This is a bit of a mash-up of different influences and cuisines, born out of leftovers and a need for a tasty dinner. Crispy noodles bound with egg make for a lovely platform to soak up all the flavours you throw at it. You can make it straight through by soaking noodles in boiling water, draining and cooling, but I also like to make extra at dinner, knowing I can have this the next day. If you want a lighter meal, you can get by with making this with just one egg per person.
Have a look for bean sprouts in a jar, as they last a lot longer and are always to hand.
Y’all, this ricotta dip SLAPS! It’s my favorite dip from the cookbook shoot, as well. The lemony, mild cheesiness is mind-blowingly good. It’s soooo simple but so perfect in so many ways. Please put a limit on yourself quickly, because as soon as it leaves the oven and you pierce that top golden layer of cheese, it’s over! It’s so hard to stop eating it; you’ve been warned!
One of the most recognizable mid-century recipes is undoubtedly aspic, a type of gelatin dish. An aspic is essentially a savory jelly made from slowly rendered meat stock, which is rich in collagen. When this collagen breaks down, it transforms into gelatin. This technique has been used for centuries, with some of the earliest printed mentions dating back to around the year 1300.
Typically, these dishes served more as a lavish centerpiece for admiration than as something you would actually eat. However, I find that tomato aspic is quite enjoyable! I’ve experimented with many recipes, but I particularly love this version, which includes horseradish for a peppery kick that really awakens the palate. Not only will it be a stunning salad to share with friends, but it also offers a delightful retro taste!
In LA, you can’t walk far without stumbling upon a taco stand that’s offering some of the best tacos you’ve ever had. I was inspired to start my own food cart, Thum and Thum, in the heart of Koreatown. Instead of tacos, though, I sold the kind of street food you’d find in Laos, like spicy, pungent papaya salad bursting with bold flavors. LA’s rich diversity is an exciting playground for culinary innovation, a place where foods from different cultures evolve naturally, and sometimes intermingle. A few years after I started Thum and Thum, this laab taco was born, a product of my love for both Lao food and LA’s taco culture. The crispy rice paper shells are filled with flavorful pork laab and topped with a cooling avocado crema. Each bite perfectly captures my Lao- Cali experience.
There’s no denying fish tacos taste better at the beach, but this version with a smoky spice blend will hold you over until those sunny days. I’ve ditched the stress and mess by baking instead of frying, keeping things crisp without the hassle. The herby, tangy cilantro slaw gets a quick cure from lime juice, agave, and salt, while avocado, crema, radish, and extra cilantro bring the crunch and creaminess. Use any white fish you like—just adjust the cook time based on thickness. Serve with Mexican Rice (page 242), No-Mayo Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad) (page 233), and the Holy Trinity (page 31) for taco bar heaven.
This colorful salad is a feast for the eyes. Full of veggie goodness, the sweetness and spice are beautifully balanced with the fresh dressing that has a slight kick to round things out.
When it comes to things as iconic as a Caesar salad, I typically like to keep it classic and work toward perfecting the technique. But that was before I was inspired to try some crisp, thinly sliced celery and smoky bacon–laced breadcrumbs to enhance the already perfect balance in a Caesar salad. And it truly does. There is something about that extra-fresh crunch from the celery and the way that the breadcrumbs coat the leaves and dressing (in lieu of the cumbersome crouton) that really takes a classic Caesar to another level.
This dish is the ultimate mash-up between two gold-standard sal- ads: the classic steakhouse wedge (think iceberg lettuce and way too much creamy dressing) and the feta-flecked, veggie-stuffed chopped salad I grew up eating. I definitely surprised myself a lit- tle bit when I reached for iceberg lettuce as the base, but once I loaded it up with cherry tomatoes and cukes, fresh mint, and garlicky bread crumbs that work their way into every crevice and cranny, I realized it was the only choice. But the real star is the rich, creamy feta and yogurt dressing. I highly recommend serving some on the side for extra dunking, in addition to keeping a batch in your fridge for an impromptu salad or dip moment.
Seafood can be intimidating, so straightforward and simple is the name of the game, and each and every seafood recipe I have to offer you is back- to-basics. The thing about fish is that it cooks more quickly than other proteins, which means it’s prone to being overcooked, so it’s best to keep a close eye on it. Good thing eating fish is good for eye health. Puttanesca is a fairly simple Italian sauce made with anchovies, olives, capers, and a chunky tomato base. It’s bright and briny, and comes together as quickly as the fish cooks within it, resulting in a beautifully pungent dish that’s shore to make a splash. (SOMEBODY STOP ME, PLEASE.)
Tanto was the nickname we gave one of my close childhood friends. He is a priest today, and I sometimes wonder if anyone who knows him as Father Francis realizes that once upon a time, his irreverent friends affectionately renamed him after the elephants (tantors) in the land of Tarzan, whose comic books we consumed voraciously. When we were young, a bunch of us went camping together a lot. Each of us was responsible for a meal, and for whatever reason, Tanto always made a tomato-potato curry. Truth be told, this is nothing at all like his original dish, but I still think of him every time I make it. Some memories are funny that way. This curry is hearty and delicious; it’s not very saucy, so don’t be surprised by that (for more on what a curry is and is not, see page 19).