Peek & Eat: LUCKYRICE Festival:Talk and Taste

On the last day of the LUCKYRICE Festival, I learned how to recreate some of the amazing flavors from the weekend's food events. Talk & Taste: Asian Cuisine Cooking Demos—a series of six lectures accompanied by yummy samples—spanned throughout the day at the International Culinary Center. Still similar to my college self, I couldn't wake up early enough for the 12PM lecture (Zak Pelaccio of Fatty Crab making Short Rib Rendang) and ended up regretting my tardiness. However, the rest of the talks were wonderful and surprisingly funny.

Eddie Huang: Chef/owner of Baohaus, a restaurant specializing in Taiwanese gua bao, demonstrated two classic Chinese dishes: Beef Noodle Soup and Taro Sticky Rice. The beef noodle soup was to die for. The best part, however, was that broth. It packed a lot of tingly heat without being overwhelming. Eddie was an interesting combo of professional chef meets urban Asian gansta. His down-to-earth sense of humor and love for food made everyone want to be his friend. To get a better idea of what I mean, check out this YouTube clip of Eddie in action!

Willin Low: Chef/owner of Wild Rocket and Burger Bench & Bar in Singapore decided to make some Laksa Pesto Tiger Prawns. I loved the laksa pesto, maybe more than the Italian variety. The rich and refined sauce boldly enhanced the sweetness of the tiger prawn. Willin is a big believer in fusion, not confusion. By that brilliant philosophy, he strives to smartly pair Eastern and Western ingredients like they were always meant to be together. Willin started out as a lawyer, but he decided that it wasn't for him. It was truly inspiring to listen about his uphill battle (literally) in the restaurant business.

Jennifer Maeng: Former owner of Temple Restaurant and 2006 Miss Korea New York demonstrated how to make kim chi and kim chi pancakes. She probably was the biggest miracle worker in the room since she converted me into a kim chi believer. Before her talk and tasting, I never had tried a kim chi that I enjoyed. Upon trying Jennifer's crisp napa cabbage kim chi, I quickly discovered that I preferred it that way—freshly prepared, sans fermented tang. The pancake flip was also quite impressive (see below)... just look at that height!

Ching-He Huang: Host of the upcoming Cooking Channel series Chinese Food Made Easy, made an impressive trio: Bamboo Wrapped Chicken Glutinous Rice (Zhong Zi), Coriander Prawns and Longjing Tea, and Steamed Wined Sea Bass. Ching-He's grace in the kitchen, backed up by a super cool British accent, totally mesmerized me. She tied a mean Zhong Zi and really provided some great cooking insights. All of the samples were terrific, my favorite being the steamed wined sea bass. Check out her recipe on YouTube!