Multigrain waffles at Waffle House? – Waffle House is a longtime family favorite and often the first stop on the way home from the airport. My mom loves their pork chops and for years, it was the only spot for my favorite–grits! So, when I saw the multigrain waffle poster, I was giddy! No more carrying wheat germ and embarrassing my family, right? I ordered one, to the astonishment of my server. Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived and they stopped selling it. I can see the market data now: “a single order from an enthusiastic short Asian woman in Smyrna.” Guess that didn’t carry enough ROI to launch it up there with the topped, covered, smothered hash browns.

Did you know–fried pork skins, a snack that we used to eat on fishing trips to Lake Allatoona, has fewer fat grams than some crackers? Try them dipped in Thai sweet chili sauce for a flavor overload.

BYOWG – I carry my own wheat germ in a little pouch in my purse and sprinkle it on WFF (white flour food) as needed. At which point my eating companions move to the next table like they don’t know me…

The Varsity –an Atlanta tradition since 1928, home of the chili cheese dog, fried pies and the Frosted Orange—had a sign that read “we use 100% vegetable oil with no transfats” and “whole wheat bread available on request.” Great, make mine a double order!

When we taught our first cooking class in the 1980’s, hot and sour soup was considered exotic. Now, we left the workshop feeling exonerated and glad that distinguished chefs and local palates had begun to expand beyond chicken breast, prime rib and lobster tail. Maybe cuttlefish jerky and red bean popsicles would be next!

Guess what I found on my doorstep: Bunches of freshly picked lychee fruit, still on the stem with green leaves! I couldn’t believe my eyes or my taste buds.

Lychees (or litchee) date back to 2000 B.C. and have been considered a delicacy by the Chinese Imperial Court. It was the favorite fruit of Yang Guifei, the Tang Dynasty Emperor’s beloved consort, and he had it delivered to the royal palace at great expense from southern China. Lychee is loved for its juicy sweetness but also packs a day’s worth of Vitamin C in eight bites. I’ve also seen Chinese parents give a peeled lychee in place of a pacifier to infants!  Lychees are very perishable and overnight, the leaf branches of my lychees became dry and the fruit shell changed colors. But peel off the rigid inedible shell and you’ll find a luscious surprise (with a pit) inside…

My mom told me this childhood story:

I adored lychees and we had lychee trees growing in our neighborhood in Taiwan. Your uncle and I would eat bunches and bunches in one sitting. Your grandmother (po po) would chastise me for eating too many lychees, saying they would “raise the fire” in me, creating a hot “yang” imbalance. I didn’t listen and ate a bushel. Lo and behold, I got a canker sore or a nose bleed! They are still my favorite to this day…

So far, I don’t know who art thou Lucky Lychee Leprechaun? But if I had access to this precious delicacy, I might stay anonymous, too, for fear of a hostile lychee tree takeover or ambush. No worries, your secret is safe with me, as a juicy lychee in my tummy.

Thank you, thank you for the wonderful sweet surprise, Lychee Leprechaun!

Hot and Sour Soup Tips:

• Start with good broth – traditional is pork or beef, but can use vegetable broth
• Use Chinese black vinegar (or balsamic), but sparingly to avoid overdoing “sour”
• “Hot” is from white pepper (different warmth from black pepper)
• Similar to making egg drop soup, gently stir in beaten egg after soup has been thickened (corn starch or other)
• Woodear fungus, bamboo shoots (and blood tofu in Taiwan), scallions and dash of sesame oil in the bowl are traditional ingredients that make the soup special and hearty

Wok 'n' roll Sushi class

Healthy Spring Rolls & Egg Rolls!

Tuesday, June 22, 7pm, Demo & Tasting at Cook’s Warehouse (Brookhaven) ASIAN NOODLE CRAZY! $40

Wide or skinny, stir-fry or soupy, we’ll cover our favorite noodle-based dishes that you can make at home with a variety of ingredients that leave room for authenticity and creativity. Sample dishes (subject to seasonal variations) include Margaret’s Homestyle Chinese Spaghetti, Japanese Miso Noodle Soup, Singapore Curry Noodles. Come ready to twirl and slurp and be entertained in a state-of-the-art culinary facility. Register www.cookswarehouse.com or call 404-949-9945

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HANDS-ON COOKING CLASSES at Buford Highway Farmers Market, $15

Thur July 15–Creative Sushi (Black/Brown Rice, Veggie, Calif, Trad’l)

Tues July 20–Homestyle Springrolls (3 varieties)

Thur Aug.5–*NEW TWIST* Wontons & Dumplings!

Tues Aug 24–*NEW*  Wild About Rice! (Demo, tasting, rice cookers, Asian rice +more)

Classes are  7-9pm at 5600 Buford Hwy Farmers Market, cost $15 and include learning, making, and eating plus plenty of  kitchen & shopping tips, cultural learning, Chinese Southern Belle “Buddha-to-Bubba” family stories, plus $10 store gift card! Register and pay with Bill 678-873-7447  or customer service desk.

Come EAT, SHOP & LEARN with us!

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SATURDAY EXPRESS DEMOS  1-4pm – Popular topics  (subject to change) — Free, drop-in, get a sample, tips, recipe & shopping list–all in 10 minutes! Location:  5600 Buford Hwy Farmers Market, Doraville, GA 30340

July 24–Express Sushi

July 31–Asian Noodles!

Aug 21—Stir Fry Tips!

Aug 28—Homestyle Springrolls

Got an email with questions from a cooking class student:

1) What sauce did you use in your stir-fry demo?

In addition to the 3 G’s, I used a Vegetable Mushroom Sauce (alternative for oyster sauce). Wei Chuan and Lee Kum Kee are commonly found brands. I also added a few drops of Asian-style dark roasted sesame oil. It is very fragrant and adds a “Mandarin twist” instantly (also great in salads).

2) What type of tofu did you use? It was brown-colored.

A popular tofu option is the brown-colored  “baked tofu” a.k.a. savory, 5-spice, smoked tofu sold in the refrigerated section. It is one of our “tofu converters” i.e.  folks who don’t like the plain block of fresh tofu often like this because of the firmer texture and flavor. You can freeze it, too. It will change texture a little so you may opt to crumble in veggie burgers instead. It is the signature ingredient in my mom’s favorite childhood dish with garlic chives, Chinese sausage (optional) and red peppers.

Keep the questions, comments and letters coming!

• Tangy craving:   Dried green mango strips
• Salty craving:  Japanese seaweed crackers
• A little kick:  Wasabi peas
• Sweet:  Hi-chew taffy (mango or melon) or black sesame brittle
• Feeling munchy:  Laver soda crackers (Korean and Japanese)
• Sour-Sucking-Mouthwatering: Preserved plums!  (Pavlov’s right, my mouth waters every time I think of them)
• On-the-go or in the car:  Hot oatmeal mixed with Black Sesame Powder, honey and soy milk in my thermal mug
• Suddenly I’m starving:  Multi-grain, high-protein cereal biscuits (Taiwan) with a glass of water
• Feeling anti-social:  Cuttlefish jerky
• New favorite:  Sliced almonds with dried, seasoned minnows (sold at Tomato Japanese grocery)
• New import: Green tea smoked tofu packs (Taiwan)

Many of these can be found either at Tomato (mini-Japanese grocery at Windy Hill/Smyrna or one of the Asian groceries (Buford Highway Farmers Market, H-Mart, Assi, 99 Ranch, Dingho, Hong Kong Supermarket)

Remains of whole pike fish

In my family, we love bones, heads, pits and skin—in our food, that is. We grew up and as kids, were officially and non-voluntarily trained to eat “whole foods” early on – whole fish, whole shrimp with head and skin, whole watermelon seeds.

Don’t get me wrong—I don’t eat all animal parts or all animals and still get queasy seeing some “parts.”  I don’t consider myself very tongue-skilled compared to my Chinese elders who are especially adept at quickly and cleanly extracting the meat from the encasing without a mess.  And I enjoy plenty of dishes where my taste buds, rather than my tongue, are getting a workout.

I concede that it’s much easier to hold a conversation or pay attention when you’re not spitting out bits and pieces of indigestible food particles out of your mouth or having to keep your oratory sensors on alert to catch potentially deadly, but usually, simply uncomfortable fish bones before swallowing. What appears normal at the dinner table with Chinese folks can be an unpalatable (or even an impolite) scene with unaccustomed guests!

There were other peculiar food preferences. We always had dark meat, preferred the smaller female crabs at the market and fought over who got to suck the mango pit. I don’t remember ever eating boneless chicken. I remember other fishermen giving us their less desirable fish (“too bony”) and my parents being excited about the bonus. Cultural, health and economic factors seemed to explain some of the differences.

Historically in China, eating meat was a luxury and being selective or wasteful about certain animal parts was unthinkable. Bone soups and stews were considered healthier and more nutritious, not to mention richer in flavor. Enjoying whole cooked fish was a gourmet dish, a symbol of good luck and prosperity and the fish head was reserved for the guest of honor!

Snack-a-holic Chinese Southern Belles, Chicago Sweets & Snacks Expo

Just landed in Chicago and took the train and bus to the 2010 Sweets & Snacks Expo, a snack-a-holics dream come true! My mom already turned into a kid and started gobbling up welcome treats which included a 15-lb bag of taffies, chocolates, gummies, chewies and crunchies. Who says you can’t love sushi and swedish fish at the same time?! Of course, my weakness is chocolate…twist my arm, I’ll try a sample here…and there…and there…

Tofu (or beancurd) in its myriad forms has been a significant staple in Asian diets, from China to Indonesia, since the 10th century. It wasn’t until World War II that the West expressed interest in the soy bean. Ironically, it was meat producers who first started using it as a “meat extender” in sausages. For most Westerners, soy sauce was the earliest introduction to a soy product. To suit Western tastes, processed forms of soy products and bean curd that tempered the “beany” flavor or altered the texture have become popular. Personally, although I eat an occasional veggie burger, I much prefer the original Asian-style products, like fresh soy milk, tempeh and naturally-fermented tofu.

Historically, except in Buddhist circles, the limited consumption of meat and the dominant role of tofu as a high-protein staple among Asian common people were due more to geography and poverty. It was not a dietary choice couched in a social, political or environmental activist context, as “vegetarianism” is often expressed here.

We could  have had a fascinating discussion about tofu (and vegetarianism) across different cultures but unfortunately, she was agitated and it became clear that the issue was more about her agenda, than grief about the beef!  Fortunately, several other students, including other vegetarians, loved our delicious, diverse menu.

My "Weeknight Veggie Sushi" with fried tofu