My mum loved to throw parties—big ones, small ones, medium ones--and there was always one constant: good food, and lots of it. Cooking for company often meant days of prep and a kitchen bustling with activity morning till evening. Ma would grind spice pastes for dishes...
Food is universal. And whether in Beijing or in Paris, food writer and book author Ann Mah shows us that food can forge connections and food can be a lifeline. Ann’s debut novel Kitchen Chinese was loosely based on her time in Beijing. Now, her new memoir...
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...
When my husband was deployed for one year last year, he was entitled to a two-week R&R (rest and relaxation) trip which meant the military would fly him anywhere in the world. Many choose to go home but we decided to entrust Isaac to the...
My earliest memory of eating vegetables involves my mother chasing me around the living room balancing a plateful of stir-fried spinach and rice in one hand, and desperately trying to shove dinner spoonful-by-spoonful past my uncooperative lips with the other. I must admit I’ve come a...
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...
Soba, made from buckwheat flour, is prettily packed in bundles about 8 to a package. Note that many sobas are also made with wheat flour so it isn't a gluten-free food. Juwari, the finest--and usually most expensive--soba is made entirely of buckwheat, but please please...
When I was a little girl, I was quite the snacker (who am I kidding, I’m still a snacker!). Although potato chips and Planters Cheez Curls were readily available, I went for more “local” snack items like Chickadees and Twisties, or perhaps chili-coated tapioca crisps. As 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...
Several recipes I learned while writing The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook are still in my everyday cooking repertoire. Mochiko Fried Chicken (pg. 187), Japanese-Style Hamburgers (pg. 153), Deep-Fried Tofu Simmered with Tomatoes (pg. 123), just to name a few. And an all-time favorite--Caramelized Chicken with Lemongrass and Chilies (pg....
