In the chaotic kitchen of a recipe developer, you get a food blog called FoodMayhem.
I'm Jessica, an Asian-American, born and raised in NYC, and that's Lon, my Jewish, white husband. While professionally trained as a French culinary- and pastry chef, many of FoodMayhem recipes are my attempt to preserve and share authentic Chinese and Taiwanese recipes learned from my mom. We don't eat Chinese food every day, so you'll get a little bit of anything we find delicious enough to share: from our Eastern European side; recipes and techniques learned from my restaurant days; restaurant reviews, food travel tips; and a few other juicy bits along the way. Welcome to FoodMayhem!
There’s this pretty well-known Taiwanese dish called Three Cup Chicken. The flavorful dish of dark meat chicken is flavored with sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil with a strong dose of Chinese/Thai Basil. My mom came up with a vegetarian version, Three Cup Tofu with the same flavor profile and it’s even easier to make. I was planning on posting Three Cup Chicken first, since it’s the original dish. That would have made more sense but alas, my body was just not willing to work with me on this…
We’ve been living at my parent’s house as our kitchen undergoes renovation. Yes, the kitchen re-do is finally under way! While under normal circumstances, I would dread the inconvenience, it just so happens that right now, it’s the best thing for me. If I was my normal, overly busy self I’d be annoyed that my commute to the city is longer. With morning sickness still lingering, I’ve limited making plans anyway.
At first I imagined being frustrated by not having my whole wardrobe here with me. Only later to realize I only fit into five outfits. (We’re planning on putting up a picture of my little bump soon.) Of course, the cherry on top is that my mom is doing all the cooking. I have a stockpile of nutritious foods at my fingertips and my mom lovingly makes anything I want.
This is a variation on Ma Po Tofu that my mom developed when I was a kid and it instantly became a household favorite. Me, my brother, and our cousins, requested it all the time. Now that I made it for Lon, he’ll be requesting it too. *photo was updated on 8/23/16
