There is a popular Chinese saying: "There is nothing more delicious than jiaozi." Such an accolade no doubt points to the popularity of the simple Chinese dumpling. (Chinese dumplings come in many shapes and sizes but the most common are jiaozi and guotieh. They're essentially the...
Every time Lisa Nakamura makes dango jiru, she is transported back to her late grandmother's kitchen in Kapoho, Hawaii. Dango refers to dumplings and most recipes call for dumplings made with mochi (sweet rice flour). Grandma Miyoshi's version is extra special--and very Hawaiian; not only...
Marvin of Burntlumpia tagged me for a meme aeons ago but better late than never, eh? Here goes: What were you cooking/baking 10 years ago? 10 years ago, I had just graduated from college, was still unmarried and living at home with my parents in Singapore. Hey, don’t laugh,...
Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has responded to my plea for recipe testers! That being said, please be patient with me--I have this horrendous cold that I can't seem to shake off. Concentrating with a fuzzy brain hasn't been easy the last...
Do you enjoy trying out new recipes? Do you sometimes wish you could change some steps in a recipe? Do you love to give lots of great feedback? Do you want to help a crazy-busy, frazzled food writer out? If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, then perhaps you'd...
When I first started working on my cookbook, I really didn't know what to expect. I was lucky enough to have a brief chat with Grace Young at the 2007 IACP conference in Chicago. The author of two family-based cookbooks, Grace gave me a behind-the-scenes overview of...
Chefs are going ga ga over pork belly. Yes, this fatty, inexpensive cut is fast gaining favor and has risen on the trend-o-meter in the past couple of years. Here in Seattle, pork belly has top billing at fancy restaurants the likes of Tilth, Harvest Vine...
Cold cucumber salad, or liang ban huang gua in Mandarin, makes for a delightful plate of pickles to start off any meal. My friend Lynn Chang's mother, Li, says her family's original recipe used ginger sugar syrup but because it's not readily available, maple syrup is...
