Short essays and notes on food, history, and the kitchen.
Where ideas live before they cool into a book.
- Recipe NoteJune 12, 2026 · Recipes · 3 min
Da Pan Ji (Big Plate Chicken)
Da Pan Ji is a hearty dish featuring braised chicken and potatoes, served with wide hand-pulled noodles soaking in a rich sauce.
- Recipe NoteJune 12, 2026 · Recipes · 3 min
Xinjiang Lamb Skewers (Chuan'r)
Savor the smoky flavors of Xinjiang Lamb Skewers, featuring tender lamb threaded with luscious fat for a self-basting delight.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 3 min
Aji Fry (Japanese Fried Horse Mackerel)
Aji Fry is a delightful Japanese dish featuring crispy fried horse mackerel fillets, perfectly seasoned and breaded.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Amami Keihan (Amami Chicken Rice Soup)
Amami Keihan is a fragrant chicken rice soup served with a clear broth poured at the table.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Birria Tacos
Savor the rich flavors of birria tacos, featuring tender, chile-braised beef and crispy tortillas.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Bo Kho (Vietnamese Beef Stew)
This Vietnamese Beef Stew, Bo Kho, features tender beef shank braised with aromatic spices and sweet carrots for a rich, comforting dish.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Cantonese Congee (Jook)
Cantonese congee is a creamy rice porridge that showcases the art of starch breakdown through gentle cooking.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Cheese Souffle
Master the art of cheese souffle with a firm bechamel base and airy meringue for a perfectly risen dish.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 5 min
Gumbo
This gumbo features a richly flavored dark roux with chicken, sausage, and okra, creating a light yet satisfying stew.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Pho)
Experience the delicate flavors of Pho Ga, a Vietnamese chicken noodle soup with a clear broth and aromatic spices.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Tai no Kobujime (Kelp-Cured Sea Bream Sashimi)
Experience the delicate balancing act of umami and texture in this kelp-cured sea bream sashimi.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 11, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 4 min
The Smell of Butter at the Edge of Brown
Butter foaming in a pan, and the first nutty note arriving a breath before the color does. A note on browning butter by nose rather than by eye, and why the eye is the slower instrument.
- Recipe NoteJune 11, 2026 · Recipes · 4 min
Twice-Cooked Pork (Hui Guo Rou)
Twice-Cooked Pork (Hui Guo Rou) features tender pork belly stir-fried with cabbage in a savory sauce.
- Food HistoryJune 10, 2026 · Food History · 2 min
The Potato's Quiet Revolution: How One Tuber Rewrote Human Civilization
The potato arrived in Europe as a curiosity and left as an engine of demographic change. Discover how a single crop from the Andes transformed population, politics, and the very meaning of hunger.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 10, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 4 min
The Half-Second Before the Egg Sets
An egg in a pan, the white going from translucent to opaque at its own pace. A note on the narrow window where the white has set and the yolk has not, and on reading it by sight.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 9, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 5 min
Why I Never Cover a Reducing Sauce
A sauce reducing in an open pan, and a lid left hanging on its hook. A note on the one place a cover undoes the only work being done, and why the urge to cover is usually impatience.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 8, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 5 min
What the Hand Reads Above the Pan
A palm held flat a few inches over an empty pan, reading the heat before any food goes in. A note on the measurement the skin makes that no surface thermometer can quite match.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 7, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 5 min
When to Leave the Pan Alone
A fillet of fish skin-side down, and a hand kept off the spatula. A note on the discipline of not touching a sear, and why every early lift is a small theft from the crust.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 6, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 5 min
Why the Last Touch Is Small
A sauce nearly finished, a single drop of vinegar rolled in on the tip of a spoon. A note on the missing five percent and why the end of a dish is almost never a big move.
- Kitchen ScienceJune 5, 2026 · Kitchen Science · 3 min
Why Animated Food Makes Us Actually Hungry: The Neuroscience of Studio Ghibli's Meals
A scene of hand-drawn ramen or freshly baked bread in anime can trigger genuine hunger. We explore why animation bypasses our rational brain and reaches the reward circuits that control appetite.