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Susan Jung's recipes

Susan Jung's recipes
Susan Jung is the Post’s senior food and wine editor. See her Home Cooking with Susan Jung videos here, as well as scores of recipes for dishes to suit every occasion. A trained pastry chef, Susan has worked in restaurants in San Francisco, New York and Hong Kong. Her cookbook, A Celebration of Food, was published in Hong Kong in 2012. She is the academy chair for the Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau region of the World's 50 Best Restaurants and Asia's 50 Best Restaurants.
Tonka beans are intensely bitter when consumed whole but in desserts their flavour becomes much more subtle and complex, often compared to that of the vanilla bean, but with spicy notes. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

How tonka beans can add a touch of spice to your desserts (and sex life)

Banned in the US, tonka beans are like vanilla beans with spicy notes, and are said to work as an aphrodisiac in perfumes and essential oils.

Food and Drinks

The instant flavour booster you’re probably throwing away

Food and Drinks

Celery seeds’ many uses, from flavouring Bloody Marys to treating gout

Food and Drinks

How to use dried pomegranate seeds, or anardana, to give dishes a bold flavour

Dried pomegranate seeds, also known as anardana, offer a deeper, complex flavour that is perfect for stews, spice rubs and more.

Pomegranate seeds can be dried and used as a sour spice in Indian, Pakistani and Middle Eastern cuisines. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

Coffee isn’t just a drink. How to use the beans as a seasoning

Beyond brews, coffee beans can be used to season sweet and savoury foods and even alcohol. Here’s how to use them in ganache, gravy and more.

Food and Drinks

How to use lime leaves in a Thai fried chicken dish your friends will love

Seldom used by home cooks, citrus leaves flavour curries and Cantonese snake soup. Here’s a chicken dish that uses them to delicious effect.

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Food and Drinks

How to use juniper berries in marinades and to add flavour to sauerkraut

The main botanical of gin can temper strong meats’ gamey flavour and goes great in choucroute, a sauerkraut-based dish from Alsace, France.

Juniper berries must be cracked or bruised to unleash their sharp, resinous flavour. Use them in marinades for venison and other gamey meats, or to add flavour to sauerkraut. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

How to use poppy seeds to make delicious onion bread rolls called platzels

Or are they called bialys? Either way, poppy seeds – from the same type of plant that yields heroin – give these chewy bread rolls some pep.

Food and Drinks

How to use ugly, tasty tamarind to make Thai crunchy fish

It may look like dog droppings in its natural state, but tamarind adds flavour to Southeast Asian and Indian dishes. Here’s a recipe idea.

Food and Drinks

How to use paprika to give fried chicken, stews and potato dishes a kick

Paprika, used in goulash and other Eastern European stews, also goes great in potato croquettes and can add colour to your holiday turkey.

Paprika is often used in Hungarian cuisine, but can be used to add a slight kick to a range of dishes from potato croquettes to fried chicken. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

How to make Vietnamese rice noodles with lemongrass chicken

Lemongrass is like lemon but more subtle and complex, and pairs well with fish and chicken dishes.

Vietnamese grilled lemongrass chicken. Lemongrass is a staple of Southeast Asian cuisines, where it adds a zest to everything from sambals to fish and chicken dishes. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Food and Drinks

Booster of sexual prowess (they say), yummy in chicken soup: all about ginseng

The human-shaped root that grows in the mountains is most potent when dried and is a key ingredient in the cooling Korean soup samgyetang.

Food and Drinks

How Chinese fermented black beans add an umami explosion to any dish

These dried, salted, fermented soybeans add a delicious savouriness to everything from steamed spare ribs to chicken, when used sparingly.

Food and Drinks

Why thyme is so fine, plus a delicious stuffed pork chop recipe using it

This bountiful, versatile herb works well in marinades and can be tossed on the barbecue to perfume meats. It also goes great in omelettes.

Thyme is a fragrant herb that is used in aromatherapy and goes beautifully with meat and vegetables. We share a recipe that takes pork chops to new heights. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

All about turmeric, how to use it in cooking, and a recipe idea

A key ingredient in Indian cuisine, dried turmeric adds complexity and subtle bitterness to dishes. It is also used in Vietnamese food.

Turmeric is used in Indian spice mixtures, giving dishes a distinct, slightly bitter flavour. The spice also has a range of health benefits. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

All about chilli, and how to use it in a recipe for Thai fried chicken

Chilli comes in spicy and milder varieties and is used in sauces, pastes and powdered to add a kick to a range of foods. Handle with care.

Food and Drinks

All about mace, nutmeg’s twin. How cooks use it and a recipe idea

From the same fruit as nutmeg, mace is harder to grate but goes similarly well in cakes and milk-based dishes. It can also be used in stews.

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Food and Drinks

All about ginger, how to pickle it, and a recipe that makes the most of it

A versatile spice that varies depending when it’s harvested, ginger can be pickled or used as seasoning. It goes with meat and seafood.

Old ginger (pictured) is thick skinned and available year-round, unlike milder young ginger, which is commonly pickled. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

All about cardamom, how to use it in cooking, and a recipe idea

The bitter spice comes in green and black varieties with the former more intense. It is used sparingly in Indian dishes and desserts.

Food and Drinks

All about aniseed, how to use it in cooking, and a recipe idea

Also called anise seed, the spice has an intense, licorice-y flavour. An aid to digestion, it goes well with seafood and in biscotti.

Food and Drinks

How fried chicken became the subject of Susan Jung’s new cookbook

Former long-serving Post food editor Susan Jung recalls making fried chicken in her grandmother’s kitchen growing up in California. It was a natural subject for her first cookbook since leaving the Post, she says.

Chicken poppers with instant noodles combines two of Susan Jung’s favourite foods. Photo: Quadrille Publishing

How to make veal tartare with pickled shallot and Parmesan-paprika palmiers

This dinner party appetiser uses veal instead of beef, making for a lighter flavour and texture. The pickled shallots can be made the day before, and the veal needs to be chilled before chopping.

Veal tartare with pickled shallots, Parmesan paprika palmiers and finger limes: light, lean and elegant. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Food and Drinks

How to make baked empanadas with cream cheese pastry

This pie dough isn’t usually used for empanadas but is delicious. Fill these pastry pockets with a spicy mixture of Spanish chorizo, potatoes and onion.

How to make butterflied lamb leg with garlic, anchovy and moutarde violette

This is a summer meal that doesn’t take long to cook. Because the lamb is deboned and flattened, more of the meat is flavoured by the marinade.

Recipes

How to make calamansi tart with toasted macadamia crust and meringue

Calamansi may be small but they punch above their weight when it comes to flavour. The intensity is balanced with crème fraîche.

How to make a refreshing calamansi and crème fraîche tart with macadamia crust and meringue. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Recipes

How to make tarragon chicken with fingerling potatoes; and tarragon mussels

Great with chicken and seafood, tarragon, a complex, versatile herb with a hint of aniseed, is the star of the show in these two recipes.

Tarragon chicken with fingerling potatoes is a delicious dish that makes the most of the aniseed-flavoured herb. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Recipes

How to make pan-fried sweetbreads with mushrooms and polenta

Tender, moist and rich, sweetbreads are well worth the time and effort to prepare them properly, but they’re probably not very good for you if you suffer from high cholesterol.

Recipes

How to make quinoa salad with seared squid, arugula and hummus

This healthy, summery salad combines quinoa with stir-fried squid, arugula, crunchy radish and creamy home-made hummus.

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