Made Here: Recipes & Reflections by Send Chinatown Love
A review of a cookbook celebrating Asian Communities
Made Here, published by the New York City nonprofit Send Chinatown Love, is a book filled to the brim with mouth-watering recipes and photos, but one where the stories are really the point.
I could always lose myself in thumbing through a good cookbook, looking for inspiration and enjoying the stories along the way. Sometimes I just pretend it’s about the inspiration because it’s hard to explain why I’m reading a cookbook instead of a novel. Made Here is a book I was happy to curl up with and read from cover to cover.
Each recipe in the book is from a restaurant and accompanied by the story of the people who are the driving force behind it. In between are articles that provide fascinating insights into the history and demographics of the various Chinatowns in New York City, from Manhattan to Flushing, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst. The business profiles give a glimpse of the diversity of the community, which extends far beyond the concentrations in those neighborhoods, all over Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
There are treatises on Thai food, street Food, Asian pantry ingredients, and something I’ve always wondered about: how Asian produce in New York City is sourced and delivered. A guide to markets throughout the ever-changing landscape of the city is especially helpful.
After all this background reading, it turns out I did find inspiration after all. I started with a recipe for Marbled Tea Eggs from Grand Tea & Imports. They were surprisingly easy to make, delicious, and strikingly pretty. I saved the marinade for a second batch, which made it even easier to have a tasty snack on hand for guests.
I felt some waves of nostalgia tugging at my NYC roots while reading about the last of the Chino-Latino places on the Upper West Side, and was compelled to try the Fried Pork Chops from La Dinastia. They were good, but overshadowed by the Lap Cheong Fried Rice from Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle that I served with it. I was happy to finally start learning what to do with the Chinese sausage that always piques my curiosity when I see it in the Asian markets.
I even got a little ambitious and tried making the Pork & Kimchi Dumplings from Northern Wang Mandoo. The filling was delicious and made for very tasty meatballs after I accidentally glued all but the first dozen of my freshly rolled wrappers together in a sticky mess. There will be more practice or store-bought wrappers next time for this dumpling novice. I generally prefer recipes that are developed with home cooks in mind to those adapted from the restaurant kitchen, as they are likely to include details that someone trying a technique for the first time might not know. On the other hand, I’d be hard pressed to find another book that captured my interest more, or provided more motivation to get me cooking and learning. For that alone it’s well worth the shelf space.
I no longer live in New York, but am only a two hour bus or train ride away. This book has me plotting out excursions to explore neighborhoods less familiar to me, and places that have sprung up since I’ve left. In the meantime, I have a good book to accompany me on my armchair travels.
I’d be hard pressed to find another book that captured my interest more, or provided more motivation to get me cooking and learning.
Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs
Grand Tea & Imports Marbled Tea Eggs
There is an unrivaled sense of satisfaction that comes from shedding back the crackled, still-warm shell of a tea egg and seeing the bronzed marbling delicately etched in spiderweb-thin networks across the egg white. Tea eggs are thought to have originated in the Zhejiang province in eastern China as a method to preserve fresh eggs, but now they are commonly found in street stalls throughout China and Taiwan, and in Chinese households across the world. This recipe is a time-tested favorite that Zhong Ming Liu, founder of Grand Tea & Imports, would turn to when he wanted to make after-school snacks for his daughters, Alice and Karen.
This recipe is best when you plan ahead – longer marination time results in deeper color and flavor with tea eggs. You’ll better taste the licorice notes of the star anise and experience the numbing tingle from the Sichuan peppercorns. The recipe is also a forgiving one; it’s common practice among Chinese families to add or remove spices from the base formula depending on personal taste and what happens to be in the pantry. Enjoy this snack hot or room temperature, and store away the stock to reuse as a flavorful braise for your meats.
This recipe is reprinted from MADE HERE with permission from Send Chinatown Love.
Ingredients
- •10 large eggs
- •75 ml (5 tablespoons) light soy sauce (see NOTE1)
- •45 ml (3 tablespoons) dark soy sauce
- •3 pieces star anise
- •2 cinnamon sticks
- •2.5 cm (1 inch) piece ginger, sliced
- •2 bay leaves
- •15 ml (1 tablespoon) ground Sichuan peppercorn
- •1 dried tangerine peel (optional)
- •4 cloves (optional)
- •30 ml (2 tablespoons) loose leaf or 3 sachets black or oolong tea
READ MORE: Tea as a seasoning in cooking.
Preparation
Fill a large pot with enough water to fully cover the eggs. Bring to a low boil, and then carefully lower the eggs in. Cook for 7 to 12 minutes or to taste (see NOTE 2).
In a separate pot, combine the soy sauces, all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the tea, and 355 ml (1½ cups) water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn off the heat and add the tea.
Prepare an ice bath in a medium bowl. Once the eggs have cooked to desired consistency, remove from the pot and submerge in the ice bath to halt the cooking process.
Once cooled, remove the eggs from the ice bath and use the back of a spoon to gently tap the shell all over to create small cracks.
Pour the marinade into a sealable container large enough to accommodate all the eggs. Add the eggs into the marinade, adding more water if needed to fully submerge. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 5 days before enjoying. The longer they steep, the more the marinade (see NOTE 3) will penetrate and flavor the eggs.
