It’s that time of year again when parents all over the country are pulling their hair out trying to put together easy-to-prepare, somewhat healthy lunches for their school-age kids. While my son loves a ham-and-cheese and peanut butter sandwich as much as the next four-year-old, he...
Sort of randomly, I came across an article extolling the wonders of pastéis de nata, or Portuguese egg tarts, in a British magazine of all places! Now I’ve not had true Portuguese egg tarts, but many a dan taht (romanized for 蛋挞, ‘egg’ in Chinese, and...
When I was growing up, I ate this dish as often as an American kid might eat spaghetti. It was—and still is--my favorite comfort food. In Indonesia, you’ll find entire restaurants and food stalls dedicated to selling this local specialty. To make it even simpler...
I love my pork chops two ways. One, of course, is my mom’s version. Breaded and pan-fried, these lovelies turn out crisp and golden on the outside, juicy on the inside every time (that Mom makes them, that is). The second is honey-garlic pork chops, a...
As soon as my mom ascends the stairs and disappears into the guest room, I arrange the mise en place for rolling spring rolls (or lumpia as they're called in Indonesian) on the kitchen table: a stack of wrappers, a bowl of ground pork and bamboo...
“Authentic” is a loaded word, especially when it comes to food. In Singapore—where I was raised, and in my opinion, the birthplace of Asian fusion cuisine—authentic is subjective. Mee goreng, a local favorite, brings together Chinese egg noodles, Western potatoes, bottled tomato ketchup and Indian...
A few weeks ago, my food writer friend Debra Samuels (co-author of The Korean Table and author of My Japanese Table, both by Tuttle Publishing) came to Washington D.C. to do a bento box demonstration with the Smithsonian Associates. Deb and I have only communicated via email and social media,...
I’ve been on a meatball kick lately, which is a little strange since I’m not a huge meat-eater. Maybe it's the cooler weather. Maybe it's all the spaghetti and meatball recipes I keep seeing. Who knows? That being said, I didn't want my meatballs to be...
You might think me crazy for craving rice pudding in the middle of summer. But this past week or two, we’ve had a deluge of thunderstorms here in northern Virginia. And we all know there’s nothing more comforting than curling up on the couch with a...
Avocado (Photo credit: djwtwo) In the U.S., avocados are most often eaten in savory dishes, sliced to adorn salads or made into guacamole. As a little girl, my mum would make us a very simple snack--she'd halve an avocado, drizzle some palm sugar syrup (made by melting gula...
