Fall is quietly approaching and chilly days are not too far away. It’s the season to nourish our bodies, as my mom used to say. She would make special seasonal soups to prevent us from getting colds and to keep us healthy. She would spend hours in the kitchen making a pot of soup with […]
Wendy Chan
Posted inEat + Drink
Tomato and Egg Stir-fry
When my editor suggested I write about the tomato and egg stir-fry dish I’d posted on social media, I thought, “There aren’t any unique stories (or secrets) behind this iconic dish.” Although this is a dish that’s popular across China, it’s simple and almost too plain to talk about. Then I thought about how life […]
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Wrapping Up Zongzi
Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are a classic treat to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival for Chinese all over the world. This festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and when I was growing up in China, I always looked forward to it. There was so much preparation for making the dumplings […]
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Feeding My Nostalgia with a Bowl of Sesame Noodles
Rice is a staple for most Southern Chinese, whereas mian (flour products) is a staple for northerners. Being from the south, I was not accustomed to flour noodles growing up; we only had mung bean noodles and rice noodles occasionally. After I moved to the U.S., I discovered all kinds of noodle dishes from mild […]
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Chicken and Dumplings from Here and There
Over the 30 years that I’ve lived in the United States, I still haven’t tried American chicken and dumplings. When I saw a few posts from fellow foodies, I was curious about this traditional comfort food. After reading some recipes, I found some similarities to my rural hometown’s dough soup. I know its name is […]
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From the Journal Archives: Crabby Patty Cravings
Editor’s note: Looking for a new way to prepare that fresh crab the North Coast is blessed with this time of year? Wendy Chan has you covered with her Crab Foo Yung recipe from the Journal’s achieves, a dish inspired by all those times her sons watched SpongeBob SquarePants while growing up. The Krabby Patty […]
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Falling For Gooseberries
When my friend Debbi told me she was busy making gooseberry jam one evening, I had a vivid image of goose-shaped berries dangling on a vine. Although I still haven’t seen the actual plant, I have been enjoying the cape gooseberries from the farmers market. I learned about their health benefits, such as possibly helping […]
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Summer on a Platter
The peach is the beauty queen of summer. The blend of red, yellow and pink colors brighten up my day. Luckily, my family’s peach tree is right outside our kitchen window. I enjoy looking at it every day while I’m cooking. It brings me so much joy and hope during shelter in place, watching their […]
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Summer, Berries and Baking
The summer sun still shines brightly as it does every summer but this year is missing the sound of children laughing at the playground. Although I can hear the fireworks popping now and then, they are not as festive as they used to be. We are all experiencing this new lifestyle together and we all […]
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Crabby Patty Cravings
The Krabby Patty from SpongeBob SquarePants has been stuck in my head for years. From the time my kids enjoyed watching SpongeBob, I heard “Krabby Patty” over and over. I assumed it was a crab cake patty because there was a crab walking around in the show. I swear, for all these years I thought […]
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Gathering Chestnuts in Late Fall
Although it was late autumn, the afternoon sun was still hot in Willow Creek. I brought my friends along to McIntosh Farm for our first chestnut gathering. Since we had no experience with the spiny husks, we only brought latex gloves. Luckily our host provided us some thick garden gloves. Stomping, pulling, picking and avoiding […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Chinese Lamb Stew
As the remaining sunlight shone through my kitchen widow, I was busy cleaning the wild chanterelle and porcini mushrooms I had just received. I love fall — the crisp air, the harvest joy and the anticipation of upcoming holidays. Lamb is my favorite meat to make during fall: lamb stew, lamb and chive dumplings, lamb […]