Bad News About Food

Well, all in the world of food is not sweetness and light. In the past few days and weeks, some really ugly news has surfaced in the realm of food and health that I thought I would share with my readers. I do try to be positive here, but sometimes, I feel that we, as […]

More on MSG and Glutamates

When I wrote the post on monosodium glutamate yesterday, I neglected to really explain what glutamates are. Simply put, they are amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. There are specific glutamate receptors on our tongue, which allow us to experience the taste which in Japan is called “umami.” This fifth taste is […]

Let’s Talk About MSG

Long considered to be the culprit in an ailment that has reached “urban mythic status,” even as repeated scientific studies have absolved it of responsibility, MSG, otherwise known as monosodium glutamate, is often considered a “persona non grata” in the kitchens of American Chinese restaurants and home kitchens alike. Blamed as the origin of a […]

Red-Cooked Pork With Taro and Sweet Potato

When most Americans think of Chinese food, stir-fried dishes come to mind; however, this is hardly representative of the entire range of culinary expression in China. While stir-frying is a good example of the ingenuity of the Chinese kitchen in dealing with the necessity of conserving fuel, and turning that necessity into culinary genius, stir-fried […]

Lazy Sunday Brunch: Kitchen Sink Eggs

No, I don’t cook eggs in the kitchen sink. The name comes from the colorful saying, “Everything but the kitchen sink,” which is meant to refer to a concatenation of stuff that is jumbled together, seemingly without rhyme or reason. In reference to this recipe, one could and might well say, “These eggs have everything […]