In my last post, the update on the kung pao chicken recipe, I had mentioned there would be some exciting related news soon. So I’m excited to announce a collaboration with our friends at GrubKit, which provides kits that include pre-measured, carefully selected ingredients so you can create a fun, stress-free meal at home. (GrubKits have gotten some good press and attention lately, including a tweet from actor Ed Burns!)
The Kung Pao Chicken kit that we’re putting out comes with detailed recipe card, Sichuan pepper, dried chilis, Chinese rice wine, a special sauce blend that includes Chinese black vinegar and hoisin sauce, and more. One frequently repeated comment I receive from readers is that you’d love to cook certain dishes from this blog, but finding certain ingredients can be difficult. With kits that cost less than a takeout meal for 4, GrubKit will take care of the search for you by finding and putting together the best ingredients, so you can relax and enjoy cooking a new dish at home. Plus, these recipe kits make great gifts!
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
News
The last time I wrote about kung pao chicken was almost four years ago, in July of 2008. I was living in Beijing at the time, and kung pao chicken had been designated the official dish of the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was easy to prepare, more filling than a Clif Bar, and sports venues could even sell it in the stands.
I’ve made the dish countless times since then, teaching it in classes, and refining it for my upcoming cookbook. Because I have an exciting announcement coming in the next couple of days related to this dish, I’m posting a revised recipe for you to try at home, with a tastier sauce and more streamlined directions. And stay tuned in the next couple of days for more news! Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Chicken,
Chinese,
Recipes,
Sichuan,
Spicy
My love affair with chicken adobo dates back to 2005. A friend who was born and raised in Guam had made dinner one night and served up a rustic-looking and extremely fragrant chicken dish. I had never eaten or even heard of chicken adobo before. But one bite of the juicy dark meat with all its tanginess, sweetness, and soy-sauce-savoriness and I was hooked.
I begged my friend teach it to me the following night. And then proceeded to make chicken adobo at least once a week for the next 2 years. Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Chicken,
Filipino,
Recipes
by Diana on April 27, 2012
The Dumplings and Wontons class for May is now up!
In this 2-hour class on Sunday, May 6th in SoHo, we’ll go over the basics of wrapping dumplings and wontons, then pan-fry the dumplings to crispy perfection and transform the wontons into a spicy Sichuan appetizer. Both meat and vegetarian fillings will be available.
Also for this session, in celebration of spring, we’ll make use of in-season produce like ramps, watercress, and more.
So sign up today! Bonus: the first 5 sign-ups can use code MAY06 for 15% off.
Tagged as:
Classes,
Events
by Diana on April 24, 2012
I’ve been on quite a shellfish kick lately. In the span of a month, I’ve eaten mussels and clams almost every time I’ve had dinner out, from French-style mussels steamed in white wine at a local hangout to Chinese clams with black bean sauce at dim sum. Maybe it’s because of spring and warmer temps, but restaurants have been putting up seafood specials left and right, and I happily indulge.
Fortunately, living near two good seafood markets means I can decide on whim to have mussels and clams for dinner and just walk down the street to pick them up. A couple of days ago, I decided to do an easy meal of mussels with ginger and shallots, steamed with Chinese rice wine. Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Chinese,
Mussels,
Seafood
by Diana on April 20, 2012
In the year and a half I had been working on my cookbook, I ate out much less than usual. Recipe-testing during the day meant that I always had leftovers for dinner, which piled up in the fridge, and I didn’t like food going to waste. When I did eat out, it was usually for big events like friends’ birthdays or just grabbing a bite in the neighborhood. This meant that for quite a while, I contributed much less to conversations about new restaurants, chefs, and talked-about dishes than a person in the food biz ought to.
As much as I love cooking at home, dining out has a big appeal. Being inspired by new dishes and new flavors is the biggest reason. I’ve had fabulous meals recently at Talde in Park Slope and Lotus Blue in Tribeca (opened by my friend Kian of Red Cook); the restaurants both had creative modern takes on Asian cooking and proved you don’t have to rely on traditional recipes to serve up great Filipino, Chinese, and other Asian food. Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Brooklyn,
Restaurants
by Diana on April 13, 2012
Ramen is one of those dishes I find myself craving at least 3 or 4 times a week. Unfortunately, I live too far from a really good ramen place and can’t really satisfy those cravings other than making it myself. (Note to Ippudo: please open a Brooklyn location.)
A quick and easy version to make, if you don’t have the many hours it takes to create a luscious tonkotsu (pork bone) broth, is miso ramen. I use a red miso paste made with soy beans, but there are plenty of other red, white, or yellow varieties made with barley, rice, or buckwheat. Dashi is the soup stock usually used for miso ramen, which can also be quickly made with dashi granules, but you can substitute it with vegetable or chicken stock. Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Japanese,
Noodles,
Recipes,
Vegetarian
by Diana on April 6, 2012
It’s ramp season in New York! Earlier yesterday, my neighborhood co-op tweeted that they just got a shipment of ramps in stock, which my friend Barb relayed to me via text. I was working on taxes at the time and wading through a mountain of receipts, so I was more than happy for an excuse to escape spreadsheets for a while and stroll (okay, powerwalk) to the store.
Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are pretty much in season for about 3 weeks here, making them highly sought after by chefs and anyone crazy enough about food to follow farmers markets and co-ops on Twitter. They’re grown only in the eastern part of the US and Canada, so the year I spent in San Francisco, land of copious farmers markets, was sadly ramp-free. The flavor of ramps is a like a combination of garlic and onion, with a mellow earthy flavor. You can use it in anything you would normally use onions, scallions, leeks, and garlic in, such as omelets, savory tarts, pasta dishes, and pizza. Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Appetizers,
Dumplings,
Recipes,
Vegetarian
