BBQ PORK FRIED RICE

BBQ PORK FRIED RICE

SERVES 2 My days of ordering Chinese takeout are mostly behind me, but I used to love the experience. Negotiating picks from the menu. Saying “Pu Pu platter” out loud. Watching the clock for the food to arrive. The inevitable grease marks on the delivery bag....
CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

SERVES 8 to 12 I love nouns that are also verbs, words like cheer, smile, mug, and potentially my favorite, fork. In Cantonese, char siu literally means “fork roast,” in reference to the traditional cooking method for this tangy-sweet BBQ pork, which involves piercing...
CZECH MEATBALLS

CZECH MEATBALLS

SERVES 6 to 8 My maternal grandmother, Veronica Caroline Rovnak, came to the United States in 1902 from what was then called Czechoslovakia. Her village, not much more than a single street dominated by a white clapboard church, sat deep in a leafy green valley. At 17,...
EGG FOO YONG

EGG FOO YONG

SERVES 2 Egg Foo Yong has a deliciously confused identity. It’s not quite an omelet, almost a pancake, and somewhere beyond a fritter. It has become a 100% American dish, although its culinary roots reach back to Shanghai, and its name—with at least six accepted...
ROGAN JOSH

ROGAN JOSH

SERVES 6 to 8 Rogan Josh is a curry dish from Kashmir, a region tucked among the borders of India, Pakistan, and China, all of which can be tasted in its fragrant blend of spices. I’d never eaten Rogan Josh before I bought the seasoning based solely on its enticing...