What’s the easiest way to peel fresh ginger? The best tool for prepping ginger is something I guarantee you have in your kitchen cabinet: a spoon. Because the irregular-shaped root has thin, delicate skin, a spoon can easily scrape it away without much waste. It’s also much easier to get into all of the nooks and crannies… Read More →
Chengdu Chicken with Black Beans, Chiles & Peanuts By Andrew Zimmern This spicy Chengdu-style chicken in an umami-rich black bean sauce is a mainstay at my house. Marinating the chicken overnight in rice wine and cornstarch makes the meat tender, helps tighten the sauce and gives the chicken a twice-cooked slippery quality that’s a sign of… Read More →
Perfect Pie Crust Recipe by Michelle Gayer Michelle Gayer, a dear friend and brilliant pastry chef, is here to teach us how to make the perfect pie crust. It’s flaky, buttery and slightly chewy. Even better, it’s forgiving and easy to work with. Watch Michelle make this recipe:
Wok-Tossed Asparagus in Black Bean Sauce By Andrew Zimmern A sign that warm weather is in sight, the first glimpse of fresh spring asparagus is a celebratory event. It’s one of my favorite foods and a versatile ingredient, so I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it when it’s in abundance in the market… Read More →
AZ Cooks Snack Bracket Champion We have a winner! This March has been full of surprises, and my snack bracket was no different. Although my money was on Chinese chicken wings making it to the championship, I’m happy to announce that our voters crowned roast pork belly as the AZ Cooks Snack Bracket Champion. I… Read More →
The Easiest Way to Dice a Mango Mangos are one of the most popular fruits in the world. When picking out mangos at the grocery store, don’t be fooled by the color—red does not mean ripe. Judge the fruit on its firmness, it should be soft without bruises. Mangos have a flat, almond-shaped seed in… Read More →
In my video series, AZ Cooks, I’m sharing cooking techniques and recipes inspired by my childhood, travels and experiences in the professional kitchen, all in the pursuit of culinary literacy. Thanks for tuning in, your support and feedback have made this venture a success! From classics like key lime pie and meatloaf to wok-tossed crickets and… Read More →
Japanese Beef Tataki By Andrew Zimmern This easy Japanese tataki is stunning and tastes even better. With a simple dish like this, buy the best beef you can get your hands on. Because it’s served very rare, using a tender, luxury cut like sirloin is important—trust me, it’s worth spending the extra bucks. Skip the… Read More →
Mulled Red Wine By Andrew Zimmern Gluhwein, or spiced mulled wine, is a popular warming beverage served at European Christmas markets. A German tradition, the very smell of gluhwein will put you in the holiday spirit, as the cinnamon, clove, ginger and orange fragrance wafts through your kitchen. It’s an easy and festive drink to make… Read More →
Ginger Scallion Noodles By Andrew Zimmern If you love to cook, you should learn how to recreate the tent poles of culinary wisdom from cultures around the world, starting with these addictive ginger scallion noodles. This recipe has the hallmarks of classic Shanghai-style scallion noodles mixed with Japanese-style charred scallion noodles with tsukemono pickles. It… Read More →
Pork Belly 101 By Andrew Zimmern Roasted pork belly is one of the most unctuous, delicious dishes that you’ll ever eat. To achieve a meltingly tender piece of pork crowned with crispy skin requires a multi-day process, but don’t let that scare you, it’s a simple technique. Serve it with bao, or on its own,… Read More →
Ginger Scallion Oil Dipping Sauce By Andrew Zimmern Chopped scallions, grated ginger and salt are combined with heated peanut oil to create this flavorful dipping sauce—the perfect complement to my Hainanese chicken rice. This sauce is so easy to throw together and pairs well with a piece of grilled meat or fish, noodles, dumplings or… Read More →
Soy & Ginger Dipping Sauce By Andrew Zimmern This scallion, soy, cilantro and ginger dipping sauce is wonderful with dumplings, poached chicken or fresh egg noodles. If I have a lot of it left over, I use it as a marinade for chicken. Watch Andrew make this recipe:
Hot Sesame Oil Dipping Sauce By Andrew Zimmern This dipping sauce uses hot sesame oil to coax the flavor out of ginger, garlic and Szechuan peppercorns. It goes well with my Hainanese Chicken Rice, on pork, chicken, fish or beef. You’re going to love it. Watch Andrew make this recipe:
Hainanese Chicken Rice with 3 Dipping Sauces By Andrew Zimmern A popular dish in southern China and Southeast Asia, Hainan-style chicken and rice is a dish I crave often—and I’m not the only one. The ginger-scented, perfectly poached chicken served with fatty, unctuous rice seems to have developed a cult following over the years. I… Read More →
Chicken Thighs & Livers with Yakitori Sauce By Andrew Zimmern The secret to making authentic izakaya-style Japanese chicken skewers is in the fresh ginger juice baste and classic yakitori glaze—a craveable combination of dashi, sake, soy and mirin. I like to cook the skewers on a tabletop grill with binchotan, a charcoal made of compressed… Read More →
A Take on Hainanese Chicken Rice By Andrew Zimmern This is the dish to make when you get a fresh, natural chicken and you really want to show off its insane flavor. I use heritage chicken breeds and the results are stellar. It’s a take on the classic Malay-style Hainanese chicken rice dish, but it’s… Read More →
9 Ways to Celebrate Pi(e) Pi Day is 3/14, and while this made-up holiday has nothing in common with our favorite dessert, we have no problem dedicating a whole day to baking and eating pie. Here are nine sweet and savory ways to indulge. Lattice-Top Blueberry Pie As far as pie fillings go, this one… Read More →
9 Healthy(ish) Recipes for Winter Here are a few hearty, yet healthy meals to get you excited about that post-holiday detox. Roast Chicken with Ratatouille Family meal nights across America just got easier, and so did entertaining on a budget. Ratatouille paired with roast chicken pieces is a classic combination that even your kids will… Read More →
Tips & Recipes for the Best Grilled Seafood Grilling seafood is one of the most delicious ways to eat what comes out of the water, but it’s like kissing a porcupine, it has to be done very, very carefully. Technique is everything. Here are a few tips for success: • Use grill baskets and nonstick perforated… Read More →
Dashi-Braised Chicken Thighs By Jennifer McGruther From time to time, my family sits down to a dinner of these chicken thighs, slowly braised in dashi, sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds and served with bowls of steamed rice and vegetables. Chicken thighs benefit from the long, slow process of braising that cooks them to a… Read More →
But who cares! All we’re concerned with is that Pi Day is March 14 (get it? 3/14) and that means we’re all about pie—the kind you eat, not the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Here are some of my favorite pie recipes to help satiate you’re craving. Happy Pi Day! • Banana… Read More →
Burma: Rivers of Flavor By Naomi Duguid This dish can be cooked in a bowl set in a steamer or in a tightly covered pot. The chicken is chopped into small pieces, on the bone. It cooks more quickly than it would in large pieces, and more surface area is exposed to the flavor paste… Read More →
Yu xiang qie zi By Fuchsia Dunlop This dish, almost more than any other, expresses for me the gorgeous layering of flavors that is the signature of Sichuanese cooking. Pickled chillies, either on their own or with fermented fava beans in the famous Sichuan chilli bean sauce, give the dish its warmth and luster; garlic,… Read More →
Falling in Love With Chinese Cuisine Chef and James Beard award-winning food writer Fuchsia Dunlop is an expert when it comes to Chinese food and culinary culture. The native Brit was the first foreign student, and one of only a few women, to graduate from the acclaimed Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Since then, she’s mastered… Read More →
Falling in Love With Chinese Cuisine Chef and James Beard award-winning food writer Fuchsia Dunlop is an expert when it comes to Chinese food and culinary culture. The native Brit was the first foreign student, and one of only a few women, to graduate from the acclaimed Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Since then, she’s mastered… Read More →
