Black Garlic Soba Noodles

By on August 6, 2013 in Recipes

black-garlic-soba-2

Last week I wrote about experimenting with aged black garlic for the first time after my friend Veronica gave me a few cloves to experiment with at home. I tried it in eggs, kung pao chicken, and just eating it straight. And today, black garlic soba noodles.

To recap, aged black garlic is a Korean ingredient that has gotten popular in recent years. Whole garlic cloves are fermented in machines to develop the black color and an earthy, tangy, and slightly sweet flavor. You can just eat the chewy cloves whole or chop them up and cook with them.  (more…)

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What is Aged Black Garlic?

By on July 29, 2013 in Recipes

Have you ever tried aged black garlic?

I hadn’t until a few weeks ago. At the Summer Fancy Food Show last month, my friend Veronica gave me a couple cloves of Korean aged black garlic to experiment with at home. And wow, is it versatile!

(And you don’t even have to go to a Korean specialty store to find it. Aged black garlic is available on Amazon in both large and small bags.)

A popular ingredient in Korean cooking in recent years, black garlic gets its color and flavor from fermentation. Whole bulbs are fermented at high temperatures inside machines that regulate and change the temperature and humidity levels during the 30-day process. According to The Washington Post, the fermentation process results in high antioxidant levels and even cancer-curing properties. It’s also now a hot new ingredient for chefs in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

I’m not sure about the superfood claims, but I do know that it’s a great ingredient to perform all sorts of culinary experiments with. Black garlic  has an earthy, tangy, and mildy sweet flavor that, unlike raw garlic, won’t make you want to pop 10 breath mints immediately after eating it. Think of slow-roasted garlic that has been marinated in balsamic vinegar, if slow-roasted garlic were slightly chewy instead of super soft. (more…)

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August: Chinese Cooking Classes in New York

By on July 26, 2013 in Blog

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Ever since my cookbook came out last December, I’ve been fortunate to have found more time and spaces around New York to teach cooking classes. And to everyone who has attended a class in the past year, thank you for all your great feedback on new classes you’d like to see!

I’m happy to announce some new offerings for August, along with some old favorites. This month I’m starting to teach at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn. We have two weekend classes coming up, a very hands-on Dumpling Making Workshop in which we’ll make everything from scratch (including the wrappers) and a Chinese Vegetarian Cooking class featuring four of my favorite meatless dishes. Then in late August, we have two daytime dumpling classes at the Brooklyn Brainery for all you freelancers, teachers, and anyone else who wants to learn some new cooking skills before the end of the summer!

Oh, and also at the end of August, I’m once again teaching the ever-popular  Hong Kong-Style Dim Sum at The Institute of Culinary Education.

You can see the full list below. Hope you can join me in a future class!

Saturday, August 3, 2013 – Chinese Home Cooking: Dumpling Making Workshop at 3rd Ward

Monday, August 5, 2013 – Sichuan Cooking at Brooklyn Brainery (SOLD OUT)

Saturday, August 10, 2013 – Chinese Home Cooking: Chinese Vegetarian Cooking at 3rd Ward

Monday, August 19, 2013  – Dumplings and Wontons at Brooklyn Brainery (more…)

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Edamame Salad with Miso Dressing

By on July 23, 2013 in Recipes

Edamame Salad with Miso Dressing | Appetite for China

For the last two weeks, we’ve been trying to survive an intense heatwave here in New York. As in, temperatures ranging from 90 to 100 degrees F every single day. I’ve been trying to keep cool by working next to my wonky AC, though unfortunately I can’t glue myself to it.

Walking around outside any time before 7pm can be quite brutal. As is waiting for the subway any time of the day. When you look forward to the sun setting so the temps can cool down to 91 degrees, that’s a bad sign.

Evidence from New York Magazine: “How hot is it in New York right now? This Hot.”

So other than the days I teach, I’ve been doing very little cooking the past couple of weeks. And when I do, the result has mainly been salads.

Like this edamame salad with miso dressing from Izakaya: Japanese Bar Food. It’s supposed to be an appetizer, but I’ve been eating double or triple the portions as a full-on meal. The amount of time in front of the stove is minimal. And the salad is so crisp and refreshing that I don’t even mind having to cook part of it. (more…)

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Epicurious, Asia Society, and BlogTalkRadio

By on July 17, 2013 in Blog

What a month this has been! New York has been blanketed by an insane heatwave, so I’ve been trying to keep cool by staying busy indoors in front of a fan and temperamental AC unit. And teaching cooking classes, which also happen to be indoors (fortunately!) I’ve also been prepping a few new recipes into […]

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Tangra Summer – An Indian-Chinese Seasonal Dinner

By on July 15, 2013 in Blog

The idea for Tangra Summer came about a few months ago. My friend Chitra Agrawal, founder of The ABCD’s of Cooking and a cooking teacher who specializes in Indian food, had suggested we team up to create a pop-up dinner to celebrate local food in Brooklyn. A farm-to-table dinner with a twist. Instead of New American cooking, we could combine […]

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