We used to grow red amaranth back home in Taiwan and mom would always make a simple saute of them with a bit of vegetable oil, minced garlic and salt. The pigments from the greens would create a beautiful purple-red sauce that my sister Elaine and I loved to mix with white rice to give it a quasi-psychedelic hue (think jacked-up spinach). Amaranth greens are readily available here in SoCal at many Asian markets (e.g., 99 Ranch Market) and can also be easily grown from seed. T

This dish straddles the line between traditional and non-traditional because I more or less made it up (although I did take inspiration from a recipe from Panda Inn's 2002 March calendar feature called "Sizzling Scallops with Asparagus"). My sauce ingredients are similar: soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, cornstarch, sugar, and white pepper - but I use very different proportions and plain water instead of chicken stock. Kangshan chili sauce is from Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwa

Mongolian Beef is not Mongolian at all, but rather a dish created by early Chinese immigrants to the U.S.  Today, the Mongolian Beef dish from the popular restaurant chain P.F. Chang's is probably the most well-known version. The thin, tender slices of flank steak stir-fried in a savory brown sauce with lots of scallions and just a few dried red chiles makes this dish super flavorful, very mildly spicy (unless you bite into the peppers) and, therefore, very accessible and pal

This popular and delicious dim sum dish is actually a breeze to make at home. The hardest part is cutting the spare ribs into riblets - something I don't recommend doing yourself. Your best bet is to have your butcher do this or better yet, buy them pre-cut at many Asian markets. I recently even found these at Costco! Some recipes call for the addition of oyster sauce and/or light soy sauce in the marinade. I myself prefer just salt, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil and Shaoxi

Traditionally, only green bell peppers are used for this dish, but feel free to kick up the color palette with the addition of a red bell. I also like to add a sliced jalapeno pepper for a little extra heat as I'm a hopeless spice addict.  I took inspiration for this recipe from a dish at a literal hole-in-the-wall restaurant that our family used to frequent back in the day circa 1981 near Taipei American School (in fact, I think it was actually called "Hole in the Wall"). Th

In Taiwan, stinky tofu was a street vendor staple and a nostalgic fav of mine. For the uninitiated (aka stinky tofu virgins), the name typically raises eyebrows and inner trepidations, and the actual aroma can be an affront to the olfactory senses. But, hey - if you like stinky cheese, then this is a piece of cake! The tofu is fermented and usually deep fried and served with a chili-garlic sauce and pickled Taiwanese cabbage on the side.