[
  {
    "slug": "zy-recipes-salmon-fried-rice",
    "title": "ZY-Recipes: Salmon Fried Rice",
    "date": "2026-07-15",
    "image": "images/zy-recipes-salmon-fried-rice/Fride Rice.jpg",
    "thumbnail": "images/zy-recipes-salmon-fried-rice/Fride Rice_thumb.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "",
    "instagramUrl": "",
    "body": "Easy Cook\n\nIngredients:\n- Frozen Cooked Rice\n- 2 eggs (Puluh biji pun boleh)\n- 1/2 slice of Fired salmon\n- 1 spoon of Spring Onion\n- 1 spoon of garlic\n- 1/2 piece of chili\n- 1 spoon of light soy sauce\n- 1/2 spoon of white pepper\n- 1/2 spoon of curry powder\n- Olive oil\n"
  },
  {
    "slug": "halloumi-sandwich",
    "title": "Halloumi, Tzatziki, and Roast Tomato sandwich - A guide to preparing halloumi and tzatziki",
    "date": "2026-06-27",
    "image": "images/halloumi-sandwich/1_hs.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "Image of two Halloumi, Tzatziki, and Tomato sandwiches with Ciabatta roll",
    "instagramUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DaHJbdhE3Bq/",
    "body": "After exams and preparation for a research conference, I finally have time to think of and cook a nice meal for myself! It ended up being something quite simple, more on the refreshing side, but very balanced and comforting. This Halloumi, Tzatziki, and Roast Tomato on Ciabatta will be on my mind until another burst of inspiration hits. Although its winter in Australia, this is dish screams summer time, and is perhaps even more attractive to you in the Northern hemisphere this time of year. This also serves as a guide on how to prepare halloumi in general and how to make a great Tzatziki!\n\n**Halloumi Sandwich (1-2 sandwiches)**\n\n- Any roll/Bread\n- 180-200g Halloumi\n- 2 Roma Tomatoes\n- Olive oil\n- Salt, Pepper\n- Tzatziki\n- MSG (optional)\n- Honey (optional)\n\n1. To prepare the halloumi, cut it into strips and submerge in hot water for 10 minutes in hot water. You can use water straight off the boil, but be careful! The strips should be just under 5mm thick, they need some thickness otherwise the end product will be quite dry.\n2. Slice the roma tomatoes at about half the thickness of the halloumi strips. Place onto baking paper and sprinkle with a little salt and MSG. Bake or airfry at 140C until wrinkled with only light browning (15-20 minutes)\n3. After soaking, discard the liquid and pat the halloumi dry. Preheat a pan to medium heat, coat with olive oil (the oil should be fragrant, shimmer on the surface, but no smoking at all), and sprinkle a little salt evenly on the pan. Place the halloumi strips onto the pan, ensuring they don't touch each other\n4. Flip the strips only when they release with almost no resistance from the pan. They should have a nice browning on one side. One the other side releases with no resistance, set them aside.\n5. Slice your bread if needed. Toast with a little oil, if using a roll/bun, toast the exterior lightly before removing.\n6. Assemble the sandwich: Bottom bun, Tzatziki, Halloumi, Tomato, Pepper + Honey, Top bun\n\n**Notes:**\n\n1. Store bough halloumi staight out of the packet can be quite dry/brittle when cooked. Soaking is an important step, the halloumi absorbs a lot of the water and becomes a lot squishier. Good moist halloumi can \"squeak\" against your teeth. You should still pat it dry before frying, this removes any excess water on the surface so theres no violent reactions when it hits the pan!\n2. Tomatoes contain a lot of water and glutamates. Roasting them on a low heat lowers the moisture content, concentrating the flavors. The additional MSG put these flavors into overdrive\n3. Honey brings a light sweetness to a sandwich that already has strong freshness, acidity, fat, and umami. I highly recommend this or an alternative. I used an orange infused honey\n4. I used a seeded Ciabatta roll, but you can use any you prefer. The fillings are all soft and wet, so a harder roll like Sourdough is more ideal.\n\n**Tzatziki**\n\nThe amounts in this recipe follow a ratio: Roughly equal parts (volume) Cucumber, Herbs, and Yoghurt\nFor a large heaped spoon of yoghurt (~60g), I use 1 small clove garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 2 tsp vinegar\nTzatziki is normally made with a good red wine vinegar. If you have another vinegar you really like (I used Sherry), you can use that! Otherwise, use lemon juice. High quality ingredients matter here. If you don't have a good vinegar, use lemon juice. If you don't like your olive oil on its own, don't add it! The herbs are also up to you.\n\nThis dip is popular across Greece, South-east Europe, and West Asia. As such, it does not follow a set recipe, and varies even household to household. We know it by Tzatziki due to the popularity of Greek cuisine. Its originally Turkic and goes by cacık. A popular name in the Balkans is Tarator, where it is sometimes served as a cold summer-time soup! Regional variants can use herbs like Parsley or Thyme. Across all variants and names, the defining feature is the shredded and strained cucumber mixed with yoghurt.\n\nCacık itself is more of a class of dips/sauce than a recipe like Tzatziki. These can include nuts like almonds, other vegetables like carrots, other oils like walnut oils, and spices like Aleppo pepper and sumac. The base can even be changed from yoghurt to Labneh, a yoghurt strained for long enough that the consistency is similar to cream cheese (you can make this at home easily!).\n\n- Cucumber\n- Dill and/or Mint\n- Greek Yoghurt (Any thick or strained yoghurt/vegan substitute works well)\n- Garlic\n- Olive oil\n- Salt\n- Vinegar/Lemon juice\n\n1. Shred the cucumber over a sieve, spread out and lightly coat with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes\n2. Press the cucumber against the sieve to squeeze out as much water as possible. This water can be used for juices \n3. Remove large stalks from the herbs. Keep only the leaves, and finely dice \n4. With all garlic cloves, remove the bottom and slice in half. Remove the germ (the tiny sprout inside the garlic). Use a grater to shred or dice as finely as possible\n5. In a bowl, mix the cucumber, chopped herbs, yoghurt, olive oil, and garlic until well incorporated. Add vinegar to taste. It should be thick enough to scoop with a spoon\n\n**Notes:**\n1. The drier the better when it comes to the cucumber. Instead of using just a sieve, you can cup the shredded cucumber with your hands and squeeze. Alternatively, wrap the cucumber in a cloth to wring.\n2. Raw garlic in this dish can have a strong bite with an overwhelmingly extended after taste. Soak the raw garlic in hot water for ten minutes removes the aftertaste completely while keeping a good zing and flavor. You can also used a confit/roasted garlic clove if you prefer.\n3. Removing the germ is important when consuming raw garlic. The germ has harsher and more bitter flavors compared to the rest of the garlic. Younger garlic has a smaller germ; If it is barely noticable when you look in the middle, you dont have to bother removing. If the germ is so large that it spans the entire garlic clove (or even pops out the top), you should remove it even for cooking applications.\n",
    "thumbnail": "images/halloumi-sandwich/1_hs_thumb.jpg"
  },
  {
    "slug": "peach-chutney",
    "title": "Lactofermented Peach Chutney - A general guide to lactofermented chutneys",
    "date": "2026-03-29",
    "image": "images/1_peach_chutney.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "Image of my lactofermented peach chutney",
    "instagramUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DWdN2aqkx6i/",
    "body": "This fermented peach chutney was a very interesting experiment in taking my lactoferments to the next level. I often eat them as is, or blend them to make a simple sauce. This time, I fermented some peaches as a base for a a temper to make a complex and versatile peach chutney. This isnt a recipe like my other posts, moreso a blog.\n\nI started by lactofermenting diced peaches in a brine with a little chili and ginger at 2% salt (added 2% weight of all ingredients + water in salt). This sat under my bed for 2 weeks, the peaches became a lot mushier and lost their peach flavor which was retained in the brine. I'll be using the brine so this isnt an issue. The spice from the chili became homogenous throughout the ferment, and of course you get a strong lactic acid tang.\n\nNext, I drain everything and set aside the brine. I didnt actually need to do this as I ended up mixing it all back anyways. I also cut up some fresh peaches to add different textures and more peach flavor. You could also add different fruit like apples or grapes here. Lactoferments lose their sweetness because the bacteria feeds on sugars, so sugar has to be added back. I chose white sugar to add no additional flavor. I have no measurements for these unfortunately. Definitely something to do next time. I used all of the sugar shown plus a few tablespoons more.\n\nAfter mixing, it was a little more sweet than I would like, but because this will continue to ferment (much more slowly) in the fridge, this isn't concerning. I also added a tablespoon or so balsamic vinegar for a different kind of acidity to help bring some complexity and balance. Your vinegar quality directly affects the end product, so use a good one!\n\nThe added complexity comes from a simple temper with typical south indian ingredients. I use powdered spices (Asafotedia/Hiing, Kashmiri chili, and Chili flakes), whole/crushed spices (black pepper, long pepper, and black mustard seeds), curry leaves, onion, ginger, and urad dal (type of lentil). On a medium heat, I toast the urad dal with the whole spices in oil until the dal just barely browns and the mustard seeds are frequently popping. I then add the curry leaves and powdered spices, mixing for a few seconds before adding the rest of the ingredients + a little more oil and turning to low. This stews with the lid on while I clean up everything (under 10 minutes) stirring infrequently. This is dunked on top of the ferment and mixed through. The heat will kill some bacteria on contact and a small percentage more when mixing through. Overall, it doesnt heat the mixture substantially so the colony survives. \n\nNote that because this is a salt ferment, I didn't bother adding any. Indeed, it turned out just fine. After sampling and keeping in my fridge for a couple days, the sweet edge has rounded out giving an incredibly interesting and balanced chutney!\n\nOne thing I would've improved is the ingredient quality. The peaches I used were overripe ones from the Woolies odd box, which were quite watery and devoid of peach flavor. The fresh ones were better, but not the kind of peaches I'd normally eat.\n",
    "thumbnail": "images/1_peach_chutney_thumb.jpg"
  },
  {
    "slug": "air-fried-gnocchi",
    "title": "Air Fried Gnocchi and Tofu Fritters in a Thai Red Curry glaze",
    "date": "2026-02-21",
    "image": "images/air-fried-gnocchi/1_air_fried_gnocchi.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "Image desc",
    "instagramUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/yukancooktoo/p/DVBZ4epk7MI/",
    "body": "Two in one recipe! Lucky you. This is an Air-Fried Gnocchi stir fry mixed with tofu and bean fritters. A triple fried mix of textures and flavors that make for an interesting but simple weeknight meal. Air-fried Gnocchi has an almost tough texture, like sourdough crust. I really like it, but I can see some people with bad teeth turning this away. Recipe for fritters her. Comments have instructions for Gnocchi and how to make the sauce I did\n\n**Tofu and bean fritters**\n\n- 250g Extra firm tofu\n- 250g (drained) Canned Butter/Cannelli beans\n- 3-4 tbsp Spices of your choosing\n- 6 tbsp flour (GF works)\n- Neutral oil\n\n1. Drain the beans and add to a large bowl/food processor. Mash to a paste, ensuring each bean is smashed. You can use your hands\n2. Crumble in firm tofu. Mash and mix well. Don't blend the tofu to a paste, small chunks are fine in this\n3. Add 2 tbsp salt and spices. Taste for salt (everything is cooked and edible!)\n4. Add the flour and mix. Add a couple tablespoons at a time and mix until its barely able to come together as a ball. You may need more than the stated amount of flour\n(optional) Let rest in the fridge for 30m \n5. Use a spoon and scoop out sections of the ball, shape with your hands pressing in the centre to make a disc shape. If you want it to match the Gnocchi, cut into halves or quarters and shape with your hands\n6. Coat the base of a pan with oil on a medium heat. Once it comes to temperature, carefully add the fritters to the pan. After two minutes or so, it should release from the pan easily and be slightly charred/golden on one side. Flip and let the other side cook before removing\n7. Taste one for salt. If not salty enough, hit with a dash of salt\n\n_Notes:_\n1. I use butter/cannelli beans because of their wet pasty texture when mashed and close-to-meaty flavor. You can use any other bean you prefer.\n2. For spices: I used a mix of pepper, mild curry powder, and kashmiri chili\n3. This is a pretty simple fritter recipe. You can add add vegetables like sliced onion, cabbage, chilli, etc. Get creative!\n4. The flour is used as a binder. Its optional, and you can make these fritters without it. You have to be careful when frying as they disintegrate very easily.\n5. For GF flour: Its a more likely to break apart while frying than using wheat flour, but its much better than using no binder\n6. You could also make a GF flour slurry, dip the fritter in it then fry. Be careful when dipping into the batter so the fritter doesnt break\n\n\n**Air fried Gnocchi**\n\n- Dunk store bought Gnocchi straight out of the packet in the air frier for 10 minutes at 200C. Thats it! It should have a slightly golden exterior, if not, keep cooking.\n- If you want to have it on its own, toss with oil and seasonings before hand. This isnt needed when its gonna be mixed with a sauce\n- You dont have to boil the gnocchi! I tried boiling then cooking versus straight out the packet, and they were very similar. The boiled one might have an every so slightly softer centre, but its not worth it\n- Gluten free Gnocchi exists, but I've never tried\n\n**Stir fried Gnocchi** - Uses ~150g storebought gnocchi\n1. On a pan on high heat, add a little oil and quickly scramble an eggs. Set aside (optional)\n2. Add half an onion, thinly sliced, with a little salt. Toss until the exterior browns\n3. Add a tablespoon of thai red curry paste and mix with the onions. Add two tablespoons of cream/coconut cream and mix. It should bubble vigorously and eventually split into oil and caramelized solids\n4. Add the gnocchi, fritters (roughly equal parts or more), and sliced red chilli. Turn off the heat and toss. Mix in the scrambled egg\n5. Add a finishing dollop of cream and sliced greens (eg. Coriander, parsley, spring onion, etc.). Serve hot and garnish with more greens\n\nI used a thick dairy cream in this, giving it a much lighter flavor. I would have preferred a coconut cream, but it wasnt in stock at my local shop.\n",
    "thumbnail": "images/air-fried-gnocchi/1_air_fried_gnocchi_thumb.jpg"
  },
  {
    "slug": "tempered-rice",
    "title": "Simple tempered rice",
    "date": "2026-01-05",
    "image": "images/tempered-rice/1_tempered_rice.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "Tempered rice image",
    "instagramUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/yukancooktoo/p/DUFhg3Uk3_5",
    "body": "This is a simple Tamil style tempered rice recipe that I brought to a potluck! This was served with peanuts, curd, and Tofu sambal. This recipe is incredible to make and highly customizable, but uses ingredients that aren't kitchen staples for many around the world. Its an all too familiar feeling for the amateur cook when they cook something unique, only to end up with various almost-full ingredients that won't see another use. Today I'm not just sharing a recipe, but ingredients that you may not be familiar with and how you can incorporate them into your daily life.\n\n- 125g Raw rice (see notes)\n- 2 tbsp Peanuts (skin on) (subs. pre-roasted peanuts) (optional)\n- 1 tbsp Black mustard seeds (subs. Dijon mustard)\n- 2 tsp Turmeric\n- 2 tsp Asafoetida\n- 1 tsp Black pepper\n- 1 tbsp Urad Dal\n- 1 tbsp Ginger\n- 1 large chili (subs. chili flakes/powder)\n- 1 stalk curry leaves\n- Black pepper\n\n1. Cook the rice with a pinch of salt. If using white rice, cook with a little less water than normal so it stays al dente (only a slight bite in the center, not raw)\n2. In a small pot, add oil until it reaches about an inch from the base. Heat on medium (until ~140C). Add the peanuts and stir occasionally. Remove and dry on paper towels when the outside is brown but the inside tastes a little raw.\n3. Peel the ginger (use a spoon) and dice as finely as you can. You can try bashing it with the side of your knife. Dice the chili and set these aside.\n4. Heat a pot to medium and add two tbsp oil. Once shimmering, add a pinch of salt, Urad Dal, and Mustard seeds (if using Dijon, add this with the ginger instead). Stir until the mustard seeds start popping vigorously OR until the urad dal turns a light golden color\n5. Take away from the heat and add the curry leaves. This can seem like a violent reaction, its OK to step back. After about 5-10 seconds add the ginger and chili and put back on the heat. Stir and toast for about 2 minutes. The ginger should no longer taste raw\n6. Move the stir fry to the side of the pot. Add a little oil and the spices, toast for a few seconds until fragrant and mix. \n7. Add the rice to the pot and mix gently to coat. Taste for salt. Serve with curd/yoghurt (optional) and peanuts (you can mix this in)\n\n\n**Notes:**\n\n1. The measurements are pretty rough, you can adjust all of them to your preference and convenience!\n2. Brown or red rice is recommended because it holds its shape better when mixing, especially if making a large quantity. White rice is OK as long as its not overcooked, or a variety that gets mushy easily. I personally use red rice for its structure, shape, and flavor\n3. It is wise to fry a large batch of peanuts at once and use according to your needs, and not just two tablespoons for a recipe.\n4. The peanuts continue cooking a *lot* when they're cooling! Trust the process and wait for them to completely cool before trying, they'll be completely cooked and perfect\n5. When adding salt, mix with a little water to dissolve and evenly distribute with the rice. Mix and let sit for 15 seconds before tasting.\n6. Additions are welcome, I added air fried potato and drained + rinsed canned kidney beans for extra texture and fiber\n7. If you want to make Tamarind rice: You can add ~1 tbsp tamarind with 3 tbsp boiling water to a cup, let sit for 5m and press to remove any seeds. Mix with the rice once completely cooked, and let sit on the lowest heat for excess moisture to evaporate\n\n**Ingredients and their uses:**\n\n1. Urad dal - This is a type of lentil with very small beans. When toasted in oil, they give a beautiful nutty flavor to anything you might want to cook. Try adding this with onions the next time you're making a curry or stew. Alternatively, mix with dry rice and cook for extra fiber and flavor. Like any dried legume, they're shelf stable and can last you quite a long time\n2. Asafoetida/Hing - This is the dried gum from the root of a particular type of fennel, its pungent with an onion-adjacent flavor, and is a spice used even by the Romans. Because of its potency, its mixed with gum Arabic and some type of starch. If you're gluten-free/celiac, check to make sure its rice flour and not wheat! If you're making something with a large mix of spices (eg. Curry, fried chicken), these are good opportunities to experiment with Hing.\n3. Curry leaves - These can be found in a lot of south Indian stews. Many curries have a fresh element like curry or lime leaves (to name two of many) to add freshness to a stewed and spicy product. You can de-stem the leaves, place into a container and put in the fridge. They can be put into any curry you're making\n",
    "thumbnail": "images/tempered-rice/1_tempered_rice_thumb.jpg"
  },
  {
    "slug": "del-curry",
    "title": "Sri Lankan Del (Breadfruit) Curry",
    "date": "2025-12-28",
    "image": "images/del-curry/1_del_curry.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "Image of red rice, del curry, a simple okra stir fry, and a mock meat stir fry",
    "instagramUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/yukancooktoo/p/DSzyFZxk2Cr/",
    "body": "Breadfruit is common in Sri Lanka and one way they eat it is in a thick and rich coconut curry (Del Curry). Here's my take on how to make this simple dish. The Breadfruit is traditionally boiled with spices, then coconut milk is added to reduce, then topped with a temper. For a firmer texture, I bake the breadfruit with spices first. I'll also add a recipe for the mock meat fry I had on the side. \n\n**Del curry** (serves 3)\n\n- 1 Breadfruit (unripe)\n- 2 tsp curry powder\n- 1 tsp turmeric powder\n- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds\n- 1 tsp chili powder\n- 1 tsp pepper\n- 4 cloves garlic\n- 2 sprigs curry leaves\n- 1 pandan stalk halved (optional)\n- 2 tbsp oil\n- 1 medium (or larger) red onion\n- 3 dried red chili (or flakes)\n- 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds (subs. with yellow or djon mustard)\n- 1/2 can coconut milk\n\n1. Cut the top of bottom of the breadfruit. Peel with a knife, ensuring NO green remains on the breadfruit. Cut into quarters lengthways and remove the core. Some seeds remaining are fine. Then, cut each quarter in half lengthways and cut into pieces about 2-3cm in thickness.\n2. Soak in salty water for 20m\n3. Pat dry and toss with 1 tbsp oil, curry powder, turmeric, chili, and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven/airfry at 200 until outside is golden or edges slightly charred (20-30m in oven, 15-20 in airfrier)\n4. In a pot, boil a cup of water with 1 sprig curry leaves, half pandan, fenugreek, peeled and crushed garlic, and a pinch of salt.\n5. Add the baked breadfruit and coconut milk to the pot, boil to reduce until thickened. Taste for salt\n6. In a pan on medium heat, add oil and thinly sliced onions. Toss until browned.\n7. Once brown, add the remaining curry leaves and pandan and mustard seeds. Toss until mustard seeds start popping\n8. Add this temper to the pot and mix well. Serve hot with rice and other sides\n\n**Notes**\n\n1. You can use any curry powder you have on hand. Sri-Lankan curry powder may be difficult to source. There is a Sri-Lankan store here in Brisbane, but I did not visit it\n2. Unripe breadfruit should be mostly firm and may leak a white substance. Have paper towels on hand to wipe them away, and coat your hands and knife in oil to avoid stickiness.\n3. The exterior of the breadfruit is extremely bitter, it may seem wasteful to keep peeling until there is no green but this should be done to avoid a bitter stew. I made this mistake T__T\n4. If the breadfruit is slightly ripe, it can be difficult to work with and may turn to mush. It will still taste nice! When fully ripe though, it will be quite custardy and is probably best eaten as is. There's definitely recipes out there using ripe breadfruit\n5. You can boil the breadfruit in the pot with all the spices, skipping the soaking and baking step. This is the standard/traditional approach. Baking gives a drier and firmer breadfruit, while boiling would make it softer. You should boil it with an excess of water and stir to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom. \n6. The mixture of hot oil with bloomed spices and fresh items to be added to a wet dish is called a Temper. This is common in South Asian cooking. A similar process is used in southern Chinese cooking, where fresh herbs are placed on top of a stew and hot oil is dunked on top.\n\n**Mock meat fry**\n\n1. Prepare mock meat. This may be draining and peeling from a can, or microwaving from frozen depending on whichever you have access too. Use about 200g\n2. Stir fry 1 sliced onion on medium-high heat with 1 tbsp yellow lentils/split peas (eg. Urad Dal, Mung Dal, Yellow split peas)\n3. When browned, add 3 chopped and diced garlic, equal amount peeled and diced ginger, 1 sprig worth of curry leaf, 1/4 pandan stalk (optional) and 1 sliced chili\n4. Stir until fragrant, then add 1 tsp Hing/Asafoetida, 1 tsp mustard seeds, a few cracks of pepper, and 1 tsp dark soy for color (optional)\n5. Add the mock meat and stir until coated. Add some salt and stir. Taste and adjust.\n6. Deglaze any stuck bits with a little water and serve.\n",
    "thumbnail": "images/del-curry/1_del_curry_thumb.jpg"
  },
  {
    "slug": "breadfruit-tostones",
    "title": "Breadfruit Tostones",
    "date": "2025-12-18",
    "image": "images/breadfruit-tostones/1_bt.jpg",
    "imageAlt": "Image of my Breadfruit Tostones",
    "instagramUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/yukancooktoo/p/DSax8YoE5Uz/",
    "body": "Breadfruit is a starchy fruit commonly eaten in Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. This is my first time cooking with it. The unripe fruit is usually used, when cooked it has a texture like yam or plantain. It has a mild and neutral flavor, on its own it has a mellow tropical fruit profile. When ripe, it has a custardy flesh like durian and tastes like a mild jackfruit (they are related!). This is my first time trying Breadfruit, its not common in Australia and one fruit is almost $20! This will almost certainly be the last time I have it in Australia too. Tostones are a double fried plantain dish from Latin America, popular in plantain eating countries like Puerto Rico. Today, I'm making it with Breadfruit instead with a vibrant Peruvian-style green sauce! (see comments)\n\n**Breadfruit Tostones** (makes two portions)\n\n1 Breadfruit (Unripe)\nOil\nSalt\n\n1. Cut the top (stem) and bottom of the breadfruit. Peel the outside with a knife until no skin remains\n2. Cut lengthways into quarters and remove the inner core. Then, slice into 3cm/1\" thick pieces.\n3. Soak in salty water for 10 or more minutes. It should be salty like the ocean\n4. Heat a pan to medium heat and add 1cm neutral oil. Before adding the Breadfruit to the oil, check with a piece that it lightly sizzles when you add it. \n5. Fry the Breadfruit on both sides until lightly browned, flipping every 2 minutes or so. The oil should go up to half the height of the pieces. This should take ~6-10m\n6. Remove from the oil and carefully pat to remove excess oil. Use the back of a spatula and press the breadfruit until flat.\n7. Refry the flattened pieces until golden brown\n8. Pat dry to remove excess oil, and while still hot toss with a sprinkle of salt and any additional seasonings\n\n\n_Notes_\n1. The recipe can be used to make a plantain Tostones, use green plantain\n2. The Breadfruit for this recipe should be unripe/semi-unripe. The outside should be mostly green with some brown, and when pressed it should barely give. On the inside, there may be a sticky white-ish sap. If there is a lot, keep some paper towels on your side and coat your hands and knife with oil. If there is no sap, don't worry. Your breadfruit should still be quite firm to cut. If your breadfruit is mushy inside, its too ripe. There are other recipes (that I don't have) that are more suited, or you can enjoy the ripe fruit as is.\n3. The exterior of the breadfruit is extremely bitter, it may seem wasteful to keep peeling until there is no green but this should be done to avoid a bitter stew. I made this mistake once T__T\n4. The true \"Peruvian Green Sauce\" is called Aji Verde. This uses green chili, Aji Amarillo paste (optional), raw garlic (optional, up to taste), and Cojita cheese, (which can be substituted for a hard sharp cheese like Parmesan). Aji Amarillo paste is a spicy and slightly fruity chili paste from Peru, and is used to give heat to their dishes.  I only used fermented peppers because I had it on hand. You can make any sauce you like!\n\n\n**Peruvian Inspired Green Sauce (Aji Verde)**\n\n1 handful coriander\n2 large stalks spring onion\n1/2 large lime\n1 large chili (better a green one)\n3 tbsp lactofermented peppers\n2 tbsp mayonnaise\n\n1. Zest the lime before cutting in half.\n2. Roughly chop the spring onion, removing the roots. Remove the top of the chili and roughly chop\n3. In a blender/stick-blender safe container, add the lime zest and juice with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth, taste and adjust for salt and other ingredients.\n",
    "thumbnail": "images/breadfruit-tostones/1_bt_thumb.jpg"
  }
]