Category Archives: Asian Flavors

Joi Choi Kimchi

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Today’s newsflash is that you can’t believe every health claim you read on a pill bottle, which is one of the reasons I think it’s smart to count on food for your vitamins instead.  And although nutritional science waffles on what’s good and bad for us, I think we can agree that it’s always nice to see presumably-health-promoting-and-also-delicious foods smiling up at us from our plates.joi choi kimchi Probiotics are a current darling of the health-food scene, which pleases me because I always like when my favorite foods come into vogue (hello, dark chocolate!).  Sandor Katz emboldened me to ferment my first batch of sauerkraut two years ago, and since then, in the secret world of off-blog cooking, I’ve continued the science experiments of fermentation in bubbling jars in the fridge and basement. Continue reading →

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Kimchi Pancakes with Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce

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And just like that, the moment is gone.

I go’ FLY, Mama, she warns me, arms outstretched.

You can fly? I ask.  She gives me a serious nod.

Ready SE-GO! I FLY! She lowers her head like a baby goat and charges across the room to me, arms wide as wings.  Even though she expects nothing less, she chortles with surprise and delight every time I catch her up in my arms and swoop her over my head.  Then she wriggles to the floor and we do it again.

One two free FLY!

Fly to me, baby.  I have caught you, and your sisters before you, a thousand times.  My arms will always be waiting (although I’m learning from your sisters that I won’t always be able to lift you overhead so effortlessly).  One two free FLY!Kimchi and Tofu PancakesSometimes change is hard, like knowing that someday soon I won’t have a flying baby anymore.  And sometimes it’s easy, like switching up the latke routine at the tail end of Hanukkah.  Continue reading →

Miso-Roasted Squash Salad with Tofu and Crispy Kale

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The only thing I like better than a one-pot meal is a one-pan meal, where instead of continual fussing over the stove you can just toss your pan in the oven and then go about your business (mostly) until dinner is served.  This, as you may have guessed, is such a meal.Roasted Squash Salad with Tofu and Crispy Kale Continue reading →

Kimchi Fried Rice

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I have to tell you, friends, I’m feeling a little pressure here. Like I need to choose my words carefully to convey to you how good this dish is. (How’s this? So good.) Most of the time I feel like I’m preaching to the choir when I write here–I mean, who among us doesn’t love baked chard stems and butternut squash tacos and raw Brussels sprout salads? But here, with this dish, maybe we’re going out on a limb a little bit together. It’s fermented. It’s a little spicy. And I used white rice.

Be fearless. This is the kind of food that makes your mouth tingle with happiness (maybe it’s all the salt, but still). The texture is crunch and chew, the flavors are savory and bright. If you’re not already mad for kimchi, you will be soon.

Kimchi Fried Rice

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Curry Roasted Chickpeas

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I’m in a rush, which sometimes seems a permanent state of affairs in December. Luckily this crispy little snack—whether for myself or to share—will be quick.Curry Roasted Chickpeas Continue reading →

Saag Tofu (or Paneer) with Whole Spices

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Wait, don’t go!

I understand the impulse, believe me. It took me thirty-some years (ahem) to come around to the idea of trying a version of saag paneer, my favorite Indian food, with tofu instead of cheese. It just seemed wrong, too ascetic, the wrong place to skimp. Saag tofu sounded worse than no saag at all. (Kale saag paneer, on the other hand, is amazing.)Of course, you already know how this story is going to end.

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Spicy Peanut Butter Tofu with Greens and Rice

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I know that peanut butter is considered kid food, but I’ve never quite grown out of it.  It’s a great grab-and-go snack on apple slices or crackers.  It’s equally at home in cookies and in oatmeal.  And I’ve long considered the PB&J the ultimate travel food (yes, even before we had kids).  So I’m wondering, why don’t I use it in my savory cooking more?

What are your favorite savory peanut butter recipes? Continue reading →

Kale Salad with Miso-Roasted Winter Squash

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After nearly a year of daily posts, usually dashed off in the moments before midnight, I took a day off yesterday.  It was for a good reason, one that many of you will remember or understand: after a few sleepless nights in a row, I fell asleep snuggling my one-year-old at 7 p.m.  A rare indulgence.  Delicious.

And so today I really should be giving you some menu suggestions for the week, which I skipped over yesterday, but I can’t focus on that right now (see below).  Because Allison told me to make this salad tonight, and it was so good that I have to tell you.  Right now.  Even though it’s hours past my new 7:00 bedtime. Continue reading →

Savory Oatmeal with Curry, Greens, and Caramelized Onions

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Welcome to Emmy Cooks!  You can see some of my favorite recent recipes by clicking the “My Favorite Recipes” category on the sidebar (here are July, August, and September).  If you like what you see here, you can sign up on the sidebar to receive a daily recipe by email, add the RSS feed to your own reader, or follow Emmy Cooks on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Seasoned readers of this blog will probably not be surprised to learn that most of my photographs are taken standing on one leg while I use the other to block my children out of the frame.  This dish was so irresistibly good, however, that I failed entirely.The baby (should I start calling her something else now that she boxes me out to dig into a dish of curried oats and caramelized onions?) could not keep her (meaning my) spoon out of the bowl.  And I can’t say I blamed her at all. Continue reading →

Mirin-Glazed Tofu and Tomatoes

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The mise en place, to me, is a creature that exists in fantasy only.  Here’s how dinner happens in real life: I cook and chop at the same time.  It’s revolutionary, I know, but I suspect that many (most?) home cooks join me in rising up against French tradition in this regard.  First we chop the onions, and then once they’re in the pan we chop the next thing.  I’m not alone here, right?

But here’s the thing about on-the-fly prep when you’re making what’s essentially a stir-fry: you have to work fast.  So be prepared to let your knife fly—or get all Martha and chop your ingredients in advance. Continue reading →