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Tom's Culinary Journey
Tom's Culinary Journey
Tom's Culinary Journey

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italian-appetizers

  • Close-up of a homemade Caprese salad with ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves, drizzled with olive oil, held in hands.

    Authentic Italian Caprese Salad Recipe

  • Hand holding a freshly made bruschetta with cherry tomatoes, garlic, and basil on toasted bread, prepared on a wooden cutting board in a rustic kitchen.

    The OG Bruschetta – Classic Italian Appetizer

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Hi! I'm Tom, an Italian with a burning passion for food. I love to cook, explore new flavors, and share my culinary adventures with the world!

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By Ingredients

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  • 20 Minutes or Less
  • Cooking Italy’s Best City Dishes
  • Making Every Pasta Shape
  • Rating All Pasta Sauces

No blender, no cream: the peas turn into the sauce No blender, no cream: the peas turn into the sauce You need (2 bowls): -Peas -Dried peas 150 g, soaked 12 hours -Ginger 2 slices -Spring onion 1 -Bay leaf 1 -Star anise 1 -Baking powder -Lard -Pork sauce -Minced pork and beef 400 g -Neutral oil -Ginger, minced -Sweet bean paste -Baijiu 15 g -White pepper -Thirteen-spice powder -In each bowl -Light soy -Chilli oil -Lard -Spring onion and toasted sesame oil -Noodles -Fresh wheat noodles Peas Cover the soaked peas with plenty of water and add the ginger, spring onion, bay leaf, star anise and the baking powder. The baking powder is the whole trick: it breaks them down so they fall apart on their own. No salt, salt does the opposite. Simmer with the lid on for 3 hours and stir only at the end, then stir the lard through. They are ready when they collapse under a spoon. Meat sauce Heat the oil, add the pork and beef and break them up. Keep the heat high and keep it moving until all the water is gone and the edges start to crisp. Add the ginger, then the sweet bean paste, then the baijiu, the white pepper and the thirteen-spice. Fry until it goes dark. It turns from crisp to burnt in about fifteen seconds, so stay with it. The bowl Build the seasoning in the bowl before anything else goes in. Boil the noodles for 60 to 90 seconds and lift them straight into it, still steaming.Peas on one side, pork on the other. They never meet in the pot. They meet in the bowl, and you mix them yourself. #wanzamian #豌杂面 #chongqing #chongqingfood #chinesenoodles #chinesefood #streetfood #noodles #asianrecipes #homecooking #foodreels #pastaececi #ricettecinesi #cucinaasiatica #foodie
somewhere in vietnam a grandmother is shaking her somewhere in vietnam a grandmother is shaking her head
No yeast, no machine: the bread that rises in oil No yeast, no machine: the bread that rises in oil You need: -Plain flour 250 g -Water 160 g (start with 145–150 g and add the rest slowly) -Egg 1 -Baking powder 3.5 g -Salt 3 g -Sugar 5 g -Baking soda 1 g -Neutral oil 10 g -Lard 5 g Dough Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. If it feels stiff, add water 5 g at a time. Knead just until smooth, cover and let it rest. Press and stretch the dough into a long strip about 1 cm thick and 8 cm wide. Cut into 2 cm strips and stack them in pairs. Press a chopstick firmly along the centre of each pair, keeping the edges free. Frying Heat oil to 190 °C. Stretch each pair gently to twice its length and lower it into the oil. Turn constantly and fry for 1½–2 minutes, until deep golden and fully puffed. Drain, tear one open and dip it into warm soy milk. #youtiao #油条 #chinesebreakfast #chinesefood #streetfood #friedbread #noyeast #asianrecipes #homecooking #foodreels #shanghaifood #breakfastideas #ricettecinesi #cucinaasiatica #foodie
The more I cook this, the less I know where it cam The more I cook this, the less I know where it came from. Japanese bowl. Korean topping. And those garlic chips are from somewhere else entirely. Save it and tell me what to call it. Ingredients - 250g boneless beef short ribs, cut into 2cm cubes - ½ head of garlic, sliced paper thin - ½ leek (white part only), minced almost to a paste - 3 tbsp neutral oil - 1 bowl hot steamed rice - 1 egg yolk Scallion Topping - 1½ tsp sesame oil - ½ tsp honey - Black pepper · salt Sauce - 1 tbsp light soy sauce - 1½ tsp mirin - ½ tsp sugar - 10g butter Method 1. Mince the leek almost to a paste. Mix with sesame oil, honey, black pepper and salt. Leave it — it needs 10 minutes to soften and stop tasting raw. 2. Slice the garlic paper thin. Put it in a COLD pan with the oil, then turn the heat to low. Starting cold is the whole trick: it fries evenly instead of burning at the edges. 3. Fry gently 3-4 minutes until pale gold. Pull it out the second it turns colour — it keeps cooking off the heat and goes bitter fast. Drain on paper. 4. Turn the heat to max. Beef into the same oil, in one layer, and don't touch it. Hard sear 2 minutes a side. 5. Soy sauce, mirin, sugar. Let it bubble and reduce until it coats the beef. 6. Butter in off the heat, tossed through. This is what makes it glossy — don't skip it. 7. Hot rice in the bowl. Beef on top with every drop of sauce left in the pan. 8. Garlic chips, then the scallion topping, then the raw yolk in the middle. 9. Break the yolk and mix everything before the first bite. #donburi #gyudon #beefbowl #negishio #asianfood #ricebowl #homecooking #easyrecipe #japanesefood #shanghai #recipe #foodreels
2 ingredients, no machine: China's cold starch noo 2 ingredients, no machine: China's cold starch noodles Thirty seconds ago this was a liquid. Pea starch, water, and a colander. It's called fen yu — "flour fish" — from Shanxi in northern China. Cold summer food, and 100% vegan without even trying. INGREDIENTS -200g pea starch -1L water (200ml cold + 800ml boiling) -1 tsp salt SAUCE -3 tbsp Shanxi aged vinegar -2 tbsp light soy sauce -2 tbsp chilli oil -3 garlic cloves, minced -1 tsp sugar -Cucumber, julienned · coriander METHOD 1. Whisk the starch into 200ml of COLD water until completely smooth. No lumps — work fast, it thickens the second it meets heat. 2. Bring 800ml of water to the boil. Pour in the slurry while stirring hard and constantly. 3. Cook 2-3 minutes until it turns into a thick, translucent, sticky paste. 4. Set a colander with 4-6mm holes over a big bowl of ice water. 5. Pour the hot paste on and push it through with a spatula. It sets on the way down into little fish shapes. 6. Leave them in the cold water 5 minutes, then drain. 7. Mix the sauce, pour over, top with cucumber and coriander. Serve cold. #fenyu #shanxifood #chinesefood #asianfood #vegan #veganrecipes #veganchinese #summerfood #plantbased #homecooking #foodtok #culinaryjourney #粉鱼 #漏鱼 #山西美食
4 ingredients, no oil: how Shanxi batters its vege 4 ingredients, no oil: how Shanxi batters its vegetables Zhan pian zi. Battered vegetables boiled instead of fried — no oil at all. Save this one — it works with whatever vegetable is in your fridge. BATTER -250g plain flour -1 egg -2g salt -200-230ml water (add it slowly, it depends on your flour) VEGETABLES Spinach leaves and stems · long beans · napa cabbage · potato, sliced thin SAUCE -400g cherry tomatoes (or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes) -4 garlic cloves · 2 spring onions -2 tbsp light soy sauce · 1 tbsp black vinegar -1 tbsp oyster sauce · 1 tbsp sugar -2 tbsp chilli flakes · 1 tbsp white sesame -4 tbsp neutral oil, smoking hot METHOD 1. Whisk flour, egg and salt, adding water slowly until the batter ribbons off the spoon. Rest 30 min. 2. Blanch the tougher vegetables (beans, stems) 2-3 min. Slice the potato thin. 3. Dry everything completely. Wet vegetables will not hold the batter. 4. Fry garlic and spring onion, add the tomatoes, cook down. Season with soy, vinegar, oyster sauce and sugar until thick. 5. Pour into a bowl, top with minced garlic, sesame and chilli flakes, then pour over smoking hot oil. 6. Boil a pan of water. Dip each vegetable in the batter, let the excess drip off, drop it in. 7. When it floats, it's done. 8. Dip into the sauce and eat.
Fish-fragrant eggplant: no fish, one wok, 20 minut Fish-fragrant eggplant: no fish, one wok, 20 minutes FISH-FRAGRANT EGGPLANT (鱼香茄子) -Eggplant 2 medium -Ground pork 150g -Doubanjiang 1.5 tbsp -Garlic 4 cloves · Ginger 1 thumb · Spring onion 2 -Cornstarch for coating + neutral oil for frying SAUCE -Light soy sauce 1.5 tbsp -Chinese black vinegar 2 tbsp -Sugar 1.5 tbsp -Cornstarch 1 tsp -Water 4 tbsp 1. Cut the eggplant into long batons. Salt and rest 20 min, then pat dry. 2. Mince garlic, ginger and the white of the spring onion. Slice the green for the finish. 3. Mix all the sauce ingredients until the sugar dissolves. 4. Toss the eggplant in cornstarch. Fry in hot oil until glossy and soft. Remove. 5. Same wok: brown the pork. Push aside, add the doubanjiang and fry until the oil turns red. 6. Garlic and ginger in, 20 seconds. Eggplant back in. 7. Pour the sauce, stir, and it thickens in 20 seconds. Off the heat. 8. Spring onion greens on top. Eat with rice. #yuxiangqiezi #fishfragranteggplant #eggplant #sichuanfood #chinesefood #asianfood #wok #homecooking #foodtok #culinaryjourney #鱼香茄子
2 ingredients, no gelatine: China's summer jelly 2 ingredients, no gelatine: China's summer jelly 🧾 Ingredients (4–6 servings) Bingfen Jelly * Bingfen seeds: 40g * Boiled and cooled water (or filtered water): 1.5L * Food-grade lime (calcium hydroxide): 5g * Water (for the lime): 200ml * Cheesecloth or fine muslin: 1 piece Brown Sugar Syrup * Chinese brown sugar: 150g * Water: 150ml Toppings (optional) * Roasted peanuts, crushed * Raisins * Fresh mango, diced * Watermelon, diced * Haw flakes or candied fruit * Toasted sesame seeds 🍳 Method 1. Mix the food-grade lime with 200ml of water. Let it sit for 15–20 minutes until the white sediment settles. You’ll only use the clear liquid on top. 2. Place the Bingfen seeds inside a piece of cheesecloth and tie it tightly into a pouch. 3. Drop the pouch into 1.5L of cold water and leave it for 1–2 minutes. 4. Rub and squeeze the pouch continuously for 8–10 minutes. The seeds will release a natural gelling agent, turning the water slightly thicker and full of tiny bubbles. 5. Slowly pour in the clear lime water while stirring constantly. Stop as soon as the liquid starts to thicken slightly—you won’t need all of it. 6. Leave the mixture to set for 1–2 hours at room temperature, or chill for 2–3 hours until completely firm and crystal clear. 7. Meanwhile, simmer the brown sugar with the water for 3–5 minutes until dissolved. Let it cool completely. 8. Break the Bingfen into chunks with a spoon, pour over the chilled brown sugar syrup and finish with your favourite toppings. Serve ice cold. #bingfen #chinesedessert #summerdessert #chinesefood #asianfood #homecooking #foodtok #culinaryjourney #冰粉
You should SMASH your Cucumbers You should SMASH your Cucumbers
Call Me a Normie, But I Love Mango Sticky Rice Call Me a Normie, But I Love Mango Sticky Rice
Forget French Fries. These Indonesian Potatoes Are Forget French Fries. These Indonesian Potatoes Are Better.
This Chinese Spinach “Pasta” Completely Fooled Me This Chinese Spinach “Pasta” Completely Fooled Me
Stop Calling this Bao Stop Calling this Bao
They told me to fry curry leaves… They told me to fry curry leaves…
An Italian Discovering Korean Fried Chicken An Italian Discovering Korean Fried Chicken
An Italian Try Lemongrass for The First Time An Italian Try Lemongrass for The First Time
Italy Has Chili Oil Too. China's Version Made Me Q Italy Has Chili Oil Too. China's Version Made Me Question Everything🌶️
I Made the Dish With the Most Disturbing Name I Made the Dish With the Most Disturbing Name
Why Italians Can’t Make Chinese Noodles Why Italians Can’t Make Chinese Noodles
The Weirdest Way I’ve Ever Made Noodles The Weirdest Way I’ve Ever Made Noodles

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    • By Series
      • 20 Italian Regions, 20 Traditional Desserts
      • 20 Minutes or Less
      • Ain’t nobody got time for Cooking
      • Cooking Italy’s Best City Dishes
      • Making Every Pasta Shape
      • Rating All Pasta Sauces
    • By Type
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers and Sides
      • Lunch
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