Category Archives: Asian Recipes

“To Lahaina, With Love”

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A simple and delicious recipe from Chef Lee Anne Wong, who lost her restaurant in the devastating Lahaina fires.
A simple and delicious recipe from Chef Lee Anne Wong, who lost her restaurant in the devastating Lahaina fires.

In times of natural disasters or catastrophic world events, not only do firefighters and paramedics immediately mobilize to help, but so do chefs, cooks, and others in the hospitality industry.

After all, they know better than anyone the power of food to comfort, nourish, and heal.

As I watched the news accounts of the gut-wrenching destruction wrought by the Southern California wildfires, it reminded me eerily of the 2023 firestorm that obliterated the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui.

In each case, restaurateurs and their employees — including some whose establishment or homes had been ravaged by flames — turned up in droves to cook meals for anyone in need, despite their own dire circumstances.

Wildfires may be growing more severe nowadays due to climate change. But it’s heartening to witness the indefatigable resilience, resourcefulness, and compassion of a community rising to meet it.

“To Lahaina, With Love” exemplifies that. Proceeds from this cookbook, which debuted last month, benefit Fresh Help Maui, a non-profit that provides meals and locally-caught fresh fish to those impacted by the Maui fires.

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The Simple Pleasures of Pork Simmered with Ginger

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A fast and homey tasting pork dish full of ginger flavor.
A fast and homey tasting pork dish full of ginger flavor.

Spending two weeks in Japan last year gave me an even greater appreciation for the food there. Not just for the regal kaiseki experiences or the sublime omakase meals, but for the uncomplicated everyday food that’s so inexpensive and readily available.

Things like a creamy egg salad sandwich on squishy milk bread from Lawson’s convenience store, the freshly made sesame seed-studded onigiri from the 7-Eleven with rice that was never too cold or too hard, and the shattering crunch of a soy-brushed rice cracker that somehow tasted better than any others I’d ever had.

“A Day In Tokyo” (Smith Street Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy, let me relive those marvelous food memories through its pages.

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Comforting Indonesian Kecap Manis-Braised Pork

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Syrupy Indonesian soy sauce flavors this saucy pork dish.
Syrupy Indonesian soy sauce flavors this saucy pork dish.

After indulging in so many mammoth feasts this holiday, I always long for simple comfort dishes come January.

“Kecap Manis-Braised Pork” fits that bill with tender chunks of pork and potatoes simmered in sweet, aromatic Indonesian soy sauce known as kecap manis that gets spooned over fluffy white rice.

This simple, homey dish is from “Mortar & Pestle” (Weldon Owen, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Patricia Tanumihardja, a Virginia food writer who was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and grew up in Singapore; and Juliana Evari Suparman, who was born in Bekasi, Indonesia and now lives in Seattle where for many years she operated her own restaurant and catering business.

Because Indonesian cuisine is not nearly as well known as many other Asian ones, the two were inspired to write the cookbook to shed light on their native country, which consists of an astounding 18,110 islands, forming what is the largest archipelago in the world (3.8 million square miles) to form a single state.

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Roasted Sweet Potatoes Get Even Better With A Little Bourbon

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Whole roasted sweet potatoes get jazzed up with miso and bourbon.
Whole roasted sweet potatoes get jazzed up with miso and bourbon.

Although whiskey can be made anywhere in the world, it can only be called “bourbon” if it’s made in the United States.

Who knew!

That’s because Congress passed a law in 1964 that declared bourbon as “America’s Native Spirit.”

You’ll learn that and so much more in “Bourbon Land” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy.

This “spirited love letter” is by James Beard Award-winning Edward Lee, chef-owner of 610 Magnolia and Nami, both in Louisville, KY, who writes both romantically and knowledgeably about Kentucky’s most famous liquor.

Indeed, since Lee opened his flagship restaurant in 2002 and made Kentucky his home, he’s been passionate about drinking and cooking with bourbon.

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Mushroom Udon with Honey? You Bet!

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Mushrooms, udon, and honey? Say what?
Mushrooms, udon, and honey? Say what?

Admittedly, when I first laid eyes on this recipe for “Honey-Glazed Mushrooms with Udon,” I was initially a little skeptical.

Mushrooms with honey? Really?

But James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon has never steered me wrong in any of her other recipes that I’ve made.

Ditto for this one. Not only was this recipe quick and effortless, but it showed me just how honey could further deepen the caramelized taste of sauteed mushrooms.

First published in the New York Times, this recipe calls for boiling frozen or fresh udon noodles, then rinsing well to remove excess starch.

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