I don’t exaggerate when I claim that this recipe started it all.

I was 27 years old, back at home in the PNW and still a little lost after having granted Japan temporary hosting privileges to my quarter life crisis for what happened to be the first spike of that pesky old coronavirus pandemic. I had returned to find my whole family adherent to the same alimentary scheme of intermittent fasting that I’d abandoned a few months prior due to its negative correlation with my mental health.

With the kitchen to myself in the mornings, and no ties to a 9-to-5 full-time grind rushing me out the door, I spared some of my ample time and energy to breakfast, the meal I’d conditioned myself before to consider excessive, unearned, and indicative of a lack of willpower. To my past dismay, forgoing breakfast had adopted a status symbol, the ascetic intent behind the act conjuring a form of virtue signaling. How could one resist all the medically reviewed academic literature pointing to intermittent fasting as the obvious choice for a disciplined, educated, optimized existence? Too palpable was the social temptation to break from the mold of the unenlightened masses with their mindless eating and autopilot living and seek the ways of the high-minded, overachieving, gratification-quashing, chronically insecure elite.

I promise I’m still talking about breakfast.

Although healthier, more fruitful food ideologies didn’t set in overnight for me, this no-cook oats recipe sure did! Starting that summer of 2020, Bojon Gourmet’s golden milk overnight oats quickly became the most revisited recipe of my adult life.

The concept of tinting plain oats with a seductive hue through natural means tantalized me so much that it catalyzed a renewed investment in my physical and mental health through the act of cooking, starting with letting myself have a mini-blast with breakfast.

What makes this recipe great: Forget your 90s glass of OJ. The orange hegemony of the 2020s goes to turmeric and its compulsory cohort of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and whatever spice of honor you’d like to initiate. Turmeric, when powdered, as we plebs know it best, just happens to be the loudest and most down-to-earth of the group. Cracking open the fridge to a jar of glowing, Sunny-D-yellow in the morning will be a welcome upgrade from your average pile of beige goo.

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How to make Turmeric Overnight Oats

Though the recipe by Bojon Gourmet sparked it all, each week–nay, each day–may herald a different rendition, and I am here for the ride. I’ve sprinkled in a few suggestions to help you get you off to the races. Keep in mind: as I am prone to skipping the measuring spoon in favor of heavy-handed spice-shaking, all amounts are to taste. What can I say? I’m Chinese, after all!

Pro-tip: Though this is how I make it a la carte, I highly recommend scaling this recipe days or weeks ahead by simply mixing the dry ingredients and storing them in an airtight container, then giving them a good shake before dispensing into individual jars with the liquids once you’re actually making the oats.

Base formula:

• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (a little goes a long way)
• Large pinch cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup milk, or water*
• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 teaspoon chia seeds

Optional add-ons (highly recommended):

• Honey to taste
• Golden raisins, aka sultanas*
• Chopped nuts (almonds will do)
• Dollop of Greek yogurt
• Banana slices

Combine turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and salt in a Mason jar or Tupperware bowl. If you have time, add a splash of hot water to wake up the spices. Add milk, oats, chia seeds, honey and raisins. Seal the jar and shake. Refrigerate 6 hours to overnight, or up to 2 days. To serve, stir in nuts and top with Greek yogurt and bananas.

*I usually opt for 2% milk, or a combination of canned coconut milk (leftover from cooking) + water.

*Dried coconut also goes divine with this!