Hello hello! I’ve missed you.

There’s so much to catch up on. How was your spring? Me? Oh, I had a baby boy in March named Meyer and life has been an absolute blur since then. We’re approaching the official end of the newborn phase and I’m just starting to feel the postpartum fog evaporate ever so slightly. I’ve spent the better part of this fourth trimester off the internet which has been refreshing. This time as a new family of three felt very sacred and I’m glad we spent it as privately as we could.

To say that the last 12 weeks have been some of the hardest weeks of my life is an understatement. I don’t think anything truly prepares you for the seismic shift of becoming a parent and birthing a little human being. Meyer came into the world a little past 5am on Pi Day, which feels so appropriate (are we locked in to celebrating his birthdays with Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie?). In retrospect, giving birth was the easiest part, it’s everything you have to do afterwards that starts to get hard. The sleepless nights, breastfeeding, physically recovering and resting as much as you even though your first pediatrician appointment is on day 3 and then they ask you come back every day for the rest of the week, the hormone drops, the shower cries, postpartum depression, troubleshooting a million baby products, swaddling, and mentally reconciling with the new person you’ve become while mourning the girl you used to be. It’s a lot.

It’s true what they say, that it gets better. Every time I confided in someone how sad I was or how difficult everything felt I was met with the same response. It gets better. Everything is a phase. I’m thankful for my husband for taking the best care of me, our friends and family for bringing us home cooked meals and checking in, and medication that allows me to feel lighter and be present enough to appreciate how beautiful and perfect this boy is. And I’m thankful for Meyer for making me a mom and being the sweetest and smiliest boy who loves giggling at the ceiling fan, staring at the baby in the mirror, and floating in his bathtub. There was a phase where I thought everything was going to be scary, sad, and painful forever but we’re moving onward and upward from there!

I feel like there’s not enough talk about how a big part of postpartum is relearning how to be a person again. Simple tasks like feeding myself, going to Target, and shopping at the grocery store on your own but with a baby were so intimidating. A few weeks ago I was absolutely terrified about re-entering the world. The idea of it, especially with Reuben going back to work, felt insurmountable. But we’re doing it. I’ve taken Meyer to both Target and Berkeley Bowl and it was fine! The day-to-day is still exhausting and it takes me about 5-8 business days to accomplish anything but we’re generally having fun through most of it. Baby smiles help. So does babywearing and getting out of the house because a car or stroller ride unlocks a great nap. We’re still mostly in a contact nap phase of life so it has been a unique challenge figuring out how to cook and “work” either during a short nap or fleeting wake window.

Thank you for being patient with me as I take baby steps back to this newsletter. Eventually I’ll muster the strength to turn on my good camera again. I only started cooking again at 9 weeks postpartum and it has mainly been simple, quick, almost no-cook, low sizzle (can’t burn the chunky legs!), but comforting recipes you can make mostly with a 99th percentile baby strapped on to you. These will be the themes of the recipes for the foreseeable future! One day I’ll be able to tackle a long and unrushed kitchen project again. Until then, I’ll be spending my days in the kitchen with MY Guy.

It’s impossible to encapsulate all my thoughts on what postpartum life has been like so far in one post but I’m hoping to gradually share a little more through the newsletter in the coming weeks, both as a way for me to process them and for anyone else who may be going through the same thing.

So, I’m happy to be back and share this delicious chicken recipe with you! It’s one of the first real dinners I made since having a baby and I remember thinking quietly, “I still got it”, after taking a few bites. It’s nothing crazy, just chicken and sweet potatoes, which we hand lingering in the kitchen and needed to use up, but it’s incredibly comforting and deep in flavor while still eating quite light for these cool spring evenings. A braise is great if you have a clingy baby because it doesn’t really matter if you let it simmer away for an extra 15 minutes if your baby wakes up from a nap. The chicken and sweet potatoes only get more tender. The braising liquid is a combo of chicken fat that renders (over low heat for less sizzle) from the thighs, chinese cooking wine, doubanjiang for some heat, and apple cider vinegar for a fruity tang. As it reduces in the braised it thickens into this luscious sauce that I would be happy to just eat with jasmine rice. It’s so good, I ate two portions.

Enjoy!

Hot and Sour Braised Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

serves 4

Hot And Sour Braised Chicken And Sweet Potatoes

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1 1/2 lbs (about 4) Bone-in and skin-on Chicken Thighs

1/2 tsp coarse salt

3 tbsp avocado oil

1 large shallot, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp doubanjiang (or sub with gochujang)

1/2 cup shaoxing chinese cooking wine

1 1/2 cup water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

Green onions, for topping

1. Arrange the chicken on a plate and sprinkle salt over the skin. Allow the chicken to sit for 15 minutes and then pat the skin dry with a paper towel. In a heavy bottom pot add the oil and the chicken thighs skin-side down. Turn on the heat to medium low and allow the chicken fat to render and continue to cook until the skin is golden, crisp, and naturally releases from the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and onto a plate.

2. Add the shallot and garlic and stir into the fat and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the doubanjang and cook for another minute. Add the cooking wine, water, vinegar, and soy sauce and bring it up to a simmer. Add the chicken back into the pot and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat slightly if needed to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook the chicken for 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, gently stirring into the liquid, and cover the pot again with a lid. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium and reduce the remaining braising liquid into a sauce, about 5 to 15 minutes depending on your heat.

3. Serve the chicken and sweet potatoes over steamed rice and drape the sauce over top and garnish with green onions.

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Hello hello! The day has finally come! This will sadly be my last newsletter for awhile, which feels incredibly bittersweet. Writing in this corner of the internet is really such a therapeutic joy for me and I’m always so grateful for all of you who choose to open your inboxes and read my ramblings of week, cook my recipes, and support the work that I l…

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My freezers are full and all I have to do is some strategic rearranging and write up one last newsletter before I sign off for a while! I made some sheet pan pizzas yesterday to freeze, which were maybe a little too loaded and my oven decided to set off the smoke alarm. So my meal prep journey ended a little chaotically, but I’m taking it as a sign from…

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I first wrote a recipe for ginger chicken jook for my blog, Eat Cho Food, in January 2017. It was my second official recipe as a self-proclaimed “recipe developer". I’m not going to link it here because I feel a little embarrassed, but we all have to start somewhere. It’s not the most well written recipe, but if you follow it I’m pretty sure it would st…

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Today is my last day of postpartum freezer meal prep. The finish line is near and I’ll soon have pizza and buckwheat chocolate chip cookies waiting for me in the freezer. I started this whole meal prep process a little over 2 weeks ago. I was awoken by thunder and the strange sound of hail outside, which almost next happens in the Bay Area. For a moment…

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Today might be a new record for me, where I share a whopping 6 recipes! If you missed it, I just sent out recipes for all the freezer prepped pastas I made for postpartum. I can’t wait to eat all of them.

We also have some very exciting marinated meats that you can keep prepped in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a few months for handy protein packed meals. All three require minimal effort to marinate. I maybe spent less than an hour preparing enough proteins for 6 meals generous meals for the two of us. Our future plan is to serve them with a good salad, rice bowl, or some roasted potatoes and veggies.

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Here’s what I got waiting for me in the freezer:

Lemon Rosemary Chicken // so bright and homey. Made with the lemons and rosemary we grow, which feels sort of special. This is the easiest of the meats to prepare once you’re ready to cook, just throw it in a hot oven and wait for the skin to get golden and crisp.

Sambal Lemongrass Pork Chops // dreaming of the future dinners where I get to eat slices of these pork chops with some rice, cucumber, and crispy little gem lettuce cups.

Soy and Cilantro Flank Steak // a classic flavor for a lean and quick cooking cut of beef. I envision many a rice bowls, wraps, and tacos filled with rare, juicy slices.

I of course had to the test the defrost and cooking instructions for each of these so I made myself a little protein sampler platter the other night and it felt like I was at a medieval dinner. I was into it. And it got me excited for my future self when Reuben pulls out one of these pouches from the freezer to make for dinner. Hard to to pick a favorite but thankfully we don’t have to pick!

All three recipes are below! Happy marinating!

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Serves 2

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I spent a rainy day last week preparing three of my favorite pastas for the freezer. Each one providing a unique level of comfort and a nourishing balance of protein, carb, and fiber. Most importantly, they keep in the freezer and reheat incredibly well! But even if you have no plans on meal prepping, these pasta are wonderful comfort dinners to enjoy fresh!

Creamy Tomato Rigatoni with Tiny Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

Miso Tuna Noodle Casserole

Chrysanthemum Pesto Pasta with Sriracha Chicken

These are all pastas I’ve made on repeat throughout my pregnancy and well before. This is finally a great opportunity to share them with you! All three recipes can be found below for paid subscribers!

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One adjustment I’ve made recently has been making the pastas with Rummo’s Maxima protein pasta. This is not sponsored, but actually happily inspired by my GDM diagnosis. Rummo has been our favorite grocery store brand pasta for many years. After trying their protein pasta, which is also very high in fiber, I can confirm that this version is still excellent and pretty indiscernible from their regular dried pasta. But for all these recipes, obviously you can use whatever pasta you love most!

Creamy Tomato Rigatoni with Tiny Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

Essentially a vodka pasta but without the vodka. The creamy tomato sauce has a little more body thanks to the addition of crushed tomatoes, which also lends a natural sweetness and freshness that brightens up the otherwise hearty dish. It’s loaded with lots of tiny turkey meatballs that are flecked with spinach and made extra tasty with parmesan. Since the meatballs are so small I like to cook them just under the broiler for a few minutes until they are browned and cooked through. It’s so unbelievably easy. I didn’t have many pregnancy cravings but this pasta was one of them!

Find the Recipe Here!

Miso Tuna Noodle Casserole

I can’t escape my midwestern roots! I grew up on Stouffer’s tuna noodle casserole and the nostalgia of those flavors still have a tight grip on my heart. I’ve since perfected my own version of tuna noodle casserole that feels just as nostalgic but omits the need for a can of condensed soup and leans heavier on the vegetables and sneaks in some extra protein. We got chunks of tuna, celery, mushrooms, peas, and onions swimming in a creamy sauce that is fortified with miso, cottage cheese, and a touch of heavy cream for a full-bodied and full-flavored sauce that grips lusciously onto each noodle. The casserole is topped with melty cheese and toasted panko for texture and soul. Absolutely cannot wait to eat this.

Find the Recipe Here!

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Chrysanthemum Pesto Pasta with Sriracha Chicken

Reuben and I are one week away from our 12 year dating anniversary and this pasta brings me back to our early days running around San Francisco together, specifically grabbing a chicken pesto sandwich from The Good Life in Bernal. Reuben would always proceed to dose that thing in so much sriracha that it was almost inedible to me. We ate those sandwiches so much that the flavors of pesto and sriracha are now forever engrained in my brain with the start of our relationship… or young love… something like that.

I shared the recipe for the chrysanthemum pesto and how to make a creamy vibrant pasta with here two years ago and I still love it. I decided to grow some chrysanthemum greens for the first time and when I went to go harvest it last week I had just enough to make one batch of pesto! Meant to be!

Find the Recipe Here!

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Chrysanthemum Greens (Tong Ho) Pesto Pasta with Sriracha Chicken

Serves 4 to 6

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I can’t escape my midwestern roots! I grew up on Stouffer’s tuna noodle casserole and the nostalgia of those flavors still have a tight grip on my heart. I’ve since perfected my own version of tuna noodle casserole that feels just as nostalgic but omits the need for a can of condensed soup and leans heavier on the vegetables and sneaks in some extra protein. We got chunks of tuna, celery, mushrooms, peas, and onions swimming in a creamy sauce that is fortified with miso, cottage cheese, and a touch of heavy cream for a full-bodied and full-flavored sauce that grips lusciously onto each noodle. The casserole is topped with melty cheese and toasted panko for texture and soul.

Miso Tuna Noodle Casserole

Serves 4 to 6

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Essentially a vodka pasta but without the vodka. The creamy tomato sauce has a little more body thanks to the addition of crushed tomatoes, which also lends a natural sweetness and freshness that brightens up the otherwise hearty dish. It’s loaded with lots of tiny turkey meatballs that are flecked with spinach and made extra tasty with parmesan. Since the meatballs are so small I like to cook them just under the broiler for a few minutes until they are browned and cooked through. It’s so unbelievably easy. I didn’t have many pregnancy cravings but this pasta was one of them!

Creamy Tomato Rigatoni with Tiny Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

Serves 4 to 6

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Hello again! I’m back with cookies. Lactation cookies to be exact.

I don’t think you have to necessarily be a breastfeeding parent to enjoy these cookies. So far, Reuben has eaten more of these cookies than I have. They are first and foremost a very good cookie - soft and chewy, warmly spiced, and not too sweet. But also loaded with ingredients that shou…

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Hello hello! We made it to March!

For those of you who are concerned about my freezer meal prep status, I promise you I am SO CLOSE to being done and I have been getting in plenty of rest in between cooking and waddling to the chest freezer in the garage.

I’ll be honest and say that my list has been getting shorter because I realized that we probably ha…

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Hello hello!

I guess it’s freezer breakfast week on the newsletter because I’m excited to share with you these adorable and insanely delicious Breakfast Moo Shu-ritos! You can honestly enjoy them for any meal of the day, not just breakfast. They are a perfect savory handy snack no matter what time of day it is.

When I started brainstorming ideas for my postpartum freezer meal prep the #1 recommendation I got from parents was to have as many meals prepared that I could potentially eat one handed. Breakfast burritos were obviously a popular choice. We live in sort of a burrito mecca of the East Bay so I feel like we can indulge in an outside burrito whenever we want once baby is here. So I started to play around with the idea of a breakfast moo shu. Something still handy and able to be eaten with one hand but filled with a little more veggies. I also liked the idea of using homemade moo shu wraps that are thinner and a little less carb heavy to start of my day. But of course you can use store bought flour tortillas to save time and effort!

I made them. I froze them. I reheated one. I’m obsessed.

I really think I need to make another batch because I’m trying really hard to resist eating all of them before baby arrives.

The filling is loosely based on the elements of what you would find in a somewhat classic moo shu, mostly shredded cabbage and mushrooms. Each moo shu-rito is filled with soft scrambled eggs, savory shiitakes seasoned with hoisin, a tangle of caramelized cabbage, loads of green onions, and as much pork floss as your heart wants. So savory and comforting. There are plenty of opportunities to customize here too.

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Another pro for making the wrappers is that I found them to be so pliable when wrapping. The wrappers are really thin, almost translucent, thanks to the technique of rolling out two wrappers at a time, but they also have a strong structure and don’t tear or break when you go to wrap. And there’s a lot pack into each one! I originally shared the moo shu wrapper recipe in my first book, Mooncakes & Milk Bread, but I included it in the recipe below if you want to give it a go! I just scaled up the amount slightly so you make enough to wrap a dozen.

At this rate, I’m cooking faster than I’m writing and posting recipes but I’m almost through with my meal prep list and will share all the details and recipes soon!

Happy wrapping!

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Breakfast Moo Shu-ritos

Makes 12

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Hello hello!

I’m oscillating between a state of rest and filling my freezer with as much food as possible. Last week I started checking off items from my postpartum freezer meal prep list and I think I’m making pretty decent progress so far. I have dumplings, soups, and breakfasts mostly complete and later today I’ll be marinating some meats and potenti…

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Hello hello! Happy Year of the Horse!

If you celebrated, I hope your year had a delicious and auspicious start! Reuben and I are still taking a break from hosting so we had a quiet but still lucky dinner at home. I know you’re not supposed to cry on the first day but I couldn’t help but get emotional thinking about how it won’t be just the two of us (pl…

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Hello hello! Happy Friday and Valentine’s Eve!

As promised, it’s a double recipe week! Since Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day falls so closely together this year I wanted to make a sweet treat that celebrated both. So I present you this delightfully chewy and pink Strawberry Almond Baked Nian Gao! Nian Gao is a traditional Chinese sweet cake made from…

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Hello hello!

I’m slowly recovering from our baby shower weekend. Obviously a drink was not had on my part but I’m experiencing that slight groggy feeling you get from a great long weekend. Or maybe I’m just severely pregnant and need to hydrate more. All the above could be true.

Our friends and family gathered in the East Bay hills to celebrate our baby …

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Hello hello! Welcome to February, I guess. It’s not quite birth month but anything could happen. Fingers crossed we make it until March though because my to-do list is not fully crossed off (is it ever?) and I have places to slowly waddle to.

Family is coming into town tomorrow for my baby shower and I’m looking forward to a long weekend celebrating this butternut squash/bundle of celery with my friends and family. A dear friend is throwing the shower for us and my only request was dim sum, so dumplings are definitely on the mind!

In keeping with my Lunar New Year tradition of developing a new dumpling recipe to bring some prosperity and “wealth” into my life, I’m excited to share with you these Spiced Chicken Momos! I made a big batch so I could keep extras in the freezer, in which they were safely kept for about 3 days, but then we ate the rest because I couldn’t stop thinking about them and needed to devour the rest. I’ll make more in a few weeks once we get into postpartum freezer food prep.

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If you’ve never had momos before they are a Nepalese/Tibetan style of dumpling, often filled with meat and vegetables and seasoned with warming spices you love in South Asian cooking. They are an especially cozy and comforting dumpling. While not necessarily spicy, these spiced dumplings are full flavored and each bite awakens parts of my brain and tastebuds. Something I appreciate these days.

I simply steamed them, although you can also boil or pan-fry if you prefer, and then laid them down on a smear of vibrant cilantro mint sauce with a yogurt drizzle. It felt fancy, but the amount of effort required for the plating was honestly pretty minimal. With a blender in hand, the sauce comes together in moments and you’ll soon want to dip everything besides momos in it.

It’s been a while since I’ve spent an afternoon quietly pleating dumplings. It reminded me of how much I love this practice and how making dumplings and teaching others how to make dumplings shaped my career over the last (almost) decade. It’s hard to anticipate how life will change once babe arrives, but I’m hoping that I’ll still be able to find the time to make dumplings later this year either with a baby strapped on me or napping nearby.

Happy dumpling making and remember that the more dumplings you eat, the wealthier you’ll be!

Here are a few dumpling recipes from the Substack archives and even older ones can be found on the old blog!

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Spiced Chicken Momos with Cilantro Mint Sauce

makes 32 dumplings

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Hello hello!

Lunar New Year falls on February 17th this year, which means we are exactly 3 weeks away. I started my celebrations/preparations yesterday by doing some yard clean up and snipping branches for floral arrangements around the house. Displaying budding branches, seemingly dead looking branches with vibrant floral buds that continue to blossom, is a poetic way to symbolize growth and new life. It’s always been one of my favorite traditions, much more enjoyable than deep cleaning the house, and it’s one of the easiest!

The promise of growth and new life is very appealing right now with the state of the country, which to say the least is bleak and overwhelming. Honestly, holding onto the joys Lunar New Year, seeing my family next week (they are visiting for my baby shower!), and the soon arrival of our little fire horse are keeping my spirits in the positive lately.

My love for Lunar New Year, the new and old traditions, the community spirit, the food, feels like it gets deeper every year. As a kid it felt like one grand meal and the time when my pau pau makes all the snacks I longed for throughout the year. Now it feels like a multi-week journey of resetting mentally and physically, without all the distraction of the holidays. It’s quieter, more peaceful, more intentional, and the food is better.

So for the first Lunar New Year recipe I present you a tall and gorgeous loaf I can’t stop dreaming about: Sesame and Red Bean Swirled Milk Bread. I wanted the bread to channel jiān duī/fried sesame balls. You’ll most likely recognize these crispy seed covered spheres at dim sum. The exterior is a chewy glutinous rice flour dough that’s deep fried and they are often filled with sweetened red bean paste but also sometimes black sesame paste or a salted egg yolk custard. Like many food items that are round, golden, and fried they symbolize wealth, joy, and good luck in the new year. So eat up.

This loaf takes on the flavor profile of a good sesame ball. Even the bread has that characteristically soft and chewy texture without actually being made of glutinous rice flour. There are sesame seeds in the dough, imparting a delicious toasty, seedy flavor and also on the top crust with a little crunch. Swirled within the bread is a layer of red bean paste that gives each slice just the perfect amount of sweetness. It’s reminiscent of a chocolate babka or maybe a cinnamon raisin bread.

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I know that in the recipe I instruct you to let the bread fully cool before you slice into it, because that’s baker’s best practice, but cutting a piece off while the loaf is still somewhat warm is truly transcendent. It needs nothing else. For the days afterwards, I enjoyed a sliced toasted with a little butter alongside some coffee or a matcha and it’s just as comforting. I didn’t have the opportunity to try making a french toast with this but I hope someone out there gives that a go and reports back!

Happy Almost Lunar New Year and stay tuned for more auspicious recipes!

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Sesame and Red Bean Swirled Milk Bread

Makes 1 tall loaf

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Hello hello!

I’ve never truly understood the term nesting until this weekend. Reuben and I spent the better part of the weekend unboxing the mountain of baby products that have been showing up at our doorstep, assembling said products, purging cabinets and closets, and making the limited space we have for baby zucchini squash feel bright yet cozy. We have a long way to go but I’m feeling pretty good about our progress!

Up next on my personal purge is clearing out space in our freezers for post-partum meals. But clearing out the freezer is something I like to do every few months whether there is a baby on the way or not. A bag of freezer burned spring rolls was lurking at the bottom from LAST LNY! Only just a couple rolls left though so it wasn’t a huge waste, but I did take inventory of some items, mostly proteins that need to be utilized in the next few weeks.

I was confronted with some frozen ground pork and suddenly had a craving for juicy Sheng Jian Bao. I last had them a few weeks ago and was delighted that they didn’t spike my blood sugar, thanks to a post lunch walk and the balance of protein and fiber in the filling! A win! Thank you for all the kind and understanding messages from last week’s post by the way! So nice to not feeling alone in this GDM journey.

Sheng Jian Bao are often described as a cross between a dumpling and a steamed bun. It’s mostly a steamed bun that is cooked like pan-fried dumpling and even though the dough is leavened, it’s not quite as fluffy as a traditional steamed bun. You can always count on a SJB to be crisp and juicy. The filling is often made much like a xiao long bao/soup dumpling where a collagen rich broth or aspic is solidified and mixed in with the meat. I have plans to fill the freezer with bone broths in a few weeks but until then, I currently don’t have time to be making the filling in the most traditional way, but thankfully I have a few tips for mixing extra juicy fillings with low effort!

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Most people think that a juicy dumpling or bun are a product of incorporating aspic or high fat content, and while those features are definitely factors, they are not the only route. I’ve been a long time believe in the power of vegetables for a balanced and juicy filling. Back in the day when I would teach dumpling workshops I preached not skipping the veggies to all my students. Vegetables, especially ones like cabbage, are high in moisture content. In it’s raw state the moisture stays trapped in but once you apply heat or involve salt, the moisture gets released.

When you add cabbage with fatty pork along with some Chinese cooking wine and water with cornstarch to bind it all together you get a workable meat filling in its raw state that then produces its own self contained broth or soup once the buns are cooked. In the hot steamy pan, everything melts together. It’s simple but feels kind of magical!

These buns were gobbled up quickly but I saved a few in the freezer, so not sure if I actually made any progress in clearing out the freezer… but I’m happy to have these buns in my life!

Happy steaming!

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Pork and Chive Sheng Jian Bao

makes 24

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