asian fusion recipes

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Anything’s Pastable review

I didn’t realize that Dan Pashman of cascatelli fame had a new cookbook until I saw he was recently a guest on the “Hotdog is a Sandwich” podcast.  I suppose it should not be be a surprise that the new cookbook is called “Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People.”  This is not a collection of recipes that an Italian nonna is going to have, and that’s what I love about it.  There is a lot of global influence, and well thought out fusion recipes.

The book is divided into: 

  • Pestos, pangrattatos, and the jarred tomato sauce decision tree
  • Classic comfort: Hugs on a plate
  • Carby and crispy: adventures in texture
  • Zing: flavor bombs, not belly bombs
  • Stews, rouxes, and ragus: thick and hearty, warm and toasty
  • Pasta salads redeemed: fresh and bright, hold the mayo
  • To the forno!: baked pasta dishes

You’ll find recipes like: 

  • Ritz cracker and chive pangrattato,
  • Shells with miso butter and scallions,
  • Mac ‘n’ dal,
  • Scallion oil bucatini with runny eggs,
  • Swordfish with salsa verde sagne a pezzi,
  • Kimchi carbonara,
  • Shakshuka and shells,
  • Gnocchi with bacon and sauerkraut,
  • Keema bolognese,
  • Mapo tofu cascatelli,
  • Tteokbokki bolognese,
  • Cavatelli with crunchy fresh corn, tomatoes, ricotta salata, and mozzarella,
  • Crispy gnocchi salad with preserved lemon-tomato dressing,
  • Italian cafeteria hot dog pasta salad with canned vegetables,
  • Pasta pizza,
  • Smoked cheddar and chicken manicotti “enchiladas”

The recipe that immediately caught my attention was tortellini in kimchi parmesan brodo.  It’s made with butter, bacon, scallions, napa cabbage kimchi, gochugaru, chicken stock, lemon, Parmesan, black pepper, and refrigerated cheese or spinach-and-cheese tortellini.  Freshly made, I liked the soup but I wasn’t in love with it.  For me, the lemon flavor seemed to overtake the cheese flavor.  But then I realized that I liked this recipe so much more as leftovers.  I found the lemon mellowed out and gave a nice acidity, and the cheese flavor seemed stronger the next day.  Overall, it was better balanced.  There’s a lot of liquid for the amount of pasta, but it gave me the flexibility to bulk up the leftovers with tofu and kale.

The second recipe I made was for ssamjang aglio olio which has a short ingredient list: salt garlic, extra virgin olive oil, ssamjang, red pepper flakes, mafalde (bucatini, fettuccine, spaghetti), and roasted unsalted peanuts.  (I used fettuccine.)  I’ve never made the original aglio e olio even though I am a garlic lover.  This recipe took me longer to make than I thought it would, but I assume that it’ll go faster next time.  Basically, you make a garlic infused oil, then use it for the ssamjang sauce base.  Next, you boil the pasta, and finish the pasta and sauce together with pasta cooking water.  Plate up the pasta, and garnish with peanuts.

There’s really not much to say except that I loved the ssamjang aglio olio.  I think everyone who loves Asian flavors will love this pasta sauce. It also reminds me to use ssamjang more often.

I can’t wait to cook more from this book.  I recommend this book to everyone.  And I mean “everyone.” Don’t eat pasta much?  Doesn’t matter!  Feel free to serve the sauces over tofu, over vegetables, etc.  Not to sound hyperbolic, but this might be my favorite cookbook of 2024.

Disclaimer – I kindly received a copy of this book from William Morrow/Harper Collins for this review.  I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.  This cookbook is available for purchase from your favorite bookshops.

Reference Links:

https://www.sporkful.com/

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/anythings-pastable-dan-pashman

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Cooking with the Crunch Bros, review

If you’re looking for a casual cookbook inspired by Korean and Japanese recipes, “Cooking with the Crunch Bros” by Jeff and Jordan Kim might be the solution.  I first heard about Instagram account ‘easypeasyjordan’ relatively recently, and was quickly amused by a young boy who was dancing to his rice cooker.  I don’t know the background on this influencer family but dad, son, and daughter (mom is behind the scenes) can easily be found online cooking, taste-testing, and making mukbangs.  They reportedly have 3.9 million followers across all their social media accounts. And now, they have a family cookbook that can be enjoyed too.

The book is sectioned by:

  • Easy peasy sides, snacks, and sauces
  • In the kitchen with Crunchdad
  • Jordan’s favorite things to cook and eat
  • In the kitchen with Crunchmom

Here are some of the recipes you’ll find:

  • Kimchi mac salad
  • Kimchi guac
  • Miso mayo dip
  • Korean breakfast burrito
  • Bacon kimchi fried rice
  • Sizzling pork belly kimchi
  • Sweet tteokbokki
  • Jalapeno garlic pork
  • Spicy marinated pork
  • Mochi pizza
  • Galbi gyoza
  • Miso mayo udon
  • Kimchi udon
  • Ramen salad
  • Wafu-style bacon and mushroom pasta
  • Easy salmon rice
  • Panko and tartar sauce salmon
  • Tofu and chicken hambagu
  • Everyone’s favorite sukiyaki
  • Quick and easy nikujaga

This book is honestly one of the rare instances where I think I want to make everything.   None of the ingredient lists are terribly long, and everything seems approachable.  The first recipe I made was for ‘Baba’s garlic shoyu chicken’ as it sounded perfect for meal prepping.  It’s simply chicken thighs in a marinade of soy sauce, mirin, fresh garlic, and onion powder that is cooked on the stove.  Serve it with a simple side dish, and voila! meal done!  My only caution is that the salinity of the end product is going to depend on which soy sauce you use.  I used Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, and found it a touch too salty.  I had to serve it along something “plain” like roasted sweet potatoes and steamed white rice.

The second recipe I made was for “beefy corn fried rice”.  This fried rice variation incorporates thinly sliced rib eye, onion, canned corn, and the homemade yakiniku sauce.  You cook the beef, then add the onion and corn. Once that’s is cooked, mix in the rice. Finally, add the sauce.

Since I made the yakiniku sauce, it’s technically the third recipe I made.  The sauce is prepped ahead from sliced scallions, roasted sesame seeds, sugar, soy sauce, cooking sake, black pepper, fresh garlic, and just a touch of lemon juice.  I’m not sure the sesame seeds add enough character to the sauce, and I thought it got lost in the fried rice.  But the dish was tasty overall.  The only substitution I made was to use frozen corn instead of canned because that’s what I tend to stock in my kitchen.  It’s very different from the fried rice my family makes, but the flavors are still familiar.

Both recipes got a seal of approval from my mom (who seems to be my taste tester lately lol!).   I used the leftover yakiniku sauce to cook some fresh shiitake mushrooms, and some ground turkey. The sesame seeds were more noticeable in these applications because I kept them fairly plain with no other ingredients. So in essence, I was garnishing my dishes with sesame seeds. Since the fried rice had other ingredients, it was harder to notice the seeds. If you’re looking for the texture they provide, leave them in the sauce recipe. If you’re looking for sesame flavor instead, maybe swap them with a touch of toasted sesame oil. Quick note: even though I halved the recipe, I still have some sauce left.

An awesome feature of the book is that, while it’s in U.S. volumetric measurement, the main ingredients are also listed in grams. The only downside (for me anyway) is that I have trouble remember which chapter a recipes belong to. Technically, Korean recipes are in the Crunchdad chapter while Japanese recipes are in the Crunchmom chapter (Jeff is Korean-American while his wife is Japanese-American). Asian fusion recipes tend to be in the first chapter or in Jordan’s chapter. Even knowing that, I found I relied on the index most of the time.

When all is said and done, this is a very enjoyable cookbook that I am happy to recommend to any one who wants to cook more with Asian flavors.

Disclaimer – I kindly received a copy of this book from Harvard Common Press/Quarto for this review.  I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.  This book is available for purchase through your favorite retailer, and will be released on October 17th.

Reference Links:

https://www.tiktok.com/@thecrunchbros

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkCYWJzLzPV2k8X3H5Q5OCg

https://www.instagram.com/thecrunchbros/

https://www.instagram.com/thecrunchtube/

https://www.instagram.com/easypeasyjordan/