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“Can you make kung pao chicken with tofu?” the customer asked the Chinese waiter. No, kung pao chicken is made with chicken, the waiter said in a huff. The waiter was likely tired of hearing requests for protein substitutes. But perhaps if the customer asked for kung pao tofu or gong bao dou fu (“gong…
Recipes: Stir-Fry
Lobster Tail, Lily Bulb, and Ginger Stir-Fry Recipe
It had been many years since my family celebrated Tet together but for this year, Lunar New Year fell on Friday and the long President’s Day weekend. My dad has been dealing with some health issues so my husband and I drove about 7 hours to spend the weekend with my parents. I also volunteered…
Indian Green Bean and Coconut Stir-Fry Recipe
“I now understand Jack and the Beanstalk,” my husband said, looking out at our bushy green bean plants in the garden. I expanded our growing space this year with galvanized steel beds so we’re growing triple the amount of green beans as we have in the past. I typically plant French filet beans but for…
Clams with Fermented Tofu and Chile
This great recipe came about by mistake. I’d mistakenly thought that I had a key ingredient – bean sauce, for a recipe in Grace Young’s terrific Chinese cookbook, Breath of a Wok. But I went ahead and made the recipe and it turned out really really well. The reason was fermented tofu (fu ru). The…
Stir-Fried Beef with Black Pepper Recipe
Many cookbooks are produced to be timely and of-the-moment. They inspire people to dive into trendy dishes or a celebrity’s personal recipe collection. In the publishing world, those are categorized as “frontlist” works that sell well upon release. Then there are “backlist” cookbooks that are crafted to stick around for years and sell steadily. Some…
Kung Pao Tofu Recipe (Gong Bao Dou Fu)
I cannot remember when I last ordered kung pao anything at a restaurant. I gave up on it because the restaurant-style sauce was either super sweet or indistinct and there were often few peanuts. Peanuts are cheap and I’ve not known why some restaurants skimp or skip it. I love the peanuts in kung…
Cilantro Peppercorn Pesto and 5 Ways to Use it
I made a peanut noodle salad for a potluck luncheon last Saturday and ended up with about a pound leftover cilantro. There were a lot of stems with little root portions attached and immediately, my mind went to something Thai. In particular, this spicy mixture which I’ve been making since the early 1990s. The original…
Why My Family Doesn’t Eat Brussels Sprouts but I Do (+ 4 recipes)
About fifteen years ago, after moving to Santa Cruz in the Monterey Bay where there were acres upon acres of Brussels sprouts, I decided to surprise my family at the holidays with a ‘new’ vegetable. We never had them when I was growing up and my husband introduced me to them one fall long ago….
Thai Stir-fried Chicken with Basil Recipe
I spotted what looked like the last bunch of lemon basil at the farmers’s market and knew that it had my name on it. There was none at the Hmong stall, where I usually find it alongside holy basil and Thai basil. This lonesome bunch was at Coke Farms, owned by 70 or 80 somethings…
9 Recipes for Wok Workouts
Following on the heels of the post on my path toward getting a nonstick wok, I thought about the various ways you can use a wok. It’s such a versatile piece of cookware suitable for stir-frying, pan-frying, deep-frying, steaming, boiling, smoking, and roasting. (I think I forgot one because I’ve been told that are eight…
