#foodprep

Nut milk has long been a popular alternative to dairy milk for vegans and those suffering from lactose intolerance or dairy-related allergies. More recently, the list of dairy-free choices has expanded to include grain-based milk beverages, including one known as horchata. Horchata originates from a Mediterranean tradition of grinding grains to create drinks (the name comes from the Latin word hordeata, which in turn originates from hordeum or barley). These drinks have been an important alternative form of protein for people consuming plant-based diets or living in places where dairy sources were unavailable. There are many, many types of horchata around the world. Drinkers in the Mediterranean as well as Latin America, where the drink is also popular, have their preferred recipes and flavour combinations. The sky really is the limit when picking your horchata ingredients. You can make a horchata drink from rice, sesame seeds, barley or even pumpkin and melon seeds. A popular version in the Mediterranean and parts of Africa is making horchata out of grains and tubers such as tiger nuts and rice.

Not that kind of nut

Don’t be fooled by the name: tiger nuts are not actually nuts. Although they come from the tuber family, they earned this misleading name because they have stripes like tigers and taste like almonds or pecans. Producers harvest the marble-sized tiger nuts from the yellow nutsedge plant. Researchers have found that in West African countries such as Nigeria and Mali, tiger nuts are a popular and cheap source of protein. I

Carving pumpkins are a must during Halloween. But after you've dug out all that creamy and delicious pumpkin filling, don't throw it away! Try our Pumpkin, Cheese and Leek Tart recipe, and delight your family with this festive dish. Homemade tarts are a great way to prepare dishes ahead of time during the day and pop them into the oven when you're craving a tasty hearty snack. Make these yummy tarts for much-needed fuel after a night of trick or treating. You might also like: Tomato and Cheese Tarts!

Say goodbye to your regular french toast recipe of frying bread in eggs and milk. This is how you level up your french toast recipe - with a humble box of cornflakes! Yes, that's right. Just one simple step to coat your toast in cornflake crumbs and frying it in a generous amount of butter results in a delightfully crisped, crunchy outside and a warm filling within. The perfect thing about this is that you can fill your french toast with any filling you like - so peanut butter and jelly is a great combination, or peanut butter and banana, nutella and banana... the list goes on. Give this decadent stack a swirl of maple syrup and some powdered sugar, and you have yourself an Instagram-worthy breakfast. Is Tiktok your new recipe guide? We've been taking some inspiration too. See our recipes for frozen prata egg tarts, baked milk treats and perfect scrambled eggs.  

Stand mixer, bread maker, food processor, and more. Since embarking on your journey as a home chef or baker, you’ve probably encountered at least one of the above appliances. We get it: it might be daunting not knowing where to start, deciding what appliance suits you best and which deserves to be your go-to equipment on your kitchen countertop. While we’ve done a side-by-side comparison of the two most versatile kitchen tools we have to offer, it’s a moot point if we don’t show you just how flexible and amazing they can be. To start with, here’s an in-depth review of one of our favourites - the food processor. This everyday kitchen workhorse is capable of whipping you an entire meal from bread to dessert, and even sauces. Don’t believe us? Our friends at ShareFood have come up with some ways you can get the most out of your Kenwood Multipro Sense Food Processor 810.

Get creative, and let your food processor do the heavy lifting

Love sambal chilli but hate having to tear up when chopping onions and feeling the burn from the spicy chilli padi? Take the large chunks of ingredients, toss it in the food processor and let it do the chopping. For the paste variation of the well-loved local dip, go for an additional step of popping the chilli into the blender attachment, add in lime juice, and bob’s your uncle! Not a fan of the sambal’s spiciness? We’ve got you. This food processor can easily whip up fresh peanut butter, baby puree, or even eggless mayonnaise for special diets.

Shred it, slice it, have it any way you want it

With 5 creative shredding and slicing discs, the food processor also helps with quickening up your food preparation. For instance, use the thinnest blade to shred carrots, zucchini and other ingredients neatly and quickly. Or choose to flip the blade and use the slicing disc for a nice and thin cut of your cucumbers. With this nifty

Ask anyone for their favourite go-to breakfast item and more often than not, kaya toast with two soft boiled eggs will be mentioned. It's not hard to see why - soft white bread spread with a generous amount of creamy kaya together with a thick slab of butter, enjoyed with milky tea or coffee - what are great way to start your day! Kaya at its most basic form is made using eggs, sugar, coconut milk and pandan leaves. The green from the Kaya comes from pandan extract. This recipe is lovingly contributed by home cook Anne Leong.

When you finally get that beautiful and sleek Chef XL, or that ever-versatile Multipro Sense you’ve dreamed of - there’s so much more it can do than just sit prettily on the counter or its basic functions. Extra attachments aside, there are already so many other ways to hack your kitchen helpers and get the most bang for your buck. While these trusty mixers and food processors are great at doing what they are known for, it only takes a little bit of experimenting to discover just how much they can improve your culinary creations and save you precious time. The possibilities are truly endless. But here are 4 kitchen hacks you can start with.

A fluffy, cloudy and smooth meringue made effortlessly

A baker is only as good as their perfectly whipped meringue. It easily transforms a classic lemon tart into a beautiful dinner centrepiece and is delicious as little melt-in-your-mouth sugary bites. However, making meringue is an unavoidable challenge. It’s can be tricky to get meringue to rise in hot and humid weather or with a bowl less than perfectly oil-free, or even with the wrong mixing attachments. Sometimes, it may seem that getting the perfect fluffy and cloudy meringue needs nothing short of the stars aligning. But here’s your hack: chill the bowl. That’s it! It’s that simple. Pop the mixing bowl and beater in the freezer and keep the egg whites chilled in the fridge before whipping, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly the mixture fluffs. (This w

While the concept of eating clean might be appealing, the hassle of creating a healthy meal from scratch might turn some away. When it comes to creating a clean and green meal, salads are your best friend. Easy, quick and chock full of goodness, a good hearty salad is a fuss-free way of getting your daily nutrients while keeping you satiated. To get you started, here are a few refreshing salad recipes that you can toss-up in a jiffy, and give you the wholesome meal you’ve been dreaming of.

3-Ingredient Mediterranean Salad (By The Mediterranean Dish)

Refreshing, clean and delicious, this recipe only requires 3 ingredients, giving you a quick fresh salad with parsley and light lemon dressing. Straight out of the Eastern Mediterranean kitchen, this traditional dish is called the Salata, and is where salads like fattoush and tabouli derive inspiration from.

• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups diced tomatoes)
• 1 Large English cucumber (or hot-house cucumber), diced
• 1/2 to 3/4 packed cup/ 15 to 20 g chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp ground Sumac
• 2 t

The white radish is commonly mistaken for a paler cousin of the carrot, but they are not even from the same family – the white radish belongs to the cabbage family or Brassicaceae and is related to kale, broccoli and cauliflower. And you can taste the difference: the white radish – also known as the daikon – has a pungent and pepperish, sometimes even sour, flavour. Popularly used in Southeast Asian and East Asian dishes, the white radish is packed with calcium, vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium. It has a slightly acidic composition that makes it perfect for pickling. When brined or soaked in vinegar, the white radish can leave you with a sharp taste on the tongue – for some, it’s a pleasant palate cleanser before tucking into a main course (give these relishes a go if you’re looking to freshen up your taste buds). These pickles are frequently found in Japanese cooking and provide a refreshing accompaniment to match the generally clean flavours of the cuisine. Less well known globally is a radish of Chinese origin known as shinrimei. It’s considered an heirloom variety of the radish family and has a dull green exterior or skin, contrasted with a fuschia-coloured or bright rose centre. Its unique, watermelon-like appearance is reflected in its Chinese name, which is sometimes translated as the roseheart radish or beautiful-at-heart radish. Those who enjoy Korean food will probably know that the radish is an essential ingredient in its iconic dish, kimchi. Although the white radish is sometimes used, Korean radishes of the sort found in most kimchi tend to be sturdier or smaller. Take a look at some of the recipes here:

• Radish Cube Kimchi or Kaktugi
• Seasoned Radish Strip Salad
• White Radish Kimchi

A trusty wok

Yes, pigs really do hunt truffles. Yes, they really can cost US$50 each. And yes, they are worth it. French connoisseur Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin dubbed the rough, clumpy little tuber the “diamond of the kitchen”, and foodies since antiquity have struggled to cultivate enough of them. Although in modern times truffles have become easier to grow and harvest, they remain a true culinary delicacy with gourmet chefs (and ambitious blog readers!) around the world vying for the finest specimens to use in their kitchens. Of course, truffles don’t come cheap and you might wonder how a few small shavings could be worth so much dosh. But the truth is, there really is no flavour like the truffle – a truly essential tasting experience for any foodie.

What is a truffle?

Truffles are the fruit of certain types of fungi that flourish in rocky soil among the roots of certain trees, particularly oaks. Many orchards of oak have been planted specifically to entice truffle growth. Fortunately for Asian readers, China is the world’s top truffle producer at 5 million tonnes per year, followed by Italy and the United States. Depending on its weight, a single, fresh truffle can go for between US$30 and US$75. This ginormous black truffle found in Australia went for as much as US$2500. We use “found” instead of “grown” because even in the most fruitful forests, truffles – like diamonds – must be hunted rather than merely harvested. And, yes, truffle-hunting pigs are a real thing: truffles produce a compound similar to a sex hormone found in male pigs, and female pigs naturally seek out, dig up and (unless watched closely or muzzled) eat truffles. Dogs, too, can be trained to seek out these pungent-smelling delicacies, which raises the question…

What do truffles taste like and how are they eaten?

“Pungent”, “musky” and “earthy” are some of the most popular truffle descriptors. No mat