Soy + Ginger Recipe #6: Grass Jelly, an herbal medicinal jello sweetened by the addition of homemade simple syrup. It's quick, delicious, and healthy—a.k.a. the triple threat of the dessert world. It may not be the easiest product to acquire, but hey, that's what Amazon is for, right? It's worth it, trust me.
Read MoreSoy + Ginger Recipe #5: Pork + Pickled Turnip Meatloaf is a provincial dish—if the Chinese ate hamburgers, this would be it, but instead of buns, we use rice to layer the meat. Oh, and it's steamed. Our family likes to use pickled turnip which provides this dish with unique salty goodness in every bite. If you like pickles and savory foods, this is THE dish for you.
Read MoreSoy+Ginger Recipe #4: Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup takes the classic feel-better dish and mingles it with flavors from the East. It's definitely sharper than your average chicken noodle soup recipe (thanks to the scallion), but combined with the salty sweetness of soy and oyster sauce, you may just wish this was the recipe you grew up with.
Read MoreSoy + Ginger Recipe #3: Chinese Steamed Egg—the clean taste of the egg works with the strong flavor profile of dry scallops, which have a more concentrated taste than their fresh counterparts. Topped off with scallions, Mom's Chinese Steamed Egg Tart manages to simultaneously be simple and packed with flavor.
Read MoreSoy + Ginger Recipe # 2: Dad's Take on Ratatouille—a family recipe that has its origins in French Indochina, uses the classic American condiment: ketchup (à la mom). It's a wonderful blend of tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, and beef. It sits somewhere between a stew and a sauce, so it pairs nicely with pasta or rice...but because we're a Chinese family, we're partial to the rice (surprise, surprise, right?).
Read MoreSoy + Ginger Recipe #1—Bold but simple, lemongrass pork chop is one of mom's favorite recipes, and therefore the natural choice for the first dish of many to come on the culinary adventure I plan to embark on with her and dad. They tell me how to make all the traditional goodies I grew up with, I attempt to master them, and you become privy to the provincial dishes of China and Vietnam, without having to step further than your local grocery store...with the occasional visit to Chinatown.
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