Recipes | I've Been Cooking

Yuca hervida

Cuban-style yuca hervida with garlicky citrus mojo: tender boiled cassava finished with olive oil, lime, garlic, onion, and herbs.

🇨🇷 Costa Rica$

Salade de chouchoute

A bright, crunchy Réunion-style chayote (chouchoute) salad with carrot, onion, herbs, a zesty lime-vinegar–mustard dressing, a hint of chili heat, and nutty sesame seeds.

🇵🇫 French Polynesia$

Molokhia

A classic Egyptian/Levantine molokhia: tender jute mallow simmered in savory stock and finished with a sizzling garlic–coriander tasha, served alongside vermicelli rice, lemon wedges, and warm pita.

🇪🇬 Egypt$$

Empada Santomense

Empada Santomense is a savory São Toméan hand pie filled with spiced chicken, olives, and aromatic vegetables, wrapped in a buttery pastry enriched with palm oil accents. It’s hearty, fragrant, and perfect for a comforting meal or celebratory spread.

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe$$

Qurut

Qurut is a tangy, savory yogurt-based sauce/drink inspired by Central Asian dried yogurt (qurut), thinned with water and scented with garlic and mint. Refreshing on its own, or served as a dip or drizzle for breads, vegetables, and grilled meats.

🇦🇫 Afghanistan$

Merguez

Merguez is a spicy North African sausage made from lamb and beef, seasoned with harissa, paprika, cumin, coriander, fennel, garlic, and cayenne. It’s bold, smoky, and aromatic—excellent grilled or pan-seared and served with flatbreads, couscous, or salads.

🇩🇿 Algeria$$

Pyongyang Manduguk

Pyongyang Manduguk is a North Korean–style dumpling soup featuring a light, clean beef-kelp broth with delicate dumplings filled with tofu and vegetables. It’s comforting yet refined, highlighting subtle flavors and a clear, savory stock. Perfect for a nourishing, warming main course.

🇰🇵 North Korea$$

Xiao Long Bao

Shanghainese soup dumplings filled with savory pork and rich gelatinized chicken stock that melts into soup as they steam; served with black vinegar and chili oil.

🇨🇳 China$$

Chapli Kebab

Chapli Kebab is a boldly spiced, shallow‑fried beef patty from the Pakistani–Afghan region, studded with onion, tomato, herbs, and crushed spices. Crispy at the edges and juicy inside, it’s finished with lemon for brightness and served with chutney, naan, or salad.

🇵🇰 Pakistan$$

Solwara Sipsup

Solwara Sipsup is a fragrant Papua New Guinean coconut seafood soup brimming with fish, prawns, and mussels, brightened with lime, lemongrass, and ginger. Root vegetables like sweet potato and taro make it hearty, while bird’s eye chili adds gentle heat.

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea$$$

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