Chow Fun - lemongrass sausage, pea vines, mint

Created by James Beard Best Chef-nominee Rachel Yang, who with her husband, Seif Chirchi, owns three restaurants in Seattle (Joule, Trove, and Revel) and one in Portland (Revelry). My Rice Bowl - Korean cooking outside the lines is a cookbook with recipes taken from her Korean upbringing, but then influenced by various cultures and cuisines that she's been exposed to from around the world. She has taken the food memories from her childhood in Korea and added the global flavors she loves, as well as the culinary influence from her previous restaurant work (Per Se, Alain Ducasse). This has resulted in a unique and authentic fusion of food. In My Rice Bowl, she thoughtfully combines different flavors together and results in making Korean flavors more accessible to everyone: “It’s all about how I kind of take my traditional Korean palate and knowledge and then how I make it my own here in America…We like to think of it as unexpected and delicious first, and Korean second (or maybe even further down the line).” In the cookbook you’ll find favorites like the restaurants’ kimchi recipe but, also dishes such as seaweed noodles with crab and crème fraîche, tahini-garlic grilled pork belly, fried cauliflower with miso bagna cauda, chipotle-spiked pad thai, Korean-taco pickles, and the ultimate Korean fried chicken (served with peanut brittle shards for extra crunch). This book exemplifies cross-cultural cooking at its most gratifying, such as this take on Chow Fun. From the lemongrass sausage to the pea vines to the fresh mint. It's sure to satisfy your stomach and dazzle your taste buds.From the author: "With their light texture, rice-based chow fun noodles (sometimes spelled shao fen) are a natural match for the springy, green flavor of home made lemongrass sausage. Tossed with a loose mint and cilantro pesto, baby peas, and pea vines, this Trove favorite is the antithesis of a heavy noodle dish. We top it with our version of togarashi, the traditionally Japanese spice mixture that we blend with dried orange zest, to add just a hint of heat.Look for the wide, flat chow fun noodles in the produce section or the refrigerated section of a large Asian grocery store. Although they're sometimes sold already cut into half-inch strips, look for the kind that are packaged uncut, so you can cut them yourself into slightly wider strips, if possible. (They're impossible to tear apart when cold. If you purchase them refrigerated, reheat them in the microwave for about ten seconds at a time, until the noodles are soft and pliable.)If you'd like to break up the work for this recipe, make the sausage, pesto, and togarashi up to a day before serving, and refrigerate the first two, covered, until ready to use. We always assemble each serving individually at the restaurant, but at home, it's easier to do in two big batches in a large wok, using half the serving ingredients for each batch."

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Curried Beef and Tendon with Turnip

We love the use of spice and combining of textures in this curry dish from fascinating Macau cookbook, The Adventures of Fat Rice by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano.From the Author: "In Macau “turnip” usually means daikon, or another large radish, so technically, there’s no turnip in the original version of this dish. At Fat Rice, we mostly follow tradition, but run with the turnip thing and garnish with crunchy raw turnips, radishes, and their greens. Don’t be scared to work with the tendons—they do require long cooking, but add great texture. Try grilling the rubbed beef; it adds a great smoky dimension."

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Grilled Chicken and Pineapple with Ayam Peanut Sauce

Ayam peanut chicken has been on my summer menu for years, and this updated version is the best one yet. Our Indonesian Ayam spice lends the peanut sauce a special flavor to peanut sauce that puts it over the top. The spicing is notable but not overpowering and paired with peanut and citrus makes a versatile sauce that complements grilled chicken and pineapple perfectly.Looking for more grill season recipes? Check out our recipes for Chimichurri Flank Steak or Tarheel Sliders.

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Golden Milk

Golden Milk is a delightful warm, spiced beverage often sipped before bed for its healing properties. The key ingredients are milk and turmeric, and from there variations abound! Most begin with a non-dairy milk and a healthy dose of turmeric, along with other spices to round out the flavor. Our favorite begins with a base of DIY cashew/coconut milk for pure creamy goodness, and we've blended in the spices with the making of the milk so there's no straining later on. No muss, no fuss and maximum flavor!

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Japanese Chicken Curry

The Flavour Principle: Enticing Your Senses With Food And Drink contains recipes from around the world, focuses on the fundamentals of flavor and suggests pairings to complement the unique tastes of each dish.  This Japanese curry recipe which balances sweet and spicy flavors for a wonderful, balanced taste, and has become a staff favorite.From the Author: "You can buy Japanese curry powder but it’s just as easy to make your own with our recipe. Serve the curry with rice or udon noodles and Japanese pickles (recipes follow). The grated apple gives sweetness to the sauce.This curry powder gets its traditional deep yellow colour from the turmeric. It is not a hot curry; it is more textured, with layered flavour."

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Cardamom Pear Upside-Down Cake

This ultra moist cardamom pear cake is rich and delicious, with almond flour and coconut oil forming the base. The cardamom and a hint of ginger complement the pears, and when you bring all these layers of flavor and texture together the result is a fantastic dessert you don't have to feel bad about eating!

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Harissa and Vegetable Couscous

This recipe has been a long time coming. Hardly anyone who comes in to the shop -- spice masters and novices alike -- can pass over the North African section without some long, lingering sniffs. The spices from that region are so exotic, in their perfect union of sweet-spicy-aromatic. "How do you use the Harissa?" is one of the most common questions following the exclamations of delight. And though my fellow merchants and I have written versions of this recipe on many a business card, envelope, and scratch paper, it's about time it took its place among our favorites here on the blog.The tender-crisp vegetables and fluffy couscous are a perfect vehicle for this sumptuous sauce, our version of the traditional Tunisian red pepper condiment that is so ubiquitous in Northern Africa. The cumin, coriander, and caraway add complexity and depth, with the guajillos lending just enough heat to be interesting without being overwhelming. You can also try the Harissa sauce on grilled meats or eggplant -- or even on halibut!

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Bejeweled Spice Cake

The holy trinity of baking spices: ginger, cassia-cinnamon and allspice combine in this traditional medieval spice blend called Poudre Douce. It makes this upside-down fruit cake an essential for the winter holidays -- and it's a table-top stunner, too! We made a festive selection of dried fruits over the classic pineapple to allow the spices to shine through. Less sweet than those pineapple upside-down cakes of our childhoods, we like this cake at brunch as well as for dessert!

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Ginger Snappiest Cookies

These ginger snaps are the snappiest in town and offer a classic belly warming tingle all season long. Equally at home with a glass of milk, egg nog, hot cocoa or a cocktail, they offer a petite bite of concentrated spice. We added a sprinkle of sugar to our finished cookies for some holiday sparkle.So pretty and delicious on the plate, and so yummy straight off the rack!

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