Tag Archives: Hugh Amano

When the Name Doesn’t Do It Justice

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A one-pot chicken and rice supper with Chinese flavors.
A one-pot chicken and rice supper with Chinese flavors.

Yup, that’s right: “Roast Chicken and Rice Casserole” is the name of this dish. It sounds so basic. But it is so far from that.

The title might make you think of an old-school Americana dish. But it’s really one with a delicious Chinese flair to it with coconut milk enriching the rice, and lemongrass and ginger perfuming everything.

This easy one-pot dish is from “Down South + East” (Abrams), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Ron Hsu, the culinary director and partner in Michelin-starred Lazy Betty in Atlanta., with an assist from Hugh Amano, a writer and chef at the now-shuttered Fat Rice in Chicago.

A Chinese American who grew up in Atlanta, Hsu grew up helping his parents at their chain of seven Hunan Village restaurants on the outskirts of the city. His own restaurant is affectionately named for her.

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Spicy Lamb Dumplings

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Home-made wrappers envelope a filling of cumin-scented lamb.
Home-made wrappers envelope a filling of cumin-scented lamb.

I’ve always had utmost respect for the cooks at Chinese restaurants, who huddle over a counter, rolling out perfectly thin circles of dough, one right after another, before crimping them with mind-blogging precision to turn out handmade dumplings quicker than I can take a breath.

But I have even more appreciation for their mad skills now, having tried my hand at making my own dumpling wrappers for the very first time.

Ever since I was a kid making wonton, gyoza and potstickers alongside my mom, we’d always make the filling from scratch, but buy the pre-made wrappers from an Asian market.

With the start of the Lunar New Year this week in yet another pandemic month, I figured now would be as good a time as any to finally check off that box in the annals of dumpling-making.

“Let’s Make Dumplings!” (Ten Speed Press, 2021), of which I received a review copy, proved a perfect resource for that undertaking.

It’s a comic book cookbook — yes, really — by cookbook writer Hugh Amano and illustrator Sarah Becan.

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