This October, my other baby, The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook turns 5! It’s been a crazy ride. The hardback has sold out and the paperback is well on its way. (Nonetheless, I’d be ever so grateful if you helped me out with this :)). To celebrate, I’d like to...
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...
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)....
My friend Lani makes the most amazing salads. They’re always a Technicolor delight with colors spanning the rainbow—green, purple, orange, red. A dish pleasing to the eye always entices eating, that's what I say. Sweet, sour, salty, crispy, crunchy--they have all the required elements to ignite...
When I first met Shulie Madnick, I was confused. With straight, black tresses skimming her shoulders, an olive-brown complexion, and pretty almond eyes that crinkled at the corners when she smiled, Shulie looked South Asian. Yet she had an indistinguishable (to me!) lilt to her...
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...
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...
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...
It's summer--it's hot, it's humid. Let's cool down with an iced dessert or drink. Here are some favorites: 1. Ice Kachang (Singapore, Malaysia) Beneath a mountain of shaved ice drizzled with red, green, and yellow syrups--plus condensed milk!--you might find agar-agar strips, red adzuki beans (kachang means...
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...
