Hanging out with Tony Bourdain
This clip was shot at my home in 2006. It was so fun to have Tony Bourdain and the crew drop by. (I was five months pregnant with my daughter.)
This clip was shot at my home in 2006. It was so fun to have Tony Bourdain and the crew drop by. (I was five months pregnant with my daughter.)
For many immigrant families, food is a way to both stay connected to their culture, and a way to survive. For the Chou family, opening a restaurant seemed like the only way to make ends meet in small town Columbia, Missouri.
This dish is a popular one in Chinese restaurants. It's often deep fried and drenched in a goopy sauce. It doesn't have to be. I use fresh orange peel instead, which results in a brighter flavor. Traditionally, the dish is made with dried...
I made this for an everyday family dinner tonight. But I also make this for Chinese New Year. At New Year's the giant meatballs are symbolic of the family reunion. The big feast on New Year's Eve is actually called the reunion dinner. It's a time when...
Recently, my friend posted a photo of fen zheng pai gu – steamed marinated pork ribs coated with rice powder – that his visiting mother had cooked. My immediate reaction was "oh, yum!" and "I loved when my mom would make this dish." It turns out, that's a common reaction: I did a search online for references to fen zheng pai gu and found many comments from people who also thought of their moms.
I think green beans should be dry fried. Period. You can get creative with the seasonings, but the technique of shallow frying to blister the skins gives the beans great texture and creates plenty of nooks and crannies for the sauce. Dry fried green beans is a popular dish in Chinese restaurants and it certainly was a hot seller at my parents' restaurant.
During Chinese New Year, families gather for a feast of symbolic foods, including dumplings, which represent wealth and longevity. The rounded shape of dumplings resembles the shape of ancient gold ingots, so eating dumplings at New Year’s is a must.