Welcome to the third round of All Asia All Month on LunaCafe. I’m happy you’re here.
Cold, wet, windy, overcast January is now one of my favorite months of the year. I know, sounds crazy, right? I can hardly believe it myself.
A couple of years ago during the Christmas merriment, I was bracing myself for the inevitable letdown of January and the funky monkey blues that usually accompanied that darkest of months. Resisting a downward spiral, I looked for a remedy.
Finally it hit me. Dive in and learn something new. Get inspired. Get creative. Get happy. And share the spirit of renewal and adventure with others who might also have the dreaded winter blues.
So now, January is officially the month I give myself to explore the culinary traditions that sat on the back burner as I spent most of my adult life mining and teaching the techniques and traditions of France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and South America.
January is now all about the cuisines of Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Northern China, Japan, Korea, and The Philippines, as well as Asian-influenced fusion dishes from creative cooks in America. In other words, any and all dishes even remotely Asian in flavor and technique.
Creativity, learning, and bold, exciting flavor are my goals, not authenticity. Part of the fun is indulging in new Asian cookbooks in preparation for this grand adventure each year, and I plan to share ideas from the best of these with you.
Plus exploring all the great Asian markets in Portland and Portland Metro. I’ll share some of those with you this year too.
And of course eating at the many Asian restaurants, cafes, and food carts in weird and wonderful Portland, Oregon, which has become a culinary hotbed.
But before we start talking about the new dishes planned for the weeks ahead, here’s a look at all the absolutely delicious Asian-style dishes I’ve created so far.
Asian Inspired Dishes from LunaCafe
- Vietnamese Crispy Crepes (Banh Xeo)
- Chinese Good Fortune Cookies
- Asian Tacos with Prawn & Shiitake Filling & Cabbage Slaw
- Home-Style Chinese Fried Rice
- Asian Potsticker Dough (for Jiaozi & Gyoza Dumplings)
- Phat Thai (Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Tamarind Sauce, Peanuts & Lime)
- Pork & Prawn Potstickers (aka Asian Dumplings)
- Almost Luc Lac Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
- Asian Pancakes (Beijing Pancakes)
- Chinese Cracker Jacks
- Golden Fried Garlic Sesame Noodles
- Pok Pok’s World Famous Vietnamese Chicken Wings
- Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce
- Spicy Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
- Thai Red Curry Paste
LunaCafe Asian-Inspired Restaurant Reviews
Cookin’ with Gas (inspiration from around the web)
- No. 18: Complex Systems in Your Mouth | The Materialist Papers
- Barbara Tropp | Askmar Publishing
- Reaching for the Moon at China Moon Café | San Francisco Chronicle
- Grant Achatz on Next and Their Modern Chinese Menu | Fine Dining Lovers
- Barbara Tropp, Interpreter of Chinese Cooking | Chicago Tribune
Copyright 2013 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.
This is a great idea of a month theme and you have so many delicious Asian-inspired recipes already!
Cristina, I love the opportunity to focus on a food category for several weeks at a time. Always get so much out of it. Last year, I had so many dishes I still wanted to work on as January came to a close that I extended All Asia All Month into March. Winter just flew by.
I really like the idea of concentrating on one food or technique for a month. Asian food is one of my favorites! Looking forward to this!
Marye, thank you. In art school this approach was called “working in a series.” It’s really the best way to really learn something. I love the luxury of being able to focus solely on Asian cuisine for a full month. Last year I was so engaged with the exploration that I devoted March to it well.
LOVE Asian food! So many great recipes on this list
Sharon, thank you! Hope you’ll try a few.
I love Asian food!!!! and love that you are doing all Asian food all month long! what a great idea!!! you already have a ton of Asian recipes. . may I ask how your love of Asian food came to be? I’m always fascinated in hearing people’s stories. . and am a huge Asian food enthusiast!
Alice, thank you! I have always loved Chinese food. We ate out at different Chinese restaurants in Seattle every Friday night when I was a kid. So that was my introduction. Seattle had a vibrant Chinatown in those days. When I began teaching the culinary craft in my mid twenties, I became interested in cooking Asian dishes. And then one week, as the director of the Yankee Kitchen Cooking School, Barbara Tropp arrived to teach several classes at the school. I accompanied her on a tour of Chinatown, and it was thrilling to watch her chat with store owners and select the best ingredients for her classes. Her first cookbook had just come out. It’s still my go-to resource for Asian cooking technique. So this opened the way for me to begin expanding beyond my Euro-centric culinary base. And the exploration continues to this day many years later.