Sweet potato tea cakes
Inspired by the matcha bean cakes at Amei Tea House in Jiufen, Taiwan, we used orange and purple sweet potatoes, and moon …
Pandan crepes with coconut and palm sugar filling (kuih dadar)
A popular snack in Malaysia, the crepes are made with coconut milk and fresh pandan extract. The filling is a mixture of …
Vietnamese banana and tapioca pearls in coconut milk (che chuoi)
Che is a sweet made with coconut milk and beans, fruits, tubers, jelly, cereals or a mixture of two or more of them.

HI, I’M CONNIE!
Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.
Guide to ramen broth: shio, shoyu, miso and tonkotsu
Shio broth has salt, shoyu broth has soy sauce and miso paste is added to make miso broth. Tonkotsu (not tonkatsu) is made …
Perfect French fries: tips and tricks
Perfect French fries require correct proportion of cooking oil to the amount of potatoes, correct temperature of the oil and …
Difference between shrimp paste and shrimp sauce
In a nutshell, shrimp paste is a cooking ingredient while shrimp sauce is a condiment usually served as a dipping sauce. …
2023 is the year of one bowl meals!
Salted duck egg and chorizo spaghetti
Mimicking the Filipino egg-sausage-tomato-rice meal, this spaghetti dish has a rich sauce made with pureed salted duck egg, …
Herby chicken, beans and tomato soup
Cooked with assorted beans and peppercorn melange, this herbed chicken and beans soup makes a filling and delicious one bowl …
Beef pho: the secret is in the broth
Armed with memories of bowls of beef pho in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, I made my home version with roasted meat bones and …
More recipes in the archive
Pork, spinach and pineapple rice paper spring rolls
Stir fried ground pork, swamp spinach, chilies and pineapple seasoned with Vietnamese mixed fish sauce are wrapped in rice …
Taiwanese-style oyster omelette
One of the most well-known night market food in Taipei, oyster omelette is crispy outside but slightly chewy inside. With the …
Chicken katsu
Comfort food for most Japanese and comfort food for my family even though we are not Japanese. Why? Because what’s not to …
Korean stir fried fish cakes (odeng)
If you’ve never had Korean fish cakes before, this easy and quick-cooking dish should be a good introduction.
Tofu and bok choy stir fry
A simple dish that bursts with the flavors and aroma of ginger and garlic, this stir fry can be served as a side dish or a …
Fried chicken wings with salted duck egg yolk sauce
Seasoned chicken wings are dredged in starch, deep fried until crisp then tossed in a sauce made with garlic and salted duck …