This week’s guest post on Asian ingredients in a gluten-free kitchen is from Pat Tanumihardja, author of The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook: Home Cooking from Asian American Kitchens and the new iPhone/iPad app, The Asian Ingredients 101. Pat is an authority on all things related to Asian cooking, and I’m very excited to hear her take on how to prepare many of my favorite Asian foods with gluten-free ingredients! Please welcome Pat, and feel free to say hello in the comments.

Researching a cookbook can unearth many gems to be stored away for later projects. That’s exactly what happened when I started working on my book, “The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook.” ... Read the rest of Building a Gluten-free Asian Pantry on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Asian, Gluten Free on Feb/Wed/2011
Post tags: asian, asian american, asian cook, asian cooking, asian cuisine, asian food, asian ingredient, asian market, asian product, cuisine, fermented foods, gluten, Gluten Free, gluten free diet, gluten-free asian, home cooking, ingredients, japanese cuisine, pantry, Pat Tanumihardja, sauce, soy products, soy sauce, vietnamese cuisine
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

Why should you learn how to make miso soup? This time of year is all about soup, what with cold season in full swing. You know how it is… you drag yourself home from work, head full of cement, and all you want is something warm and comforting to eat that will make you feel better. If you’re looking for lighter soup that’s nourishing and easy to digest — as opposed to a thick, rich stew — you might consider making miso soup. More interesting that your plain old chicken soup, miso is comfort food with a little international flair. ... Read the rest of How to Make Miso Soup on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Asian, Gluten Free, Soup on Jan/Mon/2011
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© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

I’ll bet you that the vast majority of my readers have never tried making a congee recipe. Maybe you’ve had it in Chinese restaurants (where it’s often called porridge), maybe you’ve had it at a friend’s house, but have you ever made it yourself?

Now that cold and flu season has set in, it’s time to start hunting down comforting soup recipes. Besides the requisite chicken soup that we all need in our cooking arsenal, there’s another kind of dish that will cure what ails you when you’ve contracted the creeping crud: congee. For those not in the know, congee, also known as jook, is a creamy rice porridge that’s a staple in Asian cultures. Consisting of rice that’s been slowly cooked down to the point that the starches disintegrate into a bowl creamy goodness — think risotto, only cooked longer — congee is warm and easy to digest. Plus congee recipes are gluten free by default, can be make either vegan or vegetarian, and keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. ... Read the rest of Congee, the Perfect Cold Season Soup on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Asian, Gluten Free, Soup on Jan/Wed/2011
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© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

A lot of people are out there searching for copycat recipes, and this PF Chang’s lettuce wrap recipe is one of the best out there. I know because I’ve eaten it many, many times, both in the restaurant and here at home, so I’ve had a lot of time to refine it and make it the best it can be, using fresh chicken and natural ingredients. This easy copycat recipe quickly became a favorite at our house, and I think it will be on constant rotation at your dinner table as well.

Americans love to eat out, and it’s pretty clear that this habit is tough to let go of when the economy tumbles, taking your dining-out budget along with it. So why not try to make your favorite restaurants dishes at home? Using copycat recipes, you’ll even be able to change them up a bit, using fresher, healthier ingredients than you’d likely find at a chain restaurant. ... Read the rest of Revisiting My Favorite Lettuce Wrap Recipe on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Asian, Copycat Recipes, Gluten Free on Jul/Wed/2010
Post tags: beijing cuisine, chinese cuisine, condiments, cooking, copycat, copycat recipes, dip, food and drink, hakka cuisine, korean cuisine, lettuce wrap recipe, lettuce wraps recipe, recipes, restaurant copycat recipes, sauce, sauce recipes, soy sauce, stir fry, stir fry sauce recipe, stir frying, wraps
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2010.

I know I’m not the only one looking for gluten free oyster sauce. There are a handful of Asian ingredients I used to cook with that, despite all logical reasoning, contain gluten. These include:

• Shaoxing Rice Wine
• Dark Soy Sauce
• Sichuan Chili Bean Paste
• Oyster Sauce

I’d all but written these ingredients off, along with their accompanying dishes, until a recent conversation with my wonderful hair stylist, Lillian. As someone who recently discovered she has a gluten intolerance, Lillian was lamenting how hard it was to cook without oyster sauce in her culinary arsenal. “How the hell am I supposed to cook?” she mused out loud. “I mean, I’m Chinese! I need oyster sauce!” ... Read the rest of Gluten Free Oyster Sauce on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Asian, Gluten Free on Jul/Mon/2010
Post tags: autoimmune diseases, celiac disease, chinese cuisine, chinese food, coeliac disease, cuisine, diets, filipino cuisine, food and drink, gluten, Gluten Free, gluten intolerance, grocery stores, lee kum kee, lillian, oyster sauce, sauces, savory, soy sauce, thai cuisine, vietnamese cuisine
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2010.

When I first learned how to make Pad Thai, it was a dreamy situation: I was on vacation in Thailand during a bout of perfect weather, cooking in an outdoor kitchen surrounded by tropical greenery. I was taking a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai, up in the northern part of the country, where there seems to be three or four  cooking classes for every city block. Earlier in the day our teacher had walked us through the local market, where we hand-picked our fresh meats, herbs, fruits and vegetables.

In Thailand, teaching westerners (or farang) how to cook is a great way for locals to make extra money for their families, and throughout the country you’ll see households building small multi-station outdoor kitchens in their yards so they can ... Read the rest of Cooking in Chiang Mai + Pad Thai Recipe on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Asian on May/Thu/2010
Post tags: asia, asian cuisine, chiang mai, cooking classes, cooking thai food, cuisine, food, food and drink, fried noodles, lao cuisine, mung bean, noodles, pad thai, pad thai recipe, sauce, thai, thai cooking, thai cuisine, thai dish, thai food, thai restaurants, thailand, wok
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2010.