bear

Thanksgiving happened! My parents came over and brought wine and a cheese plate; we made the rest.

* Pim Techmuanvivit's Fivespice Braised Pork Belly, a longtime fave I've been making for close to 15 years now (not just for Thanksgiving, it's that kind of rich, warm dish that's a treat on blustery Northeastern autumn days). Utterly unctuous.

* Khushbu Shah's Saag Paneer Lasagna, or "La-Saag-Na," badumtish. How did I not realize how easy making saag is? I've been eating some variant of it the majority of my life thanks to Indian restaurants, and now I live within 10 minutes' walk of an Indian grocery. Clearly, I will be cooking more Indian food from now on! I did make the lasagna aspect easier on myself by skipping the béchamel step and using crème fraîche instead, but all in all, it was pretty easy to put together. And we liked having a non-meat entree option, even though we're all omnivores.

* Kay Chun's Cranberry-Asian Pear Chutney, in perpetuity.

* Stephanie and Mike Le's Miso Mashed Potatoes, repeat from last year.

* Eric Kim's Cheesy Scallion Stuffing. I wanted to come up with a Filipino stuffing but ran out of time.

* Joanne Chang's Thai Red Curry Squash Soup, except with yellow curry paste and acorn squash and carrots because we already had all of that on hand when we were trying to fill the "orange vegetable" slot.

* Andrea Nguyen's Magical Sesame Salt Greens, this year with collards and beet greens, again because we had them on hand already. I think the collards worked but the beet greens were too bitter, but this is an incredibly easy way to put a cooked green veg on the table.

* Eric Kim's Little Gems Salad, back for year three and yet somehow nobody else on the internet has written it up to link to? Incredibly easy salad that's a fave around here. I don't just love it because it's a mashup between the green salad with nori vinaigrette from Eventide near my old Fenway apartment, and the classic Californian Little Gems salad that's on every farm-to-table restaurant menu in the Bay Area, but neither aspect hurts it in my estimation, either. How I make it for a crowd: I do make it a chopped salad so it's easier to serve and eat. I also make a vinaigrette, even though Kim likes applying each ingredient of dressing individually - for every 5-6 oz head of lettuce (if you can't get Little Gems, butter lettuce is a good substitute, as is romaine), mix 1T rice vinegar, 1T fish sauce, 1T toasted sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar, and drizzle over the chopped lettuce. Then grind up a packet of roasted seaweed and sprinkle it over the salad. Then toss and serve. Easy-peasy.

And for dessert:

* Kristina Cho's Persimmon Custard Tart. We made a hojicha whipped cream topping instead of a hojicha meringue to keep it a little simpler. I do want to try making it with the meringue next time! ... and locate our blowtorch, heh. The coconut cream we tried did not whip up, so I ended up boosting it with dairy cream anyway. That's what Lactaid's for!

* Stephanie and Mike Le's Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake. Yeah, I can't really say I'm anti-cheesecake any longer. Just anti-New York cheesecake, the taste and texture still don't work for me. But there are plenty of other cheesecakes in the world I'm discovering to like! Adding pumpkin and pumpkin spices makes it more autumnal than the straight-up burnt Basque cheesecake we did last year.

Noting things to remember that I want to try next year:
* The la-saag-na came from a NYT article the week before Thanksgiving about how immigrant Americans adapted another immigrant American tradition of lasagna on the Thanksgiving table. In addition to the recipes for a Thai lasagna and an Indian lasagna, there are references to Korean and Sichuan versions, as well as Filipinos just treating the Italian lasagna like the "American" food on their Thanksgiving tables already overflowing with Filipino food. (Mandy Lee's got a recipe for a Korean lasagna that sounds similar to the referenced one, based on tteok. And further searching brought me to Christine Lau's version as referenced in the Times, as well as Andrea Nguyen's interpretation of Mei Lin's ma po tofu lasagna (and additional ma po tofu fusion recipes, along with Anna Hezel's Lasagna cookbook that sounds worth a read.)

But you know me, I'd rather riff on the idea of a Filipino lasagna. Lalaine Manalo has a version, with banana ketchup and Filipino hot dogs; I think I'd rather incorporate longanisa, though I see how she was pivoting from Filipino spaghetti. And I'd love to incorporate Filipino cheeses like kesong puti (though finding it is the challenge), and/or Edam/queso de bola (more common, though it doesn't melt quite the same way, you need to add milk and it's more like a cheese dip). Though Rezel Kealoha is just like "whatever, make your own kesong puti," heh. Ideally, see if I can get ahold of carabao milk! ... yeah, um, maybe just buffalo milk? (The buffalo farm I knew of around here is probably moving to Santa Barbara. They have some of the best fresh mozzarella I've ever had; I hope we're still able to get it when they move!)

* I really do want to make Mandy Lee's oyster kimchi stuffing that I've been talking about for ages now! I just need to plan ahead and ensure that I can pick up the gochujang sourdough loaf I've been wanting to try it with, and have it in the house at the same time I've got oysters, heh. And it's an oyster stuffing, how much more riff on New England trad can you get?

* I also want to do a lemongrass custard cornbread, mashing up our old favorite custard cornbread with lemongrass corn soup flavors, but also adapting to our digestive systems being less happy with full dairy cream these days. I wonder if coconut cream will custardize similarly to dairy cream in the oven.

The archiving project I've been working on over the last six months is stalled out somewhere in 2004, mostly because I was working on another writing project and accidentally successfully NaNoWriMoed with it, with that project having crossed the 60,000 word mark by the end of November (and currently at 76,000 words(!)). WHO AM I.

But that means that my posts about the Asian American Thanksgiving thing we've been formally doing for the last six or seven years, where the majority of dishes we put on the table came from recipes by Asian American chefs? Sparked by the #MyAsianThanksgiving discussion of ... 2017? haven't made it over here yet.

Update: yeah, of course that was the impetus for me to fill in my Thanksgiving archives, regardless of chronological order. But they're all there now!

( chronology )

2001 and 2002, when I rolled my own, first solo, then with Andrew. 2003 and 2004 mrieser dragged a bunch of us out to Western Mass for Thanksgiving with Ninjamom. 2005, I took hyounpark to SF. After that, we started doing our thing at home most years.

Not that 2017 was the first time we've had Asian/Asian American elements on our Thanksgiving tables, far from it! The first Thanksgiving I cooked for on my own, I leaned heavily on Kay Chun's article and recipe collection about her family's Asian American Thanksgiving in Real Simple in 2001. But in the meantime, have 2023's version! (Pictures of Thanksgiving 2023 on the 'gram.)

This year, we made:

• Peter Som's Char Siu Wellington


• Next time we try this, we will definitely be adjusting the bake times, but the pork and gravy were delicious! But this is the second Peter Som recipe that has, er, not gone to plan, see the time we tried his sweet potato tian (a previous Asian American Thanksgiving year). Oh well!


• Joanne Chang's Roast Lamb


• This is a regular staple in our household; yes, it's the roast lamb from Flour Bakery's original lamb sandwich which is still the best lamb sandwich I've ever had in my life. Sometimes we'll make our own focaccia to eat it with, other times we are grateful to live within walking distance of Semifreddi's focaccia 🙂 But the lamb also pairs well with cranberry sauce!


• Molly Yeh's Pretzel Stuffing


• Tasty and worth tracking down pretzel rolls for!


• Kay Chun's Cranberry Asian Pear Chutney


• As mentioned above, a permanent denizen of my Thanksgiving table. Hall of Fame, MVP, every accolade. We gifted a jar to our next door neighbors this year as well and they loved it!


• Stephanie + Mike Le's Miso Butter Mashed Potatoes


• Everyone loved these; it's hard to believe this was the first time they made an appearance for Thanksgiving! Will almost certainly repeat next year.


• Andrea Nguyen's Greens with Magical Sesame Salt


• These also disappeared quite quickly; we put a bunch of assorted greens in.


• Eric Kim's Little Gems Salad from his cookbook Korean American


• Second year in a row, repeated by multiple requests, and we'll be leaning on the seaweed dressing in particular to encourage us to eat more salads this year.


• Betty Liu's Asian Pear Shrub with Rosemary and Prosecco


• We first served this to my dad at ... Thanksgiving 2021, I think? Forgot to break out the prosecco this year but the shrub was appreciated by all.


• Nancy Cho + Selina Lee's 수정과 (sujeonggwa, cinnamon punch) from their cookbook Korean Instant Pot Cookbook


• And we also had a warm drink! This, too, was a repeat.


• Leonard and Sara made honeynut squash 호박죽 (hobakjuk, pumpkin soup) and challah


• With the 새알심 (saelsim, the rice flour balls) and 팥 (pat, red beans) and 잣 (jat, pine nuts)! Challah served separately.


• My parents brought the wine and cheese, being oenophiles and turophiles


• Alana Kysar's Liliko’i Chiffon Pie from her cookbook Aloha Kitchen


• Back for a third year, though I preferred the previous years when we were able to get ahold of actual liliko'i pulp, even though it can be a PITA to prepare.


• And finally, Brie Burnt Basque Cheesecake


• More below, but this was STUNNINGLY easy. The cheese you use matters a lot; we used a local Brie and this was a winner.

That’s right. Yours truly, cofounding member of anti_cheesecake back in the day? Has, finally, at the ripe old age of forty-ahem, found a cheesecake I LOVE, wholeheartedly. All credit there to Breadbelly and their Mt. Tam Burnt Basque Cheesecake, along with every article about burnt Basque cheesecake where I noted just how many Asian American bakers were making them locally, and now I’m on a quest to try them all!

But obviously, it was the perfect dessert to add to our Asian American Thanksgiving table, where for six years running now, we have heavily featured recipes by Asian and Asian American chefs and cooks. Some of these recipes found a home on my Thanksgiving table long before that, of course; I think Kay Chun’s Cranberry Chutney has been at just about every Thanksgiving I’ve hosted since 2001!

I still detest brussels sprouts, though, despite decades of trying, and remain meh about celery though I appreciate its role in mirepoix and the holy trinity now, and picky about ham (thinly sliced, properly cured, never the honey baked crap), so that’s how you know I’m still me and some things are eternal. 🙂

This year's Asian American Thanksgiving bounty! We hosted my dad; my mom wasn't feeling so hot (digestively! otherwise fine).

What we made:

* Joanne Chang's Apple Cider Sticky Buns
* Serious Eats' Koji Prime Rib
* Kristina Cho's Pork Floss + Seaweed Pull-Apart Rolls
* The Woks of Life's Cheesy Scallion Mashed Potatoes
* Peter Som's Five Spice Sweet Potato Tian
* Betty Liu's Szechuan Dry Fried Green Beans, and also her Asian Pear Shrub + Rosemary Prosecco
* Kay Chun's Cranberry Asian Pear Chutney, which has graced my Thanksgiving table every year I’ve hosted since 2001, *even* the year we did takeout for everything else
* Nancy Cho + Selina Lee's Instant Pot Sujeonggwa, from their cookbook Korean Instant Pot Cookbook
* And finally, my biggest challenge and triumph this year: Alana Kysar's Liliko’i Chiffon Pie, from her cookbook Aloha Kitchen

There are pictures of the feast up on Instagram!

Also, thank you to Lactaid for allowing us to consume the amounts of dairy included in this meal even at our advanced age 😉

Concluding with a Liz Climo comic, because in her comics, I am clearly Bear and hyounpark is clearly Bunny, except for the few times we get flipped, like this:

I liked how well our pro-immigrant Asian American Thanksgiving menu came off last year that I mostly pursued the same line of thought for our contributions this year, in addition to the classics my parents contributed. (We had originally been hoping to do the California classic dungeness crab, but the commercial season opening's been put off a month because the whale migration season has been delayed.)

- Fivespice pork belly (Pim Techmuanvivit): we've done this one a few times before but not specifically for Thanksgiving. Rich and tasty.
- Cranberry-shingo pear chutney (Kay Chun): this has been a near-constant on my Thanksgiving table since 2000? 2001? whenever the November Real Simple had an article about Chun's family's Korean American Thanksgiving.
- Cheddar scallion biscuits (Cynthia Chen McTernan): met the approval of both my Southern-raised husband and my dad ("Grandmother Baer, as a fine Virginia gentlewoman, would approve.").
- Red curry kabocha soup (Joanne Chang): I messed up the texture somewhere and it ended up being basically a well-flavored mashed kabocha
- Roasted miso maple potatoes (Irene, Andy, and Margaret Li): definitely should've doubled this recipe! Crispy outsides, soft insides, tangy sauce uniting local miso from our new home and local maple syrup from our old one.
- Bacon-kale adobo (Tim Luym): a late addition when I looked at the menu and realized "we have nothing remotely green here." ... did not realize neither of my parents like kale; I would have thought they'd see it as virtuous and vaguely healthy or at least sufficiently performatively "healthy." Oh well! I'd originally intended to try to get ahold of some dungeness crab to try to replicate the delicious laing I had last year at Bad Saint, but no dice, the season's been delayed again.
- Wild rice pilaf (I don't know whose recipe Hyoun was following): we thought including a native grain on the table would be fitting, but this came out more like a risotto than a pilaf. Amusingly enough, per my mom, this tasted "close to Grandpa Lasian's kiampong!" (similar to the Chinese lo mai gai/sticky rice stuffing) so it accidentally fit the theme anyway :)
- Pear tarte tatin (Joanne Chang): of course I picked up the new Joanne Chang cookbook on release day and made this. Forgot just how much liquid you have to pour off a tarte tatin because I hadn't made one since last year! But delicious AF.
- Cheesy apple crumb bars (Sarah Jampel): included as homage to the New England classic apple pie with cheese. hyounpark: "It's Asian in spirit, look at all the food Koreans are dousing with cheese now! :P"

We hosted my parents, and now we basically don't have to cook for a week; the only caveat is that our fridge is so stuffed getting anything out of it is a Jengaesque endeavor.

Next up: planning ALL THE COOKIE BAKING. I'm sad to miss Flour's cookie swap for the first time in a decade, but it's not like I'm not going to be baking a few dozen dozen cookies between now and the 25th regardless.

On a related note, The Way American Kids are Learning About the First Thanksgiving is Changing has come up in my feeds recently, and I'm glad for it.

It has been an exhausting year or three, but I am ready for this long December coming up. We'll actually be spending the vast majority of it away from the frigid Northeast! December 3, we'll fly out to San Francisco and have half a day in the city, then the next morning, we leave for HAWAII! I've never been, and I'm excited to get to go for a milestone birthday celebration :) We'll spend a week on the Big Island with my parents, then three days on Oahu with a college friend, and then fly to LA for the second half of December and the Park Family Christmas. Sad to miss Jewmas this year, but gosh, am I looking forward to this long holiday.

With that in mind, I would like to thank Joanne Chang of Flour and Tracy Chang of Pagu for making our Thanksgiving takehome meals this year; we just could not with everything. Sticky rice stuffed Cornish hens from Pagu, sticky buns from Flour, I pulled together mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce, and we were done. And it certainly qualifies as part of an Asian American Thanksgiving! Next year, we'll do better.