And the EMMY® goes to… Asian Flavors for outstanding documentary-culture

by Phyllis Louise Harris

October 2013

On Saturday, September 28, the Midwest Region EMMY® awards show was held at the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis. There were three nominees in the documentary-culture category and the EMMY® was awarded to Asian Flavors.

Based on the book “Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875,” the Asian Flavors television show included interviews with just a few of the people responsible for bringing the tastes of their homeland to Minnesota. Filled with historic photos and information, on-site food shots and anecdotes, the show was a tribute to the thousands of immigrants and their descendents from the Asian Pacific Rim who changed the flavor palette of Minnesota.

The show was produced and directed for TPT by Daniel Pierce Bergin, senior producer and partner manager at Twin Cities Public Television. It was a project created by the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes and produced by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. Underwriting for the show was provided by funding to the Minnesota Historical Society Press for special, non-production activities for the Asian Flavors project from the Clean Water Land & Legacy amendment, and by contributions from Leeann Chin, Inc., United Noodles, TeaSource, Chinese Heritage Foundation, Sawatdee, Dennis Christian, Theo A Park and Sherri Gebert Fuller in memory of Lucia Jane Wilson, David Fong’s Restaurant, Asian Foods, Sakura, David and Evelyn Lee.

The book/television project was four years in the making and I am happy to say the results have been most rewarding. Pick up a copy of the book or see the television show using the link below. They are just a glimpse at the story that will go on for years to come.

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Read more about Asian food in Minnesota and try more than 160 recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, in bookstores and on amazon.com.
Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875 
 
Watch the EMMY® award winning “Asian Flavors” television show based on the book on tpt MN. Check local TV listings for broadcast times or view the show streaming online at: 
http://www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php?id=24552&select_index=0&popup=yes#0

 

Katie Chin’s “Everyday Thai Cooking” is a labor of love

by Phyllis Louise Harris

September 2013

Katie Chin grew up in a household of seven where mom’s home cooking was provided by one of Minnesota’s best known names in Chinese cooking, Leeann Chin. It was also her late mother who introduced Katie to the cooking of Thailand. One taste of this complex south Asian cuisine and Katie became a lifelong fan.  Now she has turned that interest into her newest cookbook, “Everyday Thai Cooking: Quick and Easy Family Style Recipes.”

While there are influences in the cuisine from Thailand’s neighbors, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Burma, India and China, the country’s cooking evolved within its borders.  Thailand was never occupied or governed by an outside force so its cuisine is strictly homegrown. Fish sauce, lemon grass, curry pastes, rice and the food of the tropics are the base of everything from street food to gourmet restaurants.

Katie removes some of the mystique of Thai cooking so home cooks can master the complexity of flavor-building that makes this cuisine so delicious. While satays, curries, pad Thai and peanut sauce are familiar to diners in the U.S., Thai favorites include so much more. To get a better understanding of Thai cooking Katie and her husband spent their honeymoon traveling throughout Thailand tasting everything along the way from street food to small cafés to elegant restaurants.

She came back to the states with an even broader understanding of and love for the cuisine that shows throughout her book. Then she added her own touch to dishes such as Thai Crab Cakes, Sizzling Rice Seafood Soup, Crispy Mango Coconut Chicken, and Sweet Ripe Mango with Sticky Rice.

Katie dedicates the book to her late mother, “…an amazing chef and teacher who continues to inspire me every day.” Even the book’s title “Everyday Thai Cooking” is a reminder of the first cookbook she wrote in 2000 with Leeann, “Everyday Chinese Cooking.” Katie also wrote “300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes in 2011, has appeared on numerous television shows, and was recently a judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef. In 2003, Katie and Leeann hosted a PBS television cooking series, Double Happiness. Katie currently lives in California with her husband and their children.

“Everyday Thai Cooking” was published by Tuttle Publishing, has a hardcover price of $24.95 and is now available in bookstores and at http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Thai-Cooking-Family-Recipes/dp/0804843716.

Katie will be in Minneapolis at book signings October 24 and 25, 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Leeann Chin City Center location, 40 South 7^th Street. Books will be available to purchase at the events.

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Read more about Asian food in Minnesota and try more than 160 recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, in bookstores and on amazon.com. 

Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875 

Watch the Emmy nominated  “Asian Flavors” television show based on the book on tptMN. Check local TV listings for broadcast times or view the show streaming online at: 
http://www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php?id=24552&select_index=0&popup=yes#0

Harry Singh’s Caribbean food at the State Fair is filled with Asian flavors and island spices

by Phyllis Louise Harris
August/September

Among the corndogs, miniature donuts and things on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair you will find the wonderful food of Trinidad and Tobago at Harry Singh’s Caribbean Restaurant in the Food Building.

Now in his fifth year at the fair, Harry Singh offers the food of his homeland filled with Asian flavors developed since the mid-1800s when the British occupied the island and brought in workers from China and India. Combined with the island’s hot and spicy cuisine, the melding of these three cuisines has created the Caribbean dishes we have come to enjoy today.

At the fair Harry will be serving roti dhalpourie, jerk chicken, curry chicken, Jamaican jerk fries, Caribbean punch and ginger beer: all tastes of the island in the middle of America’s breadbasket.

They are just a few of the dishes Harry features year ‘round in his East Street restaurant at 2653 Nicollet Avenue South in Minneapolis. One of the favorites there is Harry’s version of chow mein with island flavors and a variety of vegetables depending on the season. Also Caribbean style Creole rice dishes, jerk pork or lamb and goat curry.

For a taste of the Caribbean plan to stop at Harry Singh’s in the Food Building at the fair or visit his restaurant on East Street after the fair.

Bring Asian cooking into your own kitchen through the more than 150 recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, now in bookstores and on amazon.com. 

Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875 

Also watch the “Asian Flavors” television show based on the book on tptMN. Check local TV listings for broadcast times or view the show streaming online at: 

http://www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php?id=24552&select_index=0&popup=yes#0

Raghavan Iyer’s “Indian Cooking Unfolded” takes the mystery out of this complex cuisine

By Phyllis Louise Harris

August 2013

More than a billion people call the food of India “Mom’s home cooking.” But, to anyone who grew up with the comfort food of most other countries, India’s distinctive cooking is a mystery.

To Raghavan Iyer it was both: Mother’s home cooking and a mystery! The youngest of seven children growing up in Mumbai (Bombay), Raghavan was not allowed in the kitchen when his mother and sisters prepared the family meals. Traditionally, cooking was “women’s work.” So when he came to Minnesota to pursue a culinary career, he had no idea how to cook the food of his homeland. Even worse, he could not find the ingredients to create the flavors from his childhood.

A lot has changed in the 31 years Raghavan has lived and worked in the U.S. Starting with a steady stream of letters to and from his mother and sisters with recipes and cooking instructions, to the four cookbooks he has written, to teaching more than 25,000 culinary students nationwide about Indian food, Raghavan has become a nationally recognized authority on the cooking of India.

With his “long-distance” cooking lessons he taught himself how to cook and then begin teaching others the mysteries of Indian food. Next, he wrote “Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking” in 2001. That was followed by “The Turmeric Trail” a year later and in 2008 “660 Curries.” In 2012 he contributed four chapters to my book, “Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875” and served as narrator on the television show based on “Asian Flavors” by Twin Cities Public Television (tpt).

And now he has written a book that takes us back to the beginning: Mom’s home cooking. “Indian Cooking Unfolded” is filled with 100 recipes using 10 ingredients or less. It is the perfect home schooling for the cook who wants to see each step clearly explained and seven recipes illustrated in foldout pages. It is a collection of traditional and original recipes that Raghavan likes to call his own home cooking.

The cooking of India is based on layering flavors at the right time and temperature throughout the cooking process. Adding a particular spice at the wrong time or in the wrong form will change the flavor of the finished dish. So for those cooks who like to toss in things at will, be prepared to change old habits. Following Raghavan’s step-by-step instructions ensures a tasty result. It takes patience and practice, but “Indian Cooking Unfolded” almost makes it fun. A little like a treasure hunt with the prize being perfectly balanced flavors, Indian cooking can become a favorite of cooks everywhere. And just as easy to make as apple pie!

“Indian Cooking Unfolded” was published this month by Workman Publishing, has a cover price of $19.95 and is available in bookstores and on amazon.com.

Here are a few places to meet Raghavan, learn more about Indian cooking and get a signed copy of “Indian Cooking Unfolded:”

August 8, Byerly’s
St. Louis Park, MN – cooking class 6:00 – 7:30 pm

August 10, Minnesota Garlic Festival,
McLeod County Fairgrounds, Hutchinson, MN 11:30am-12: 30pm

September 17 – 18, Cooks Warehouse,
Atlanta, GA – master classes 6:30 – 9:30 pm

September 20, Kitchen in the Market at Global Market,
Minneapolis, MN – tasting and signing 6 – 9 pm

September 24 - 25, A Southern Season,
Chapel Hill and Charleston, NC – classes 6:00 pm

October 27, Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks,
Vancouver, BC – tasting and signing 5:00 – 7:00 pm

For additional events go to raghavan.com

Read more about Asian food in Minnesota and try some of Raghavan’s recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, now in bookstores and on amazon.com.
Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875

Also watch the “Asian Flavors” television show based on the book on tptMN. Check local TV listings for broadcast times or view the show streaming online at:
http://www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php?id=24552&select_index=0&popup=yes#0

Eden Prairie Opening Celebrates Sawatdee’s 30-year History

By Phyllis Louise Harris

July 2013

July 9th marked the official ribbon cutting ceremony at Sawatdee’s latest Thai restaurant in Eden Prairie. Just 30 years ago Supenn Harrison and her sister Gat Jones opened the first Sawatdee Thai restaurant in St. Paul.  In the ensuing years Supenn opened Sawatdee restaurants in Minneapolis, Bloomington, St. Cloud, Maple Grove and now Eden Prairie.

Supenn’s initial commercial Thai food offering was at the 1976 State Fair where Sue’s Egg Rolls introduced Minnesotans to Thai cooking. It was not an immediate success with just a few egg rolls sold on the first day.  Then a few more on the second day and as each day went by the numbers increased until by the end of the ten-day fair Supenn knew she had a winner.  She continued the booth for a total of twenty-five years until the fair board decided Thai egg rolls were no longer novelty items.

By 1979 Supenn could see the interest in Thai food growing and purchased the Gopher Grill on Lake Street in Minneapolis.  Within two years she changed the name to the Siam Café and introduced a full Thai menu.  As the café’s popularity grew so did the need for more space and after selling the café she opened the first Sawatdee in 1983.

Sawatdee has been a family business from the start with her husband Bruce Harrison handling the business side and eventually their daughters Jennifer and Cynthia working in both the fair booth and now in the Sawatdee restaurants.  In addition one sister helped her open the initial St. Paul location and another operates the St. Cloud Sawatdee.

Sawatdee Eden Prairie has a full bar and outdoor patio overlooking a sparkling pond and the rolling hills beyond.  The menu includes Sawatdee favorites with lunch specials and a variety of rice bowls that may be topped with an egg, sunny side up.

For additional information go to sawatdee.com or call the Eden Prairie restaurant at 952-641-5777.  It is located at 13300 Technology Drive in Eden Prairie with free parking at the door.

Read more about Asian food in Minnesota and try some of Supenn’s recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, now in bookstores and on amazon.com.
Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875

Filipino Picnic Food from Tita Li’s Kitchen at the Pines Market in Circle Pines

By Phyllis Louise Harris

June 2013

Lumpia, langonisa, empanadas, lengua machado and ube rolls would make a very tasty picnic and are some of the dishes available for takeout at the Pines Market every Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. when Mena-li Canlas and her staff offer their Filipino Sunday brunches.  If meat and vegetable wraps (lumpia), pork sausage links (langonisa), deep fried meat and vegetable puffs (empanadas), sliced beef tongue (lengua mechado) and cake rolls (ube) are some of your favorite foods stop by the Pines Market, 2 South Pine Drive in Circle Pines on Sunday, then head down Lexington Avenue to Como Park for a truly delicious picnic.  Or eat in the store at tables and chairs that can seat about thirty people.  The menu changes each Sunday so check the current offerings on Facebook, Tita Li’s desserts and merienda pinoy brunch @ Pines Market.

On a recent Sunday I stopped by to sample a number of dishes including Chicken Afritada, a tasty example of the Spanish influence on the food of the Philippine Islands.  It is one of those homemade dishes you would long for from your childhood if you were raised in the Philippines. Succulent chicken slowly simmered in a bright tomato sauce with potatoes, and green and red bell peppers is a meal in itself and costs $5.00.  Add garlic fried rice or steamed rice and your picnic is complete.  Add another entrée and the whole cost is just $6.25.  Add two entrees and the total is only $7.50.  If you want to start with appetizers pick up meat or vegetable egg rolls or barbecued pork on a stick and suddenly your picnic is a feast.

But don’t forget dessert.  In the Filipino community Mena-li is known as the “cake lady” who makes amazing desserts.  This Sunday she offered nine desserts including a Ube Roll made from the island’s purple ube root and frosted with purple icing.  For something a little lighter there were Putos, the small two-bite sized steamed breads that would be wonderful with fresh raspberries or blueberries or just by themselves.  Mena-li’s versions are as light as chiffon cake.  There is also Halo-Halo, Flan, Cassava Bjbingka and Frozen Siopao.

Additional Sunday entrees included Talong Torta (eggplant), Binagoongan (pork with shrimp paste), and Palabok (noodles with beef, tofu, bacon and shrimp).  While some dishes are repeated from week to week, Mena-li likes to offer a variety of flavors from her homeland so check her Facebook listing for this week’s choices.

Mena-li started the Pinoy Brunch and Merienda at the Pines Market eighteen months ago and has been attracting a growing group of Filipino food fans.  It is one of just a few places in Minnesota where you can taste the wonderful cuisine from the Philippine Islands so stop by soon.

 

Read more about Filipino cooking and try some of Mena-li’s recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, now in bookstores and on amazon.com.
Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875

Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875 now on television

Next viewing
Sunday, June 2 at 1:00 am, 7:00 am, and 1:00 pm
on TPT-MN channel

Watch online anytime at:
http://www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php?id=24552&select_index=0&popup=yes#0

By Phyllis Louise Harris

May 2013

Asian Flavors the half-hour television show based on the book published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press premiered Sunday, May 26 on TPT’s MS channel at 7:00 p.m.  It brought to the screen eight of the seventy stories from the book with interviews, restaurant and home visits and discussions with just a few of the people who brought Asian flavors to Minnesota.

Directed by TPT’s Senior Producer and Partnership Manager Daniel Pierce Bergin and with major funding from the Minnesota Historical Society, the show is a colorful glimpse of the 138-year history of Asian food in Minnesota.  From the first Asian restaurant in 1883 that became John’s Place to the young Asian fusion chefs of today, the show traces the growth of Asian food in the state starting with Chinese and expanding to Japanese, Korean, Hmong, Thai, and more, until today there are 1100 Asian restaurants throughout the state.  In addition, there are thousands of home cooks who share their traditional dishes with friends and neighbors, bakeries, markets, farmers and food producers that bring to the state a multitude of Asian flavors and culinary traditions.

Additional funding for the show was provided by Leeann Chin, Inc., United Noodles, TeaSource, Chinese Heritage Foundation, Sawatdee, David Fong’s Restaurant, Asian Foods, Sakura, David and Evelyn Lee, and Dennis Christian, Theo A. Park and Sherri Gebert Fuller in memory of Lucia Jane Wilson.
 

Bring Asian cooking into your own kitchen through the more than 160 recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, now in bookstores and on amazon.com.

Buy online:  Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875