a culinary genealogy
Below, view all our posts in chronological order, starting with the most recent. To browse recipes by category, course, or collection, visit our Recipe Index. Also be sure to check out our How-To section and Chinese Ingredients Glossary.
We wanted to feature this Chinese spinach amaranth vegetable on the blog today, because it’s popping up all over the market, and it’s really just a gorgeous, healthy green that you should try if you haven’t already! It’s called “amaranth”, “amaranth greens” or sometimes “Chinese spinach,” and comes in both green and purplish-pink colors. The
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Sometimes, I don’t like cooking. *gasp!* It’s true. For all of you out there who can’t fathom how someone could possibly spend so much time preparing and cooking their meals, let alone take the time to point a camera at it–I totally understand your slow-head-shake of disbelief. Sometimes, the wreckage strewn around the kitchen post-dinner
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So we had a long, arduous, and patently ridiculous argument about what to call these flat, round, sesame thingies. We debated calling them cookies, cookie crisps (which just made me think about overenthusiastic cereal slinging mascots), “crunches” (whaa??), and crackers. But in the end, I’m the one typing this post, and I’ve decided to dub them
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We’re just starting to see spring asparagus in the markets these days, and I saw a really fresh selection today. In fact, the asparagus was so fresh that I decided to make a beef asparagus stir fry with some of our very valuable contraband USDA choice sirloin steak. We usually prefer to pan-sear those steaks
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For a long time, when I would try to make scallion pancakes, I would end up with a lifeless, flat cracker resembling matzo (which is good stuff, but probably not the best comparison for a pancake). I eventually realized that I was fussing way too much over the dough and rolling it out too flat.
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Hallelujah! Winter is over! Well, before we move into summery salads and light, fruity desserts, how’s abouta last hurrah of hearty, wintry, gravy-drippiness? This Beef Stew is full of herbs, red wine, and veggies. The addition of the lemon parsley gremolata on top gives it an awesome, spring-time contrast. As springtime-y as a pot of
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Ahhh, Korean BBQ. That delightful and trendy culinary experience that tantalizes the carnivore’s taste buds. It’s a wonderfully simple meal that requires minimal cooking, and contrary to the name, doesn’t actually require a grill. You don’t even need a hotplate or anything like that to make Korean BBQ at home. Just cook the meat and
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Did you ever go to a party or gathering when the next day, the most memorable thing was something you ate there? These Honey Sriracha chicken wings are one of those things. I have three words for these Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings: Finger. Lickin’. Good. That’s literally all I have to say. Just make them and you’ll
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Three recipes for the price of one today! Pinchos, or pintxos, are a Spanish snack related to tapas, but usually served on bread and skewered with toothpicks to keep the toppings on the bread (and to keep track of how many one’s eaten as the toothpicks pile up). We tried pinchos for the first time
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For a long time, Ratatouille was a big fat fail in this house. Undercooked, overcooked, lacking in flavor, there was no good ratatouille recipe to be found. The usual reaction it elicited from everyone was something more or less along the lines of, “eh…” Which is so wrong because that Anton Ego guy like, totally
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For dessert at the Indian Extravaganza posted a couple days ago: Honey Banana Cake! I am of the opinion that one can never have enough banana dessert recipes. Our impulse to buy an entire bunch of bananas at the market has been a long and storied one (if, “We buy a crapload of cheap bananas
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We LOVE Indian food. Every time we visit Kaitlin at college, we go to this Indian buffet place and eat an obscene amount of daal, aloo gobi, and saag paneer. We carb it up with loads of naan, rice, and samosas, and do so without shame or regret (in part because you can access the
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The Rice Bowl To End All Rice Bowls. The Clay Pot Rice Bowl That Launched A Thousand Ships. The rice bowl that needs only fifteen short minutes of cooking time before you’re happily scarfing it down. This Clay Pot Rice Bowl is actually somewhat similar to a Korean bibimbap, in that you get those slightly
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This. Cake. It lights up my life. It’s the wind beneath my wings. It has made it into the pantheon that is my top five list of best cake recipes of all time. I mean, come on. A pumpkin cake, with Mexican Chocolate Whipped Cream? Ba-BAM. It was, in actuality, an accident. We had a
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Have you ever cooked something that actually tastes a lot better the next day? Well these Chinese restaurant takeout style spare ribs are a perfect case. A few months back, we posted a recipe for these Chinese roasted ribs. We decided to post it again using the second half of the BBQ sauce that we’d
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Lightning. Meteorological phenomenon? Or the perfect metaphor for this chicken & rice dish? When the midday hunger pangs strike without warning and you’re at home cooking for yourself (as I usually am), this lightning-fast chicken & rice is the perfect answer to your lunchtime cravings. Just quickly chop up a few ingredients, take out some
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These little crispy, fluffy, chewy pillows of scallion-y deliciousness were a must-order at the Chinese grocery store we used to frequent in the vast wild blue yonder of suburban NJ (as opposed to the vast, wild gray setting we find ourselves in now. Harumph). So, as a continuation of our recent all-purpose Chinese bun (man tou)
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Steamed buns, or “man tou,” are a staple in the Beijinger’s diet. I see people buy them by the dozen, dainty Chinese girls eating huge, fluffy ones with their stir-fry for lunch at the local food courts, and plates of them served with various dishes in restaurants. Man tou delivery guys, with bags and bags
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