what does it mean

they/them ... 20s ... NL/JP Curating recipes I often use or would like to come back to

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In a way, it's really heartwarming to know that no matter how much things change, Chess will always be bad. ♥️

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Pierogi

Cheesy potato dumplings swimming in butter... heavenly

Makes enough for about four people.

Ingredients:

Dough

300g flour

50g butter

1 egg

125ml water

1 tsp salt

Filling

500g potatoes

30g butter

100g shredded sharp cheese

A pinch of salt

Black pepper

Onion butter

30g butter

1 finely diced onion

A pinch of salt

Serving

Sour cream

Finely chopped chives

Finely chopped parsley

The steps

Boil the potatoes till soft and mash them with the butter, cheese, salt and pepper.

Let it cool till completely cold. (spread on a baking tray for faster cooling)

For the dough, melt the butter with the water and mix with the flour and egg. Knead it on a work surface till smooth but try to knead as little as possible. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes

Meanwhile, start the onion sauce. Let the butter melt until foamy and add the onions and salt. Let it cook until golden.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3mm and cut out 7.5 cm circles.

Fill each circle with a tbsp filling and seal them with a bit of water on the edge and pleats.

Place them on a floured tea towel

Cook the pierogi in batches in a big pot, give them some space. They're done when they float to the top. Scoop them out and add them into the onion sauce to let them bake a bit and coat with the sauce.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with the fresh herbs.

I serve it with steamed vegetables to offset the heaviness a bit.

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Dutch baby

Great for a brunch. About 1 per person

Ingredients:

175ml milk

100g flour

2 eggs

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

1 tbsp butter

Mix the batter and let it rest for about half an hour

Heat up a cast iron pan in the oven, top-bottom heat 230C.

Put the butter into the pan. Carefully pour the batter into the pan and bake it for 18-20 minutes

Sweet variation: serving it with fruits and powdered sugar

Savoury variation: omit (some of) the sugar, add some herbs into the batter and add chredded cheese on the batter before putting it in the oven.

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Red shiso gin & tonic

Fruity and herbal

Ingredients:

40ml red shiso infused gin

15ml lime juice

80 ml tonic

Red shiso leaf

Lime wedge

To a glass with ice, add gin and lime juice. Top with tonic and garnish with the shiso leaf and llime wedge. Mix before drinking.

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Okonomiyaki

For 1 portion, make two for a full dinner.

Ingredients:

1/4 finely shredded hispi cabbage

1 egg

1 handful bean sprouts

1 handful chopped mushrooms

1 chopped scallion

Some finely chopped ginger

Dash of dashi

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp glutinous rice flower

Mix it and put it in a hot and well oiled pan. form it into a pancake and close the lid. Carefully flip it when the underside turns brown and turn down the heat a little. Serve when the other side is brown as well. Put the sauce on it and serve.

Ingredients sauce:

140g ketchup

40g sugar

80g oyster sauce

105g worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce to taste)

Further toppings

Kewpie mayo

Aonori powder

Cheese (put it on after flipping for the first time)

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Shiso gin & tonic

Fresh and herbal

Ingredients:

40ml shiso infused gin

80ml tonic

15ml lemon juice

shiso leaf

lemon slice

To a glass with ice, add gin and lemon juice. Top with tonic and garnish with the shiso leaf and lemon slice. Mix before drinking.

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Biang biang noodles

Hand pulled noodles, a lot of fun to make. Makes about 4 portions.

Ingredients:

Noodles

375g bread flour

240ml water

A pinch of salt

A neutral oil

Tofu mixture

400g firm tofu

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

A thumb of ginger

2 scallions

2 tsp sugar

Cooking sake

Soy sauce

Five spice

Cumin

Chili powder

Salt

Sauce

Soy sauce

Black vinegar

Garlic

Ginger

Coriander

Spring onion

Cumin

Bok choy

Bean sprouts

Peanut oil

Sesami oil

The steps

Drizzle the water into the flour and some salt and mix until absorbed. Knead until smooth for about 10-15 minutes. Try to kneed into one direction so that the gluten structures form in one direction.

Let the dough rest in an oiled plastic wrap for about 20 minutes

Divide the dough into four and shape each piece in a 30*10 oval. Don't let any piece dry out. Wrap them into oiled plastic again and let it rest for 6 hours.

Finely chop the onion, garlic, scallions and ginger and cook it. Crumble the tofu and add it to the pan. Add the sugar and spices to taste. Deglaze with the cooking sake and add soy sauce to taste.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and blanche the bean sprouts and let them dry in a sieve. Cover the pot whilst making the noodles.

Heat up a little saucepan with peanut oil (or any other high temperature oil).

Take a quarter of the dough and cut into 6 long strips on an oiled surface. Take one piece and mark the middle lengthwise with a chopstick. Gently pull and slap the noodle on the workspace till it's 60-75 long. It will split into two in the middle.

Make more or add immediately to the boiling water with a few chopped leaves of bok choi. The noodles are done cooking when they start floating.

Put the noodles into a bowl with the bok choi, add the bean sprouts, spices, coriander, chopped spring onion, garlic and ginger to the middle and pour a little of the hot oil over it to cook them. (Be careful!)

Add the soy sauce, black vinegar, sesami oil and tofu mixture, mix and enjoy!

Fine to reheat the next day!

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Pornstar martini

Fruity and foamy

Ingredients:

30ml vodka

45ml passion fruit juice

30ml aquafaba

1/4 lime

1 drop of vanilla extract

Half a passion fruit

Shake with ice till foamy, strain into a chilled glass and garnish with half a passion fruit. Drink with prosecco if you want to fancy it up.

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Mochi brownies

Chewy chocolatey treats

About 25cm*25m size pan

Ingredients:

300g glutinous rice flour

400g sugar

85g cocoa powder

3 tsp baking powder

480ml (vegan) milk

150ml molten butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

The steps

Mix the glutinous rice flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the milk, molten butter and vanilla extract till a smooth batter remains.

Pour the batter into a greased or lined baking pan and bake at 175C for 50-60 minutes.

Let cool completely and slice into squares.

3 days airtight container, 1 week fridge, 3 months freezer

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Summer in the garden

Floral and herby mocktail

Ingredients:

100ml blood orange juice

100ml tonic

15ml elderflower syrup

A twig of thyme

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a twig of thyme.

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Vegan stew

Inspired by my friends

Ingredients:

Vegan stew meat

2 bell peppers

3 carrots

2 shallots

1 onion

1 leek

250g mushrooms

3 garlic cloves

Gingerbread (kruidkoekreep)

Vegetable stock cube

Bay leaves

Salt and pepper

Herfstbok (a bock beer)

The steps

Cut the vegetables into chunks.

Bake the vegetables, add the stock cube, vegan meat, bay leaves and mix.

Put the gingerbread on top, pour the beer over it and close the lid.

Let it stew for a while.

Serve with, for example, mashed potatoes.

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Espresso martini

Simple and elegant

Ingredients:

40ml vodka

15ml coffee liquor

25ml espresso

3 coffee beans

Shake with ice till foamy, strain into a chilled glass and serve with three coffee beans.

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Mujaddarah

Easy Middle Eastern rice and lentil dish

Ingredients:

1 can of lentils

1 can of beluga lentils

2 cups of rice (long grain)

Cumin

Coriander

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Fried onions

Yoghurt sauce

Coconut yoghurt

Lemon juice

Finely chopped garlic

Fresh mint

Cook the rice with the lentils, garlic and salt. After cooking, add the spices and herbs. Serve with fried onions and yoghurt sauce.

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Umeshu

Japanese plum wine

Ingredients:

720ml white liquor

400g still green plums (Reine Claude)

400g rock sugar

Clean and dry the plums well. Add everythings into an airtight pot and let it sit for half a year to a year in a dark and cool place.

I made a batch from 09/2024 till 09/2025 and it came out well but was too sweet for me. Next time I'll use less sugar.

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Daikon mochi

Savoury, chewy and filling. For one portion

Ingredients:

100g grated daikon

40g rice flour

40g glutinous rice flour

A pinch of salt

Mix everything, and form ping-pong sized balls. Flatten them a bit and bake on both sides in a well-oiled pan. Serve with soy sauce. I like to make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil and eat it with some seaweed sheets.

Variations: Shiitake, fried shrimp, spring onions

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Earl grey citrus fest

Christmassy cocktail

Ingredients:

40ml earl grey simple syrup

40ml Gran Marnier

15ml lemon juice

slice of orange

Shake with ice till chilled, strain into a chilled glass and serve with a slice of orange.

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Onion dolma

Stuffed onions, a hearty dinner for two

Ingredients:

4 onions

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 carrot

1.5 cups of rice

1 can of lentils

Pine nuts (if you're feeling fancy)

15g fresh coriander

15g fresh parsley

Cumin to taste

Curry powder to taste

Salt to taste

A few dashes of olive oil

The steps

Chop and mix everything except for the onions and let the rice soak in it for a while.

Peel the onions and make a cut into them till halfway (don't cut them in half!). Boil until soft.

Pull apart the onion layers and chop the middle bits and add them to the stuffing.

Put the stuffing into the onion and stack them into a cast iron pan. Add the stuffing around the onions if it doesn't all fit into the onions.

Close the lid and bake at 200C for an hour