In Asian cuisine, the bowl is ubiquitous as a receptacle for food. In Japanese tradition, donburi refers to both the dish and the oversized bowl that contains the rice topped with various ingredients. Korean bibimbap comprises a bowl of rice topped with an assortment of kimchi, seasoned...
My mom doesn’t waste food. She never has, doesn’t now, and never will. A friend joked that there’s a term for that: CCW—cheap Chinese woman. Jokes aside, I was well aware as a little girl that Mom was very conscious of stretching the ingredients she bought...
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...
The poetic title, Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees (metonyms for chicken feet and Chinese broccoli respectively), reflects the book's depth and detail. Those who are familiar with author Kian Lam Kho's blog, RedCook.net, will not be disappointed with the book's meticulous and comprehensive content, all enhanced by Jody...
When I was researching my first book, The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook, several Chinese Americans I spoke to told me that their parents prepared steamed chicken or duck instead of roast turkey for Thanksgiving. I wasn't surprised because steaming is more traditional than roasting in many Asian...
One morning last week, my husband came back inside the house after loading the car and declared," It feels like fall outside!" My heart sank, then rebounded. My mixed feelings were understandable: I was sad that the end of summer, as well as warm, sunny weather,...
I was a yogurt-making novice until my first year of marriage. That was 13 years ago. My impetus wasn’t being a Mrs. Nor was I inspired to become more of a homebody because we were living in the English countryside. The culprit was actually an insulated flask I...
With July 4th right around the corner, it's time to get serious about grilling. And if you've ever been a victim of tough, dry meat fresh off the flames, you'll want to read this. I'm not going to talk about techniques or equipment--I'll leave that to the...
Earlier this week, the Wok Queen, Grace Young, wrote a post on Food52 about why the wok gets her vote for best all-round pan. All these years, the wok has been the first pan I pull out no matter what I’m cooking. My reaction is so instinctual...
A few years ago, my cousin gave me several packets of a spice mix from Bali, Indonesia. The small, clear packets contained an assortment of whole spices including coriander, black pepper, long pepper, cloves and what I believed were slices of dried kencur (zedoary, curcuma species)....
