 |
| Jewish-Chinese Christmas Tree |
(click to enlarge)
Showing posts with label new york. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york. Show all posts
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmakkuh Dinner
Today I'm heading over to my sister's place in Brooklyn for our annual Christmakkuh hot pot dinner, a combination of our joined families' cultures: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Chinese cuisine. In preparation, I put together this graphic of a Christmas tree using a Chinese food menu and chopsticks as a Star of David at the top. I'm soooooo clever.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
I Think I'm Turning Japanese (Korean?)
I'm approaching exam time here at school and it's in stressful situations like these that I begin to crave a lot of comfort foods. In my case this usually means taking some chicken thighs and braising them with mushroom soy, Xiaoshing wine, Chinese rock candy sugar, star anise and a lot of garlic. I like to enjoy this served over steamed white rice and a spoonful of garlic chili sauce whose hot acidity contrasts with the dish's fragrant sweetness.
Over the years in Atlanta, my cravings have adapted from Chinese-centric to something more pan-Asian: dirt cheap banh-mi, pho, soondubu and the banchan that accompanies it, bibimbap, a good bowl of freshmade ramen, izakaya snacks, rendang... With the exception of Chinese and the Japanese food I mentioned, it has been in Atlanta, and not my hometown of New York, where I was first introduced to exceptional Asian cuisine.
I've found that the massive hoards of the Chinese population in New York really dominate a lot of the flavors of Asian food there. Much in the way that authentic Chinese restaurants will still include General Tso's Chicken on their menus for the occasional non-Chinese diner, I've seen a lot of authentic Vietnamese and Japanese restaurants in New York include authentic Chinese dishes. It's a peculiar phenomenon, but it really happens.
In Atlanta, it's the polar opposite: massive hoards of Vietnamese, Korean, Thai... not so much of the Chinese. The authentic Chinese food is generally okay, not great, because there isn't a huge Chinese population here. Likewise, at authentic Chinese restaurants, you'll find Vietnamese and sometimes Korean options. The tables have turned. I don't think my father could survive with these options, but I know I've enjoyed it quite well.
Over the years in Atlanta, my cravings have adapted from Chinese-centric to something more pan-Asian: dirt cheap banh-mi, pho, soondubu and the banchan that accompanies it, bibimbap, a good bowl of freshmade ramen, izakaya snacks, rendang... With the exception of Chinese and the Japanese food I mentioned, it has been in Atlanta, and not my hometown of New York, where I was first introduced to exceptional Asian cuisine.
I've found that the massive hoards of the Chinese population in New York really dominate a lot of the flavors of Asian food there. Much in the way that authentic Chinese restaurants will still include General Tso's Chicken on their menus for the occasional non-Chinese diner, I've seen a lot of authentic Vietnamese and Japanese restaurants in New York include authentic Chinese dishes. It's a peculiar phenomenon, but it really happens.
In Atlanta, it's the polar opposite: massive hoards of Vietnamese, Korean, Thai... not so much of the Chinese. The authentic Chinese food is generally okay, not great, because there isn't a huge Chinese population here. Likewise, at authentic Chinese restaurants, you'll find Vietnamese and sometimes Korean options. The tables have turned. I don't think my father could survive with these options, but I know I've enjoyed it quite well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)