I’ve had a few friends ask me to make more stove-top recipes as they don’t have ovens (thanks tiny HK flats), so have been looking into a few more recipes that don’t require any oven. It’s not been difficult, but they just don’t all look super presentable for the blog.

I’ve also been experimenting with vegetarian dishes a lot, and sometimes that is literally just throwing whatever remnants of food I have in my fridge into a tortilla wrap. I haven’t had a bad one so far, so I can’t really complain.

There are a few updates that I want to make to the website too, to make it easier to navigate, but I need to look into the logistics of that and how to go about doing it at minimal cost (right now). If this ever took off, I’d definitely pay money for a decent website. But for now, I’m happy with my no-frills, free website.

At the time writing, there are some important things happening in this amazing city that I call home. I don’t want to make this blog a political one, it’s supposed to be just about food and my ramblings. But I need my fellow Hong Kongers to know, that we stand strong and we stand proud. We don’t need to resort to violence to stand up for what we believe in. The police will keep fighting, and they will keep provoking, but we cannot give up on our beliefs, our identity, and our culture. Stay strong, Hong Kong.

So far being vegetarian has been fun. Trying out lots of different meals, while also keeping my spending really low. I have had to be extra vigilant when not taking home-made meals for lunch or eating at home for dinner though, and HK is not the most vegetarian-friendly place. Even veggies can be cooked in oyster sauce. Luckily, I’ve not had any issues so far. Plus, it’s been fun playing with so much colour in my food.

The one thing I do miss, sometimes, is having free school lunches. I don’t have them every day, sometimes I don’t have any for a whole week because it’s not always food that I enjoy eating. But their vegetarian options are very few and far between. I mean, ultimately, there are only two options and maybe once or twice a week are there truly vegetarian options (i.e. something that doesn’t have oyster sauce, or minced prawns in it).

It just means a hell of a lot more meal planning on the weekends, on my part. Good thing I like cooking!!!

Also, with this meal, feel free to use whatever vegetables you fancy, especially with the combination of peppers and courgettes.

Ingredients

1 green courgette, cut into cubes
1 yellow courgette, cut into cubes
1 aubergine, cut into cubes
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1/2 red pepper, cut into cubes
1/2 green pepper, cut into cubes
1 yellow pepper, cut into cubes
1 onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
400 grams chopped tomatoes
2 tbsps harissa paste
2 tbsps honey
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. In a large bowl, mix the courgettes, aubergine, sweet potato and peppers. Drizzle olive oil over the veggies, along with 1 tsp of ground coriander and cumin and mix well.
2. In a large frying pan, saute the vegetables in batches for 3 – 5 minutes until lightly browned.
3. In a large cast iron dutch oven or casserole dish with a lid, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes until the onions start to soften. Add the garlic, the remaining coriander and the remaining cumin, stirring well.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, harissa and honey to the onions. Add the vegetables and stir until everything is well combined. Add 1/2 cup water, and stir.
5. Bring liquid to boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover the tagine and allow to simmer for 1 hour. Remove the lid, stir the contents of the pot, and allow to cook for a further hour until the liquid has reduced and concentrated into a thick stew.
6. Enjoy with cous cous, rice or flat breads.