Recipes
These are recipes I make regularly. No SEO padding, no ten paragraphs about my childhood before you get to the ingredients. Just what works in my Portland kitchen.
Philosophy: If I wouldn't make it myself or serve it to friends, it's not here. These recipes prioritize flavor and technique over convenience, but they're all achievable at home.
All Recipes
French-Style Cultured Butter
Real cultured butter with flavor and complexity. Takes time (mostly hands-off) but the difference is huge. Includes sourcing tips for Portland and bulk buying strategies. Yield: 3.5 lbs butter + real cultured buttermilk from 1 gallon cream.
Flaky Pie Crust (Lard + Butter)
Simple pie dough with lard and butter for good flakiness. Makes one crust - double for a full pie. The 50/50 fat combination gives you flaky layers from the lard and rich flavor from the butter.
Shio Koji (Salt Koji)
Japanese fermented seasoning made from rice koji, salt, and water. Use it to marinate fish, chicken, pork, or vegetables - the enzymes tenderize protein and add deep umami flavor. Simple to make, lasts 6+ months refrigerated, transforms everything it touches.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Flaky, buttery biscuits that are significantly better with homemade cultured butter and real cultured buttermilk. Simple reliable recipe with proper folding technique for maximum layers. Best eaten warm or used for breakfast sandwiches.
Buttermilk Pancakes
Fluffy buttermilk pancakes with vanilla. Simple and reliable, noticeably better with real cultured buttermilk and homemade butter. Add blueberries for extra flavor. Light and fluffy with a subtle tang.
Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken
Grilled chicken using shio koji as a tenderizing base, then finished with Peruvian spice blend. The koji breaks down proteins overnight while the cumin-paprika marinade adds characteristic flavor. Juicy meat with crispy, well-seasoned skin. Best cooked over charcoal.
Ube Crinkle Cookies
Vibrant purple cookies with pistachio-vanilla flavor from ube (Filipino purple yam). Soft, cakey, with dramatic crinkle effect from powdered sugar coating. Last time I served these, 4 different people asked for the recipe. Simple to make but looks impressive.
More recipes coming soon...
Japanese dishes, bread, fermentation projects, and Portland ingredient spotlights in the works.
What's Coming
- Japanese Basics: Proper dashi, homemade miso, Japanese curry from scratch
- Bread: Sourdough, Japanese milk bread (shokupan), focaccia
- Fermentation: Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, hot sauce
- Oregon-Sourced: Recipes highlighting local ingredients and suppliers
- Greenhouse Experiments: Cooking with homegrown citrus and hydroponics produce
Recipe Requests? If there's something you want to see, let me know. I'm especially interested in recipes that make good use of Portland's food access and growing conditions.