When one of the moms in my son’s pre-K class inivited me to her cookie exchange party, I was at a loss. Number 1: I’ve never been to a cookie exchange and had to ask how it worked (how embarrassing!). Number 2: My family doesn’t bake cookies, at...
As immigrants, our Thanksgiving tables are likely to be vastly different from the garden variety spread of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Two months ago, I was talking to people about their melting-pot Thanksgiving food traditions for an article that just came...
Hamburger patties sans buns are now very popular with the low-carb/gluten-free set but the Japanese may have been the geniuses who thought of it first. The wafu hamburger can be described as a cross between a teriyaki burger patty and meatloaf. My dear friend Yuki who...
My earliest memories of eating sweet corn are set in the mountainous region of Puncak, two hours from Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. Puncak, with its brisk mountain air, panoramic scenery and cool climate, was and still is a popular destination for city dwellers. My relatives often...
Cookbook author and teacher Andrea Nguyen has done it again! I just received a complimentary copy of Andrea's fourth book in eight years, The Banh Mi Handbook—Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches, and it's set to launch another culinary revolution. Banh mi has its roots in the French snack of...
At the start of the summer grilling season, I never fail to recall childhood backyard barbecues when the adults swilled cold beer and we children devoured sweet, fresh watermelon, juice dripping down our chins. Instead of the ribs and hamburgers that were de rigueur in 1980s America...
Growing up, my family didn't have a tradition of baking Christmas cookies. My mom would place several orders of Bûche de Noël (Christmas log cake) for our family dinner on Christmas eve and to give away to friends but nary a sugar cookie was in sight. I never...
The online Merriam Webster dictionary defines fusion cuisine as: “food prepared by using the techniques and ingredients of two or more ethnic or regional cuisines” Going by this definition, just about everything we cook or eat is fusion cuisine. Noodles came from China (yes, they did!),...
