August 1, 2024
San Francisco architect Cho grew up in a family of Cleveland restaurateurs. Like many children of immigrants, she struggled to reconcile her heritage with the decidedly different American lifestyle of her peers. Much of her conflict was about food. She loved her Hong Kong grandparents' cuisine, but she longed to be a part of the cooking culture she saw on American television. She eventually developed her own style of cooking, reflecting her Chinese heritage, Midwestern upbringing, and California lifestyle. She eschews a wok for a cast-iron frying pan, since home kitchen stoves rarely reach the intense heat of restaurant burners. She makes occasional ingredient substitutions, remarking that ketchup can frequently provide a necessary sweet-sour harmony. It appears in Mom's Spaghetti, with ground beef, oyster sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Cho breaks down dumpling ingredients into categories (proteins, vegetables, sauces, spices) to encourage imagination and move beyond pork and shrimp standards to fillings like duck and leek. Including a section on outdoor cooking, this is a good introduction to Chinese flavors for American cooks.
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