Little Sister Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #51 Little Sister is one of the few south bay establishments to make Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. It is on one of the main Manhattan Beach streets filled with beachy chic spots overlooking the ocean and catering to crowds of relaxed, sun-kissed folks who all look like they’ve just come from…

Curry Chicken Rice Salad

My mom makes this dish, and there’s something about it that’s so comforting. It’s also great because it’s a whole meal in one – grain, meat, and veg. So it’s great for scooping yourself a giant bowl and just going to town. Guessipe 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups…

Crawfish at the Cabin

My Swedish friends invited me up to their cabin for a Kraftskiva celebration. What, you may be wondering, is Kraftskiva? It’s a crawfish party, where everyone wears bibs and silly hats, eats massive amounts of crawfish, and drinks aquavit and beer while singing Swedish drinking songs. So pretty much the BEST PARTY EVER. While the…

Shibumi Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #47 Shibumi is a Japanese restaurant whose menu is driven by local, organic, sustainable ingredients. It is located downtown, with a sign for the parking garage but not the restaurant itself, so look out for the uniquely shaped window. That tinted window lets in the only natural light in the place, so it’s…

Japanese Breakfast Bowl

Apparently Japanese Breakfast Bowls are becoming a thing in LA restaurants these days. They’re basically rice, with some fish and some veggies. I love dinner food for breakfast, so I’ve been making something akin to that at home for a long time! My version is super easy because it’s mostly already prepared ingredients from the…

Sticky Rice Stuffed Chicken

When I was a kid, my grandma often made sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves. I loved it, but she lived across the country so when I couldn’t get it from her, it would always be one of the items I ordered at dim sum. There was something kind of magical about peeling open the…

Jook

Jook is one of my favorite Thanksgiving family traditions. It is a hearty rice soup, which my family makes using the turkey carcass. We intentionally leave a lot of meat on the bone when carving the turkey, expressly for this purpose. As soon as the turkey is carved, we start the jook cooking, so that…

Eggs on Rice with Oyster Sauce

Weekend brunch in my family was a big deal. My dad was the brunch cook, and my mom, brother, and I would take turns getting to decide what was for brunch each weekend. When it was my turn, I almost always chose eggs on rice with oyster sauce. This may sound weird, but trust me…