Spiced Cauliflower and Coconut Quiche
12 Apr 2017

Spiced Cauliflower and Coconut Quiche

by | posted in: Breakfast & Eggs, Pies, vegetarian | 22

Blooming heads of brassica make such a large, lovely impression that I’m not sure why they’re not kept intact when serving more often. They do take a while to cook—especially in the case of dense, crunchy cauliflower. It’s like a small planet of fiber. You can save an hour by cutting pieces down to equal size before roasting (and that is the preferred thing to do with cauliflower, to bring out its natural sugars and crisp its peaks with texture). But, … Read More

Spicy and Sour Tomato Lentil Soup (Rasam)
22 Mar 2017

Spicy and Sour Tomato Lentil Soup (Rasam)

by | posted in: Beans, gluten-free, Recipes, Soups & Stews, vegetarian | 7

This week marks the publication of my friend Chitra‘s cookbook, Vibrant India. If you’ve been reading this blog a while—or if you just like home cooking as much as I do—you may have found that cheap, healthful, and seasonal are some essential beacons to guide everyday recipes. And Chitra’s home cooking—and, hence, her cookbook—have these traits in spades.

Savory Celery Root and Apple Hand Tart
10 Mar 2017

Savory Celery Root and Apple Hand Tart

by | posted in: Pies, Recipes, vegetarian | 12

The taste and scent of celery root offends some, and this I had not known before. To me, the cleaned bare root looks, smells and tastes fairly innocent at first, then slowly creeps more complexity. The herbal, vegetal nuances are beguiling, surprising and intriguing to me. And combined with the sweetness of apple and the dairy richness of butter, it’s pure harmony.

Gumbo with Chicken, Shrimp & Squid
28 Feb 2017

Gumbo with Chicken, Shrimp & Squid

by | posted in: Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Seafood, Soups & Stews | 10

Happy Fat Tuesday. I’m feeling the extra weight from last weekend’s pre-Mardi Gras dinner party with friends. Any holiday is an occasion to celebrate with food. But when it’s Creole or Cajun food that’s associated with it, you don’t want to miss out.

The Joy of Noodles (and an improvised Zha Cai Rou Si Mian recipe)
20 Feb 2017

The Joy of Noodles (and an improvised Zha Cai Rou Si Mian recipe)

by | posted in: Pasta & Noodles, Recipes | 7

When my mother first came to the US from Taiwan, she found the food here a little difficult to embrace. Except for spaghetti. Slurping up long, slippery strands of pasta was a familiar sensation that became the entry point for appreciating more American foods. Only spaghetti wasn’t exactly all-American. Or it wasn’t considered so then, at least. But now today, more and more Americans are slurping up bowls of Asian noodle soups, from soba to ramen to pho.

San Bei Ji Wings (Three Cup Chicken Wings)
14 Feb 2017

San Bei Ji Wings (Three Cup Chicken Wings)

by | posted in: Meat & Poultry, Recipes | 17

For the cookbook release of The Food of Taiwan, I threw a number of dinners and edible events. This was served at one of them, a pub menu-themed makeover of some classic Taiwanese dishes. Other dishes included clams braised with Taiwan Beer instead of rice wine with garlic, chilies and basil, and the famous Taiwanese “hamburger” or gua bao in a grilled slider bun instead of steamed bun. When Superbowl Sunday rolled around the other week, I thought of making a … Read More

The #ImmigrationIsTasty Recipe Roundup: Join Us on Presidents’ Day
2 Feb 2017

The #ImmigrationIsTasty Recipe Roundup: Join Us on Presidents’ Day

by | posted in: Events, My Events, NYC Events, Ruminations | 12

Spaghetti was seen as exotic in my grandparents’ day in age. Hummus was strange and vegan-centric when I was in college. Guacamole grossed a lot of Americans out a few decades ago. I don’t need to point out that they’re now proud staples of the American diet. But just imagine what our plates would look like if we had closed the door on immigration years ago. 

Vegetarian Turnip Cake with Shiitake Mushrooms and Fried Shallots
27 Jan 2017

Vegetarian Turnip Cake with Shiitake Mushrooms and Fried Shallots

by | posted in: gluten-free, Recipes, vegan, vegetarian | 8

The Lunar New Year is upon us—tomorrow marks the start of the Year of the Rooster. This is my year. I’m a rooster, and if you’re familiar with the Chinese calendar, you could deduce that I will be turning 24, 36 or 48 this year. I’ll let you figure it out. In Chinese horoscope theory, it’s supposed to be an unlucky year for you when it’s your year. Funny, it seems that it’s been unlucky for a lot of folks … Read More

Roasted Squash, Broccoli & Lentil Salad with Raspberries
19 Jan 2017

Roasted Squash, Broccoli & Lentil Salad with Raspberries

by | posted in: Beans, gluten-free, Recipes, Sides & Salads, vegan, vegetarian | 6

File this under Stupidly Simple Seasonal Salads with A ‘Lil Bit of Something Cray-Cray and Not-So. And that’s a pretty good general formula for making a tasty, cheap, healthy and hopefully delightful meal. The cray-cray-not-so in question here are the raspberries, since they’re A) Not in season in my part of the world and B) Not usually found in savory bean or grain salads even if they were. But for some reason I woke up one morning recently thinking about raspberry … Read More

Goulash for 2017
6 Jan 2017

Goulash for 2017

by | posted in: Recipes, Soups & Stews | 3

It’s the start of a bright new year. And what bright, yet wintery dish to ring it in but a paprika-stained stew that’ll feed for many cold nights to come? I have no hard-and-fast rules or resolutions for 2017, but lately I’ve been plagued with wanting to cook things that I know are delicious, comforting, warming and cozy, but don’t get enough time to make so often. Hungarian beef goulash is one of those things.

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