Rolls of Happiness
My mother makes the world’s best cha gio. This is our food of happiness. My mother is an obsessive compulsive—I mean that in the best sense since I’ve inherited some of that trait. She is at her best...
View ArticleGrandma Sim, Grace, Love, and My Lunchbox
Professional chefs are a tough, hard-nosed bunch. We have to be–it’s a demanding occupation. So it makes me smile to see my colleagues turn soft and misty-eyed when they remember the food in the...
View ArticleTortilla Soup
Onions soften in a cast-iron pot on my father’s stove. He, who is almost ninety, sits at his kitchen island watching me cook. I hold up three large, luscious garlic cloves, praising their size and...
View ArticleToaster Naan
They say that necessity is the mother of invention but in my case, it was the empty gas tank. Ultimately, it was the toaster that saved the evening. It’s November 2011. The sun is setting on Montezuma,...
View ArticleDry Ice Ice Cream
Ice cream and laughter have a lovely way of coming together. I can recall the caramel butteriness of brown brown bread ice cream when I was reunited with an estranged friend. I was once rewarded with...
View ArticleKhao Mun Gai
As a cook and restaurateur, I am often asked about my most favorite dish. This is a tough question for a guy who loves to cook and to eat, but I do have an answer: “Khao mun gai,” I confidently say....
View ArticleMaking Pie Crust with Vodka (and Sweat)
Some things are self-explanatory, like why pies taste best in autumn. With the weather turning chilly and harvests yielding a cornucopia of apples, pumpkins, and squashes as colorful as the changing...
View ArticleSpherification Adventures
I consider myself a fairly adventurous eater. Nothing is too exotic, too spicy, or too out there for me. Though, I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I was invited to a Spherification...
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