The Shared Korean Meal / May 10, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

Korean Green Onion and Seafood Pancakes (Pan Jun) and Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Soondoobu Jjigae)

When I was eight years old, a neighbor invited me over for a meatloaf dinner. I had no idea what to expect but he quelled my fears by telling me I could eat as much ketchup as I wanted. Having that meatloaf was a revelation. To my inexperienced palette, it was a burger patty unencumbered by the bun and vegetables. The transparent mashed potatoes from a box didn't require chewing, and I loved every fluffy mouthful. After that dinner, I was no longer satisfied with the Korean meals that were prepared by multiple hands in my home. I craved ketchup and not anchovies. I wanted a moulded meat patty not a pan-fried fish, with it's shriveled and cooked eyes looking sideways at me. Why did I have to eat vegetables seasoned with sesame seed oil when other kids got to eat mashed potatoes?

I begrudgingly ate the Korean food that was prepared in my childhood home, but I didn't come to love Korean cuisine until my mom opened a restaurant (RIP "The Rock"). I waited tables in the restaurant every weekend from 16 years-old until it closed when I was 27, and it was over those 11 years, that I understood how special Korean cuisine is and how hard my mom worked to provide for me. (You're the best, mama! Happy belated Mother's Day!) Korean food is complex, in that a Korean meal includes a myriad of textures, temperatures, and an enormous variety of foods. I'm sharing two of my favorite recipes from my mom's restaurant kitchen with you. They share ingredients to simplify your shopping, and they really compliment each other for a balanced and delicious meal.

I'm glad that I have come to my senses and now appreciate Korean food wholly in the wisdom of advanced age. Eating Korean food connects me to the love and care that surrounded me as a child. My hope is that my children learn to appreciate and love the cuisine of my family as they grow too.

Korean Green Onion and Seafood Pancakes (Pa Jun)

Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Soondoobu Jjigae)

The Shared Thai Fish Cakes / April 19, 2016 by Amy Cantu

I have been biding my time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to hit my dad up for his recipe for Tod Mun - Thai fish cake fritters. These savory fried morsels make me really happy - the kind of happy where all my deep-fried dreams come true (because really, all of my dreams involve food and anything deep-fried is by nature, dream-worthy). My son's preschool hosted a Multi-Cultural Event to celebrate the community's different heritages and as a fundraiser for New Child Fundamentals, a non-profit that supports children and their families. Voila! The perfect opportunity presented itself, and you better believe that I called Grandpa Audy immediately for this recipe. So we gathered together in my kitchen to fry up a batch of these crispy and *mildly* spicy fish cake fritters (these are preschoolers after all). My son gobbled up three of them before we even got these to school, and when they finally made their appearance, they disappeared in five minutes flat. You snooze, you lose (or just make them yourself)!

Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes) with Cucumber-Peanut Relish

In the Kitchen Now - Salmon Cakes / April 1, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

For Easter dinner, my husband Michael cooked a delicious and ginormous (11+ pounds) salt-crusted Atlantic salmon for our extended family. Needless to say, everyone was sent home with leftovers and we were eating salmon for days. The past week we have enjoyed: salmon with Israeli cous cous and roasted vegetables, salmon flaked on top of a bagel with whipped cream cheese, salmon on grilled toast with a fried egg... you get the picture. Once we whittled the container down to the last 1/2 pound, I checked in with my girl and (unbeknownst to her) mentor Ina Garten and she (and Google) recommended I make her Salmon Cakes. These beautifully browned, tender and flavorful cakes can be enjoyed as an appetizer, for brunch (with poached eggs, duh), or served with a salad for a meal.

Salmon Cakes

The Shared Thai Food / March 22, 2016 by Amy Cantu

Pineapple Fried Rice and Tom Yum Soup To-go

At some point, everyone always asks me if I cook Thai food, to which I say, why would I need to to? My dad makes me awesome Thai food whenever I want! (And better Thai food than I would ever make, too.) I asked my dad, Audy, to make a couple of his favorite Thai food dishes with us, so Cynthia and I could revel in his Thai cooking prowess. He worked his way around the kitchen with such deft speed, that it was hard to keep with him! We were constantly trying to stop him to weigh or measure out his ingredients, because like many wonderful home cooks, my dad cooks by “feel” or “sight”. Oh yes, this looks like the right amount of rice (after scooping a few heaping spoonfuls into a bowl) or just a few more shakes of fish sauce. All I can say is that after a whirlwind of chopping (lots of chopping), frying, and simmering, Cynthia and I were gifted enough mouth-watering food to feed both our families, plus extra for my dad and mom to enjoy for dinner, as well. It was worth the kitchen sprint!

Audy's Pineapple Fried Rice

Audy's Tom Yum Soup