Recipes and cooking adventures of two American-born Taiwanese sisters, as they follow in their mother's culinary footsteps and try desperately to avoid bringing shame to the family name.
As someone who is a self-diagnosed trypophobic, it’s a little strange that I love lotus root as much as I do. Not only are they cool-looking, but the crunchy texture is unlike anything else. The following is an easy recipe mom uses for a quick veggie side dish. It takes 15 minutes to make and is a great textural add to any family meal.
Ingredients
1 lotus root
1 red chili pepper
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorn
1 tsp neutral cooking oil
1/2 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Peel lotus and cut into thin slices.
Cut chili pepper into thin slices.
Rinse lotus slices in water to remove starch
Heat cooking oil in wok and roast the peppercorn until browned. Remove the peppercorns from the oil and discard.
Add chili, stir for a minute. Then add lotus, soy sauce, sugar, salt. Stir fry for about 5 minutes
Drizzle vinegar, mix, stir briefly, then serve hot.
On our recent Taiwan road trip, we discovered the custard apple, a fruit commonly found in Taitung, Taiwan. As we were driving through the countryside, dozens of roadside stands were selling these bizarre-looking fruits. Of course, we had to pull over to try it out.
First thing to note is that two types of custard apples are commonly found in Taiwan: the big custard apple and the pineapple custard apple. They taste similar but look different on the outside and have different consistency and structure on the inside.
The second thing to note is that these fruits have a very narrow timeframe in which they should be eaten. It’s like an avocado – you wait, and wait, and wait for it to ripen… and when it does, you have to eat it almost right away before it goes bad. We bought a case of six custard apples that were still quite firm (see above) and were told we couldn’t eat them for 3 more days. On the third day…
Custard apples: found commonly in Taitung Taiwan and quite possibly the weirdest fruit. Tastes like a creamy mango pear hybrid. 🥭 🍐 🍎 #taiwan#foodie#food
It’s crazy how easily they come apart, considering they were like rocks just a few days before. Note that it’s only the Big Custard Apple variety that can be pulled apart with your hands in this way. After pulling it apart, you can eat it directly with a spoon. The Pineapple Custard Apples need to be peeled and sliced and have a bit of a firmer consistency:
Both types have ginormous seeds that need to be spit out. Luckily, they separate from the fruit quite easily so it’s not too hard to eat around them, but boy are there a lot of them.
Here’s how I’d describe the taste – it’s like a mango meets pear meets papaya. The consistency ranges from custard to ripe mango. Consistency-wise it’s also been compared to a durian but it smells and tastes much better. I really loved the taste of it but the rest of the fam was neutral to slightly positive on it. Regardless, it’s a must-try when you’re visiting the Taitung region of Taiwan!
Green onion pancakes are a staple in our lives – perfect as a side for any dinner and, if you throw an egg on it, it’s a delicious breakfast as well. This is also a dish that everyone on my mom’s side of the family makes in a different way. Despite the different methods, it’s unanimous that nai nai’s pancakes reign supreme. Below, her recipe and instructions (with help from mom):
Tonight, we ‘threw together’ a meal that, like always, left me in awe of my grandmother. Not because the meal was particularly complicated or unusual, but just seeing my nai nai in action is inspiring. She can barely walk a block without sitting down for a rest (she’s 90 – it’s cool), but get her in the kitchen, and she will take a cleaver to a bunch of cukes like nobody’s business. Lucky for us, that means we often get to enjoy her cucumber salad dish – particularly delightful on an indian summer day.
Happy Summer Solstice! Chinese cold noodles or Liang Mian (涼麵) is a deliciously savory yet refreshing snack or meal that’s perfect for hot summer days. It’s a great dish to take to picnics, barbecues, camping…
When we were little, my mom used to name some of her classic dishes after more westernized foods so that my sister and I would be more receptive to them. Of course, this was before I became the worldly, confident individual I am now*. At the time, as a second-generation kid growing up in America, I’d much preferred a McDonald’s Happy Meal to whatever delicious five-dish Chinese meal my mom was preparing. It took me leaving home (for college) to really appreciate the home cooking I had taken for granted all that time.
Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is one of those dishes that is almost always universally loved. It’s flavorful but simple, it’s got some meat but isn’t a meat dish and it’s spicy but not uncontrollably so. Recently, I learned mom has a go-to, quick-fire recipe she uses when she has a package of tofu in the fridge and some ground pork in the freezer*, which is about 97% of the time.
A few months back, I published a recipe for Chinese Spaghetti (aka Zha Jiang Mian). This was my 3rd or 4th time making this dish, so naturally, I undeservedly felt like a pro. That is, until my mother dearest momsplained all the ways in which I messed up. So recently, I revisited this dish, using mom’s suggestions and adding a little flair of my own.
There is no other dish (and one might actually consider this a ‘side’) that encapsulates my childhood eating memories more than Tomato Egg Stir-fry (番茄炒蛋). Because this dish is so quick and simple, it’s become almost as much of a staple as white rice at family meals. Mom serves it with almost everything. And yet, despite this fact, I have only recently attempted to make this dish for the first time.
The first time I made this dish, I was told it didn’t really count because I didn’t pickle my own mustard greens. This past weekend, thanks to my mom over-buying mustard greens at the store (“it was on sale!”), I tried my hand at a more authentic preparation. I liken this dish to a baked potato – you start making it in hopes that when you’re done (5+ hours later) you’ll actually be hungry for it.
Noms From Mom 