Category Archives: Asian Recipes

Scenes From the Food Gal’s Cooking Demo At Macy’s Union Square

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Yours truly with Chef Earl Shaddix of All-Clad. (Photo courtesy of Barry and Eva Jan)

It was an unbelievable standing room-only crowd a couple of Saturday afternoons ago at Macy’s Union Square San Francisco, when I did my first cooking demo ever.

Chef Earl Shaddix of All-Clad was on hand to act as host and assistant, when I demonstrated how to make my late-Mom’s one and only tomato beef chow mein.

The event was crazy fun. It was a blast. And it was downright exhausting. I was so pooped that I joked to some of my cookbook-author friends afterward that I don’t know how they do these all the time without keeling over.

The day was a total whirlwind. The event started at 2 p.m., but I got there two hours earlier in order to make two batches of the dish ahead of time to ensure there was plenty for samples and to prep for the third batch, which I would make in front of the audience. From the second I got there, it was non-stop chopping, peeling, stirring and talking — until I finally left the store at 4 p.m. to go back home. Whew!

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My Dad’s Steak Sauce

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An Asian-style steak sauce that tastes of family and childhood.

On their wedding day, brides usually share a first dance with their father.

I did not.

It’s not that I didn’t want to. It’s just that when it comes to elderly Asian-American parents, you know you’re treading dangerously if you dare bring up any idea that involves them making even the slightest spectacle of themselves.

Oh, my shy, reserved Mom made it perfectly clear that if I made her get up and dance in front of everyone, she wouldn’t come to my wedding. I kid you not.

On top of that, my husband was quite sure his own father wouldn’t want to be two-stepping anytime soon. No, siree. My husband’s mother also was bedridden and couldn’t attend our nuptials. So, in the end, we decided to do away with that whole parental tradition and just share only the one dance with each other as man and wife.

I sometimes wonder, though, if I still should have taken my Dad’s hand and led him through one father-daughter twirl.

You see, my late-Dad actually liked to dance.

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Part II: The Meat

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Juicy, tender lamb with the flavor of Madras curry.

Did you know that most Americans eat little to no lamb? Indeed, only 0.7 pounds of lamb are consumed per capita here each year, according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

More’s the pity, since lamb is one of the most succulent and flavorful meats around.

Don’t take my word for it. Try it in this dish of “Lamb Shoulder Steak with Japanese Curry Oil.” The recipe is from “The Japanese Grill” (Ten Speed Press) by Tadashi Ono, executive chef of Matsuri in New York, and food writer Harris Salat. It’s also a perfect accompaniment to the duo’s “Romaine Hearts with Miso-Mustard Dressing,” which I spotlighted the other day.

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Part I: The Salad

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A simple salad you're sure to fall for.

Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that bring such joy.

The feel of crisp, freshly laundered sheets on a bed.

The sensation of gulping ice-cold water after a hard workout on a blistering day.

The whiff of heady, fresh rosemary from the herb pots on my front porch.

And a shamelessly simple dressing that can transform plain ol’ lettuce leaves into a salad I can’t get enough of.

Indeed, “Romaine Hearts in Miso-Mustard Dressing” has become the new favorite salad in my house. The recipe is from the new cookbook, “The Japanese Grill” (Ten Speed Press), of which I recently received a review copy. The book is by Tadashi Ono, executive chef at Matsuri in New York, and food writer Harris Salat.

Inside, you’ll find recipes for everything from classic chicken yakitori to foil-baked onions with soy sauce to miso yaki onigiri (grilled rice balls). While most of the recipes do make use of the grill, there’s also a chapter on salads that does not. This is one of those cookbooks that will tempt you with every recipe because they are all quite straightforward and with manageable ingredient lists.

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Meaty Memories

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My Dad taught me to love this unconventional cut of beef.

Oxtails.

The name alone may make some people blanch.

But to me, the tail never fails to get me in the heart.

You see, oxtails were the very last dish that I cooked for my Dad before he passed away. And so, they always make me think of him.

He’s the one who taught me true appreciation for this once-shunned, once-inexpensive cut that has such brazen beefiness.

If you like short ribs, you’re sure to go crazy for oxtails, which cook up even more tender with even more profound flavor. You can find them easily in the butcher case of Asian markets.

Sure, there’s more cartilage and bone in oxtails. But that’s what adds to their flavor and makes eating them such messy fun.

My Dad would cook up a cavernous pot on weekends, simmering the cut-up oxtails with star anise, soy sauce and ginger in a brothy cross between a soup and a stew. He’d throw in carrots and turnips, then let the pot simmer for hours until the meat was as tender as can be.

Then, he’d ladle big scoops of it into flat bowls filled with fluffy steamed rice, with the grains absorbing the aromatic broth so perfectly.

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