveys, with responses from around 15,000 people.

Because HILDA follows the same people over time, it can also help us understand who becomes food insecure, who moves out of food insecurity and what factors are associated with these changes.

Following previous research on the 2020 HILDA data, we define severe food insecurity as answering “yes” to at least seven of the eight questions.

The proportion of people experiencing severe food insecurity increased from 2.1% in 2020 to 3.0% in 2024, an increase of around 40%. This category captures people who may be cutting back on food, skipping meals or sometimes going without eating.

Food insecurity is increasing in most cities and regions

The increase was not the same across the country.

Among major cities, severe food insecurity increased substantially in Perth, more than doubling from 1.35% in 2020 to 2.79% in 2024. Adelaide recorded the highest level in 2020 and 2024, at 3.11% and 4.70%, respectively. Severe food insecurity also increased in Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane was the only city where the rate fell slightly, from 2.63% to 2.49%.

Food insecurity generally increases with remoteness in the country. Many of these regional areas are agricultural hubs, showing that food insecurity does not affect all regional communities in the same way.

The exception is Victoria. In 2024, severe food insecurity affected 2.82% of people in Melbourne, compared with just 2.00% in inner regional Victoria.

In outer regional Victoria, however, the rate was higher, resembling what is also observed in other states. Although HILDA surveys people in regional areas, its small sample could underestimate people’s experience of food insecurity in those areas.

These differences may reflect the different pressures people face in different places. Housing costs, job opportunities, food access and prices, transport and services can all affect whether people can consistently afford enough food.

Single parent families most at risk

These figures show that food insecurity is not distributed evenly across Australian households.

The highest levels were among families in single-parent households. Severe food insecurity increased from 11.57% to 13.68% among people living in single-parent families with children.

Among people living in single-parent families with older children over 15, it increased sharply from 1.73% to 4.42%.

Single parents often rely on one income to cover housing, utilities, food, childcare and other expenses. Solo-caring responsibilities also make it harder to increase working hours.

For couples with children, food insecurity jumped almost 87%. The increase was smaller for those with older children.

Couples with children may have more resources to draw on, but they can still face food insecurity when housing costs, debt, job insecurity or illness put pressure on the household budget.

Better evidence for better action

The increase in severe food insecurity is a warning sign for Australia, and we cannot respond effectively to a problem that we do not properly observe, understand and measure.

To address food insecurity, the data in the HILDA survey is valuable because it shows how many people experience food insecurity, how severe their experiences are and how the situation is changing.

Nationally representative surveys such as this and the ABS survey, and research to support more detailed data for regional communities, are critical steps to support policy intervention and design. This includes the National Food Security Strategy, which aims to address the multiple challenges affecting food insecurity in the country.

Local organisations, charities, food banks and government services play an important role in supporting people who are struggling, but they cannot address the underlying causes on their own.

Understanding who is most affected, and where, is an important first step. Better data can help ensure that support reaches the people and communities facing the greatest risks.

David A. Fleming-Muñoz receives funding from the ARC and VicHealth.

Andrea Arratia-Solar and Chandana Maitra do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Yufuin: Kyushu’s Magical Ghibli Town - ieatishootipost

2026-10-25T06:59:41.000Z

Yufuin is truly magical! Yufuin really took us by surprise! I had heard it was pretty. I had heard it had Ghibli vibes. But Lake Kinrin, Mt Yufu, Yufuin Floral Village, and the main tourist street of Yunotsubo Kaido all came together to make this trip extra special. The town really did feel like it […]

The post Yufuin: Kyushu’s Magical Ghibli Town appeared first on ieatishootipost.

Halal cooking meets Yunnan vegetables - Little Soybean

2026-10-23T18:34:50.000Z

Every Sunday my friends and I would get lunch at Ma Lao Biao 马老表清真菜馆, a mom-and-pop eatery on the main stretch of highway where three-wheeled carts rattle past e-scooters, both skirting the freight trucks and tour buses between Dali and Xizhou ancient town.

Blink and you might miss it, but the signage with green lettering by the door immediately signals that the restaurant is strictly pork-free and Halal. The place is close by, the food is good, and because some of my friends are from the Hui minority and do not eat pork, and a few of us are vegan and vegetarian, the food fits all of our requirements.

The distinctive round logo with green lettering, sometimes with crescent moons or Arabic characters. Qing zhen shi pin 清真食品.

In Dali, Halal restaurants are run by the Hui ethnic minority (回族), Chinese-speaking Muslims, who make up a significant population in northern Yunnan. They are stringent about cleanliness, preparing food according to Islamic dietary laws, and 100% pork-free. A Hui-run restaurant is called qingzhen caiguan (清真菜馆), and the food itself is called qingzhen cai (清真菜). Bakeries that feature the green signage also make pastries and flaky shaobing without lard.

It’s an odd, perfect little intersection: in a country where pork is the most commonly consumed meat and lard is layered even in breads and desserts, Muslim-owned restaurants have become havens for Buddhist vegetarians, and Hui people often frequent Buddhist vegetarian restaurants. No need to constantly ask if the dish contains pork, thank god.

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The menu is self-determined and seasonal: you peer into the refrigerated case and point out a few dishes you want, or let the owner make suggestions.

YUNNAN POTATO | 洋芋

I’m always bowled over by how good potatoes taste here. The local varietals are small and yellow-fleshed, and they’re usually sold freshly dug and uncured, which means the starches haven’t had time to dry out for storage. Their potato flavor is intensified, the flesh sweeter and creamier.

The restaurant twice-cooks the potatoes: first nuked in a pressure cooker— faster than steaming or boiling, at high-altitude— then mashed with a knife and cooled. The portions are stir-fried to order, with plenty of oil, aromatics like scallions and chilies, and greens like sour water-pickled cabbage (水腌菜) or fennel (茴香), whose lacy tops I always mistake for dill.

The result is a plate of the world’s greatest mashed potatoes, so savory you must eat it with rice. (Who cares if it’s carb-on-carb, potato is still a vegetable.) The texture is unbelievably rich and creamy but also chunky, with lots of interesting bits, like the yummy starch crust scraped from the bottom of the wok.

BEANS | 豆

Funny that I used to think Chinese people didn’t really eat whole beans, other than sweetened and mashed in bean pastes. In Yunnan they love their savory beans. Peas, lentils, green soybeans, fava (broad) beans, and the local kidney bean are given the same treatment: cook beans in pressure cooker, stir-fry with aromatics until piping hot, season simply.

Notice there are always secondary elements so that the dish doesn’t appear too dan diao, 单调 (“monotonous” or “lacking variety”). All it takes is a carrot or bell pepper to harmonize the dish, providing color but also bits of contrasting sweetness and crunch.

Another form of the bean: wandoufen, pea curd, which they slice and fry until crisp and serve with a chile dip.

GREENS | 青菜

Greens are a big part of the diet, regardless of the season. It’s mild enough year-round so that there’s always some kind of leafy vegetable, either tender greens or hardier mustard, cabbage, or celtuce. They are parcooked (blanched in a huge pot of water and shaken dry), then tossed in a wok just long enough to coat them in aromatic oil and seasoning. Sometimes with chili bean paste, soybean paste or mashed fermented tofu, or the tried-and-true chiles and minced garlic formula.

Or for a variation, pea shoots in soup. Tender tips/leaves and soft tofu boiled in water, just salt, no oil, kept light to refresh the palate between heavier dishes.

豌豆苗豆腐汤 wāndòu miáo dòufu tāng

SALADS | 凉拌菜

Perhaps my favorite category: cold-dressed, liangban dishes. This abundance of raw vegetable salads I’ve only seen otherwise in the Northeast (dongbei) of China, where my family is from.

But unlike the sesame paste sauces of northern salads, in the southwest they are more influenced by regional Dai minority dishes. They like to pair herbs like fresh cilantro and sawtooth coriander (long-leaf/wild coriander) with lime juice, toasted chili flakes, garlic and mint.

The overall flavor profile is brighter and hotter, with a heady zest and lingering heat like that of neighboring SE Asian dishes.

OTHER VEG

For harder vegetables like lotus root, squashes, eggplant, and tubers, the trick is to slice everything thinly. Minimize cooking time, maximize flavor distribution.

Bittermelon is stir-fried with fava beans: their starchy, creamy sweetness balances the bitter. Lotus root is paired with chiles and sour pickled vegetables. For broccoli, the stalks are treated with equal reverence as the florets.

At bottom left is my favorite, arrowhead tuber (ci gu, 慈菇). This starchy aquatic root vegetable is called “benevolent mushroom,” oddly, slightly bitter, with a texture between potato’s starchiness and water chestnut’s bite.

And then there are the basics, like eggplant, which I’ve never thought to slice into shreds like this?? Of course, it makes sense, and it’s easy to eat, just a little more labor at the chopping board. I love how Chinese stir-frying applies the same concept to anything, for an infinite rolodex of vegetable dishes.

TOFU | 豆腐

Finally, tofu. The most common variety of tofu in Dali is slightly fermented— left to sit out for a few days— so that it ages slightly, the proteins breaking down into savory amino acids and flavor.

There’s crunchy fried hairy tofu with loads of chili-pepper-MSG-salt topping, garland chrysanthemums stir-fried with mashed stinky tofu, and of course, soft tofu stewed with pickled chilies and peppercorns, the Yunnan version of mapo tofu.

Until next time,
Hannah

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Best Food We Ate in Fukuoka! - ieatishootipost

2026-10-23T03:50:38.000Z

Our Latest Favourite Japanese City! Like many Singaporeans, we count Japan among our favourite holiday destinations. Over the years we have visited Tokyo, Osaka, and Hokkaido, and more recently we have been venturing beyond the major cities to explore the rest of Japan. Kyushu had always been on our radar, and friends who had been […]

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What’s the difference between green, yellow and red capsicums? It’s more than what you see - The Conversation (Food Category)

2026-10-22T18:34:01.000Z

StockSeller_ukr/Getty Images

Raw, grilled, roasted, stuffed – there are many ways to enjoy capsicums, also called bell peppers, sweet peppers or paprika.

Capsicums originated in Central and South America and belong to the nightshade family along with tomatoes and eggplants.

Like tomatoes, we consider capsicums a vegetable because they’re lower in sugar than most fruits and are usually eaten in savoury dishes. But botanically speaking, capsicums are a fruit – more specifically, a berry – because they develop from a flower and contain seeds.

Spicy chilli peppers such as jalapeño, bird’s eye and many others are also a type of capsicum. What makes these spicy is the molecule capsaicin, which activates heat and pain receptors on our tongue. Capsicums are sometimes called sweet peppers because they don’t contain capsaicin.

You might think green, yellow, orange and red are different types of capsicum, but they’re all actually the same fruit. All capsicums start out green, and their colour changes to yellow, then orange and finally red as they ripen.

But the difference between the colours isn’t just superficial – it affects nutrition, flavour and more.

The link between colour and flavour

First, let’s bust the myth that a capsicum with three bumps on the bottom is “male” and one with four bumps is “female”, and therefore sweeter. This is entirely false. Fruits don’t come with male and female parts the way flowers do. A capsicum will typically have two to five lobes (bumps). The shape mostly depends on the genetics of the plant and doesn’t affect the flavour.

But colour does affect a capsicum’s flavour because this reflects how ripe the capsicum was when it was picked.

A capsicum starts out green because it contains lots of chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plants green. Chlorophyll is the plant chemical of photosynthesis and makes energy for the capsicum to grow. As a capsicum ripens, chlorophyll breaks down and is replaced by carotenoids: yellow, orange and red pigments. Green capsicums also contain some carotenoids, but these colours are hidden by chlorophyll.

Green capsicums are ready to be picked about eight weeks after planting. Because they are not ripe, they are slightly bitter with a firm, crunchy texture. They suit stir-fries, fajitas, casseroles and add crunch to salads.

Yellow and orange capsicums are in the middle of ripening and are picked roughly two (yellow) and three (orange) weeks after green capsicums. These have a mild, sweet flavour. They are quite crisp when raw – great for adding colour to salads and lunchboxes. They soften when cooked, so are also good on the barbecue.

Red capsicums are the ripest, having stayed on the plant four weeks longer than green capsicums. They are the sweetest and richest in flavour, and the softest when cooked. They are excellent for roasting, soups and dips.

Green capsicums are the firmest, so they’re great for stir fries. vicinoaj/Getty Images

Colour affects nutrients too

All capsicums have several health benefits and are nutrient rich. They contain lots of vitamin C and antioxidants such as flavonoids, phenolic compounds and carotenoids. Capsicums are also a good source of fibre, which supports digestive health.

But there are differences in nutritional benefits based on colour, and whether you eat the peppers raw or cooked.

Carotenoids – particularly capsanthin, beta-carotene, lutein, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin – impact the colour of capsicums based on the proportions in which they’re present. All carotenoids and chlorophyll are antioxidants, but with different health benefits.

Green, yellow and orange capsicums are rich in lutein, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin. These are essential for eye health and protect against age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Compound Interest, CC BY-NC-ND

Orange and red capsicums have the highest vitamin C and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene gets converted to vitamin A in the body, which is important for good cell health, vision, and immune and cognitive functions.

Red capsicums contain the most capsanthin, the carotenoid with the strongest antioxidant activity. This protects our body’s cells against damaging free radical chemicals.

For all capsicums, cooking increases the availability of carotenoids and polyphenols but reduces vitamin C. For the greatest nutritional benefits, it’s best to eat a combination of raw and cooked capsicums of different colours.

In fact, eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables provides many beneficial compounds. We have measured carotenoids in the skin using a non-invasive device to assess vegetable intake, because most Australians don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables.

Peppers can also have more than one colour at the same time. Irina Khabarova/Getty Images

All capsicums are good capsicums

It’s interesting to note a capsicum’s colour can also affect its price.

Green capsicums are usually the cheapest because they’re picked earlier, which makes them cheaper to grow. Red capsicums remain on the plant the longest, increasing growing costs. However, yellow capsicums are typically the most expensive, as they’re harder to grow with a shorter picking period.

A cheaper and equally healthy option is “imperfect” capsicums. Two-toned capsicums, for example part green and part orange, provide a greater mix of different carotenoids. Malformed capsicums are only imperfect in appearance, not flavour or health benefits.

Ultimately, all capsicums, whether red, green, yellow or orange, and raw or cooked, are a nutritious choice.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Creamy Whipped Tofu Feta with Smoky Hot “Honey” - Vegan Richa

2026-10-21T15:10:00.000Z

I can’t believe this is tofu! This creamy, tangy whipped tofu feta with smoky, savory, sweet, spicy ‘honey’ on top takes just 15 minutes. It’s perfect for snacking, potlucks, and holiday parties! (gluten-free and nut-free with soy-free option. 15g protein and 3g fiber per serving not including sides)

This dip, it’s luscious, tangy, creamy, delicious! Topped with a smoky savory spicy sweet topping. And it takes just 15 minutes! Once you try this dip, you’ll keep coming back with I can’t believe it’s tofu! I can’t believe it’s vegan!

We make the whipped feta with a block of tofu, but nobody will believe that it’s tofu-based. Even Dalana, my assistant, who is a level 10 tofu skeptic, said that she can’t taste the tofu in this vegan whipped feta at all.

Then, we top the dip with this spicy, savory, smoky, bacon-y, hot honey kind of situation. Of course, vegan. And then there’s a crunchy topping with crisp garlic, some toasty seeds, and pine nuts.

This vegan tofu feta is easy to put together and it will disappear so quickly. You just add everything to the food processor for the tofu feta and it’s done. You crisp up a little bit of the garlic and toast the seeds, and that’s done. Mix the hot honey ingredients together, and that’s done.

It’s just an awesome dip, and it’s packed with protein, from the tofu and the seeds on top. A serving of this delicious dip has 15 grams of protein!

Whipped tofu feta is smooth, creamy, and versatile. You can serve it as a dip with a side of garlic bread, pita, veggies, or whatever else you like. You can use it to make sandwiches with crisp, fresh veggies, and it’s so filling and delicious. You can spread it on the bread with some onion and peppers and bake it to make high protein cheese toast. Or, add it to your charcuterie board with some of my other dips, like my jalapeño popper dip, spinach artichoke dip, or French onion dip. So many ways to use it!!

Why You’ll Love Whipped Tofu Feta

quick 15 minutes! and easy to make
a hit at potlucks, parties, holiday parties, etc.
creamy, protein-packed dairy-free whipped feta that no one will believe is tofu
crispy garlic and smoky-sweet vegan hot ‘honey’ topping
naturally gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free option

More Party Food Ideas

Continue reading: Creamy Whipped Tofu Feta with Smoky Hot “Honey”

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Serving Experience Necessary… and a Clear High C - TASTE

2026-10-20T18:15:02.000Z

At Ellen’s Stardust Diner in Times Square, tuna melts are delivered between ballads

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Arita Wagyu: A Journey to Miyazaki - ieatishootipost

2026-10-20T09:08:53.000Z

Miyazaki Wagyu: Four Time Winner of the Wagyu Olympics If you enjoy beef, chances are you’ve tasted Miyazaki Wagyu. Miyazaki is Japan’s second largest producer of Japanese Black cattle, the breed behind most of the wagyu we eat, after neighbouring Kagoshima. It has also won the Wagyu Olympics four times in a row. Held only […]

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