Worst Quality Crab

Episode 11: Mapo Tofu with Christian Wu

This is a spicy one! No really, the dish is spicy. On this episode we talk to Christian Wu about his mom’s Mapo Tofu, something so relatable, and so beloved by Christian, and honestly his mom’s version sounds way better than ours.

Join us as we talk about being a third culture kid–growing up in both Tijuana and San Diego– growing up in a restaurant, and what parents can take away from hyper independent kids to coerce compliance. Plus we talk about cooking with parents, deciphering a recipe through language barriers, and the loving savagery of food-based friendships.

Episode 10: SPAMFIGHT! with Jin Yoo-Kim & Margot Seeto

For this momentous 10th episode, we’re putting recipes aside to talk about the great Asian and Asian American uniter, SPAM! Our guests are writer Margot Seeto and filmmaker Jin Yoo-Kim, creators of SPAMFIGHT!, a short film inspired by a love of Spam. We talk about our childhood memories of Spam and the creative ways we’re eating it today. We also talk about the ways die hard Spam fans celebrate this icon, and make up a few of our own that we’d like to see and eat.

Plus we talk about the sometimes complicated role of Spam in shaping identity, and some of the artists centering SPAM in their work. Hilariously terrible bonus, Jin shares her worst Spam memory and we all hate it but man do we get it. 

 

Links to artists and organizations mentions in the show:

• A-Doc - Asian American Documentary Network
• Watch SPAMFIGHT! by Jin Yoo-Kim on YouTube
• Read "Shelter-in-Place Chronicles: Spam in the Time of Corona" by Margot Seeto
• Specially Processed American Me by Jaime Sunwoo
• Koreangry by Eunsoo Jung
• Dawn Wing - Title Designer

 

Links to support the ongoing recovery efforts caused by the devastating fires in Maui:

• Chef Hui & The Hawai‘i Community Foundation - Funds raised for Chef Hui Maui Hospitality Relief will go directly to support Maui restaurants, hospitality workers and their families who have been displaced due to the fires. Funds will be distributed directly to restaurants and their employees based on needs.
• Dr. Julia Colangelo - Venmo for friend of the show and Lahaina resident whose family lost their home in the fire.
• SPAM® Brand Loves Maui Shirt - 100% of the proceeds for these t-shirts will go directly to the Aloha United Way's Maui Fire Relief Fund.

Episode 9: Sujebi with Haeny Yoon

On this episode we’ve got Haeny Yoon, host of Pop and Play podcast, bringing us her childhood dish sujebi. Was it a snack? Was it dinner? When you’re in middle school, is there a difference?? We talk about growing up with two working immigrant parents and what that meant for cooking, being simultaneously too Korean and not Korean enough, and the genetic nature of loving a soupy noodle thing. Plus we talk about making more space for Asian stories, and authenticity: what even is it anymore?? 

Haeny mentions a few great New York Times pieces that you might want to check out: 

• "Asian-Americans Need More Movies, Even Mediocre Ones" by Viet Thanh Nguyen on narrative plentitude and Crazy Rich Asians.
• "Here's Why I Opened My Middle School Yearbook" an OpDoc by Sean Wang.

Episode 8: S.E.R. with Alyssa Saquilayan

This episode we’re talking with nurse coach Alyssa Saquilayan about her ultimate comfort dish, spam eggs and rice. While it’s not a recipe, we talk about how this quick simple meal was a point of bonding among a generation of cousins, about the first taste of food autonomy, and reconciling important cultural foods by so-called wellness culture. Plus we talk about more things to eat with banana ketchup, a partner’s influence on cooking habits, and shout out Costco (again!).

Episode 7: Big Fat Rice Noodle Roll with Crystal Chin

We’re biased but this is an especially fun one for us! We’re talking to loooong time friend of the show, designer Crystal Chin, about her mom’s Big Fat Rice Noodle Roll (official, technical title). We talk about growing up ethnically Chinese and culturally more Burmese, translating being a maker of things into cooking, and how crucial (and time consuming!) the seemingly insignificant pantry staples are to making certain dishes successful and more accessible. 

Plus, finding forgiveness in food as a love language, Freesia having her mind blown about the things she could potentially learn to cook and stop ordering out for, and Sam lays down a Best Cousin cooking gauntlet. We told you it’s fun! Get the recipe!