This spam fried rice recipe was inspired by Susan’s original creation, but with a bit more added – for no other reason than I just happened to have more in my fridge.

Dumplings With Dad
Dad was home this week for a business trip so we were fortunate to have several family meals together. For our Thursday night meal, mom sentenced us to 30 minutes dumpling hard labor upon walking in the door. To be fair, although these dumplings were wrapped by dad and myself, much of the work of making the actual dumpling fillings (in this case, chives, pork, shrimp) was done in advance by mom. Thanks, Mom!

Saucy, Shelled, Stir-fried Shrimp
Mom and I couldn’t agree on a name for this dish. The direct Chinese translation (油爆蝦) is Oil Pop Shrimp – which kind of sounds like a pimple gone wrong.
Mom has been making this dish since I can remember and to be honest, I wasn’t always a huge fan of it. Not because it’s not delicious (which it is), but mostly because I’m a lazy eater and to truly enjoy this dish, you gotta work for it.

Happy Mother’s Day!
To the mom who has fed our hearts and bellies for 30+ years – Happy Mother’s Day! We love you more than words can say.

Thai Spice Chicken
Mom whipped this dish up tonight after both dad and son-in-law bailed at the last minute for dinner. Their loss. I like to think this dish was made out of spite. It was DELICIOUS.

Tomato Egg Stir-fry
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.

Stir-fried Rice Cake with Mustard Greens
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.

Shishito Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Lately, I’ve been really into cooking and serving shishito peppers as an appetizer to just about any meal. These little peppers are so quick and easy to make (seriously – like five minutes) and each batch you eat is like a game of Russian Roulette – one in eight tend to be extra spicy.

To Each His Own…Chopsticks
Chopstick etiquette is a hotly contested topic in the Jeng household. Amongst the five of us, there are no less than three different ways we hold our chopsticks. Here is my [biased] review of each of those methods: