Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About This Char Siu-Inspired Grilled Pork Pizza What It Is: A Chinese-inspired grilled pizza topped with saucy diced pork loin, mozzarella, shallots, Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh scallions. Inspiration: Cantonese char siu (叉烧), particularly its sweet and savoury Chinese barbecue flavour profile. This is not a traditional char siu recipe. Servings: 4 Cooking Method: The pork is skillet-seared and butter-basted before the pizza is cooked directly on a griddle or outdoor grill. The Sauce: Hoisin, honey, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, garlic and Chinese five spice. Flavour & Texture: Sweet, savoury and aromatic pork over melted cheese and lightly charred, chewy grilled pizza dough. Do I Need an Outdoor Grill? Nope. I use a griddle. An outdoor grill works too. After making my BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza, of course I had to mess around with another version. This time I went Chinese, or at least Chinese-inspired. I made a quick sauce with hoisin, honey, oyster sauce, light soy, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil and my homemade Chinese five spice, then paired it with pork loin seasoned with @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix. @VinceHomeMade The pork gets seared hard in cast iron, basted with spiced butter, diced and tossed through some of that reduced sauce before going onto the pizza. Sweet, savoury, slightly smoky and ridiculously fragrant. The obvious inspiration here is char siu, 叉烧, the Cantonese style of roasted pork traditionally associated with siu mei. Char siu gets its characteristic sweet and savoury flavour from a seasoned glaze, with recipes varying from cook to cook. But let's get something straight: this isn't traditional char siu. I'm using pork loin, cooking it in a skillet, throwing it onto grilled pizza dough with mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano and calling it dinner. What I wanted was the familiar direction of those Chinese barbecue flavours rather than an attempt to recreate the actual dish. Hence: char siu-inspired. And that's also why I don't want you drowning the pizza in sauce. There's already sauce coating the pork, and grilled pizza needs a little restraint or everything gets heavy and soggy very quickly. Spread a thin layer, add some mozzarella, shallots and pork, grate over some Parmigiano, cover and let the griddle do its thing. Fresh scallions go on after cooking. If my BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza is the American-ish sibling, consider this the Chinese-ish troublemaker in the family. Give both a try and decide which direction you prefer—or take the method and come up with your own damn version. Ingredients: (Serve 4) Sauce: Hoisin Sauce, 2 TBSP Pure Honey, 1 TBSP Adjust To Preference Oyster Sauce, 1 TBSP Light Soy Sauce, 1 TBSP Shaoxing / Hua Tiew Wine, 1 TBSP Toasted Sesame Oil, 1 TBSP Garlic Powder, Pinch Chinese 5 Spice Homemade, Pinch White Pepper, Pinch Pizza: Pork Loin, About 400g Sea Salt, Pinch Rapeseed / Sunflower / Canola / Peanut Oil, 2 TBSP Unsalted Butter, 2 TBSP @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, 1 TBSP Grilled Pizza Dough Homemade, 4 Dough Balls Sesame Oil, For Greasing Low Moisture Mozzarella, For Shredding Parmigiano Reggiano, For Grating Shallots Sliced, 4 Scallions Coarsely Sliced, A Handful Equipment: Griddle / Outdoor Grill Cast Iron Skillet / Pan Directions: Please visit my "How To Make Chinese 5 Spice" for the recipe. Please visit my "How To Make Grilled Pizza Dough" for the recipe. Add the hoisin sauce, honey, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, garlic powder, Chinese five spice, and white pepper to a mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust the sweetness with additional honey if desired, then set the sauce aside. Pat the pork loin dry and season lightly with salt. Heat the cooking oil in a cast iron skillet or pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the pork. If you have a burger press, you can gently press the pork against the skillet initially to encourage good contact and develop a better sear. Once the underside develops a deep golden-brown crust, use a pair of tongs to turn the pork and lightly brown the remaining sides. Turn off the heat before adding the butter and BBQ spice mix. This allows the butter to melt and the spices to bloom without immediately scorching against the hot skillet. Tilt the skillet slightly and continuously spoon the melted spiced butter over the pork. Turn the pork as you baste so the surface becomes evenly coated. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and allow it to rest. I like giving it about 15 minutes before dicing so all those juices don't immediately end up on my cutting board. Finely dice the rested pork and set it aside. Carefully add a small splash of water to the same skillet and scrape up all the browned bits left behind from searing the pork. Add some of the prepared sauce and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it reduces into a thick and glossy glaze. Turn off the heat, add the diced pork and toss until every piece is evenly coated. Set aside while you prepare the pizza. Heat your griddle or outdoor grill and lightly grease the cooking surface with sesame oil. Roll out one pizza dough ball to your desired thickness and place it directly onto the hot griddle or grill. Lightly brush the exposed surface with more sesame oil. Cook until the underside develops some colour and light charring. Watch it closely, grilled pizza can go from beautifully charred to burnt rather quickly. Flip the dough and immediately reduce the heat to low. Spread a thin layer of the prepared sauce over the cooked surface. Don't overdo it; the pork is already glazed and too much sauce can make the pizza soggy. Scatter freshly shredded low-moisture mozzarella over the sauce, followed by sliced shallots and the glazed pork. Finish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Cover the griddle or grill. The trapped heat helps melt the cheese while the underside of the pizza continues cooking. Cook until the mozzarella has melted and the bottom of the pizza is lightly charred and cooked through. Lower the heat further if the crust is browning faster than the cheese is melting. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and finish with freshly sliced scallions. Repeat with the remaining pizza dough, sauce and toppings. Slice and serve immediately. Tips Don't overcook the pork loin. Pork loin is relatively lean, so taking it miles beyond its safe temperature will dry it out. Cook to at least 63°C / 145°F and give it the required rest. Turn off the heat before adding the BBQ spice mix. Finely ground spices and sugar in BBQ rubs can scorch quickly against hot cast iron. Let the residual heat melt the butter and carry those flavours around the pork. Reduce some sauce separately for the pork. Tossing the diced pork in a reduced glaze gives it a sticky coating without requiring you to drown the entire pizza in sauce. Go easy with the pizza sauce. The pork is already heavily flavoured. A thin layer underneath the cheese is enough. Low-moisture mozzarella works better here. You get the melt without introducing too much additional water onto a pizza that cooks very quickly. Don't overload the pizza. Grilled pizza cooks from underneath, so excessive toppings can leave you with burnt dough before everything above it has heated through. Adjust the honey to your preference. If you like your Chinese BBQ sauce sweeter, add more. If not, leave it alone. That's why I'm not pretending the honey needs laboratory precision. No outdoor grill? Use a griddle. That's exactly what I do. FAQ What is Char Siu-Inspired Grilled Pork Pizza? It is a grilled pizza topped with pork loin coated in a Chinese barbecue-inspired sauce made with hoisin, honey, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil and Chinese five spice. The pizza is finished with mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, shallots and scallions. Is this traditional char siu? No. Traditional Cantonese char siu is a style of roasted or barbecued pork. This recipe borrows flavours associated with Chinese barbecue and char siu but uses skillet-seared pork loin as a topping for grilled pizza. What is char siu? Char siu (叉烧) is a Cantonese preparation of seasoned and roasted pork and is commonly associated with the broader siu mei tradition of Cantonese roasted meats. Recipes and marinades vary, but the finished pork is characteristically savoury and sweet with a glazed exterior. Why use pork loin? I wanted pieces of lean pork that I could sear, baste, dice and glaze before putting them onto the pizza. Because pork loin is lean, however, it is important not to overcook it. What temperature should pork loin reach? Whole cuts of pork should reach at least 63°C / 145°F internally followed by at least a 3-minute rest. Check the thickest part with an instant-read thermometer. Can I make this without an outdoor grill? Absolutely. I make grilled pizza on a griddle. An outdoor grill will provide additional smokiness and char, but it isn't necessary. Why use sesame oil on the pizza dough? I'm using sesame oil here because its toasted, nutty aroma works with the Chinese-inspired toppings. You only need a light coating; this isn't about soaking the pizza dough in sesame oil. Can I use another cut of pork? Yes, although cooking time and technique will change depending on the cut. Whatever you choose, cook it appropriately for that cut rather than blindly following the timing for pork loin. Why mozzarella and Parmigiano on a Chinese-inspired pizza? Because it's still pizza. I'm borrowing Chinese barbecue flavours rather than trying to turn every component into something traditionally Chinese. Mozzarella gives me the melt I want, while Parmigiano adds another layer of savouriness. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About This BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza What It Is: Grilled pizza topped with homemade BBQ sauce, BBQ-spiced chicken, mozzarella, shallots, Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh scallions. Servings: 4 Cooking Method: The chicken is skillet-seared and butter-basted before the pizza is cooked directly on a griddle or outdoor grill. Flavour & Texture: Smoky, sweet and savoury BBQ chicken with melted cheese, fresh scallions and a lightly charred, chewy pizza crust. What Makes This Version Different: The chicken is basted with butter and BBQ spice before being tossed with homemade BBQ sauce, while the pizza itself is cooked directly on a sesame-oiled griddle rather than baked in an oven. Do I Need an Outdoor Grill? Nope. An outdoor grill will give you additional char and smokiness, but a griddle works perfectly well, which is what I'm using. BBQ chicken pizza is nothing new, but since I've been playing around with grilled pizzas lately, of course I had to make my own version. The chicken breast gets pounded to an even thickness, seared hard in a skillet, then basted with butter and @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix. @VinceHomeMade I turn the heat off before adding the butter and spice mix because I want those spices coating the chicken, not burning on the bottom of my skillet. The chicken is then diced and tossed with my homemade BBQ sauce before it goes anywhere near the pizza. BBQ chicken pizza is very much an American creation rather than something you'll find in traditional Italian pizza-making. It became particularly associated with California-style pizza in the 1980s, when unconventional toppings and combinations became part of that style's identity. BBQ sauce replacing tomato sauce and chicken replacing the more familiar cured meats were part of that experimentation. My version wanders even further away from tradition because I'm cooking the pizza directly on a griddle, or an outdoor grill if you have one, and I grease the surface with sesame oil. So no, I'm definitely not going to pretend there's an Italian nonna somewhere making this. What I love about grilled pizza is how uncomplicated it can be once you understand the technique. Grill one side of the dough first, flip it, turn the heat down and only then start building your pizza. A thin layer of BBQ sauce, mozzarella, shallots, that sticky BBQ chicken and some Parmigiano Reggiano are really all this needs. Finish it with fresh scallions and that's dinner. If you've never cooked pizza on a griddle or grill before, give this a try. You don't need a pizza oven or some ridiculous 500°C setup, just watch the heat, don't overload the damn thing and let the charred dough do its job. Ingredients: (Serve 4) Chicken Breast, 1 Sea Salt, Pinch Rapeseed / Sunflower / Canola / Peanut Oil, 2 TBSP Unsalted Butter, 2 TBSP @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, 1 TBSP BBQ Sauce Homemade, 2 TBSP + More Grilled Pizza Dough Homemade, 4 Dough Balls Sesame Oil, For Greasing Low Moisture Mozzarella, For Shredding Parmigiano Reggiano, For Grating Shallots Sliced, 4 Scallions Coarsely Sliced, A Handful Equipment: Griddle / Outdoor Grill Cast Iron Skillet / Pan Directions: Please visit my "Homemade BBQ Sauce" for the recipe. Please visit my "How To Make Grilled Pizza Dough" for the recipe. Prepare the homemade BBQ sauce and grilled pizza dough beforehand. Place the chicken breast on a cutting board and cover it with cling film. Using a meat mallet, rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy skillet, gently pound the chicken until it is approximately even in thickness. This helps it cook more evenly. Remove the cling film and season both sides of the chicken lightly with salt. Heat the cooking oil in a cast iron skillet or pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken. If you have a burger press, you can gently press the chicken against the skillet to encourage even contact and develop a better sear. Cook until the underside develops a deep golden-brown crust, then flip the chicken. Turn off the heat before adding the butter and BBQ spice mix. The residual heat will melt the butter without immediately scorching the spices. Tilt the skillet slightly and continuously spoon the melted spiced butter over the chicken. Flip and baste the other side as well. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest for about 5 minutes before finely dicing it. Meanwhile, carefully add a small splash of water to the same skillet and scrape up the browned bits left behind by the chicken. Add the homemade BBQ sauce and stir everything together. Cook briefly until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Add the diced chicken to a mixing bowl and toss it with the reduced BBQ sauce until evenly coated. Set aside. Roll out one pizza dough ball to your desired thickness and prick the surface lightly with a fork. Heat your griddle or outdoor grill and lightly grease the cooking surface with sesame oil. Place the pizza dough directly onto the hot griddle or grill. Lightly brush the exposed side with more sesame oil. Cook until the underside has developed some colour and light charring. Keep an eye on it because grilled pizza can go from beautifully charred to burnt rather quickly. Flip the dough, then immediately reduce the heat to low. Spread a thin layer of homemade BBQ sauce over the cooked surface. Don't drown the pizza in sauce or the crust can become soggy. Scatter freshly shredded low-moisture mozzarella over the sauce, followed by the sliced shallots and BBQ chicken. Finish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Cover the griddle or grill. This traps heat above the pizza and helps melt the cheese while the bottom continues cooking. Cook until the mozzarella has melted and the underside of the pizza is lightly charred and cooked through. Adjust the heat as necessary if the crust is browning faster than the cheese is melting. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and finish with freshly sliced scallions. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings. Slice and serve immediately. Tips Pound the chicken evenly rather than paper-thin. You're trying to eliminate the dramatically thicker end of the breast so everything cooks at roughly the same rate. Turn off the heat before adding the BBQ spice mix. Many BBQ rubs contain sugar and finely ground spices that can scorch quickly against a hot cast iron skillet. Check the chicken temperature. Residual heat varies enormously between pans and chicken breasts. Make sure the thickest part reaches 74°C / 165°F. Go easy with the BBQ sauce. Both the chicken and pizza already contain sauce. A thin layer on the dough is enough; too much can make your grilled crust soggy. Use low-moisture mozzarella. It melts beautifully without releasing as much water onto the pizza as very wet fresh mozzarella. Don't overload the pizza. Grilled pizza cooks quickly from underneath. Too many toppings make it harder for everything above the crust to heat through before the bottom burns. Keep the heat under control after flipping. The first side needs enough heat to char. Once flipped and topped, lower heat gives the cheese time to melt without turning the bottom into charcoal. No outdoor grill? No problem. I'm using a griddle. Use whatever equipment you actually have rather than buying another damn thing for one recipe. FAQ What is BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza? BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza is pizza cooked directly on a griddle or outdoor grill and topped with BBQ sauce, seasoned chicken, mozzarella, shallots, Parmigiano Reggiano and scallions. Unlike oven-baked pizza, the dough cooks directly against the hot cooking surface, giving the crust distinctive charring. Is BBQ chicken pizza Italian? BBQ chicken pizza is generally associated with modern American pizza rather than traditional Italian pizza. Versions became particularly associated with California-style pizza and its experimentation with unconventional sauces and toppings. Do I need an outdoor grill to make grilled pizza? No. I cook mine on a griddle. An outdoor grill can provide additional smoky flavour and charring, but the same basic method works on a sufficiently large griddle. Why cook one side of the pizza dough before adding the toppings? Cooking the first side gives the dough structure. After flipping it, the already-cooked surface becomes the top of the pizza while the second side cooks underneath the toppings. Why should I lower the heat after flipping the pizza? Once the toppings are added, you need enough time for the cheese to melt and the toppings to heat through. Keeping the heat too high can burn the bottom of the pizza before that happens. Why use low-moisture mozzarella? Low-moisture mozzarella melts well while releasing less water than very moist fresh mozzarella, which is particularly useful for a quickly cooked grilled pizza. Can I use a different BBQ rub? Absolutely. I'm using @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, but use whatever BBQ rub you enjoy. Just be careful when adding it to the hot skillet because spice blends—particularly those containing sugar, can burn. Can I use store-bought BBQ sauce and pizza dough? Of course. I make both because that's what I enjoy doing, but neither is compulsory. If store-bought sauce and dough get you making grilled pizza instead of abandoning the recipe altogether, use them. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About This Chrysanthemum Pu’er Cold Brew Tea Chinese Name: 菊花普洱冷泡茶 What It Is: A cold-brewed tea made with pu'er tea leaves, dried chrysanthemum, dried longans and goji berries. Servings: 4 Water: 1.2L Brewing Method: Cold brewed overnight in the refrigerator. Flavour: Earthy pu'er balanced with floral chrysanthemum and the subtle natural sweetness of dried longan and goji berries. Does It Need Sweetener? Not necessarily. Taste it first; the dried fruit already contributes some sweetness. Add honey or another sweetener only if you want it. Is This a Traditional Chinese Tea Recipe? The individual ingredients have long histories in Chinese food and tea culture, but this particular combination and cold-brew method is simply my own way of putting them together. We've been getting another round of hazy days here in Singapore, and somehow that made me want something cold, refreshing and soothing to sip throughout the day. Instead of reaching for another coffee, I went back down my tea rabbit hole and threw together pu'er tea, chrysanthemum, dried longans and goji berries. Everything goes into cold water, sits in the fridge overnight and that's basically it. The longan brings a very gentle natural sweetness, chrysanthemum gives the brew its floral character, while the pu'er sits underneath everything with that distinctive earthy depth. None of these ingredients are particularly unusual in Chinese tea culture. Pu'er, or 普洱茶, comes from Yunnan and has a long history as a fermented tea, while chrysanthemum tea, 菊花茶, has been consumed in China for centuries. Dried longan and goji berries are also commonly used in Chinese drinks, soups and herbal preparations. Putting all four together isn't something I'm claiming as a traditional tea formula, though. This is simply my cold-brew combination. And cold brewing changes the experience quite a bit: instead of pouring boiling water over everything, the slow extraction in the refrigerator gives me a gentler brew that I find ridiculously easy to drink. The best part is that you don't really have to do anything. Throw everything into a bottle or pitcher before going to bed, give it a shake and forget about it until the next day. Drink it as it is if you enjoy tea without sugar, or add a little honey or whatever sweetener you prefer. You can also adjust the next batch to your own taste: more longan for sweetness, more chrysanthemum for floral notes, or play around with the strength of the pu'er. Give this combination a try if you want something different from the usual iced tea. Just don't expect some magical haze remedy from me; I'm making tea, not medicine. Ingredients: (Serve 4) Pu'er Tea Leaves, 9g Chrysanthemum, 9g Dried Longans, 12g Goji Berries, 6g Equipment: Hario Cold Brew Tea Bottle / Tea Pot / Tea Pitcher Directions: Add the pu'er tea leaves, dried chrysanthemum, dried longans and goji berries to a clean cold-brew tea bottle, teapot or pitcher. I'm using my Hario Cold Brew Tea Bottle. Pour in 1.2L of cold drinking water. Close the bottle or pitcher and give everything a gentle shake or stir to distribute the ingredients through the water. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow the tea to cold brew overnight. The following day, strain the tea as you pour if your bottle or pitcher doesn't already have a built-in filter. Taste the tea before adding anything else. The dried longans already contribute a subtle sweetness, so you may find that you don't need additional sweetener. Serve chilled as it is, or add honey or your preferred sweetener to taste. Keep the tea refrigerated. If you want to brew the ingredients again, add fresh drinking water and refrigerate immediately. I would only make one additional cold brew rather than repeatedly topping up the same ingredients indefinitely. Tips Taste before sweetening. Dried longans and goji berries already bring some natural sweetness to the brew. You can always add honey later, but you can't take it back out. Adjust the next batch rather than obsessing over this one. Want it more floral? Increase the chrysanthemum slightly. Want more natural sweetness? Try a little more dried longan. This is tea, not a cake formula. Keep everything refrigerated. Cold brewing is a long extraction, so brew and store the tea in the refrigerator rather than leaving it overnight at room temperature. Use a bottle with a filter if possible. Something like the Hario Cold Brew Tea Bottle makes this particularly easy because you can pour without having tea leaves and flowers ending up in your glass. Don't endlessly re-brew the same ingredients. You can try a second refrigerated brew if there is still plenty of flavour left, but I wouldn't keep topping the bottle up indefinitely. Don't treat this as medicine. I made this because I wanted something cool and soothing to drink during Singapore's hazy weather. It isn't a treatment for haze exposure or any medical condition. FAQ What is Chrysanthemum Pu’er Cold Brew Tea? This is a refrigerated cold-brew tea made with pu'er tea leaves, dried chrysanthemum flowers, dried longans and goji berries. The ingredients steep slowly in cold water overnight rather than being brewed with hot water. What does Chrysanthemum Pu’er Cold Brew Tea taste like? Pu'er provides an earthy tea base while chrysanthemum contributes floral notes. Dried longans and goji berries soften the brew with subtle fruitiness and natural sweetness. Can pu'er tea be cold brewed? Yes. Pu'er can be extracted in cold water by allowing it to steep for several hours in the refrigerator. The resulting drink will taste different from traditionally hot-brewed pu'er because the extraction temperature and time are completely different. Do I need to add honey? No. I prefer tasting the finished tea first because the dried longans and goji berries already contribute some sweetness. Add honey or another sweetener only if you feel the tea needs it. Can I change the amount of longan or chrysanthemum? Absolutely. Treat the recipe as a starting point. Increase the longan if you want more natural sweetness or adjust the chrysanthemum depending on how floral you want the finished tea. Can I re-brew the tea? You can try making a second refrigerated cold brew if the ingredients still have plenty of flavour, although the second batch will naturally be lighter. I wouldn't continuously refill the same ingredients for multiple days. Is this tea a remedy for haze? No. I enjoy it as a cool, refreshing drink during Singapore's hazy weather, but this recipe isn't intended to prevent or treat the health effects of haze exposure. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About This Sweet & Savory BBQ Popcorn Snack Mix What It Is: A crunchy snack mix of popcorn, roasted peanuts and cashews, crispy dried anchovies and shallots coated with a buttery, sweet and smoky BBQ seasoning. Servings: 4 Flavour & Texture: Sweet, salty, smoky, savoury and crunchy, with plenty of umami from the dried anchovies. Cooking Methods: Oven-roasting, shallow-frying, stovetop popcorn and a short final bake. Oven Temperatures: 160°C / 320°F for roasting the nuts, followed by 140°C / 284°F to dry and crisp the finished snack mix. Do I Need a Wok? No. A large skillet or pot works too. I use a wok because its high sides give me more room to toss everything without making a mess. Can I Change the Ingredients? Absolutely. Think of this recipe as a basic method rather than a strict formula. Change the nuts, seasonings and savoury additions to suit what you have. This started with a jar of Dad's BBQ Spice Mix that my dear friend @VinceHomeMade sent me all the way from Australia, and I wanted to do something with it other than the obvious meat and BBQ recipes. So... snacks. I roasted some peanuts and cashews, fried some dried anchovies aka ikan bilis, popped some popcorn, and tossed everything together with butter, BBQ spice, smoked paprika, and honey. Crispy shallots go in at the end because, honestly, crispy shallots make almost anything better. You end up with something sweet, salty, smoky, savoury and ridiculously crunchy, with a little bit of everything in every handful. @VinceHomeMade Snack mixes don't really belong to one single culinary tradition. Mixing nuts, grains and other crunchy bits with seasonings exists in countless forms around the world, from American party mixes to Indian namkeen and Southeast Asian nut and ikan bilis snacks. This isn't meant to reproduce any one of them. It's really just me taking the idea of a seasoned snack mix and throwing in ingredients I already love. I chose a wok because I don't own a giant skillet, but it actually works brilliantly here. The high sides give me plenty of room to toss everything without launching half of my popcorn across the kitchen, which is always a bonus. More importantly, treat this recipe as a guideline rather than something you need to follow gram for gram. Don't like cashews? Use another nut. Try dried shrimp instead of dried anchovies. Swap the smoked paprika for chilli powder, chilli flakes or Mexican chilli flakes if you want some heat. Adjust the honey depending on how sweet you want it, or change the BBQ rub entirely. That's really the point of this one. Use the basic method, raid your pantry and make your own version. Then eat it warm in front of whatever series you're currently bingeing and try not to finish the entire tray. Ingredients: (Serve 4) Raw Peanuts, 50g Cashews, 50g Sea Salt, Pinch Rapeseed / Sunflower / Canola / Peanut Oil, 1/4 Cup Dried Anchovies, 25g Pop Corn Kernels, 40g Unsalted Butter, 35g @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, 2 TBSP Or Your Favorite BBQ Rub Smoked Paprika, 1/2 TBSP Pure Honey, 2 TBSP Adjust To Preference Crispy Shallots, A Handful Equipment: Oven Large Skillet / Wok / Pot Directions: Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F. Spread the raw peanuts in a baking dish or tray and roast for about 20 minutes, giving them a toss halfway through so they roast more evenly. After 20 minutes, add the cashews and toss everything together. Continue roasting for about another 10 minutes, or until the peanuts and cashews are evenly roasted and fragrant. Keep an eye on the cashews because they can brown relatively quickly. Remove the nuts from the oven and immediately season them with a pinch of salt while they're still hot. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl and set aside. If you're using already-roasted nuts, you can skip this entire roasting stage. Lower the oven temperature to 140°C / 284°F for the final bake later. Heat the cooking oil in a large wok, skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the dried anchovies and sauté until crisp and golden. Remove them with a slotted spoon, allowing the excess oil to drain back into the pan, then add the anchovies to the roasted nuts. Add a single popcorn kernel to the oil. When it pops, remove it. This tells you that the oil is hot enough for the remaining popcorn. Add the remaining popcorn kernels and immediately cover with a lid. Carefully shake the pan occasionally as the kernels begin popping so they heat more evenly. The popping will become rapid before gradually slowing down. Once there are roughly a couple of seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat. Keep it covered briefly until the popping stops completely. Give it a shake. Carefully remove the lid, keeping your face away from the escaping steam and any enthusiastic last-minute popcorn kernels. Transfer the popcorn to the bowl with the roasted nuts and crispy anchovies. Return the same wok, skillet or pot to low heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat. Add the BBQ spice mix, smoked paprika and honey, then stir until everything is thoroughly combined. Add the popcorn, nuts and anchovies back into the pan. Toss thoroughly until the butter and seasoning mixture lightly coats everything. This is one reason I like using a wok, the high sides make tossing a big batch much easier. Spread the mixture evenly across a baking tray. Avoid piling everything into a thick layer, as you want moisture to escape during the final bake. Scatter the crispy shallots throughout the mixture. Bake at 140°C / 284°F for 8 to 10 minutes, giving everything a gentle toss if necessary, until the coating has dried slightly and the snack mix feels crisp rather than wet or sticky. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool briefly. It will crisp up further as it cools. Serve while still slightly warm and preferably with a good movie or whatever series you're currently trying to finish. Tips Use whatever nuts you like. Peanuts and cashews are what I used, but almonds, pecans or other nuts can work. Just remember that different nuts roast at different rates. Already have roasted nuts? Use them. There is absolutely no prize for roasting everything from scratch. Skip that stage and move on. Dried anchovies aren't compulsory. Try dried shrimp or another crispy savoury ingredient instead. If you're using dried shrimp, adjust the cooking time according to their size. Make it spicy. Replace the smoked paprika with chilli powder, chilli flakes or your favourite Mexican chilli flakes. Or keep the smoked paprika and add chilli as well. Adjust the honey. Use more or less depending on how sweet you want your snack mix. This isn't baking; the exact sweetness is entirely up to you. A wok makes life easier. You don't need one, but the high sides give you much more room to toss popcorn, nuts and seasonings together without throwing everything onto the stove. Don't drown the popcorn in seasoning. You want enough butter and honey mixture to carry the spices and lightly coat everything. Too much moisture will make the popcorn soggy. Let it cool a little. The mixture continues to crisp as the hot honey-butter coating cools. FAQ What is BBQ popcorn snack mix? This version combines freshly popped popcorn with roasted peanuts and cashews, crispy dried anchovies and shallots, then coats everything in butter, BBQ seasoning, smoked paprika and honey before a short final bake. Why add dried anchovies to popcorn? Dried anchovies, commonly known as ikan bilis in Singapore and Malaysia, add saltiness, crunch and plenty of savoury umami. They work particularly well against the sweetness of honey and the smoky BBQ seasoning. Can I make this without dried anchovies? Absolutely. Leave them out or replace them with another savoury ingredient. Dried shrimp would be an interesting alternative. Can I use different nuts? Yes. The peanuts and cashews are simply what I chose for this batch. You can experiment with other nuts, but keep in mind that different nuts may need different roasting times. Can I make this BBQ popcorn spicy? Yes. Replace the smoked paprika with chilli powder or chilli flakes, or use both smoked paprika and chilli if you want smokiness and heat. Why bake the snack mix again after coating it? The short final bake helps remove some of the moisture introduced by the butter and honey, allowing the coating to set around the popcorn, nuts and anchovies. The mixture will continue to crisp as it cools. Do I need a wok? No. A large skillet or pot works perfectly well. I use a wok because I don't have a particularly large skillet, and its high sides make tossing a large amount of popcorn considerably easier. Can I change the BBQ seasoning? Of course. I'm using @@VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix because this recipe was developed around it, but your favourite BBQ rub will work. More importantly, use the recipe as a starting point and adjust it to whatever you actually enjoy eating. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About This BBQ Shredded Chicken & Coleslaw Toast What It Is: Buttery toasted sourdough topped with sticky BBQ shredded chicken and chilled coleslaw. Servings: 4 Cooking Method: Skillet-seared chicken finished in BBQ sauce, with butter-toasted sourdough. Flavour & Texture: Sweet, smoky and savoury BBQ chicken balanced by cool, tangy coleslaw and chewy, lightly crisp sourdough. What Makes This Version Different: Instead of slow-smoking or braising the chicken, I sear a chicken breast first, shred it and finish it directly in the skillet with BBQ seasoning and homemade BBQ sauce. Do I Need a Smoker? Nope. Everything is cooked in one skillet. There really isn't anything complicated about this one. I wanted something messy, sticky and savoury, but with enough acidity and freshness that it wouldn't become too heavy. So I took a chicken breast, gave it a good sear, shredded it and threw it straight back into the same skillet with BBQ spice mix and my homemade BBQ sauce. A simple coleslaw... That goes onto buttery toasted sourdough with a cold, tangy coleslaw on top. You get crisp bread, sticky chicken and crunchy cabbage all in the same bite. BBQ meat and coleslaw have been sitting happily next to each other in American barbecue for a very long time, particularly in sandwiches where the cool, acidic slaw cuts through rich smoked meat and sweet BBQ sauce. @VinceHomeMade There are countless regional variations, though, and I'm definitely not trying to recreate any particular American barbecue tradition here. I'm not even smoking the chicken. This is simply my skillet version using chicken breast, @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix and my homemade BBQ sauce. The important part for me is the balance: the chicken should be sticky rather than swimming in sauce, while the coleslaw needs enough acidity to cut through everything underneath. And please don't take the sourdough too far when you're toasting it. I know we're all conditioned to think crispier equals better, but an aggressively toasted slice of sourdough underneath a pile of chicken and coleslaw becomes an absolute workout to eat. I want the outside lightly crisp with some chew left in the middle. That's also why I serve this open-faced instead of turning it into a giant sandwich. If you've already made a batch of my BBQ sauce, give this a try. It's basically a very good excuse to pile a wet, sticky mess onto buttery toast and call it lunch. Ingredients: (Serve 4) Coleslaw: Cabbage Shredded, 1/4 Carrot Shredded, 1/2 Sea Salt, Pinch Black Pepper, Pinch Rice Vinegar / Fresh Lemon Juice, 1 TBSP Dijon Mustard, 1 TBSP Kewpie Mayo, 2 TBSP Toast: Rapeseed / Sunflower / Canola / Peanut Oil, 2 TBSP Chicken Breast, 1 Sea Salt, Pinch White Pepper, Pinch @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, 2 TBSP Or Your Favorite BBQ Rub BBQ Sauce Homemade, 1/4 Cup + More Sourdough Bread, 8 Slices Unsalted Butter, For Toasting Equipment: Cast Iron Skillet / Pan Directions: Please visit my "Homemade BBQ Sauce" for the recipe. Add the shredded cabbage and carrot to a mixing bowl. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, then add the rice vinegar or fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard and Kewpie mayo. Toss everything thoroughly until the vegetables are evenly coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning or acidity if necessary. The coleslaw should be creamy but still have enough tang to cut through the sweet BBQ chicken. Cover and chill the coleslaw in the refrigerator while you prepare everything else. Keeping it cold also gives you a nice contrast against the hot chicken and toast. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken breast and season lightly with salt. Sear until the underside develops a deep golden-brown crust, then flip and cook the other side until equally golden. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Using two forks, carefully shred it into small pieces. It is okay if the centre isn't completely cooked at this point because the shredded chicken will return to the skillet and continue cooking. **Do not eat or taste the chicken at this stage if it is still undercooked.** Return the same skillet to medium heat. Add a small splash of water and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen all those browned bits left behind from the chicken. Add the shredded chicken back to the skillet. Season with white pepper and the BBQ spice mix, then toss thoroughly so the seasoning coats the chicken. Add the homemade BBQ sauce and continue cooking, stirring and tossing occasionally, until the chicken is completely cooked and most of the loose liquid has evaporated. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. You're looking for chicken that is moist and sticky rather than completely dry. Remove the skillet from the heat and toss through a little more BBQ sauce. This final addition keeps the chicken glossy and saucy without having a pool of liquid underneath it. Transfer the BBQ chicken out of the skillet and set it aside. Return the same skillet to medium-low heat and add some unsalted butter. As it melts, scrape up any remaining BBQ bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the sourdough slices and toast until lightly golden and crisp on one side. Flip and toast the other side. Don't take the bread too far. You want lightly crisp surfaces while the centre still has some chew; heavily toasted sourdough can become difficult to cut and eat once everything is piled on top. Transfer the toasted sourdough onto serving plates. Spoon the warm, sticky BBQ shredded chicken generously over each piece of toast. Finish with the chilled coleslaw and serve immediately. Tips Don't cook the chicken completely dry. Reduce the BBQ sauce until it clings to the shredded chicken, then add a little fresh sauce after removing the skillet from the heat. You want a sticky mess, not chicken jerky. Keep the coleslaw cold. The contrast between hot BBQ chicken and chilled, crunchy coleslaw is part of what makes this work. Don't over-toast the sourdough. You're not making crostini. The bread needs enough structure to hold the toppings while remaining easy to slice and chew. Use the same skillet. The browned bits left from searing the chicken contain plenty of flavour. Deglazing the pan brings them back into the chicken rather than washing them down the sink. Use whatever BBQ rub you like. I'm using @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, but your favourite BBQ rub will work too. Add the coleslaw last. Don't put it onto the toast until you're ready to serve or the moisture will eventually soften the bread. FAQ What is BBQ Shredded Chicken & Coleslaw Toast? It is an open-faced toast made with buttery sourdough, skillet-cooked shredded chicken coated in BBQ seasoning and BBQ sauce, and chilled coleslaw. The combination gives you hot, sticky chicken, cold crunchy slaw and lightly crisp bread in every bite. Can I use store-bought BBQ sauce? Absolutely. I use my homemade BBQ sauce because that's what I usually have around, but your favourite bottled BBQ sauce will work too. Why sear the chicken before shredding it? Searing develops browned flavour on the surface of the chicken and leaves browned bits behind in the skillet. After shredding the chicken, I deglaze the same skillet and finish everything together with the BBQ seasoning and sauce. Can the chicken still be undercooked when I shred it? Yes, provided you return it immediately to the skillet and continue cooking it thoroughly. The chicken should reach 74°C / 165°F before serving. Don't taste the chicken mixture while any of it is still undercooked. Why add more BBQ sauce after cooking? Cooking the chicken with BBQ sauce concentrates the flavour and creates the sticky texture I want, but reducing it also removes moisture. Tossing in a little fresh BBQ sauce after removing the skillet from the heat brings some moisture and gloss back without making everything watery. Why serve the coleslaw cold? Cold coleslaw gives the dish both temperature and texture contrast. Its acidity also helps balance the sweetness and richness of the BBQ chicken and buttered sourdough. Can I turn this into a sandwich? Of course. I'm serving it open-faced because I like the ratio of bread to filling, but there's nothing stopping you from putting another slice of sourdough on top. Just don't toast the bread until it becomes so hard that eating the damn thing turns into a jaw workout. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About These BBQ Hot Dog Burnt Ends What They Are: Oven-baked hot dog pieces coated in BBQ seasoning, homemade BBQ sauce, brown sugar, butter and liquid smoke, then cooked until sticky and lightly caramelized. Inspired By: BBQ burnt ends, with this hot dog version inspired by @cookingwithcarrrl. Servings: 4 Cooking Method: Low-temperature baking followed by high-temperature caramelization. Oven Temperatures: 120°C / 248°F, followed by 200°C / 392°F. Do I Need a Smoker? No. This version is made entirely in the oven, with a small amount of liquid smoke providing additional smoky flavour. Do I Need Expensive Hot Dogs? Nope. I actually prefer regular hot dogs here because the BBQ rub and sauce are supposed to be the stars. BBQ Hot Dog Burnt Ends are exactly what they sound like: regular hot dogs coated in mustard and BBQ seasoning, slowly cooked, cut into chunks and then tossed with BBQ sauce, brown sugar, butter and a little liquid smoke before going back into the oven until everything becomes sticky and caramelized. Nothing fancy here. In fact, I'm deliberately using regular hot dogs because I want the BBQ spice mix and homemade BBQ sauce to do most of the talking. @VinceHomeMade This recipe was inspired by my friend @cookingwithcarrrl on Instagram and TikTok. Carl made his version in a smoker, which presented one tiny problem for me: I live in a small apartment in Singapore. There isn't exactly a backyard outside waiting for a smoker. I do own a Nordic stovetop smoker, but honestly, I was too lazy to whip the damn thing out. So, into the oven they went, with a little liquid smoke to bring some of that smokiness back. This also gave me the perfect excuse to use Dad's BBQ Spice Mix from my dear friend @VinceHomeMade, who sent me three different jars of his spice mixes all the way from Australia. I've made these three times now, and I actually have to make them when my daughters aren't home because otherwise they'll devour everything before I get a chance to take a proper shot. Imagine how good these are. Traditional burnt ends have much humbler beginnings. They're associated particularly with Kansas City barbecue and were originally the intensely smoky, fatty and heavily barked pieces trimmed from the point end of smoked beef brisket. Check out @cookingwithcarrrl original recipe: What was once treated almost like an offcut eventually became something people deliberately sought out, and today you'll find all sorts of playful “burnt ends” made with pork belly, sausages and, yes, hot dogs. This obviously isn't traditional Kansas City barbecue, nor am I pretending it is. It's my apartment-friendly take on the idea: no backyard, no smoker, just an oven and a little liquid smoke. If you've got a packet of regular hot dogs sitting around, give this a try. Just make sure you get your photos before your family finds them. Ingredients: (Serve 4) Hot Dogs, 10 Dijon Mustard, 1 TBSP @VinceHomeMade Dad's BBQ Spice Mix, 1 TBSP + More Or Your Favorite BBQ Rub Brown Sugar, For Sprinkling BBQ Sauce Homemade, 1/4 Cup Liquid Smoke Preferably Stubb's, 1 TBSP Unsalted Butter, A Few Knobs Equipment: Oven Directions: Please visit my "Homemade BBQ Sauce" for the recipe. Preheat the oven to 120°C / 248°F. Place the whole hot dogs in a large mixing bowl. Add the Dijon mustard and BBQ spice mix, then toss until every hot dog is evenly coated. The mustard acts as a binder, helping the seasoning stick to the surface. Arrange the hot dogs in a single layer on a baking tray, leaving a little space between each one. Don't stack them; exposing as much of their surface as possible helps them cook and develop flavour more evenly. Sprinkle a little additional BBQ spice mix over the hot dogs. Bake for about 1 hour, flipping the hot dogs halfway through so both sides are exposed to the heat. Remove the tray from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 200°C / 392°F. When the hot dogs are cool enough to handle safely, slice them into bite-sized chunks. Transfer the pieces back onto the baking tray. Sprinkle over some brown sugar, then add the homemade BBQ sauce and liquid smoke. Toss everything thoroughly until every piece is coated. Spread the hot dogs back into a single layer rather than piling them on top of one another. Scatter a few small knobs of unsalted butter over the top. Return the tray to the 200°C / 392°F oven and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes. Toss the hot dogs approximately every 10 minutes. This redistributes the sauce and helps the pieces caramelize more evenly instead of burning in one spot. They're ready when the BBQ sauce has reduced and clings tightly to the hot dogs, with lightly caramelized edges and very little loose sauce remaining on the tray. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately while they're hot and sticky. Tips Don't crowd the tray. Keep the hot dogs in a single layer during both stages of cooking. If they're piled together, they'll trap steam instead of allowing the sauce to reduce and caramelize around them. Go easy with the liquid smoke. It is extremely concentrated. More doesn't necessarily mean smokier; too much can quickly become harsh and overpower everything else. Watch the final 10 minutes. There is brown sugar in the recipe and sugar in the BBQ sauce, so things can go from beautifully caramelized to burnt rather quickly once the sauce has reduced. You don't need fancy hot dogs. Regular supermarket hot dogs work perfectly well. Most of the flavour here comes from the BBQ seasoning, sauce and caramelization. Use your favourite BBQ rub. I'm using Dad's BBQ Spice Mix from @VinceHomeMade because that's what inspired this particular batch, but the technique works with whatever BBQ rub you already enjoy. FAQ What are hot dog burnt ends? Hot dog burnt ends are bite-sized pieces of seasoned hot dogs coated with BBQ sauce and other seasonings, then cooked until the outside becomes sticky and caramelized. They're a playful and much quicker spin on traditional barbecue burnt ends made from brisket. Can I make hot dog burnt ends without a smoker? Nope. The recipe that inspired mine was made in a smoker, but I live in a small apartment in Singapore and don't have a backyard smoker. I adapted mine for the oven and use a little liquid smoke to bring some of that smoky character back. I technically own a Nordic stovetop smoker too. I was just too lazy to take it out. Why do you bake the hot dogs before cutting them? I like seasoning and baking the hot dogs whole first so the BBQ rub has time to adhere to and flavour the exterior. I then cut them into chunks before adding the BBQ sauce, brown sugar and butter for the final caramelization. What temperature do you cook hot dog burnt ends? I start the hot dogs at 120°C / 248°F for about an hour. After cutting and saucing them, I increase the oven to 200°C / 392°F and continue baking until the sauce has reduced and the hot dogs are sticky and lightly caramelized. Can I use a different BBQ rub? Absolutely. I'm using Dad's BBQ Spice Mix from @VinceHomeMade for this batch, but you can substitute your favourite BBQ rub. How do I know when the hot dog burnt ends are done? Look at the sauce rather than relying entirely on the clock. The sauce should have reduced enough to cling tightly to the hot dogs, the edges should be lightly caramelized, and there shouldn't be much loose BBQ sauce remaining on the tray. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video This has been my go-to homemade BBQ sauce for quite some time. It starts with the familiar combination of brown sugar and ketchup, but I like building on that with freshly squeezed apple and orange juices, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and a little English mustard. Coconut rum might sound like an odd addition, but that is exactly why I like it here. It brings some sweetness and a subtle tropical note without making the sauce taste like coconut. A little chipotle in adobo finishes everything with smoke and gentle heat. BBQ sauce doesn't really have one single origin story. Sauces used with barbecued meat in America developed differently from region to region, which is why Carolina sauces can be sharp and vinegar-heavy while other styles lean toward mustard, tomato or something much sweeter and thicker. The familiar dark, sweet, ketchup-based bottled BBQ sauce came much later. My version isn't meant to recreate any particular regional American style; it is simply the sauce I have tweaked over the years to suit the way I cook. The fresh fruit juices give it acidity and sweetness, while reducing everything together concentrates those flavours into something sticky, tangy, smoky and slightly spicy. And honestly, making BBQ sauce from scratch isn't nearly as troublesome as it sounds. Everything goes into one pot and the stove does most of the work. More importantly, you get to decide how the finished sauce tastes. Want it smokier? Add a little more adobo. Sharper? Adjust the vinegar. Sweeter? You know what to do. Give this a try at least once before reaching for another bottle of BBQ sauce. Use it for ribs, chicken, burgers, pulled meat or even as a glaze, but keep an eye on it over high heat because there is plenty of sugar in here and sugar burns. Once you understand the basic balance of sweet, acidic, savoury and smoky, you can start making this sauce your own. Ingredients: (Make approximately 500ml) Brown Sugar, 100g Tomato Ketchup, 120g Fresh Apple Juice, 200g Fresh Orange Juice, 100g Coconut Rum, 60g Worchestershire Sauce, 30g Balsamic Vinegar, 30g English Mustard Powder, 10g Chipotle in Adobo Sauce, 1/2 TBSP Chipotle + 1/2 TBSP Adobo Sauce Sea Salt, Pinch Equipment: Sauce Pot Directions: Add all of the ingredients to a sauce pot and stir until everything is well combined. Place the pot over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally, especially around the bottom and sides of the pot, so the sugar doesn't catch and burn. Once it begins simmering, lower the heat. You want to see small, gentle bubbles rather than a vigorous boil. Continue simmering the sauce uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced and thickened slightly. Don't worry if it still looks a little thinner than bottled BBQ sauce at this stage. It will continue to thicken considerably as it cools. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary. You can add a little more salt, adobo sauce or vinegar depending on whether you want it saltier, smokier or sharper. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the BBQ sauce to cool completely. Once cooled, check the consistency. The sauce should now be noticeably thicker and should coat the back of a spoon. Transfer the BBQ sauce into a clean, sterilized airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. Use within 7 days. BBQ Hot Dog Burnt Ends... FAQ What does coconut rum do in BBQ sauce? It adds sweetness and a subtle tropical background note. After simmering with the other ingredients, it shouldn't taste strongly of coconut or like a cocktail. Can I make this BBQ sauce without coconut rum? Yes. The flavour will be slightly different, but you can replace it with additional apple juice and adjust the sweetness and acidity to taste. Why is my BBQ sauce still thin while hot? That's normal. Stop reducing it while it is slightly thinner than you want the finished sauce to be. The sauce thickens considerably as it cools. What can I use this BBQ sauce for? Use it with chicken, pork, beef, burgers, ribs or pulled meats, or brush it onto food as a glaze toward the end of cooking. How long does homemade BBQ sauce last? For this recipe, I recommend storing it in a clean airtight container in the refrigerator and using it within 7 days. Recipe Video:

Jump To Recipe Jump To Video About This Chicken Parmesan Cuisine: Italian-American Also Known As: Chicken Parmigiana, Chicken Parm Servings: 1 Main Components: Panko-crusted chicken breast, spaghetti, homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano Cooking Methods: Shallow-frying and skillet cooking What Makes This Version Different: The mozzarella is melted directly into the tomato sauce and spooned over the chicken just before serving, helping the panko crust remain crisp. Chicken Parmesan, also known as Chicken Parmigiana or Chicken Parm, is an Italian-American dish of breaded chicken cutlet served with tomato sauce and melted cheese. My version keeps the chicken crisp by melting fresh mozzarella directly into the tomato sauce and spooning the cheesy sauce over the chicken only when serving, rather than baking the breaded chicken underneath the sauce. Chicken Parmesan is one of those dishes I used to make every now and then when my kids wanted pasta, especially on the weekends. Despite how impressive it looks on the plate, there's really nothing particularly complicated about it. You're frying a breaded chicken cutlet, cooking some spaghetti, and bringing everything together with tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano. This recipe is written for one serving, but when the whole family is home, I usually make four. Despite its Italian-sounding name, Chicken Parmigiana as we know it is largely an Italian-American creation. Its roots are commonly associated with southern Italian dishes such as melanzane alla parmigiana, where eggplant is layered with tomato sauce and cheese. As Italian immigrants and their descendants adapted their cooking in the United States, meat became increasingly accessible and breaded cutlets eventually found their way into similar preparations. Chicken Parmigiana became one of the best-known versions. Serving Chicken Parmesan alongside spaghetti is likewise strongly associated with Italian-American cooking rather than something you're likely to encounter in quite the same form in Italy. And honestly, that's perfectly fine. Food changes as people move, adapt and cook with what they have. That's part of what makes food interesting in the first place. My version does one thing a little differently. Rather than covering the freshly fried chicken with tomato sauce and mozzarella and baking everything together until that beautiful crust becomes soft, I melt the mozzarella directly into the tomato sauce and spoon it over the chicken just before serving. You get crispy panko underneath, melted mozzarella on top and plenty of tomato sauce without completely drowning the cutlet. Better yet, if you have cheesy tomato sauce left over, don't throw it away. Chill it, cover it with stale bread the next morning, add some olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano, and broil it until crisp. One dinner quietly becomes tomorrow's brunch. Ingredients: (Serve 1) Chicken: Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, 1 Rapeseed / Sunflower / Canola / Peanut Oil, For Frying Unbleached All Purpose Flour, For Dredging , About 1/4 Cup Sea Salt, Pinch White Pepper, Pinch Smoked Paprika, Pinch Garlic Powder, Pinch Onion Powder, Pinch Egg Lightly Beaten, 1 Dijon Mustard, 1 Heaped TBSP High Quality Japanese Panko, For Dredging Pasta: Spaghetti, 100g Sea Salt, Pinch Tomato Sauce Homemade, 2 TBSP Italian Parsley Coarsely Chopped, A Handful Chicken Parmesan: Tomato Sauce Homemade, 1 Recipe Fresh Mozzarella Sliced, 1 Ball Parmigiano Reggiano Freshly Grated, For Topping Equipment: Cast Iron Skillet / Pan Directions: Please visit my "How To Make Tomato Sauce" page for the recipe. Prepare the Chicken Butterfly the chicken breast by carefully slicing horizontally through the thickest part, stopping just before cutting completely through. Open it like a book. Place the chicken between sheets of cling film or baking paper. Using a meat mallet, rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy skillet, gently pound the chicken until it is an even thickness throughout. Don't worry about making it extremely thin; the important thing is eliminating thick and thin spots so the chicken cooks evenly. Set it aside while you prepare the breading station. Prepare the Breading Station Set out three shallow bowls or plates. Combine the flour with salt, white pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in the first. Mix the beaten egg with Dijon mustard in the second. Place the Japanese panko in the third. Coat the chicken completely in the seasoned flour and shake away any excess. Dip it into the egg mixture, making sure the entire surface is wet. Finally, press it firmly into the panko until both sides are thoroughly coated. Fry the Chicken Pour enough cooking oil into a skillet to reach approximately 1 inch deep. Heat over medium heat. To test the oil without a thermometer, dip the end of a wooden chopstick into it. A steady stream of small bubbles around the chopstick indicates that the oil is ready. Carefully lower the chicken into the oil away from yourself to reduce the chance of splashing hot oil towards you. Shallow-fry until the underside is crisp and deeply golden. Flip and cook the other side until equally golden and the chicken is cooked through. For certainty, the thickest part of the chicken should reach 74°C / 165°F. Transfer to a wire rack to drain. A wire rack is preferable to kitchen paper because air can circulate underneath, helping the breading remain crisp. Cook the Spaghetti Add the hot water to a skillet over medium heat. Add the spaghetti and gradually coax the strands into the water as they soften. Don't force dry spaghetti, as it may snap. Once the pasta is completely submerged, season lightly with salt and stir occasionally to prevent the strands from sticking together. Continue cooking until the spaghetti is al dente and most of the water has been absorbed or evaporated. If the skillet becomes dry before the spaghetti is cooked, add a small splash of hot water and continue cooking. Add some of the homemade tomato sauce and chopped parsley. Toss thoroughly until the remaining starchy pasta water and tomato sauce form a light coating around the spaghetti. Transfer the pasta to your serving plate. Place the crispy chicken cutlet alongside it. Prepare the Mozzarella Tomato Sauce Add the remaining tomato sauce to the same skillet over medium-low heat. Scatter the sliced fresh mozzarella over the sauce. Cover the skillet and allow the trapped steam to gently melt the cheese. Once the mozzarella begins to soften, gently swirl the skillet to help distribute the melting cheese through the sauce. There's no need to aggressively stir it; leaving some pockets of mozzarella gives the sauce a lovely texture. Remove from the heat once the mozzarella is completely soft and melted. Assemble the Chicken Parmesan Spoon some of the hot cheesy tomato sauce over the centre of the crispy chicken. You don't have to cover every centimetre of the cutlet. Leaving some of the edges exposed helps preserve that panko crunch. While everything is still hot, finish with chopped parsley and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve immediately. Don't Waste the Remaining Sauce If you have leftover cheesy tomato sauce, let it cool, then refrigerate it promptly. Yes, the entire skillet. The following day, scatter parsley and some slices of stale bread over the sauce. Drizzle the bread lightly with olive oil and grate Parmigiano Reggiano over everything. Place under the oven broiler/grill on high until the sauce is bubbling and the bread becomes crisp and golden. Because broilers vary enormously in temperature and intensity, stay nearby and watch it closely rather than relying on a fixed cooking time. Eat while hot. Succulent... Make use of the leftover cheesy tomato sauce... Tips Don't drown the chicken. You've gone through the trouble of creating that crispy panko crust. Spoon the cheesy tomato sauce mainly over the centre and leave some crispy edges exposed. Pound the chicken evenly. This matters more than pounding it extremely thin. An even thickness means the centre cooks at roughly the same time as the breading becomes golden. Scale it easily. The recipe is written for one, but the components scale naturally for a family meal. Bread all the chicken first, fry in batches, and keep the cooked cutlets on a wire rack while you finish everything else. FAQ What is Chicken Parmesan? Chicken Parmesan, also called Chicken Parmigiana or Chicken Parm, is an Italian-American dish made with a breaded chicken cutlet, tomato sauce and cheese. It is commonly made with mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan and is often served with pasta in Italian-American cooking. Is Chicken Parmesan actually Italian? Chicken Parmesan as we know it today is primarily an Italian-American dish. It is commonly linked to southern Italian dishes such as melanzane alla parmigiana, which uses eggplant with tomato sauce and cheese. Italian-American cooks later developed meat-based versions, including the now-famous breaded chicken preparation. How do you keep Chicken Parmesan crispy? I don't bake my fried chicken underneath the tomato sauce and mozzarella. Instead, I melt fresh mozzarella directly into the tomato sauce and spoon it over the centre of the chicken immediately before serving. Leaving the edges uncovered also helps preserve some of that crispy panko crust. Can I use regular breadcrumbs instead of Japanese panko? You can, but the texture will be different. I prefer Japanese panko because its larger, lighter flakes produce a particularly crisp crust when shallow-fried. Why add Dijon mustard to the egg? It isn't traditional or compulsory. I use Dijon because it adds another layer of acidity and savouriness to the chicken without making the finished cutlet taste strongly of mustard. What temperature should chicken breast reach? The thickest part of the chicken should reach an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F. Do I have to serve Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti? No. Spaghetti with Chicken Parmesan is strongly associated with Italian-American cooking, but there's nothing stopping you from serving the chicken on its own, with another pasta, vegetables, salad or whatever makes sense to you. What can I do with leftover cheesy tomato sauce? Refrigerate it promptly in a covered container or, if practical, in the skillet. The following day, top the sauce with stale bread, parsley, olive oil and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, then broil/grill until the sauce bubbles and the bread becomes crisp and golden. Yesterday's dinner becomes today's brunch. Yesterday's dinner becomes today's brunch... Recipe Video:

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel Follow my Podcast on Spotify I disappeared from the podcast for almost a month. My day job got hectic. Overtime crept into weekdays and weekends. Cookie orders came in. There was baking, recipes and everything else that somehow decided to happen at once. Every week, I told myself: “I'll record the podcast next week.” Then another week disappeared. And it made me realize something. The podcast started because I wanted to talk. Fat Dough started because I loved cooking. Baking started because I enjoyed it. But when life gets busy enough, even the things we love can start feeling like another obligation. And that got me thinking: When did we stop doing things simply because they're fun? When Fun Didn't Need a Purpose For everyday life, we behave as though there's one giant universal clock ticking away in the background.As a kid, I was obsessed with gaming. My dad was into computer science, so I grew up around those enormous beige computers running MS-DOS. I still remember playing Lode Runner from a floppy disk. Then came the Sega Genesis. Warcraft. StarCraft. Diablo. Diablo II. I could spend an entire weekend gaming and achieve absolutely nothing. No money. No followers. No content. No productivity. I simply had a bloody good time. And somehow, that was enough. When Everything Became Productive Adulthood changed that. Work. Bills. Children. Responsibilities. And somewhere along the way, I stopped gaming, collecting Pokémon and basketball cards, building Gundam and drawing Dragon Ball characters. Today, there's another pressure too. You game? Stream it. You paint? Sell it. You cook? Start a business. You build Gundam? Film it. We're constantly encouraged to turn the things we enjoy into something productive. But why? Why can't we be good at something that makes absolutely no money? There's nothing wrong with turning a hobby into a business. Fat Dough itself grew from my love of cooking. But once money, customers, deadlines, analytics and expectations enter the picture, the relationship changes. Sometimes, when a hobby becomes work, we simply need another hobby. Something that owes nobody anything. Finding My Childhood Again Recently, watching my daughters get excited about Pokémon rekindled something in me. I started collecting again. Then came Gundam. Then graphic novels and comics. And yes, I'm a 45-year-old man doing things some people might consider childish. My response? Why not? They make me happy. I also still game with my youngest daughter every night at 9 PM. We've been doing it since 2017. I don't record it. I don't post it. It generates absolutely zero dollars. And maybe that's exactly why it's precious. Not everything meaningful needs an audience. Do Something for Absolutely Nothing Collect cards. Paint. Garden. Build Lego. Make pottery. Play guitar badly. Read comics. Write stories nobody will ever read. Whatever brings you joy. We already spend so much of our lives working to pay for everything else. It's perfectly okay for some of our time and money to accomplish absolutely nothing productive. Sometimes the return on investment is simply: I had a fucking good time. Maybe we don't stop playing because we grow old. Maybe we start feeling old because we stop playing. Find something that's just yours. And protect it. Listen to Episode 5 🎧 Spotify: ▶️ YouTube: Join the Conversation What's something you do purely because you enjoy it? No money. No productivity. No audience. Just fun. Stay curious. — Daniel Subscribe to my YouTube Channel Follow my Podcast on Spotify

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel Follow my Podcast on Spotify What the hell is time? Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. Years. Humans invented all of these ways to measure time. But did we actually invent time itself? Imagine someone living inside a completely sealed room. No windows. No clocks. No phone. No sunlight. Nothing telling them whether it's morning or night. Eventually, they might have absolutely no idea how long they've been inside. But their hair still grows. Their body still ages. They get hungry. They sleep. They wake. Things continue to change. So did they lose time? Or did they simply lose their ability to measure it? That's where this week's rabbit hole begins. Time Gets Weird For everyday life, we behave as though there's one giant universal clock ticking away in the background. Then Einstein came along and made everything considerably weirder. Time isn't quite the same for everybody. Motion matters. Gravity matters. In relativity, space and time aren't completely separate things either; we describe the universe using spacetime. And then there's entropy. Why can we remember yesterday but not tomorrow? Why does an egg smash onto the floor, but we never see the pieces spontaneously reassemble themselves and jump back onto the table? Why does time appear to have a direction at all? And somehow... this rabbit hole gets even deeper. A Cat, a Tree and the Universe Eventually, we have to talk about Schrödinger's cat. Don't worry. It's a hypothetical cat. From there comes another question: What exactly does it mean to observe something? Which leads naturally to that famous thought experiment: If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? And then we zoom out even further. When we look at the Sun, we're seeing light that left it roughly eight minutes ago. When we look at distant galaxies, we're seeing them millions or even billions of years in the past. In a strange way, astronomy is archaeology with light. We're never seeing the distant universe exactly as it is "right now." Maybe the Clock Isn't the Problem After Einstein, entropy, Schrödinger's cat, and the observable universe, this episode eventually comes back to something much more human. We're constantly measuring our lives against time. I should have succeeded by now. I'm too old to start. Everyone else is ahead of me. I'm running out of time. But who decided when our lives were supposed to happen? Maybe living in the present doesn't mean pretending time doesn't exist. Maybe it simply means stopping the constant measurement of our lives against it. We need clocks. We need calendars. We need time to organize our lives. Just don't turn the clock... into a scoreboard. Listen to Episode 4 🎧 Spotify: ▶️ YouTube: Join the Conversation Do you think time actually exists? Or have humans simply invented ways to measure change and duration? Let me know what you think. Stay curious. Daniel Subscribe to my YouTube Channel Follow my Podcast on Spotify