Thai Curry

When I think of Thai food, the coconut-y curry is the first thing that comes to mind. Once I’ve made this for people, I get repeat requests to make it again. The great thing about this Guessipe is it’s super flexible – pick whichever curry paste you like best – panang, green, red, yellow, etc….

Grown-up Filet-o-Fish

I still had some yellowtail in the freezer from my awesome fishing excursion, and was pondering yummy ways to use it. For some reason I flashed back to when I was a kid on the extremely rare occasions that my parents would take us to McDonald’s. My mom, I guess in an attempt to get…

Japanese Restaurant Dressing

You know that salad you get at the start of a meal at so many Japanese restaurants? And somehow they all seem to have the same dressing (which I’m not complaining about, because it’s sweet gingery deliciousnous)? Well, I always enjoy that salad, and found myself wondering why I couldn’t have it more often. So…

A Traditional Yannukah Stew

This story begins with a holiday called Dirktoberfest – an annual celebration thrown around the time of Oktoberfest by my cousin Yan’s German roommate, Dirk. The highlight of Dirktoberfest was a contest to present Dirk with a beer he’d never had before, the winner of which would receive a specially reserved piece of Dirk’s homemade…

Green Papaya Salad

I adore the green papaya salad that I’ve had at Thai restaurants. I was delighted to find that green papaya is sold at the Asian market and I could make a quick and easy version that completely satisfied what I like so much about the dish. It’s crunchy and spicy and fresh, but with a…

Cambodian Kaw

My Cambodian friend introduced me to this dish of pork belly and eggs in a soy and caramelized sugar sauce, and it’s been a favorite of mine ever since. He gave me his mom’s recipe, but just like my family’s recipes (and I’m beginning to think all Asian families) it was more of a half-complete…

Korean Slaw

Korean slaw has all of the crunchy freshness of coleslaw, but with the spicy kick of kimchi (without having to wait for days of fermentation). It’s also great for using up bits and bobs of fresh veggies. I threw in some carrots and green beans because I happened to have some that needed using up,…

Shortcut Kimchi Cucumbers

When I was little, I got on a kimchi-making kick with my mom. Kimchi takes days to ferment, and can be pretty stinky (we did it in the garage). I give credit to my mom for going along with this for several months – I think she thought of it as good mother-daughter bonding. But…

Spicy Asian Pickles

My mom made these spicy Asian pickles a lot when I was a kid. They are really quick to make, and go great with Asian food. It’s great to have a jar of them in the fridge. My mom says in a pinch, these pickles are good even if they’ve only been marinating for an…