Despite being over a decade when I stepped food in Italy, I still remember one of the local pizzeria that we stopped in. In that pizzeria, I had a slice of pizza that defined the gold standard for thick-crust pizza. I was frozen from a night-time wintertime walk to the diner, running on a body clock that was decidedly not dinner-time, and more than a tad grouchy after a walk in subzero temperatures. But the pizza was so astonishing, my mood did a 180 degrees turn. The pizza had a crisp base fired to a gorgeous golden brown, and crunches delightfully with every bite. It was something of a revelation. 

The restaurant cemented a special place in my heart for another reason: I gave a shock to the owner by telling him that I’d never had an espresso before. (What? It was my first night in Italy...) He was stunned, and despite being close to midnight, he made a shot of espresso for me on the house, just so I could no longer make that claim. 

The event was so memorable, so much so that when I made Kenji’s garlic focaccia recipe, the crispiness of the base brought back the memory of their formidable pizzas. And one afternoon when I finally gave it a go, it was as good as I had dreamt it would be. 

Thick Crust Pizza Recipe 
Adapted from Garlic Focaccia at Serious Eats
If you don't have a cast-iron skillet (I know I don't...), you can get great results with stainless steel. I use a 11" stainless steel baking pan, which develops a crisper crust than using non-stick pans. I usually omit the garlic butter for ease of cooking, but layering this with tomato puree as a sauce base would be rather decadent.

INGREDIENTS

Pizza Sauce

1 whole head garlic

1 tablespoon (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil

For the Pizza Sauce

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). 

 Break a head of the garlic apart slightly. On a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle the garlic with 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Leave each garlic clove uncut: roasted whole garlic cloves are sweet and fragrant, which slicing into the garlic cloves, even a little, will result in a harsh and pungent garlicky taste. Wrap tightly with foil and roast for about an hour, until garlic is completely tender. Peel the roasted garlic cloves and discard the skin. Mash the garlic flesh and combine with tomato paste. Add oregano or thyme to taste.  

This is another of my milksha-inspired drink. It's a combination of two rich-tasting ingredients in a cup of deliciousness. Still, making this at home entails peeling a taro (you might want to wear gloves because direct skin contact with raw taro can be itchy), steam the taro, mash it then chill it before you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labour. 

Did this put you off off trying this recipe? (Great going, me.) Maybe it depends on how large your appetite is for a hearty cup of taro milk shake, or how many people in your vicinity is craving a cup of taro milk shake. Would I make it again? Eh, maybe. Or I can just buy a fresh cup from milksha whenever the mood strikes. 

Taro Milk Shake Recipe

Makes about 6-8 drinks. Do you have the appetite?

INGREDIENTS
300-400g, about half a medium sized taro

20g caster sugar

Large pinch of salt

Full cream milk, adjusted to taste

STEPS
Peel taro until there's no brown bits left on the flesh, and cut the taro flesh into 2-3 inches cubes. Place in steamer and steam for about 30-45 mins, until softened and can be easily smashed.

Add sugar and salt to the hot taro, and mash until well incorporated. For every 300g of taro, you want about 20g sugar. Let chill completely in the fridge. This mixture can be covered and kept in the fridge for a couple of days. 

When ready to serve, add a couple of scoops of mashed taro (about 50g) to a glass of milk. Combine using a fork or whisk (or a handheld blender for the best effect.) Serve immediately. 

Setting your oven to 290C or greater will give your pizza that nice blistered crust. A pizza stone is porous and has a high Specific Heat Capacity, and so baking pizzas on one gives the crust a bit more of a crisp. A cast-iron pan is a viable alternative, and also frames the pizza for an oh-so-instagramable photo. 

If you have an oven capable of reaching 290C, or have high maintenance cast-iron pans or dedicated pizza making equipment around, this is not the pizza recipe for you. For the rest of us who craves pizza three times a week but don't have shelf space or money for all these special equipment, welcome! Despite using stainless steel sheet pans (salvaged from ancient toasters and the likes) and an oven that tops at 210C, my sister calls this the best pizza she had in a long time. That makes me pretty confident that anyone can do this with their existing home equipment too.

A pizza dinner can feel like a special affair, but it isn't meant to be expensive. After all, it started off as food for the working poor, who needed something hot, filling and to be eaten on-the-go. I like my pizzas with a heap of onions, which is inexpensive and melds into something sweet and wonderful in the oven. Shiitake mushrooms is always a good option, and literally any protein you find hanging around your freezer can find its way into a pizza easily. Leftover salmon or frozen prawns, sausages and bacon, and any and all bits of minced or sliced meat in the freezer. I unfreeze whatever I see, and then hunt around the spice cupboard and fridge for sauces and seasonings. Think of this pizza as a casserole - one with a crisp flatbread and topped with an abundance of cheese. 

Thin Crust Pizza Recipe - for the Ordinary Oven  

Adapted from Foolproof Pan Pizza Recipe by Serious Eats 

Makes for 3 medium sized (11x8") pizzas

The pizza dough has plenty of downtime waiting for the dough to proof. But on the bright side, there's not too much work involved, and it can be a fun family activity for any young 'uns around the house. This is another winning recipe from the team at Serious Eats, and I've come to realise that I'd never done a recipe from them that didn't turn out perfect. They have several other pizza dough recipes, including one New York style and a Neapolitan Pizza version. There are many different styles of pizza which can be quite intimidating, but this guide from King Arthur is a good one to start off with. 

INGREDIENTS

400g bread flour, plus more for dusting

10g salt 

4g instant yeast (about 1 teaspoon)

275g water 

8g extra-virgin olive oil (0.25 ounces; about 2 teaspoons), plus more to coat pans and for drizzling

1 1/2 cups canned tomato puree, or a pizza sauce such as New York–style pizza sauce

300g shredded mozzarella, or a combination of mozzarella with other shredded cheeses (such as cheddar)

Toppings - see below for suggestions

STEPS

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil until there are no pockets of dry ingredients. (The bowl should be large enough to accommodate the dough proofing, which can triple in size.)

Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then allow dough to rest at room temperature for at least 8 hours, and up to 24 hours. In a warm environment, the dough may overproof near the end of that range. Dough should rise dramatically and fill bowl. 

Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in the bottom of 3 pans. Dust your work surface, hands and the top of the dough with flour, and divide the dough into 3 pieces. Form each into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself. Rotate until a tight smooth surface is formed.

Place each ball of dough in the prepared pizza pan, turning to coat the dough with olive oil. Press the dough flat and outwards to the edge of the pan as possible. It'll shrink back inwards now, that's normal. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. 

After 2 hours, the dough would be more relaxed, and you should be able to coax it to the edges of the pan. Using your fingertips, burst any large bubbles that appear. Gently lift off one edge of the dough to let air bubbles underneath escape, then repeat along the other edges until there are no more air bubbles and the dough is evenly spread around the pan.

Top each dough with a layer of tomato purée, up to the very edge of the dough. Add desired toppings (see below). Sprinkle with cheese, again all the way to the edges. 

Set a tray at the lowest rack. Preheat oven to maximum temperature (which is about 210C for mine). As you put the pizza in, turn off the top heating coil (leaving only the bottom coil on.) Bake for 20-25 mins, until the bottom is lightly browned and crisp (you can remove the pizza from the oven and inspect with a thin spatula.  If bottom is not as crisp as desired, return to oven.) Then, turn on the top coil and bake for another 5 mins, until the cheese is bubbling and browned.  

Allow the pizza to cool slightly before serving. Grate Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese over finished pizza (optional)

Toppings: 

- Sliced onions, shiitake mushrooms, roasted garlic help fill out your pizza and give layers of taste and texture. 

- Proteins (poultry, lamb or beef or pork) is always welcome. These can be minced or sliced. You will need to cook the meat prior to adding it to the pizza. I like seasoning the meat with thyme, cumin, salt and pepper (with a couple of teaspoons of baking soda to tenderise the meat), and sauté over medium heat until cooked. Premixed seasoning or sauces (even Lee Kum Kee) would work too.  

- seafood: salmon, prawns, squid. These should be cooked prior. Do not add it to the pizza before baking the pizza off, as the seafood will overcook in the oven. Cook the pizza to completion, then add the seafood in. My new favourite pizza has a combination of thinly sliced kimchi, prawns, mushrooms, garlic and onions. 

- pepperoni or sausages, sliced.

- ...boba pizza? 

This recipe was born from a well-meaning passionfruit jam recipe coupled with my complete inability to follow the steps. But enough about that. 

It’s not technically caramels. To be honest, I’m not sure what to classify it as. What it is, is that it is pliable. It’s like the olden-day malt candy Singapore used to sell by the roadside, where one can  twirl the candy around a stick or a spoon. This has a most intoxicating floral fragrance, and tastes warm and bright, like the midday sun. The floral fragrance and sweetness (but not too sweet!) would make a rather good filling for chocolate ganache tarts, which I’ll probably get around to one of these days. But so far, I’m content with sneaking a bite every day straight from my Tupperware.

Passionfruit Caramels

Accidentally created when following the steps for passionfruit jam  

INGREDIENTS

4 passion fruits

Enough water to cover. 

90g caster sugar 

50ml reserved water

STEPS

Wash the outside of the passionfruits.

Scrape out the pulps from the passion fruit into a blender. Pulse several times, to break up the pulp and release the juice. Run the mixture through a sieve to collect the juice. 

In a medium sized saucepan, place passionfruit husks and pour in water until the water comes up to just about level with the passionfruit husks. They'll float a little, which is alright. Set over medium heat and boil for about 15-20 mins, until the inner skin turns translucent. This water is rich in pectin and is used to thicken up the passionfruit juice afterwards. 

In another saucepan, combine passionfruit juice and caster sugar and about 1-2 ladles of passionfruit husk-water. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until thickened and syrupy. It can boil up quite dramatically several times, so use a medium sized saucepan. Remove from heat when mixture has thickened enough such that running a spatula across the pan leaves a trail.

Pour into a container and let cool in the fridge, it'll thicken further as it cools, turning into a soft caramel-like texture.

Near my workplace, Milksha opened to great fanfare, but I could say for certain that one was as excited as I was. Their Taro Milk earned its place in my heart, with its combination of taro purée and chunky taro pieces.  Recently, a friend had recommended their excellent Black Sesame Milk. Not everybody is a fan of black sesame, but I enjoy its nutty fragrance. 

Several months later, as my confidence with the Joyoung machine grew, I had an abundance of black sesame cream (several batches actually) hanging around the fridge. On a whim, I added milk to one of them, and the results bears a remarkable similarity to the ones sold at Milksha. 

I’m still trying to suss out a way of recreating their Taro Milk, but meanwhile, I have this black sesame milk to tide me over until that day comes. 

My mom took a bite and put her fork down. My dad asked me about each step of this recipe. And after they cleared their plates, they lingered on and picked at whatever's left. That's how I knew this stir-fry recipe is a hit.    

The caramelised sugar and fish sauce is an amalgamation of sweetness and unami, and despite my reservations at the amount of fish sauce in the recipe, it turned out quite fine. Fish sauce can be quite pungent, and while common in Vietnamese, Thai and Teochew dishes, is not typical in other Chinese cuisines, let alone in a Cantonese kitchen.   

As I grow older, I begin to appreciate traditional Asian flavours more. Fish sauce and dashi have found their place in our fridge, and herbs like lemongrass can brighten up a dish quite like nothing else out there. We now have a small thriving patch of lemongrass in our gardens, growing alongside spring onions, lime trees and pots of chilli - undemanding plants that are cheap to grow. 

This is an easy recipe that doesn't take much time to do. The chicken would benefit from a quick toss in salt and cornflour about 30 minutes beforehand (but it's no great loss if you omit this step if rushed for time). You can put the rest of the ingredients together quickly as the sugar caramelises on the stove.  

Stir-Fry Vietnamese Caramelised Chicken 

Adapted from Milk Street Food

INGREDIENTS

=============

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces

2 tbsp corn flour 

50g (¼ cups) granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons coconut water or water, divided

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 fresno or serrano chilies, stemmed and sliced into thin rings

1 stalk lemon grass, trimmed to the lower 5 or 6 inches, bruised

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 spring onions, sliced thinly and diagonally

STEPS 

============

Season the chicken lightly with salt. Toss with corn flour to velvet the meat pieces. Set aside for 30 minutes. 

In a large pan, combine sugar and 2 tablespoons of the coconut water until no dry lumps remain. Set over medium-high heat and swirl the pan occasionally, until the sugar turns deep brown and begins lightly smoking, about 4 to 6 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the fire. Carefully add fish sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons coconut water; the mixture will hiss and release steam. Return the pan to medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring as you do until no hardened caramel remains in the mixture. Add the chilies, lemon grass, ginger and pepper, and mix the spices in with the caramel for about 30 seconds, until they release their fragrance. Increase to medium-high and stir in the chicken slices. Return the mixture to a simmer and let cook for 10 to 14 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. 

Garnish with chopped scallions and chili. 

It is astonishingly humid in Singapore now, and even being in the shade at home brings little comfort, when the open window brings even warmer air into the house. The middle of the year is typically when Singaporeans leave for vacations, but like everything else in this current health crisis, all my travel plans went up in smoke. While the borders to other countries remain shut, and I’m still leery even of unnecessary trips out of the safety of my house, it seems the only thing to do is to crank up the AC and to drink our way through the day with plenty of beer, coconuts and cold brew coffee. And occasionally, perhaps spending an afternoon arranging coffee beans on a table. 

But this cold brew recipe is worth all the extra effort you bring to the table (see what I did there?). Each glass brings a brief reprieve from the heat, and between everyone in the family (well, mainly me), I've been running through my coffee bean stash something fierce. 

Amidst all the bad news this year that we had been hearing about on a daily basis, it's nice to be able to unplug for a while, kick back with chilled glass of coffee and enjoy a pleasant afternoon.   

Cold Brew Coffee Recipe

Original Recipe from Serious Eats

INGREDIENTS

170g whole coffee beans (about 1 1/2 cups whole beans), coarsely ground

1020g (about 4 1/4 cups) cold water

STEPS

1. In a large pot, combine ground coffee and water. Stir until well mixed. Cover with a lid and let stand at room temperature, for 8 to 12 hours.

2. Strain well. Transfer the concentrate into an airtight container. Refrigerate until well-chilled.

To serve: Combine fresh milk with the coffee concentrate. Adjust proportion to taste. 

Variation: Melbourne Iced Coffee: Taking a leaf out of one of my favourite cafes in Melbourne, substitute the milk for a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a richer creamier taste.