Sticky rice stuffing is a staple for many Chinese American families at Thanksgiving. It is a riff on “naw mai fun” or “lo mai gai,” two very traditional Chinese recipes. My friend Wing gave me his grandmother’s recipe to include in my very first cookbook—The...
I’ve been meaning to bake a mochi cake (also called butter mochi) for the longest time--maybe 10 years?--ever since I first used mochiko for the mochiko chicken recipe in my first cookbook The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook. A few weeks ago, I finally did. I was inspired by...
2017 has been a gangbusters year for Asian cookbooks. Not only are we seeing more Asian cookbooks being published, the variety and diversity of cultures, cuisines, and topics represented have increased exponentially. And my favorite trend? All these Asian cookbooks are authored by people of color writing...
Salad for breakfast? Why yes! Last week, I was at a breakfast joint in New York City (Friedman’s if you must know) and their special was a wilted salad breakfast bowl. As luck would have it, Bright Farms had sent me three boxes of their...
Three years ago this August, I gave up caffeinated coffee. I still drink decaf coffee and I still drink tea, both black and green. However, I feel like a disgrace to my Seattle-bred espresso habit every time I order a decaf, soy milk caffe latte. Yes,...
Roti John could be considered the bánh mì, aka the ubiquitous Vietnamese sandwich, of Singapore (or Malaysia, or Brunei). Its components are similar—bread, protein--and is a blend of East and West and just as delicious. Basically, roti John is a savory French toast—baguette slices soaked with...
Holiday traditions in the U.S. abound. From roasted goose to the Feast of Seven Fishes, many American immigrant communities bring a piece of their homeland to the Christmas table. The Filipino dish rellenong manok (rel-ye-nong ma-nok) must be one of the most intricate and elaborate, both...
Many chefs pay homage to their moms and the recipes that nourished them as children in their restaurants. In a Mother's Day tribute for edibleDC’s Spring issue (out now!), I had the privilege of talking to three Washington D.C. chefs about their awesome moms and...
When it comes to anecdotes about chocolates and life, the most famous quote of all has to be Forrest Gump’s: "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Recently, I discovered another quote in a book by...
General Tso’s chicken may be the emblematic go-to dish at Chinese restaurants across North America but this supposedly Hunan dish is virtually unknown in China. In her 2013 cookbook Every Grain of Rice--Simple Chinese Home Cooking, Fuchsia Dunlop explains that General Tso’s chicken was actually invented by...
