Category Archives: Asian Recipes

Hatching Some Mighty Fine Ribs

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It takes longer to marinate these finger-licking-good, Asian-style ribs than to cook them.

My husband gets obsessed easily.

For months, he’s been incessantly researching the next car he should buy — in 2015.

He often contemplates where we should own a second home if we ever win the Lotto — even though we haven’t bought a ticket in four years.

And of course, with the nickname of Meat Boy, he is rather single-minded when it comes to meat, as in the more, the better.

His latest compulsion?

A Big Green Egg.

As you know, it’s a ceramic cooker that can grill and smoke foods. It also weighs 10,000 pounds. I exaggerate — but barely.

This behemoth looks like a cross between a giant landmine and a prehistoric egg.

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Kickin’ with Kiwi

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Kiwi is the secret ingredient in this tasty flatbread wrap.

When life gives you kiwi, make kiwi raita, of course.

More precisely, when Zespri, the largest marketer of kiwifruit, sends yours truly a case of the brown furry fruit to try, that’s just what I get a hankering for.

Especially when this twist on a traditional Indian condiment comes from pioneering Florida chef, Norman Van Aken.

The easiest way to eat a kiwi? Cut in half, then scoop the flesh out with a spoon.

With kiwi in this cool, creamy yogurt sauce, you don’t get the crunch you would from using the traditional cucumber. What you get is a subtle sweetness instead, a counterpoint to the warm spices of cumin, coriander and black mustard seeds.

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A Calming, Meditative Dish from Chef David Chang

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He may be known for his potty-mouth and explosive, imploding personality.

But New York Chef David Chang of the mini Momofuku restaurant empire can sure put together one soothing, serene dish.

That’s just what you’ll enjoy in his “Cherry Tomato & Tofu Salad” from the newest Alice Waters cookbook, “In the Green Kitchen” (Clarkson Potter).

The founder of the landmark restaurant, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Waters put this book together from dishes created by chefs at the 2008 Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco.  The premise of the book, of which I recently received a review copy, is that by keeping a well stocked pantry, learning a few basic techniques and seeking out the best organic, local and seasonal ingredients, anyone can create simple meals that nourish and satisfy.

I was fortunate enough to see Chang create this tofu dish at a cooking demo at Slow Food Nation. It’s a super simple dish of creamy, cold tofu topped with a zingy dressing of sherry vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil and sesame seeds that’s finished with refreshing shiso leaves and a bountiful handful of sweet summer cherry tomatoes. If you don’t have shiso readily available, fresh mint or basil leaves would make a fine substitution.

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New Use For Bagels

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I’ve toasted them.

I’ve smeared them with cream cheese and jam.

I’ve piled slices of silky smoked salmon on them.

But until now, I had never stir-fried a bagel.

Yes, you read that right.

Of all the recipes in award-winning cookbook writer Grace Young’s new book, “Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge” (Simon & Schuster) that had me running to grab my wok — and there are many — the one that most intrigued me was this unusual one for “Stir-Fried Bagels with Cabbage and Bacon.”

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Tasty Tofu and Tomatoes

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One of the advantages of being the youngest in the family was that I was doted on by all manner of aunties, uncles and cousins.

One of the biggest drawbacks, though, was that by the time I was born, all but one of my grand-parents had already passed away.

My mother’s mother was still alive when I was a toddler. But by that time, she was quite advanced in age, bed-ridden, and being cared for by another of her daughters. Worse, my grandmother spoke no English. And I spoke no Cantonese.

I would run into her bedroom to say hello, as best I could. She would respond in Chinese, as she lay in bed. If my Mom or aunt were not present to translate, I would have no idea what she had just said. I’d smile meekly, and just nod, not knowing what else to do.

So, when I hear folks talk nostalgically about the wonderful food their grandmother cooked for them when they were growing up, I get wistful, because I never had that magical experience.

Which is why “The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook (Sasquatch Book) touches my heart so. It was written by my friend, Patricia Tanumihardja, who grew up in Singapore and now lives on the Monterey Peninsula.

Pat interviewed and cooked with Asian grandmothers, mothers and aunts to create this book of 130 recipes for home-style dishes that might otherwise have never been written down and might have faded away from memory.

Dishes such as this super simple, “Deep-Fried Tofu Simmered with Tomatoes,” that’s perfect on a harried weeknight.

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