Uni Pasta x Bulgogi. One of my favourite things in the world to eat is Uni. While only available seasonally, Sea Urchin, as it better known, is decadent, thick, buttery and creamy. Infusing it into a creamy pasta sauce is the perfect way to get more out of it is sold in small portions. My favourite Pasta is Pappardelle, an Egg Noodle which works well with the creaminess of this dish. Pairing this together with Air-fried Bulgogi, Barbequed Korean Beef, is the perfect way to make Uni Pasta even more satisfying. A sumptuous balance of East meets West.
Fun fact: Maurizio Gucci‘s (the central subject in House of Gucci) favourite dish was Uni Pasta.
Ingredients:
1 large tray of Uni
16 oz Ribeye Steak, thinned in half
1/4 cup Korean BBQ Marinade
250g package of Pappardelle Pasta
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Evaporated Milk
1/4 cup Korean BBQ Marinade
3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp Truffle Oil
5 bulbs garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced scallion
Furikake
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Sea salt, to taste
Instructions:
1. Marinate steak for minimum one hour in refrigerator. Leave at room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking.Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Filipino Spaghetti. What is this and how is it different from the Italian classic version we know and love? Well, this Filipino favourite is very popular at birthday parties and fast food chains like pride of The Philippines, Jollibee, serve it as a menu staple. Defined by its bright red sauce, which has a base made of Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste and Banana Ketchup (tomatoes were hard to come by during the war!) and also its distinctly sweet flavour, we’re sure you’ll love this if you have a sweet tooth. Also, its protein is a sweet Filipino sausage called Longganisa – or sliced hot dogs – and pork. Stop judging. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! This is actually great!
Ingredients:
450g Spaghetti
2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 cup Banana Ketchup or Tomato Ketchup
1 can Tomato Paste
8 small Longganisa, sliced
1/2 lb ground pork
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps Brown Sugar
2 tbsps Oyster Sauce
3 tbsps unsalted butter
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup grated Cheddar/Mozzerella
Instructions:
1. Prepare Spaghetti till al dente. Strain in colander and set aside, reserving a ladle-full of liquid from pastaGallery:
(Photo credit: Mr Will Wong)
Creamy Seafood Bake. We’re still of the firm belief that cheese and seafood go well together. Something hearty, flavourful at every bite and decadent for this cold winter weather.
Ingredients:
2 lbs Manila Clams, scrubbedInstructions:
1. Prepare pasta till al dente and strain. Set aside.Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Meatballs x Pasta. Fall means comfort foods and our favourite always has been Spaghetti & Meatballs. Of course now that we’ve grown-up we’ve found little ways to elevate and make it a bit more sophisticated. We hope you like our take!
Ingredients:
17.6 oz Alfetra Pasta (i.e. Vesuvio)
1/2 lb medium ground beef (or lean if you prefer, medium makes for more tender results)
1/2 lb ground pork
1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
3 tbsps unsalted butter
4 slices of Mozzarella/Havarti Cheese, sliced into small squares
1 egg
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 white onion, minced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
1/4 cup chopped Basil
4 Bay Leaves
4-5 Anchovies in oil
2 tbsps organic raw sugar
2 tbsps Truffle Oil
Sea salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. In large bowl, use hands to mix ground beef and pork, egg, half of onion, parsley, basil and garlic, Panko, milk, Parmesan, 1 tbs of truffle oil, salt and pepper. Roll into about 20 meatballs, stuffing each with a bit of cheese slices.(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Pad Thai. Who doesn’t love Pad Thai? You can actually make this at home rather easily. I don’t love Bean Sprouts, hence I didn’t include them in my version, but if you do like them, you can add in 1-2 cups. You can substitute shrimp for chicken breast or thigh pieces. And I get some people just don’t do Shrimp Paste and Fish Sauce as they are pungent, but truly you’re not a fan of Pad Thai if you don’t enjoy those essential notes which make it authentic.
Ingredients:
1/2 package of Rice Noodles
12 Jumbo Argentinian Shrimp, shells removed and deveined
1 block of firm Tofu pat-dry and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup cashews, crushed
1/2 sweet red pepper, sliced thin
3 tbsps Tamarind Paste (if you absolutely can’t find, then ketchup it is)
3 tbsps Brown Sugar
2 tbsps Oyster Sauce
2 tbsps Fish Sauce
2 tbsps Rice Vinegar
1/2 tsp Sambal Sauce
1/4 tsp Shrimp Paste
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 white onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks green onion, chopped
1 lime, sliced in wedges
Cilantro, minced
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. In bowl, coat tofu cubes in a drizzle of olive oil. Air-fry at 380°F for about 12 minutes, stirring once. Divide in two batches if too crowded. You also can deep fry in oil till golden for same effect. Set aside.
2. Soak noodles in a large pot of hot water for about 7 minutes till noodles are “cooked”. Drain noodles, but ensure they are not out of water for more than 10 minutes as they will dry and harden.
3. In small bowl, mix fish, tamarind and oyster sauces with sugar, rice vinegar and shrimp paste. Set aside.
4. In large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Sautée red peppers, green and white onions and garlic (also sprouts if you like) till caramelized.
5. Add shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes till slightly cooked. Shift with spatula to side of skillet.
6. Add whisked eggs and scramble with shrimp, pepper and onion mixture. Once almost cooked, shift to side of skillet again. The trick is not to cook the eggs and shrimp too well just yet.
7. Toss-in tofu, half of cashews and bowl of sauce and cook till you get a bit of bubbling.
8. Toss-in noodles and coat in sauce entirely. Heat for about 2 minutes and remove from skillet.
9. Transfer to plate, layering shrimp and tofu on-top of noodles. Garnish with lime wedges, cilantro, more cashews and some green onion. Serve.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Pasta with Shrimp and Mussels in Wine-Cream Sauce. This is one you save for someone you love a lot! The way the juices from the mussels and shrimp infuse into this gorgeous creamy wine sauce is perfection. Be careful not to overcook your seafood. You want to remove this from the heat as soon as they’re cooked.
Ingredients:
450g spaghetti, cooked
2 lbs mussels, scrubbed clean and soaked in salt water
1 lb shrimp
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup 18% cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 tbsps unsalted butter
4 tbsps flour
1 white onion, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
Handful of Cilantro, minced
Sea salt and pepper
Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
1. Cook spaghetti till Al Dente. Strain and set aside.
Jumbo Shrimp Pasta in Pesto. Few things are as decadent as Seafood on Pasta. And it can be prepared so quickly! If you can find jumbo Argentinian Shrimp at your Grocer, it’s definitely worth it for this. I stock-up on my Trader Joe’s every time I visit the U.S., but you can use whatever basil-based Pesto you like in this.
Ingredients:
454g Spaghetti
190g jar Trader Joe’s Genovese Pesto (or your favourite)
15 jumbo Argentinian Shrimp, shelled and de-veined
1 cup Arugula/Spinach mix
4 tbsps unsalted butter
12 Grape Tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 red chillies, seeded and minced
1 tbsp basil, chopped
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Parsley, minced for garnish
Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Meatless Sausage x Peppers. This is a hearty Italian classic which I felt could’ve been replicated with a plant protein. You easily could swap it out for meat sausage and that’s totally cool! I chose a tiny pasta, Tubetti, to sop-up all the liquid here, that way none of the flavour in the sauce gets lost. This has got a bit of kick, so you can omit the chillis if you like and use the non-spicy Yves Sausage as well. You’ll most definitely have leftovers! 🇮🇹
Ingredients:
1 green, yellow and red pepper each, seeded and sliced thin
1 450g package of Pasta
1 package Yves Spicy Italian Veggie Sausage, each sausage cut into six pieces
1 pint mushrooms, sliced thin
1 small onion, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 red chillies, seeded and minced
1/2 cup red wine
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Handful of chopped basil
Cilantro
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Instructions:
1. Cook pasta in salted water, drain in colander. Do not rinse.
2. In large skillet, heat oil medium-high heat. Brown sausage pieces on both sides. Remove from skillet.
3. Add more oil, sautée garlic, onion and chillies till translucent.
4. Add peppers and mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook till fully caramelized and pan has some brown bits.
5. Add wine and cook down till some of liquid is gone. You can add a bit of water if there isn’t much liquid there.
6. Add tomatoes, basil and sausage into pan and bring to boil.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes.
8. Add pasta to the skillet and coat evenly, allowing pasta to soak-up sauce. Add one more round of salt and pepper.
9. Scoop onto plate. Garnish with cilantro and top with Parmesan Cheese. Serve.
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Creamy Baked Lobster x Cheese. Cheese and Seafood I’ve been told are a big no-no, but rules were meant to be broken, especially when they taste this spectacular! Enjoy this decadent dinner, which is a lot more simple to prepare than you’d think.
Ingredients:
2 lb lobster, cleaned and sectioned (reserve a tablespoon of Tomalley)
450g package spaghetti
4 cups Baby Spinach
1/2 cup shredded Old Cheddar
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup 5% cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 stalk green onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 strip bacon, diced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cilantro, chopped to garnish
Instructions:
1. Prepare spaghetti, cooking till al dente. Strain in colander. Place spaghetti in a deep 13×9″ tray.
2. Boil water and cook spinach till it wilts, drain and gently squeeze out water. Place aside.
3. Preheat oven at 375°F.
4. In sauce pan, melt butter and sautée garlic. Add bacon and green onion, salt and pepper. Cook till bacon is done.
5. Add spinach, cook one minute and add-in cream. Bring to a slight boil. Add tablespoon of reserved Tomalley (fatty goop) into sauce and stir throughout.
6. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour and mix with equal parts water to form a thick, smooth paste.
7. Add a bit of paste into cream sauce, stirring till sauce reaches a thick consistency. Remove from heat.
8. Arrange lobster pieces on-top of spaghetti. Sprinkle sea salt, to taste.
9. Pour cream sauce over lobster pieces.
10. Combine both cheeses together and sprinkle over lobster. Then sprinkle some grated Parmesan.
11. Bake for 25 minutes, till cheese turns golden. Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro and let sit for 15 minutes before serving
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Meatless Lasagna. Growing-up I had Lasagna maybe twice. Being from a Chinese family, we rarely ever ate Italian other than my Dad’s take on Spaghetti, which though not bad, was Tomato Paste and Ketchup-based with ground pork, peas and carrots. You can imagine the shock of my classmates who got introduced to Hong Kong-style Spaghetti at my sixth birthday party!
My Mom was excited that I asked her to help assemble my Meatless Lasagna and I’m glad I got to show them a proper Lasagna. No processed cheese, LOL. 🧀
You cannot tell this is meatless. It’s got the same heartiness and flavour a Meat Lasagna has. Everyone should be pitching-in their part and reducing our carbon footprint. Eat meatless once a week. This is an easy way to do it!
Ingredients:
9 Lasagne noodles
2 packages of Yves Original Veggie Ground Round
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella
1/2 tub of Ricotta
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 white onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon organic raw sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
1. Boil noodles till al dente. Place aside in a tray and drizzle a bit of oil on them to prevent from sticking.
2. In medium-sized sauce pan, sauteé garlic and onion. Add-in peppers and mushrooms, cook till mushrooms wilt. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add-in Veggie Ground Round.
4. Cook about 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. Add-in crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Add 1/4 tomato paste can of water.
6. Bring to boil and add sugar.
7. Reduce to low heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Pre-heat oven at 375°F.
9. Prepare a 13 x 9″ tray, ladle some of the tomato mixture in, covering bottom.
10. Layer 3 Lasagne noodles on-top.
11. Add layer of Mozzarella, followed by dollops of Ricotta, covering surface.
12. Add 3 more noodles. Ladle some tomato mixture on-top, then Mozzarella and Ricotta.
13. Repeat steps 10 to 12 again.
14. Add 3 final noodles on-top. Ladle tomato mixture on-top. Cover with Mozzarella.
15. Cover tray with foil and bake 35 minutes.
16. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes.
17. Cool 20 minutes and serve.
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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