Partnership with Soy Vay®

I'm happy to announce that starting this month I'm partnering with Soy Vay® as a brand ambassador. I started using Soy Vay products in college over a decade ago, after discovering them at the nearby Trader Joe's. I wouldn't endorse products unless I'm quite familiar with them, so let me just start off with this: the Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce got me through my entire junior year, when I was living in a suite with a kitchen and cooking for myself for the first time.

In the next few months I'll be doing some recipe development and other fun things. But for now, take a look at their new website.

And another interesting thing that just premiered: Flavor Underground, a mini video series hosted by Soy Vay. In the first video, Dana Nguyen, founder of firstbite.tv, interviews her favorite restaurant chef and discusses ways Soy Vay can be incorporated into everyday meals. Check out the first video that's now up!

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PartnershipsDiana KuanSoy Vay Comments
Red-Cooked Beef

Red-cooked beef is one of those dishes that is just made for the winter. This Chinese beef stew — made by simmering well-marbled beef in a combination of soy sauce, cinnamon, star anise, tangerine peel, and chilies — is as aromatic and delicious as it sounds.

Plus, the bubbling action and warmth in the kitchen while you make this dish is a huge plus when it's 19 degrees F out and your radiator isn't working as well as it should.

Some of you may have tried making red-cooked pork before from this site. My method for red-cooked beef is similar, with some key differences. One big difference is the addition of dried tangerine peel. You can choose to include it or not, but I find that orange flavors pair so well with beef, and adds such a wonderful citrus fragrance to the stew, that I can't pass it up.

You can buy tangerine peel in any Chinese market, but it's also easy to make your own at home. Just peel a tangerine (reserving the insides for a snack!), rip the peel into large pieces, and keep the pieces on a windowsill or another cool, dry spot for 2 to 3 days. Or, to dry the peels on short notice, bake the peels in a 200 degree F oven for about 60 to 70 minutes, until they dry up and look like the peels in the photo above.

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RecipesDiana KuanBeef, Chinese, Hunan, Recipes, Sichuan Comments
Orange-Scented Lentil Soup

I was born in July, dead-smack in the middle of summer, and frequently use it as an excuse for absolutely hating cold weather. "But you're from Boston," my friends would remark, "You should be used to the cold."

Well, it's the one part of me that never got New England-ified (that and total disinterest in the Red Sox.) Despite spending most of my life in cold northern climates, I somehow never got used to frigid weather. In winter, I'm usually much more bundled up than anyone around me. In the summer, even during heat waves, I'm the girl who takes a cardigan everywhere, just in case there's air-conditioning on overdrive somewhere in the city. I take hot showers as soon as it dips below 80 degrees.

The only thing comforting about the colder seasons is the food. Or more specifically, big bubbling pots of soup.

Recently I made a big pot of orange-scented lentil soup out of Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. I've made lentil soup hundreds of times in various forms, but have never thought to put orange peels to add a nice citrus aroma. I had to add a bit more orange peel and coriander than the recipe suggested to get the light citrus scent, but it was a nice change from the lentil soup I usually make.

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RecipesDiana KuanFrench, Recipes, Soup, Vegetarian Comments
Country Captain

Regular readers of this blog may know that I make braised chicken as often as I can. Fortunately  most cuisines around the world — including some of my favorites like Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino — have at least one or two braised chicken dishes that have starring roles.

Today we'll look at Country Captain, a southern braised chicken dish that may or may not have had Indian origins. 

As one story goes, this dish of chicken slow-cooked in tomato sauce and curry came from Savannah, Georgia, a major shipping port for the spice trade. It was rumored that a British sea captain who arrived from Bengal, India, introduced it around Savannah. The spiced tender chicken, with some almonds for crunch and currants for sweetness, became a dish synonymous with the Lowcountry cooking of Georgia.

Then there are others who vehemently argue that it actually originated in Charleston, South Carolina, another spice trade port.

However, according to the New York Times, long-time food columnist Molly O'Neill had actually traced the dish back to the mid-1800s Philadelphia. How it migrated south and stayed there is anyone's guess.

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RecipesDiana KuanAmerican, Chicken, Recipes, Southern Comments
Matcha (Green Tea) Pound Cake

As an over-consumer of food magazines and Pinterest images, I've come to miss the cookie and cake pictures this month.

Now that the holidays are over, it seems like many of us have taken a hiatus from baking. January is supposedly the time for salads and soups and juice cleanses, right? At least, that's what all the cooking magazines are telling me.

And healthy-eating-wise, I've been doing okay so far. I don't get bagels with cream cheese or pizza slices three or four times a week anymore. But the baking? No no no. It's so impossible to ween myself off it that I'm not even going to try.

Green tea pound cake is one of those foods that just has a lovely sound to it. It's fragrant, light, complex, yet indulgent at the same time. As for this particular cake, the texture is nice and buttery like a pound cake should be, but also airy and doesn't make you feel weighed down, even after a eating a few slices more than you should.

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RecipesDiana KuanBreakfast, Dessert, Green Tea, Matcha, Recipes, Tea Comments
Kimchi Omelet

Breakfast for dinner. Those words are like music to my ears. There are many days in a month when I just feel like having a plate of eggs sunny-side-up or French toast or a bagel with lox for dinner. (Similarly, a slice of pizza or leftover pad thai in the morning sounds delicious.)

Last night I was craving eggs with kimchi again. I hadn't made a meal with that particular combo in a while, but I felt like fortifying myself with an extra dose of kimchi, seeing how it's good for the immune system and all. Every other person I know seems to have gotten struck with the flu lately. And when you're riding the NY city subways and people are around you are coughing, it's good to be prepared.

Here's my arsenal of good foodstuffs to prevent illness. Yes, all the orange juice is for one person. Not pictured is the 12 containers of Greek yogurt that also came with the Fresh Direct order.

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RecipesDiana KuanBreakfast, Eggs, Gluten-Free, Kimchi, Recipes, Vegetarian Comments
Asian-Style Peanut Butter Carrot Salad

 About two years ago, when I was in the midst of recipe-testing for my cookbook, I was looking for ideas for cold appetizers for lunch or dinner. I was doing a lot of stir-frying at the time and just wanted something quick with Asian flavors that I could just toss together. The result was this Asian-stye peanut butter carrot salad, inspired by a classic French dish.

This appetizer was inspired by the carottes râpées I had bookmarked from David Lebovitz a while back. Unlike American salads, this one is not ashamed to feature its one key ingredient without any other vegetables to share in the spotlight. Here, the carrot shreds are bigger, and instead of parsley, olive oil, and lemon, I modified the sauce for my cold sesame noodles to have the carrots coated with a slightly tangy peanut butter sauce.

But the spirit of the salad is still the same. You can eat them as a proper dinner appetizer or have them as a late night snack. You can use a fork when others are watching, or, when alone, just swipe them out of the bowl with your hands.

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Asian, Carrot, Recipes, Vegetarian Comments
Brandied Chicken and Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce

Happy 2013!

I just came back from a nice long trip to Boston to visit family for the holidays. I have to admit: it's been very nice to take a break from blogging for a short while. Having been a blogger for so long (5 years!), I sometimes have a lot of trouble separating it from daily life. It's not like having a 9-5 job, where you can mostly leave your work at the office. Weeknights? Why not stay up until midnight working on a post? Weekends? Perfect time for recipe-testing!

In the past year or so I've gotten much better about setting aside time just for relaxation. I now leave at least an hour before bed for reading or something similarly relaxing, instead of just going straight for editing photos to hitting the pillow. Saturdays have become unplug days (well, mostly...checking email on the phone doesn't count, right?)

Needless to say, my habits could get better. And that's one resolution for 2013, to be more efficient with work so that I have enough leisure time to recharge my batteries.

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RecipesDiana KuanChicken, Chinese, Recipes Comments
Bacon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

December has flown by, hasn't it? This month has been crazy busy for everyone I know.  For me, my month has been filled with activities surrounding the release of my cookbook, including interviews and a book release party. It's hard to remember that sometimes we need to sit back and take a breather.

But I am looking forward to Christmas. These bacon parmesan brussels sprouts have been a holiday staple in my home for the past 3 years. Think about it. Bacon. Parmesan. Brussels Sprouts.

It's a little decadent, yes. But isn't December the time for celebrating and treating yourself (and the lucky ones who have Christmas dinner with you?)

Basically, you crisp up the bacon in a pan, then sauté the brussels sprouts and shallots and garlic in bacon drippings, which gives them a great smoky flavor. Then you layer the brussels sprouts with Parmesan and bake the casserole dish in the oven until the brussels sprouts and golden and the cheese is nice and melty.

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RecipesDiana KuanBrussels Sprouts, Recipes Comments
Vinegar-Glazed Chicken

If you're a big fan of tangy chicken, give this vinegar-glazed chicken a try. I first made this Hunan dish about a year ago from Grace Young's Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge and found it positively addictive. I still come back to it again and again for its wonderful combination of smoky, tart, and spicy flavors. 

There's a big bottle of Chinese black vinegar on my counter that I've had for well over a year, surviving at least two apartment moves. I use it every week, from making dumpling dipping sauces to stir-frying dishes like kung pao chicken, but in a year (through intensive recipe testing, no less) it's only about two-thirds done. Bottles of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and other pantry staples have been replaced, but somehow this bottle of black vinegar seems bottomless.

I realized the other day that I haven't talk too much on this blog about Chinese black vinegar and its uses. If you've never had the chance to try it, and live near a big Chinese supermarket, I highly recommend you go to the vinegar aisle and buy yourself a bottle. The one to look for is called Chinkiang Black Vinegar from the Gold Plum brand label, and it looks like this is what it looks like:

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BlogDiana KuanChicken, Chinese, Hunan, Recipes, Spicy Comments
The Chinese Takeout Cookbook

The Chinese Takeout Cookbook: Quick and Easy Dishes to Prepare at Home, just released from Random House/Ballantine Books, is an unabashed celebration of Chinese food in America. It features 80+ recipes for making your favorite takeout and restaurant dishes at home, with easy techniques and all-natural ingredients. Read about the story behind the cookbook here.

This is my first cookbook and I'm excited to share my favorite recipes with you in a single, glossy volume! 

How to get your copy:

Press:

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Diana Kuan Comments
Kimchi Scallion Noodles, and Launch Party Recap

What a week! I had forgotten how good it feels to finally sit down.

Not only are we smack dab in the middle of a frantic holiday season, my cookbook was officially released on Tuesday! And in the days leading up to the book release party in Brooklyn, I was scrambling hard to get everything ready. There were arrangements to be made, groceries and supplies to buy, and plenty of food to make.  Fortunately, decorations were easy enough, after a trip to The Container Store and a paper/craft supply store.

I had the party at 61 Local, a fantastic bar in Carroll Gardens with a gorgeous wide open interior. And for food, I made a big batch of dumplings, Sichuan cucumber salad, and Chinese almond cookies, all recipes straight from the cookbook. For extra fun, there was a raffle for a copy of the book plus a Kung Pao Chicken recipe kit from GrubKit, founded by my friends Max and Barb. 

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BlogDiana KuanNoodles, Recipes, Spicy, Vegetarian Comments
Sweet and Sour Chicken

My cookbook is officially released next week! And it makes me wonder: where did the time go?

It seems like just yesterday I handed in my final manuscript, and now all of a sudden December 11th is just around the corner. There are still interviews to schedule, books to ship off, and a book launch party to plan. It's equal amounts exciting and nerve-racking. Sometimes I just want to take a deep breath and pour myself a large glass of wine. Other times I just want to escape to the kitchen and de-stress by cooking.

So it's ironic that the dish I chose to cook today is also a Chinese-American comfort food classic, like the dishes in The Chinese Takeout Cookbook (which does have a recipe for sweet and sour pork). I hadn't made crispy chicken in months, but just felt like doing it again today on a whim.

The process for making the chicken is very similar to the process for General Tso's Chicken, which is still the most popular recipe on this site. You coat the chicken with salt, cornstarch, and egg whites, then carefully fry the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes, with an optional 2nd frying to get the meat extra-crispy.  The tangy and sweet sauce with pineapple chunks takes only 2 minutes to cook down before it coats the chicken. It's like the best sweet and sour sauce you can get at a restaurant, except now you know the exact ingredients that go into it (no gluey preservatives here!)

 

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BlogDiana KuanChicken, Chinese, Recipes Comments