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554 recipes

Kluay chuam (Thai bananas in palm-sugar syrup)

Kluay chuam is a market dessert of central Thailand, cooked in big brass pans and sold by the bag year round, and it is a common sweet to offer monks at merit-making. Small, starchy nam wa bananas are simmered slowly in palm-sugar syrup until they turn translucent and amber, soft and chewy rather than mushy, then served with thick, salty coconut cream poured over. The flavour is deep caramel and banana, cut by the salt. Serve at room temperature in small bowls. Being egg-free by nature, it relies on the long simmer in syrup firms the bananas and a little rice flour thickens the coconut topping. Chef's tip: keep the syrup at the gentlest simmer and don't stir; the common mistake is a fast boil and a spoon, which break the bananas before they have time to turn glassy.

60 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bratapfel (German baked apples with almond paste)

Across Germany, Bratäpfel are the smell of Advent: on cold December afternoons and evenings tart apples go into the oven filled with marzipan, raisins and nuts, and come out puffed, split and bubbling. The skin wrinkles, the flesh turns to a soft, sweet-sour purée and the almond filling melts into the juices. Serve them hot in their dish with the pan juices spooned over, and a plant-based vanilla sauce or a spoon of cold cream if you are not keeping them vegan. Shop marzipan sometimes contains egg white, so here you make a quick egg-free almond paste from ground almonds, icing sugar and a few drops of water, which holds the filling together just as well. The raisins are soaked in apple juice instead of rum. Chef's tip: choose a firm, sharp baking apple and score a ring around its middle; the common mistake is using a sweet eating apple without scoring, which bursts and collapses before the core is tender.

45 minGermanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Łamańce z makiem (wafers in sweet poppy-seed milk)

In Podlasie and across eastern Poland, Christmas Eve supper, Wigilia, is meatless, and among the twelve dishes on the table is a bowl of łamańce: thin, crisp wafers broken into milk that has been turned grey-blue with ground poppy seed and sweetened with honey. Poppy seed stands for plenty in the coming year. The wafers soften at the edges but stay crunchy in the middle, and the milk tastes nutty and gently sweet. Serve it at room temperature or slightly warm, at the end of the meal. Bakery łamańce are not always egg-free; these are, a simple dough of flour, water and oil with a pinch of baking powder that bakes crisp without any binding. Chef's tip: roll the dough paper-thin, almost see-through; the common mistake is leaving it thick, which bakes into hard crackers that never soak up the poppy milk.

60 minPolishDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ซาหริ่ม (Sarim, mung bean noodles in coconut syrup)

Sarim is an old dessert of central Thailand, served at temple fairs and in market dessert shops on sweltering afternoons: thin, slippery strands in pastel green, blue and white, floating in a pale coconut syrup over a mound of crushed ice. The strands are almost flavourless and very soft, so the syrup does the work; in Thailand it is scented with jasmine flowers or the smoke of a scented candle, and here with pandan and optional fresh jasmine. It is naturally egg-free: the strands are pure mung bean starch cooked with water into a clear, thick paste, which sets into a soft gel the moment it hits ice water. Pandan juice and butterfly pea flowers give the colours, so there is no need for dyes. Serve it straight away, as a light end to a spicy meal. Chef's tip: cook the paste until it turns fully glossy and see-through; the common mistake is stopping while it is still milky, which gives strands that break and taste floury.

60 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GurkensalatCucumber and dill salad

Gurkensalat is on German tables from Bavaria to Berlin all summer, served alongside potato pancakes, egg dishes or the Sunday roast, and it is just as common at a garden barbecue. Cucumber is sliced almost paper-thin, salted briefly, then dressed with a little vinegar, sugar, onion and lots of fresh dill, so it is cool, sharp and soft-crunchy. Some households stir in soured cream; this vinaigrette version is vegan. It is very light, with about 1 g of protein a portion, so it is purely a side. The most common mistake is skipping the salting: unsalted slices weep water into the bowl and dilute the dressing within minutes. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted slices gently in your hands before dressing; they bend like ribbons and take up the dill dressing much better.

15 minGermanSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Hutzelbrot (Swabian dried-pear Christmas loaf)

In Swabia and Franconia, Hutzelbrot is baked in early December and sliced through Advent and Christmas, traditionally on St Thomas's Day, 21 December. Hutzeln are dried pears, and they are the heart of the loaf: soaked overnight and simmered, then mixed with figs, prunes, raisins, hazelnuts, walnuts and candied peel, bound with only enough spiced yeast dough to hold everything together. The result is dark, moist and dense, closer to fruit than to bread, fragrant with cinnamon, aniseed and cloves. Slice it thin and eat it plain, spread with butter or a nut butter, with coffee or a hot fruit tea. The loaf is naturally egg-free: the yeast dough, made with the sweet pear soaking water, is the glue, and the sticky fruit holds it moist for weeks. Chef's tip: wrap the cooled loaves tightly and leave them for 3–4 days before slicing; the common mistake is cutting it on day one, when it crumbles and the flavours have not settled.

900 minGermanBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chin baung kyawStir-fried roselle leaves

Chin baung, the tart leaf of the roselle plant, is so loved in Myanmar that it is sometimes called the national vegetable, and chin baung kyaw is cooked in homes from Yangon to Mandalay as a sharp, garlicky side for rice and a bowl of light soup. The leaves collapse into a dark, tangy, almost jammy relish with bamboo shoot and chilli. The usual version has dried shrimp or a little fish sauce; this one is vegetarian, using fried shallots and a pinch of salt for savour. It is a side with about 3 g of protein per portion. The common mistake is under-cooking: the leaves should be fried until the liquid has gone and the oil separates, or the sourness tastes raw. If you can't find roselle leaves, use sorrel or spinach with a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: let the garlic and shallots turn properly golden before the leaves go in; their sweetness balances the sourness.

30 minBurmeseSidesVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bób z koperkiemBroad beans with butter and dill

All over Poland, from Kraków's market stalls to allotments outside Warsaw, the short broad bean season in June and July means bowls of bób z koperkiem: young beans boiled in their pale skins, tossed with melted butter, dill and salt, and eaten with your fingers on summer evenings. You squeeze each bean out of its skin with your teeth, or eat the skin too if the beans are very young. A generous bowl of 300 g beans gives about 22 g of protein, all from the broad beans. The most common mistake is overcooking: the skins burst and the beans turn grey and floury. Chef's tip: add a pinch of sugar to the cooking water along with the salt, as Polish cooks do; it keeps the beans sweet and bright.

15 minPolishSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Makówki (Silesian poppy-seed bread pudding)

Makówki are a must on the Christmas Eve table in Silesia, around Katowice and Opole, made the day before so they are ready when the first star appears. Slices of stale white rolls are soaked in sweet milk and layered with a thick mass of ground poppy seed cooked with honey, butter, nuts, raisins and candied peel, then left overnight to settle into a soft, moist, spoonable pudding. It tastes of honey and nuts, rich and not too sweet. Serve it cold, scooped from the dish. Use plain eggless white rolls (kajzerki or a basic white loaf), not brioche or challah, which are enriched doughs. The pudding is otherwise naturally egg-free: the soaked bread and the sticky poppy mass bind each other as they chill, so nothing else is needed. Chef's tip: grind the scalded poppy seed twice until it looks like wet paste; the common mistake is grinding it once, which leaves it gritty and bitter.

330 minPolishDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GrünkernbratlingeGreen spelt patties

Grünkern is spelt picked while still green and dried over beech smoke, a speciality of the Bauland and Odenwald in northern Baden. Simmered and shaped into Bratlinge, it became the vegetarian patty of German wholefood kitchens and school canteens, eaten for a weekday lunch with potato salad or a crisp green salad. They are nutty and slightly smoky, crisp outside and soft within. With the herb quark, one portion of three patties gives about 23 g of protein, from the spelt, eggs, mountain cheese and quark. Hard mountain cheese is often made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The usual mistake is frying the mixture while it is still warm and loose; it must cool and firm up first, or the patties fall apart in the pan. Chef's tip: use coarsely cracked green spelt rather than whole grains; it soaks up the stock evenly and binds without any extra flour.

50 minGermanVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Grüner BohnensalatGreen bean salad

In German kitchens from Swabia to Westphalia, green bean salad comes out in high summer when beans are cheap and plentiful, as a side to fried eggs, potato salad or grilled food, and it travels well to picnics. The beans are cooked until just tender, then dressed warm with vinegar, oil, onion and Bohnenkraut (summer savory), the peppery herb Germans always pair with beans. Many cooks add bacon; this version is vegan. A portion gives about 3 g of protein, so it is a side; add a handful of white beans to make it more filling. The most common mistake is undercooking the beans so they squeak: German bean salad is meant to be tender, not crisp, so cook until a bean bends without snapping. Chef's tip: dress the beans while they are still warm and let them sit for 30 minutes; they absorb the vinegar and taste far better than freshly dressed.

20 minGermanSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HirsebreiMillet porridge

Hirsebrei is one of the oldest dishes in German cooking, the millet porridge of fairy tales, and it is still made in homes across the country as a warm breakfast or a sweet supper for children on cold evenings. Golden millet is rinsed, then simmered in milk until creamy and soft, and served with stewed apple, berries and a dusting of cinnamon. A bowl gives about 12 g of protein from the milk and millet; stir in a spoon of quark or top with chopped almonds if you want more. The usual mistake is skipping the rinse: unrinsed millet tastes bitter and soapy, so rinse it in hot water until the water runs clear. Chef's tip: toast the rinsed millet in the dry pan for a minute before adding milk; it brings out a lovely nutty flavour.

30 minGermanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Feldsalat mit warmem KartoffeldressingLamb's lettuce with warm potato dressing

In Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, Feldsalat (lamb's lettuce, also called Ackersalat or Nüsslisalat) is the winter salad, eaten from October to March as a starter or beside Spätzle and egg dishes. The small, tender rosettes are dressed in a warm, creamy Swabian dressing made from a boiled potato mashed with stock, mustard, vinegar and oil, which coats the leaves without weighing them down. Traditional versions use meat stock and bacon; this one uses vegetable stock and crisp fried onions, so it is vegan. It gives about 3 g of protein a portion, so it is a side; add toasted pumpkin seeds for more. The most common mistake is not washing the leaves well: grit hides deep inside the rosettes, so wash in two or three changes of water. Chef's tip: dress the leaves only at the table; the warm dressing wilts them within minutes.

30 minGermanSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Aachener Printen (Aachen spiced gingerbread slabs)

The bakeries of Aachen have made Printen for centuries, and from late autumn through Christmas the city's shop windows fill with these narrow brown slabs. Unlike soft German Lebkuchen they are firm and snappy, sweetened with dark sugar-beet syrup and studded with little crunchy bits of rock sugar, and they carry a big blend of spices: cinnamon, aniseed, coriander, cloves, cardamom and allspice. The dough rests overnight to develop flavour, then is raised with potash, which gives the dense, crisp texture. Dunk them in coffee or tea, or serve with baked apples. Printen never contained egg: the thick beet syrup is both sweetener and binder, gluing the flour into a stiff dough that sets hard in the oven. Chef's tip: let the syrup cool to lukewarm before mixing in the flour; the common mistake is adding it hot, which starts cooking the flour and gives a tough, rubbery dough.

1465 minGermanBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fak thong kaeng buat (Thai pumpkin in coconut milk)

When the rains end and pumpkins pile up in the markets of central Thailand, kaeng buat is what cooks make with them: chunks of dense kabocha simmered in coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar and sharpened with a pinch of salt. It is a homely, everyday dessert, sold warm from big pots at markets in the afternoon and also cooked at Ok Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent. The pumpkin turns velvety but keeps its shape, and the thin, creamy, caramel-scented broth is meant to be drunk from the spoon. Eat it warm or at room temperature, in small bowls. There is no egg in it and never was: nothing needs setting or binding, as the pumpkin's own starch gives the coconut milk a light body as it cooks. Chef's tip: pick a dry, orange-fleshed kabocha and keep the coconut milk at a bare simmer; letting it boil hard is the common mistake that splits the milk and breaks the pumpkin into mush.

30 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Hin gyoLight clear gourd soup

In Myanmar, no curry lunch or dinner, in Yangon or a village in the Shan hills, is complete without a bowl of hin gyo: a mild, clear 'sweet soup' sipped between mouthfuls of rich, oily curry to refresh the palate. This one uses bottle gourd, simmered with onion, garlic and plenty of black pepper. Homes often season it with dried shrimp or fish sauce; this vegetarian version gets its savoury depth from fried garlic and a little soy sauce instead. It is very light, with about 2 g of protein per bowl. The common mistake is overcooking the gourd until it collapses; take it off when it is translucent but still holds its shape. Chef's tip: crush the peppercorns coarsely just before adding them, because the pepper is the soul of this soup.

25 minBurmeseSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kaeng khae with tofu and mushroomsHerb curry with tofu and mushrooms

Kaeng khae comes from the hills around Chiang Mai and Lampang, where it is cooked through the rainy season with whatever the garden and forest give: pea aubergines, long beans, pumpkin tips, acacia shoots and handfuls of leaves, in a brothy, coconut-free curry scented with lemongrass and the peppery prickly ash called makhwaen. In northern homes it is a lunch dish eaten with sticky rice. It is normally cooked with chicken, frog or fish and seasoned with fermented fish; this vegetarian version uses firm tofu, oyster mushrooms, soy sauce and a little salted soybean paste. With the tofu a portion has about 11 g of protein, so it is light rather than high protein. The common mistake is adding all the vegetables at once: the leaves are done in a minute while the beans and aubergines need five. Chef's tip: dry-fry the curry paste in a spoon of oil until it smells toasty before adding water; it gives the broth its depth without any fish.

45 minThaiCurriesVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ไอติมกะทิ (Itim kathi, Thai coconut ice cream)

Itim kathi is the ice cream of Bangkok's pushcarts: a vendor lifts the lid of an insulated drum, scrapes up a scoop of snow-white coconut ice cream and piles it into a small cup over sticky rice, then adds whatever the customer points at, from roasted peanuts and sweet corn to chewy palm seeds. It is sold all afternoon in the hot months, outside schools and temples and in markets. Some vendors tuck the scoop into a soft bread roll; serve it in cups as here and it stays gluten free. It is naturally egg-free and dairy-free. Coconut milk carries the fat that makes it creamy, and a little cornflour cooked into it binds the water so crystals stay fine and the texture stays smooth without any custard, while a pinch of salt sharpens the coconut. Chef's tip: use full-fat coconut milk with no added water; the common mistake is using a light one, which freezes hard and icy.

300 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Khai luk khoei (son-in-law eggs)

Khai luk khoei, son-in-law eggs, is a central Thai dish made for family meals and temple fairs, and a favourite way to turn a few eggs into dinner: boiled eggs fried until blistered and golden, halved and spooned over with a sticky tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce sauce, then finished with crisp shallots and chilli. It contains fish sauce, so it is not vegetarian. The mistake is frying wet eggs in oil that isn't hot enough; dry them well and the skin puffs and crisps instead of spitting. Chef's tip: boil the eggs for 7 minutes for a jammy centre; give 10 minutes and fully set yolks for anyone pregnant, very young, older or vulnerable.

27 minThaiSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Khanom kleeb lamduanFlower shortbread cookies

Named after the lamduan, a fragrant cream-coloured flower with three curled petals, these tiny Thai shortbreads are a classic of the royal-style Thai sweets once made in palace kitchens and now sold in Bangkok's old dessert shops and given at weddings and merit-making. Each flower is three teardrop petals around a ball, pale and fragile, and they melt like sandy fudge. Their perfume comes from tian op, a special scented dessert candle: it is lit, blown out, and left to smoke inside a closed container with the cookies. If you cannot find one, a little jasmine water in the dough gives a different but lovely scent. The mistake is baking them hot or long; they should stay ivory, never golden. Chef's tip: candle smoke is real fire and smoke, so do it in a metal or ceramic pot, well away from curtains and children, with the flame blown out before the lid goes on.

78 minThaiBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tao hoo tod (Thai fried tofu with sweet chilli peanut dip)

In Bangkok and towns all over Thailand, tao hoo tod is sold from street-side woks in the late afternoon, scooped into paper bags with a little bag of sweet chilli dip and a spoon of crushed peanuts for snacking on the way home. Done properly, each cube has a thin, blistered, crisp skin and a soft, almost creamy centre. The mistake that ruins it is frying wet tofu in oil that isn't hot enough, so it soaks up fat and never crisps. It makes a good starter or a light supper with sticky rice and cucumber. Chef's tip: press the tofu under a heavy pan for 10 minutes while you make the dip; drier tofu crisps faster and spits less.

22 minThaiSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Moo manao (pork in lime and chilli dressing)

Moo manao is a drinking snack and dinner side from central Thailand, served in Bangkok bars and at home with sticky rice: thin slices of pork, blanched until just cooked, laid on ice-cold cabbage or lettuce and drowned in a fierce dressing of lime, raw garlic, bird's eye chilli and fish sauce. This is a pork dish. The mistake is boiling the pork for too long, which makes the thin slices tough and dry; poach them only until they turn white all through. Chef's tip: plunge the cooked slices into iced water for a few seconds, so they stay tender and take the dressing well.

17 minThaiMeatGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pad thua ngok tao hoo (Thai bean sprouts and tofu stir-fry)

This plain, fast stir-fry is a fixture of home kitchens and made-to-order rice stalls across central Thailand, where it is eaten as one of two or three dishes shared over jasmine rice at dinner. Firm tofu is browned first, then the sprouts go in for barely a minute so they stay juicy and snap when you bite them. Thai cooks often season it with oyster sauce and fish sauce; this version uses soy and a mushroom-based sauce so it is vegan. The mistake almost everyone makes is cooking the sprouts too long, which turns them limp and watery. Chef's tip: pick off the stringy tails of the sprouts if you have five spare minutes; it makes the dish noticeably crisper.

11 minThaiVegetarianVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rote-Bete-SalatBeetroot salad

Rote-Bete-Salat is on the table in German homes through autumn and winter, beside potato pancakes, fried eggs or simply bread and butter. Cooked beetroot is cut into slices or batons and dressed with onion, vinegar, oil and a little caraway or grated horseradish, so it is sweet, earthy and sharp at once. It is vegan, gluten free and keeps for days in the fridge. The most common mistake is serving it straight after dressing: give it at least 10 minutes, or better an hour, so the beetroot soaks up the flavour. Chef's tip: wear gloves or rub your hands with lemon juice afterwards, as beetroot stains everything it touches.

15 minGermanSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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