For Crying Out Loud

Thailand is a vegan paradise any day of the year. The word “jay” (เจ) is the key that will unlock centuries of Buddhist tradition, built on the principles of compassion towards all creatures. Splashed across yellow flags, restaurant signs, market stalls, and food packages, it’s as common as seeing an “open” sign on establishments elsewhere.

During Thailand’s annual Vegetarian Festival, it’s the only game in town, transforming even the most meat-centric dishes with plant-based makeovers. Experiencing firsthand how incredible the food scene was on a random visit in January, I can’t begin to imagine such superabundance on display. It’s a dream of mine to return in time for the festivities, though I may truly eat myself to ruin, given half a chance.

Much of the attraction is the opportunity to eat traditional Thai foods that usually don’t come with a naturally vegan or vegetarian option. Something like Crying Tiger (เสือร้องไห้; Suea Rong Hai) is exactly what I would make a beeline for. As meat-centric as main dishes come, it’s essentially just grilled beef served with Nam Jim Jaew (น้ำจิ้มแจ่ว). Bold yet balanced, a riot of intense flavors, it’s a deceptively simple dish that packs a serious punch. Despite how central the beef is to the whole concept, it’s just as simple to make it meatless.

While I remain firmly grounded for this year’s Vegetarian Festival, the distance won’t stop me from getting a taste of the celebration at home. Lion’s mane mushrooms are truly the beef of the earth, capable of being compressed into outrageously decadent steaks, the likes of which could satiate the most ravenous omnivore. A hard sear and heavy weight develops a smoky, charred crust encasing a succulent and tender interior, ideal for dousing in that fiery dipping sauce for a final kiss of heat.

The name “Crying Tiger” is considerably more contested than its ingredient list. There are plenty of theories about what exactly brought those tears to the tiger’s eyes. My favorite is the most folkloric, imagining that people would come across the remains of cattle hunted by tigers, with the brisket left behind. They would take this particularly rich cut for themselves, imagining the tiger looking back in regret at the delicious morsel it had abandoned. Hopefully it’s some consolation to our tiger that there was no kill necessary to make this particular prize.

Even if you skip the entree, don’t pass on the jaew. Even if you make the entree, you’re best advised to double the jaew. This potent mixture of dried chiles, lime juice, toasted rice powder, and shallot is the sort of condiment that makes itself indispensable, bringing enough heat, acidity, and depth to transform whatever happens to be within dipping distance. Though it usually contains fish sauce, I find that a combination of soy sauce and tamarind fills the gap with all the salty, tangy, pungent umami you could ask for.

Crying Tiger is served without fanfare or pretension, alongside a mound of sticky rice and fresh vegetables or herbs to temper the intensity. I like keeping that same spirit here. Let the lion’s mane take center stage, supported by a cooling, gently contrasting cast of characters. A few slices of crisp cucumbers, juicy tomato wedges, or fresh lettuce is all you really need, though you could always add a side of papaya salad or a light vegetable soup to stretch your entree into more servings.

Thailand will have to wait. Until then, homemade sliced lion’s mane mushroom steak, glossy with with fiery jaew, is hardly suffering. When you eat enough hot chilies to bring tears to your own eyes, you can almost imagine the tiger’s face when it realizes the best part of the meal has escaped its paws yet again.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)1 Comment

Rice Pudding Paradox

How do you make rice pudding without rice? No, that’s not a pun, but a genuine question that Justice Thurgood Marshall asked himself before creating Farmers Rice Pudding (Rice Not Included). A gem of Depression era cooking, making the most of meager rations, I can’t help but respect such reckless creativity.

It’s hard to imagine a time when rice, renowned for being abundant and affordable, would be subject to such shortages. In the early 1900’s, however, most American farmers focused their efforts on wheat and corn, leaving rice production concentrated in a relatively small number of regions along the Gulf Coast and in parts of California. Domestic production alone wasn’t enough to meet growing demand and imports were out of the question on rapidly shrinking budgets.

The technique itself, of cutting an egg into flour until it resembles tiny grains, is much older than the Depression. It’s a traditional Central and Eastern European method used to make tiny dumplings or noodles, such as Hungarian tarhonya, nokedli, or German spaetzle. These dishes are usually savory, rather than sweet, saying more about the American proclivity for sugar than anything else. Even in tough times, we must have our desserts.

While my pantry will never be without rice, the same can be said of flour. And oh, so many types of flour at that! Driven now by innovation rather than scarcity, this recipe presents a unique opportunity for customization. Personally, I adore all-purpose einkorn flour and will always use it over conventional white wheat, which is exactly what I did here. It adds an uncanny buttery flavor and flaxen color, to say nothing of all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein, especially compared to long grain white rice. Studded with tiny dumplings, chewy but yielding, I might like it even better than the conventional whole grain custard.

Justice Marshall was clearly ahead of his time. Riceless pudding never garnered the same acclaim as mock apple pie or wacky cake, which is a real shame. Maybe rice pudding was just never as popular as other desserts, too homely to share, even in a time before social media. It may sound like a novelty, but I’m shocked to find myself making it as a regular treat now. For such humble fare, it really tastes stunningly decadent.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)13 Comments

Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!

Food is all around us, if we’re patient and perceptive enough to look. For me, it’s something of a personal mantra. My passion for foraging took root in childhood, when I first discovered wild raspberries along the side of the road with my dad. In San Francisco, it truly blossomed, where Golden Gate Park became a veritable salad buffet, helping augment my meager college student’s budget.

Foraging, once a necessity for survival, is now an endangered skill. Whether it’s a lack of awareness or a lack of access, fewer people than ever are feeding themselves with the incredible abundance found right in our backyards. Happy Snacking, Don’t Die! by Alexis Nikole Nelson, better known as @blackforager to the online world, is a cookbook and a guidebook all in one, set on introducing the open-minded to the wonders of wild edibles.

Alexis is the ideal teacher for her inviting, disarmingly gentle, and encouraging approach, while taking the laws of the land seriously. As one could surmise from the title, she doesn’t romanticize foraging or gloss over its inherent dangers. Instead, she repeatedly emphasizes proper identification, ethical harvesting, and knowing when to simply leave a plant alone. That grounding makes the book feel trustworthy, even as its playful tone keeps things light.

Photo by JB Douglas

What elevates Happy Snacking, Don’t Die! beyond a field guide with recipes is Alexis herself. Her curiosity is infectious, her humor lands naturally, and her passion for reconnecting people with the landscape around them shines through on every page. The educational sections are approachable without talking down to the reader, making even unfamiliar botanical concepts feel accessible.

The recipes are similarly welcoming. Rather than treating wild ingredients as exotic novelties, Alexis incorporates them into dishes that feel both achievable and genuinely worth making. Some recipes inevitably depend on access to specific plants that not every reader will encounter, but that’s less a flaw of the book than a reality of regional foraging. More importantly, they illustrate the culinary potential of ingredients that most of us have spent our lives overlooking.

Candied Violets

Edible flowers have always been a favorite find of mine, since store-bought blossoms pale in comparison, if not outright wilt and rot in their packages. Candied Violets (page 53) preserve the harvest in aquafaba and sugar, using the same time-honored techniques that pastry chefs have practiced for centuries. Delicate and fragile as butterfly wings, they take on a crystalline sheen as they dry. Made for adorning equally precious sweet treats, even the broken petals can serve as beautiful natural sprinkles.

Lambsquarters & Artichoke Dip

Lambsquarters are also known as “wild spinach,” so it makes sense that they can seamlessly slip into the role of the conventional supermarket staple. Lambsquarters & Artichoke Dip (page 139), they blend right into a crowd-pleasing appetizer that no one would ever suspect started with a common backyard weed. Carried by the creamy, cheesy base, I can see any type of green vegetable working here, depending on what you can find in season.

Oyster Mushroom Chowda

Though I personally prefer a thick chowder, full of vegetables and herbs, the more brothy Oyster Mushroom Chowda (page 242) is no less comforting, especially on a chilly day. My mushrooms weren’t exactly foraged, but at least they were homegrown, thanks to a neighbor whose enthusiasm for cultivating oyster mushrooms has benefited my kitchen as well. Kombu and dulse lend a distinctly oceanic flavor, evocative of the mollusks that inspired the stew. It’s a restrained combination of ingredients that simply works, allowing the mushrooms’ natural umami to shine while scratching the same itch as a classic seafood chowder.

Juniper-Cured Carrot Lox

I’ve made a lot of lox in my lifetime; carrot, beet, tomato, konjac, eggplant. Juniper-Cured Carrot Lox (page 257) adds a new dimension to the typical formula, infusing the familiar smoky, salty profile with bright, piney, resinous notes. Peeled into long ribbons, the carrots soften almost instantly as the flax oil and curing mixture infuse through each strand. Draping easily over a bagel with cream cheese in a silky garland, additional garnishes are nice, but unnecessary when there’s already so much flavor packed into each bite.

Black Walnut Ice Cream

I may be a cheat in this case, but I’m not a liar. I’ll tell you right up front that I foraged for nothing to make the Maple Black Walnut Ice Cream (page 196). For shame, I did purchase the walnuts and maple syrup, and used cornstarch instead of Acorn Starch (page 176), too. What’s remarkable here is how many components of this recipe could be made from scratch if you were inclined to take things further. Even the vanilla extract has an optional upgrade path, with homemade Nocino (page 199) standing in for a deeper, walnut-inflected alternative. More sweet than nutty, I wish there was more emphasis placed on the nuts, though the high sugar content does keep the texture perfectly soft and scoopable straight from the freezer.

We spend so much of our lives filtering out the plants around us that they become little more than green background noise. Through equal parts natural history, personal storytelling, and practical instruction, Happy Snacking, Don’t Die! teaches readers to see again. Even if you’re never lucky enough to harvest morels from your local forest, you’ll likely come away looking at what does grow in your neighborhood with newfound appreciation.

Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: A Spoonful of Sugar

Zucchini Kill Bakery – Queen Cake Doughnut
Zucchini Kill Bakery – Rebel Swrrrl Swiss Rolls
Mission Burger Co. – Soft Serve
Unicorniverse – Ube Brownie
Unicorniverse – Strawberry Chocolate, Salted Caramel, and White Chocolate Raspberry Macarons
Unicorniverse – Speculoos Blondie
Unicorniverse – Cookies and Cream Croissant, Chocolate Pecan Tart

The One Pho – Three Color Dessert (Chè Ba Màu)
MilkMade ATX – White Chocolate Strawberry Fudge Ripple
Insomnia Cookies – Vegan Chocolate Chunk and Vegan Birthday Cake Cookies
Community Kitchen + Taproom – Mini Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake

Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Honey for the Beans

“Sweet” is one of the last ways most people would think of describing a plain legume, and yet that’s exactly how ewa oloyin got their name. Otherwise known as honey beans, these humble cowpeas are a beloved Nigerian staple, indispensable to the national cuisine. Reasonably, the name comes from the Yoruba language, where ewa means “beans” and oloyin means “honey.”

Don’t let their modest appearance fool you. Beneath those unassuming beige skins lies some of the creamiest, most versatile legumes you’ll ever cook with, ready to earn a permanent place in your pantry.

What Are Ewa Oloyin? Meet Nigeria’s Beloved Honey Beans

As you might have guessed from their short, ovoid shape and signature “eye,” ewa oloyin are closely related to black-eyed peas, but they’re a distinct variety of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). They’ve been cultivated throughout West Africa for centuries, thriving in hot, dry climates where other crops struggle. It’s the kind of tenacious plant you can count on when times are tough, asking for little in return while even improving the soil by fixing nitrogen as it grows.

Sweet Beans: What Do Ewa Oloyin Taste Like?

As one might expect from a nickname like honey beans, these legumes have a natural sweetness that’s more pronounced than you might expect based on looks alone. Comparable to roasted sweet corn or toasted chestnuts, they’d give adzuki beans a run for their money, should their paths ever cross. Mellow, mild, and perfect for winning over picky eaters, a properly cooked pot of ewa oloyin can make a bean believer out of anyone.

As they cook, their starches convert to sugar, creating a viscous, amber potlikker that’s genuinely honey-like. The beans become remarkably creamy, striking that sweet spot between buttery and hearty. They can melt into a velvety stew or mash effortlessly into dips and fritters. Every spoonful feels rich and luxurious, even when made with minimal ingredients.

Nutrition For Days

Like most legumes, honey beans are nutritional overachievers hiding in plain sight. They’re naturally rich in plant-based protein and dietary fiber, making meals more satisfying while providing slow-burning energy that sticks with you long after you’ve left the table.

They also deliver an impressive lineup of vitamins and minerals, including folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, all while remaining naturally low in fat, cholesterol-free, and gluten-free. Pair them with rice or another grain, and together they provide a complementary amino acid profile that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

How to Cook Honey Beans, Quick and Creamy Every Time

Ewa oloyin have thinner skins than most cowpeas, so soaking isn’t strictly necessary. What you can’t skip is sorting them first. Always pick through your dried beans to check for stones before getting started.

  • On the stove, cover them with fresh water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil before reducing the heat to a gentle simmer. Depending on the age of the beans, they’ll be ready in about 40 – 60 minutes. Resist the urge to add salt too early; seasoning toward the end of cooking helps ensure the skins stay tender.
  • In a a pressure cooker, cook the beans on high pressure for about 20 – 30 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for the creamiest results.

One of the best parts of cooking honey beans is the broth they leave behind. As they simmer, the cooking liquid thickens into a glossy, amber potlikker with a subtle sweetness all its own. Don’t you dare pour it down the drain! It can be stirred back into the beans for extra richness, used to thicken soups and stews, or simply spooned over rice to soak into every grain.

Whether you cook them until they’re just tender or let them soften into a velvety mash, ewa oloyin are remarkably forgiving. In fact, many of their most beloved recipes celebrate beans that are cooked well past al dente, embracing their creamy texture rather than fighting it.

Akara (African Bean Fritters)

Perfect Pairings

Simple stews are where you’re most likely to find ewa oloyin in Africa. Ranging from mild to fiery, brothy to thick enough to eat with a fork, these hearty bean dishes are everyday comfort food, stretching humble ingredients into meals that are deeply satisfying and remarkably nourishing. The most popular pairings include:

Ewa Riro (Nigerian Bean Porridge)

Time-Honored Dishes and Contemporary Ideas

Honey beans are wonderfully versatile, making themselves at home in both traditional Nigerian cooking and modern plant-based kitchens.

They’re best known for starring in dishes like ewa agoyin, where impossibly tender beans are served beneath a deeply savory, smoky pepper sauce, or ewa porridge, a one-pot meal simmered with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and warming spices. Ground into a smooth batter, they become moin moin, a savoy steamed bean pudding, or akara, irresistibly crisp fritters with fluffy, creamy centers.

Beyond those classics, these beans are happy to improvise. Swap them in anywhere you’d normally use black-eyed peas; fold them into soups and stews, scatter them over salads, blend them into dips, or mash them into burgers and patties. Their mild flavor plays well with everything from fiery chiles to fragrant herbs, making them the kind of pantry staple you’ll find yourself reaching for again and again.

Akara (African Bean Fritters)

Sweet Beans, Sweet Dreams

In Nigeria, ewa oloyin have become so deeply woven into everyday life that you’d be hard-pressed to find a household without them. More than merely filling a bowl, these beans have completely won me over. Creamier than black-eyed peas, sweeter than adzuki, and so naturally delicious, they’ve made me reconsider my usual legume rotation entirely. Putting “honey” in the name isn’t just poetic, it’s a promise they actually keep.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)10 Comments