Been eating too much flour and butter lately and needed to use up some bananas that were more brown than yellow so made this almond flour, olive oil, dark cocoa marbled banana bread with walnuts and it turned out amazing.
Read moreTaiwanese (蛋餅) Egg Crepe or "Dan-Bing"
Light, chewy, salty, sweet, “eggy”. All of the characteristics of an amazing breakfast. When Wendy and I were on our last trip, we went to Taiwan (amongst many other countries). And all over my dad’s hometown, Taipei, there were food carts galore. Many of which served a very traditional breakfast simply called dan-bing (蛋餅) or "egg crepe”. I grew up eating this deliciously simple breakfast. One can almost describe them as the Taiwanese cousin of the breakfast burrito.
Read moreVietnamese-Style Banh Mi Sliders
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Wendy Chan
Memories of childhood family road trips come to mind when I think of the classic Vietnamese banh mi. The ironic part is I HATED them. But after they were out of my life for a few years I actually missed them! Then one day in New York I discovered Num Pang and it changed my perspective of banh mi and apparently the rest of the nation. Recipes started popping up online and variations began appearing in restaurants. One of which was the banh mi burger. So for a potluck I decided to make my own version in slider form...
Read moreOld-School Chili (feat. Butternut Squash)
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Wendy Chan
It's hard to describe the weather outside recently. I guess frightful is pretty fitting. As temperatures drop below 20 degrees, I can't help but dream of warmer days especially having just returned from a warm and sunny holiday in Florida visiting family. I guess one can only compensate with industrial puffers, trapper hats, and nice hearty bowls of chili...
Read morePork Chive Dumplings
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Alvin Tang
I don't quite remember when it happened. I remember it was the weekend, but I don't remember if we were exploring Chinatown or just on the subway, or wandering the Flatiron District when Wendy blurts out,...
"I wanna make dumplings."
"Yea let's do it. That was kinda random."
"Well I brought back a bunch of Chinese chives from my grandma's garden in Connecticut and it's the best way to use them all."
"True."
"Yea. Let's make a bunch and freeze them."
"Double true. You say 'a bunch' a lot."
"Whatever..."
That's when it dawned on me. Wendy was onto something.
Read moreCast Iron Banana Bread
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Alvin Tang
I have this habit of buying bananas. I don't know what it is. You should always have bananas on hand, right? It's just one of those fruits that I feel like someone should always have...there. "Do you have any fruits?" "Yea, I have bananas." The problem is I never finish eating them! I get tired of them and before I can eat them all they just sit there until they're more brown than yellow. And what do you do with "bad" bananas? Well, you can throw them away because they're mushy (even though they're perfectly fine to eat) or you can take the dirt cheap bananas and mix them with dirt cheap flour, dirt cheap eggs and dirt cheap sugar to make something that costs not so dirt cheap at a cafe or bakery!
Read morePoke Bowl GO!
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Wendy Chan
Just over a year ago a little place opened up near my office. On a narrow street branching off of 3rd Avenue, sandwiched between an interstate tunnel exit and the Consulate General of Romania, it called itself "Sons of Thunder." It was exciting! But upon closer inspection, I became reluctant. It looked like a cheap wannabe Shake Shack with a very familiar logo and identical paper to-go bags. To make matters worse, the burgers and fries were "COMING SOON!" How can you open a place when you can't even serve the item that your logo represents! (which was a burger with a lightning bolt as the patty btw.) It was pretty unbelievable. I completely grazed over whatever the heck a "poke bowl" was. I just assumed it was some cheap 7-Eleven style knock-off of Japanese chirashi. Before long, however, lines began to form, newspaper articles began to surface and a trend began to rise. The Poke Bowl Revolution was upon us. Don't judge a book by it's cover, indeed. I learned to appreciate the poke bowl and Sons of Thunder, but they're still way too overpriced. $10.75 for a relatively small portion + $1.75 for avocado cubes + $0.50 for nori strips? Please...
Read morePeanut Butter and Blueberry Smash
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Wendy Chan
So one night I decided to make myself a midnight snack of peanut butter toast and a bowl of fresh blueberries when it dawned on me that I could put some blueberries on the toast. When I took my first bite I realized that it tasted like a really fresh PB&J bite with less added sugar. It was unexpectedly delicious and refreshing.
Read moreDisney's Ratatouille (Confit Byaldi)
Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Wendy Chan
It's always such an adventure walking through any farmer's market, but Union Square is always an special pleasure. I love walking around educating myself on what produce is in season. An education you don't get walking through a chain supermarket where the produce has traded their souls for immortality. When the summer months come I always ALWAYS look forward to the blueberries. For an impromptu dinner party one bright Saturday, I had to look beyond the berries of blue and caught my eye on some beautiful greens, yellows, reds, and purples.
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