Chinese Food
Chinese Takeout Boxes are All-American
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012The New York Times Magazine has a piece by Hilary Greenbaum and Dana Rubenstein on how Chinese takeout boxes are uniquely American (Chinese takeout boxes are all but unknown in China) My favorite fact that they dug up:
On Nov. 13, 1894, in Chicago, the inventor Frederick Weeks Wilcox patented a version of what he called a “paper [...]
My research is now part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011I stopped by the American history museum of the Smithsonian and was superexcited to see three objects that I have encountered in my research were now on exhibit and part of the museum’s permanent collection
The kata grills from Gary Ono, which were used to make superearly fortune cookies in the Japanese Tea Garden in the [...]
Spoke at the National Archives on Oct. 26
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011I spoke at the National Archives today. That’s right, the same building as Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence! It was part of the “What’s Cooking? Uncle Sam” exhibit, which examines the federal government’s impact on the American diet.
The building:
And the little sign for the talk.
Update: The chief of research offered to pull up [...]
General Tso’s Nachos
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011This is amazing. General Tso’s nachos. He’s gone south of the border.
Lijiacai restaurant in Beijing. Imperial recipes in a Hutong
Sunday, June 26th, 2011These are dishes from the famed Li Jia Cai restaurant in Beijing, which serves imperial Beijing food but out of a Hutong. It has a interesting and fascinating history, and has spawned sister restaurants in Tokyo and Melbourne (of all places). I visited both of those in my hunt for the greatest Chinese restaurant in [...]
Certificates from California Senate, Assembly + San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011I got these certificates in the mail yesterday. Superfun.
Star Trek Meets Chinese Food: Make it Tso
Thursday, April 7th, 2011Sent to me by David Lefer.
Chinatown Street Food Tour on Saturday, April 2 and 3 for $88
Sunday, March 20th, 2011More update. To sign up for announcements of future food tours, sign up below
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Update! I’m adding an additional tour on April 3, at 2 p.m. Meet at 215 Centre Street inside the lobby of the Museum of Chinese in America. Donate $88 to the workshop at aaww.org/donate and forward the [...]
Fortune Cookie Baby Booties Inspired by Book
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011My friend, Barbara Martinez, alerted me to the fact that my appearance on Martha Stewart inspired her to create the baby booties. (click on the booties, annoying that they don’t have an individual link to each finalist.)
Here is what she writes (she got the middle initial wrong, but whatevs).
Della S.
Oregon City, OR
I came up with [...]
Smithsonian’s Sweet and Sour Chinese Exhibition
Thursday, March 10th, 2011The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is presenting a Chinese American display, Sweet & Sour, opening March 17, 2011 (two days after my birthday!) in the lobby. I helped a bit with linking them together with the items, including the original Japanese kata that were used to grill some of the first fortune [...]
My award from Chinese Restaurant News
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011Influential personalities in restaurant industry.
My book in Berkeley Ethnic Studies library.
Saturday, February 19th, 2011Yay.
Berkeley, Ethnic Studies
Fortune Cookie Seating
Thursday, February 17th, 2011Shin Azumi for Lapalma has designed a fortune cookie-shaped chair which was presented at Imm Cologne 2011, though there has been some controversy about it since then.
According to Swiss Miss, it is built from a single sheet of plywood. While it looks fragile, it’s actually incredibly stable, thanks to the clever weight distribution achieved via a specifically shaped [...]
Popular Irish Chinese dish: 3-in-1 = fried rice, curry sauce and French fries all in one.
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
It’s actually not bad, carby overload, with cool crispy and grainy and sauce texture. It’s arguably the most popular Irish-Chinese dish. Best when you are drunk from beer, I’ve been told.
Best description when they called it “Chinese poutine.”
3 in 1, Ireland, Three in one
Cary Goldstein, New Publisher of Twelve
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011Grand Central Publishing today abruptly announced that Cary Goldstein, publicist extraordinaire and deputy publisher, is going to take over as publisher of Twelve, effective immediately (their website changed quickly enough).
This is covered by The New York Times, the Associated Press, Publishers Weekly. Cary recently signed a two-book deal with Christopher Hitchens, who was diagnosed with [...]
Tracking Chinese restaurants, chop suey and fortune cookies over the last two centuries via Google books
Sunday, January 9th, 2011This ngram is a broad metric of the concepts in Google books, and the dates generally track with my research: "chop suey" jumping around 1896, "fortune cookies" surging after World War II, and "Chinese restaurants" making an appearance in 1860, around the beginnings of the first waves of Chinese immigration. " Notice how "Chinese restaurants" [...]
General Tso’s Soy Protein, from Wild Ginger in Williamsburg
Sunday, January 9th, 2011Yummy? Or not.
Like “A Year of Living Biblically,” but With Fortune Cookies
Friday, January 7th, 2011Every day for a year, a writer, Matt Kelsey, is going to follow the advice of a fortune cookie and play the lucky numbers, to see if it really will make a difference.
Here is his press release, which I was fascinated by in part because it’s on the Kansas City Star website. Sort of like [...]
Donate to “The Search for General Tso!” (and get on IMDb)
Friday, January 7th, 2011Help bring General Tso and his chickens to a theater near you!
I am co-producing a feature-length documentary on American Chinese food with the Peabody-award winning team behind King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, called “The Search for General Tso.” We think it’s a great way to bring my research to a larger audience [...]
Team General Tso in the Taipei Mountains
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
From left to right:
Ian Cheney, director and co-producer
Curt Ellis, co-producer
Me, co-producer, and translator
Taylor Gentry, director of photography
We went up to get some panoramic shots for B-roll. This is a film (gasp) shot that Taylor took. It looks like Instagram. But it’s not. No filter to be had to do this. Just real skillz.
The original General Tso’s chicken
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010In all its glory, from Peng’s Agora Garden in Taipei. We filmed it very carefully.
David Mamet On Jews and Chinese Food on Christmas
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010Hipster Brooklyn Jewish Deli, Mile End, to Serve Chinese Food on Christmas
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 Mile End Delicatessen, which is famed for its Montreal-style Jewish food (such as smoked meat), is drawing a ream of publicity for its decision to serve Chinese food on Christmas. (It’s of course had its share of press anyway. People love writing about Jewish food).
They originally announced it on Twitter, “We’re taking reservations for our [...]
Japanese take on American takeout boxes. In City Centre Tokyo.
Saturday, December 18th, 2010Wear Your Fortunes Around Your Neck! On Etsy.
Friday, December 17th, 2010Love these fortune cookie fortune scarves on Etsy for $22. They read “Success is a journey, not a destination,” which is actually a fortune I have on a giant roll I got from Wonton Food.
etsy