Bored of cooking? Spice it up with these fun fusion recipes
Don’t resort to midweek favourites – find new ones
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Your support makes all the difference.Fighting food boredom can be tricky, especially when balancing the pressures of work and social activities during the week. Sometimes, it can be easier to stick to what you know and resort back to midweek favourites.
However, if food boredom has got the better of you and you’re looking to vary up either breakfast, lunch or dinner, Kelly Choi, a South Korean and Japanese food expert and founder of Japanese snacks and food brand Kelly Loves, has created a series of recipes to help you spice up one of your key meals a day.
Breakfast
Kimchijeon (Korean pancakes)
Serves: 3
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
300g all-purpose flour
600ml water
½ tsp salt
1 egg
2 cups kimchi
1 tbsp kimchi liquid
2 spring onions
¼ medium onion
5 ice cubes
Soy sauce
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour with the kimchi liquid, salt and the water and mix together.
2. Add the beaten egg, chopped kimchi, spring onions, onion and mix. Add the ice cubes to keep the mixture cold. Preheat a frying pan and add a tablespoon of cooking oil.
3. Ladle the mixture into the pan and spread evenly into a thin round shape, then cook for about 2 minutes until the edges become lightly browned.
4. Flip the batter when 70 per cent is done and drizzle oil on the sides of the pan then gently swirl the pan to spread the oil under the pancake.
5. Press the pancake with a spatula and squeeze it a few times to crisp it up. And now your pancakes are ready to be served!
Nice cream bowls
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 sliced frozen bananas
2 tbsp maple syrup
Kelly Loves Brown Rice Puffs
3 tbsp cocoa powder
75ml milk
½ sliced banana
2 tbsp of protein powder
Method:
1. Put the two frozen bananas in a food processor, add 75ml of the milk of your choice, 3 tbsp of cocoa powder, and 2 tbsp of protein powder.
2. Blend all the ingredients until smooth and add the maple syrup.
3. Transfer the mixture to two separate bowls and add the toppings: ½ sliced banana and Kelly loves brown rice puffs.
Note: Place the smoothie bowl in the freezer and remove it 10-15 minutes before you want to eat it.
Lunch
Korean seafood ramen
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time:10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 white onions chopped
2 Kelly Loves Seafood Ramen Noodles
2 eggs 1 cup chopped kimchi
1 garlic
5 peeled prawns to garnish (add more if preferred)
Method:
1. Heat a pot over medium heat, add the oil, garlic and green onion and stir-fry for about 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Pour 4 cups of water into the pot. Increase heat to high, then add the two liquid seasoning bags from the Kelly Loves cup noodles and bring it to boil.
3. Add the noodles and leave for 1 minute until they start to loosen. Add the seafood blocks from the Kelly Loves cup noodles and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. When there is only one minute of cooking left you can add the kimchi to the noodles.
5. Serve the noodles in two different dishes, garnish the plates with two hard-boiled eggs previously cut in half. Add the prawns and other garnishes of your choice before eating!
Dinner
Salmon sushi rolls
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
100g of cooked sushi rice
1 nori sheet
30g fried onions
30g cucumber
30g avocado
50g salmon
Method:
1. Cut the nori sheet into two equal halves and place one half on the bamboo mat. Take 100g of cooked sushi rice and gently spread it across the nori sheet, leaving 1cm margin at the top of the nori and exceeding 1cm at the bottom.
2. Flip over the nori sheet with the 1cm margin of bare nori facing you.
3. Place the main ingredient in the middle of the nori, and then a second and a third (optional).
4. Roll the sushi roll using the rolling mat ensuring the filling is tucked in.
5. Release it, and trim either ends of the roll. Cut in to 8 pieces with a sharp knife. Coat the roll with fried onions.
6. Serve with wasabi and ginger on the side. Serve soy sauce separately in a small bowl.
Maki
Serves: 2
Prep time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
80g of cooked sushi rice
1 sheet of nori
35g of your favourite filling (such as salmon, avocado, cucumber)
Method:
1. Choose the filling of your choice. Note: there is traditionally only one ingredient in a maki.
2. Cut the seaweed in two equal halves and place one half on the bamboo mat.
3. Take the cooked sushi rice and gently spread it over the nori sheet with lightly oiled hands (to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands).
4. Make the roll.
Note: put them in the fridge, and take them out 15 minutes before eating them. They will be fresh but tender!
Vegan sushi rolls
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
100g of cooked sushi rice
1 nori sheet
30g cucumber
30g avocado
25g pickled carrot (or your favourite filling)
2g sesame seeds
Optional equipment needed:
1 x bamboo rolling mat
Method:
1. Cut the nori sheet in two equal halves and place one half on the bamboo mat. Take 100g of cooked sushi rice and gently spread it across the nori sheet, leaving 1cm margin at the top of the nori and exceeding 1cm at the bottom. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice (optional).
2. Flip over the nori sheet with the 1cm margin of bare nori facing you.
3. Place the main ingredient in the middle of the nori, and then a second and a third (optional).
4. Roll the sushi roll using the rolling mat ensuring the filling is tucked in.
5. Release it, and trim either end of the roll. Cut into 8 pieces with a sharp knife. Serve with wasabi and ginger on the side. Serve soy sauce separately in a small bowl.
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