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Just when it seemed like we’d all binged every show created on the planet during quarantine (doesn’t Tiger King seem like a lifetime ago?), HBOMax debuted the gem that is Selena and Chef. The series, filmed during isolation, features singer/actress Selena Gomez learning to cook via video chat with a different chef each week. Only three episodes have dropped so far (a new one is released each Thursday), but the breakout star has been…Selena’s rainbow knife set. And Candice Kumai, wellness writer and six-time cookbook author.
Kumai’s known for her healthier spins on craveworthy recipes, and her episode with Gomez is no different. In it, she teaches the Rare singer to make Spicy Miso Ramen Soup and Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies. And she shared the exact ingredients on Instagram, so you can make them at home while watching the episode.
Selena and Chef Recipes: Spicy Miso Ramen Soup
If you don’t make ramen or dabble in Japanese cuisine regularly, you’ll probably have to head to the store to pick up a few of these ingredients. (A lot of it you can actually order through Amazon, like togarashi, mirin and red miso paste.) The recipe itself is pretty straightforward, and Kumai encourages you to eyeball measurements when cooking (not baking): chopping vegetables, sauteing them in sesame oil to soften them, adding in the liquid ingredients, letting it all simmer and seasoning it to your taste. Cooking the noodles is one of the final steps, before you add the soup and toppings.
Selena and Chef Recipes: Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies
Instead of your typical creaming butter and sugar, like most cookie recipes require, Kumai has Gomez mash and combine her substitute for the fat–bananas and coconut oil–then mix in the sugar. Similar process, same end result. You’re basically whipping air into the butter and sugar, which gives the cookies some structure, puffing ’em up so they don’t fall flat. Leavener–in this case, baking soda–also helps with this. Kumai’s shared the full recipe on her website, which you can check out here.
I don’t know about you, but I know what I’ll be making this weekend.
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