Worst Quality Crab

Episode 32: Bao with Jessica Fu

This ain’t your mother’s bao! But it *is* Jessica’s grandmother’s bao! On this episode we talk to pastry chef Jessica Fu about her grandmother’s special bao, filled with pork, spices, and secret ingredient vermicelli. This one is so special that between the three of us, none of us have ever seen it on a menu or out in the wild! We talk about where this dish came from and whether or not Jessica’s grandmother made it up.

We also talk about Jessica’s fear of cooking savory, her aversion to trying to make these bao (surprise: perfectionism!), and how being brought up by immigrant parents with high standards actually kinda makes for becoming a good pastry chef. 

Plus, growing up in a tiny Northern California community surrounded by a much larger one, being exposed to a stand-mixer, and the superiority and resurgence of whipped cream cakes. 

Do not listen to this one on an empty stomach or a sugar detox. You’ve been warned!

Upon some digging we did also find a single similar recipe that uses beef instead of pork. Sub ingredients at will if you’re up for the challenge! And if you’re going more in the direction of Jessica’s grandmother, no ginger or cilantro!

Episode 31: Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada

We should really stop pretending like we don’t do holiday episodes because whoops we actually love them. We’re back with a holiday x new cookbook x baking for a cause episode with Hetal Vasavada, author of Milk and Cardamom and Desi Bakes, founder of baking pop up Milk and Cardamom, and former Master Chef contestant. What started with a pitch for butter (not that we have a problem with that! It’s butter!!) turned into a super fun conversation about growing up Indian American in New Jersey, how baking saved organic chemistry lab, and the ways in which Hetal is becoming her mother, which we’re here for!

Plus munching cheese, unintended food traditions, and accidentally creating entirely too expensive kid palettes. 

And of course, butter. We talk about Hetal’s partnership with Challenge Butter which has partnered with Cookies For Kids to raise funds for pediatric cancer research, a cause that’s close to Hetal and just so deeply important. Bake your family favorite holiday cookie or any other holiday cookie recipe from their site and tag @challengebutter and @Cookies4kids along with #ChallengeForACure with your cookie photo. And if the idea of baking with your littles is too much, Hetal gives us some stellar tips on how to bake together without making huge messes or being overly stressed about it. 

No single recipe for this one but MANY recipes in Hetal’s gorgeous cookbooks and a recipe for some beautiful stained-glass sugar cookies on the side of special holiday edition Challenge butter. Go check them out and have your own lil bake sale, after all, it’s cookie season!

Episode 30: Soups! with Ellie Yang Camp

On this episode we’re talking to author Ellie Yang Camp about her new book Louder Than The Lies: Asian American Identity, Solidarity, and Self-Love, and just as importantly, we talk about soups!! Yes, not one, but two family soups: beef noodle soup made by her dad, and chicken broth made by her mom. 

We talk about growing up Taiwanese American in not-so-Asian California suburbs, chasing taste memories, and passing on culture through food (our fave!)

Of course we dive into Louder Than The Lies, which we can’t recommend enough. We love how it succinctly articulates so much of what we’ve been feeling about being Asian in America. Ellie reminds us that the fight for equity requires practice and stamina, and offers us a way forward, which we’ll probably need now more than ever.

Plus the scurry-and-hide method of cooking, lightly dunking on Dr. Oz, and dismantling systems of oppression while being a full-time introvert parent!

In true Asian parent form, we have no exact recipe, but we have it on good authority that Clarissa Wei’s recipe for beef noodle soup hits exactly right for many Taiwanese families, which you can find in her book Made in Taiwan.

Episode 29: Stollen with Eli Beutel

On this post-election one we present our first ever disliked dish, because apparently there are no rules anymore. This was meant to be a revenge episode with Eli Beutel, but instead of raging against this German Christmas dish, stollen, they were the consummate food and alcohol historian—and still funny! 

We talk about the history of this dish, why they hate it, and why it’s still important to share family recipes, even not so great ones.

Plus flavor profiles as identity, accidentally becoming an expert in Hittite bee law, and a dip into tiki culture.

• Eli recommends their mentor Dawn Bohulano Mabalon's book Little Manila Is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o American Community in Stockton, California
• If you're curious about stollen, Eli recommends trying it first before diving into making your own loaf. Here's a couple places you can purchase it:
  • World Market
  • Dresden Stollen Bakers (this year's batch is sold out but you can sign up for a reminder to buy next year's)

Episode 28: Potstickers with Curtis Chinn of the InfatuAsian Podcast

On this episode we’re talking to fellow podcaster Curtis Chinn, host of the InfatuAsian podcast. His podcast is dedicated to Asian American creators and the culture we all know and love, so naturally we had a lot to talk about. Curtis brings a non-recipe recipe in the form of potstickers, which for him were less family recipe and more college party trick. 

We talk about being a multi-generation Chinese American and San Franciscan, and what that means for identity and the road away from and back to Chinese and Asian culture. Plus we take a quick detour into parenting around ethnicity and culture (fellow parents, listen and weigh in please!!)

We also go on a mini food history journey and it’s very possible that we’ve started a new podcast (eek!).