Solidarity Against Anti-Asian Racism and All Hate in Toronto...

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world."-- Gandhi

It's been a trying couple of weeks, with everything going around us, but knowing you have support and someone always there in your corner makes things uber better. Thank you chef Steph Lo Mama Lo's Bakery&Kitchen for your friendship and being my ally on so many levels 💛💛💛!

I wear my heart on my sleeve and never liked confrontation. Deep emotions are drawn up and words cannot begin to articulate what I feel. However, I realize if I remain silent and don't confront hard truths, what price do we ultimately pay by staying in the comfort zone? And it's not even comfortable...

In the cosmopolitan fabric of Toronto we call home, it should be a safe place for everyone. A sense of pride. A knowing of belonging. This is not the case. Until we continue to have these hard conversations, support communities by speaking up and hold discrimination perpetrators and governments responsible, we will always be steps behind in creating the wonderful city that Toronto has potential to be-- A world class, truly inclusive place to live that embraces people of all colours, heritages and sexual orientation 🌈.

It takes more than an annual one day city event or parade to celebrate! The main focus should be what we are doing to make livelihoods on a day to day basis better and safer that is actionable and sustainable.

#susanssavourit #comingtogether #inclusivity #endhatecrimes #enddiscrimination #support #abettertoronto

Let's eat. Let's chat 🥢!#Repost Steph Lo @mamalosbakeryandkitchen with @repostsaveapp

・・・

Had a great time listening to the conversation on, Addressing Anti-Asian Racism hosted by @jillslastword.

The panel was stacked with incredible individuals of the community. Sharing experiences with racism in Canada while being born Chinese. I loved how Councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam owned it for the majority of Asians where we aren't present in supporting others in our community. We must acknowledge and own those facts and work on changing our ways. How can we expect others to show up for us if we don't for them?

Photo Credit: Google

I've read some comments in a group about teaching children to be proud of who we are and of our heritage. As much as I love all of that, I believe it is equally important to teach them about racism and that people are mistreated simply based on the colour of their skin. How we can be an active ally to our fellow BIPOC members.

Bullying. Harassment. Hate. Racism.... they are pretty interchangeable in my opinion when it comes to race.

If we don't start changing or even taking the tiniest step towards it, nothing will ever get done. We will never be heard. The future for our children and generations to come will remain the same - feeling of not belonging here simply based on the colour of our skin.

We are not the world's minority. We are instead, the world's majority.
We are not, "other". We are Asian.

We need to be our own active allies as much as we need others to be as well.

Continuing to believe that staying silent or living in denial will make all this disappear, isn't an option anymore.

Stand up for ourselves.

Break the silence and conditionings that have marked us as, "model minority".

Post. Repost. Share. Educate our loved ones and ourselves. Have those uncomfortable conversations. Respect ourselves. Show up for ourselves. Defend ourselves.

I am not saying to go out there and be disruptive or disrespectful or violent.
I am saying, speak up. Use your voice. Let it be heard. Know YOU matter. WE matter.
We are far from where we need to be but the road to positive changes starts with this very first step 💛.

Silent No More. We. Must. Stop. All. Hate. Sharing my baby sister's sentiments which mirrors mine. To my Asian Community, my brothers and sisters know I stand tall and proud with you #noplaceforhate
#Repost @estheticiantracy with @repostsaveapp
・・・
It makes us more impactful together as allies when we come together to fight injustices of all kinds. On March 16th, there was horrific violence that killed many Asian women in Atlanta, Georgia targeted simply because of their race and gender. Please also include Asians in your anti-racism activism. Asian hate crimes and violence has risen since last year's start of the pandemic and many attacks have been on the innocent elderly. Grandmas and Grandpas being attacked and beaten for nothing. Everybody should be treated with dignity and respect. It'll take everyone's help to dismantle all kinds of discrimination, racism and hate and to stop these oppressive systems that pit us against eachother, and end up harming all of us. Speak up when you see and hear injustices. Even allowing the "harmless" stereotypes and jokes can one day fuel the hate for someone to hurt or kill, as we seen yesterday and many times over. Staying silent shows you have chosen the side of the oppressor. Please teach your children to love everyone. This art created by @juliakestnerdesigns beautifully represents what we need more of in this world.


 

The Wonderful Bowl of Vietnamese Pho...

Pho the first time (over the holidays), it turned out pho-tastic ! Now, I've made pho numerous times, and evenly taught it in a recent Cook For A Cause event series Part II. But first a bit of my reasoning why it took me so long to get to it:

I've made other specialty Vietnamese noodle soups that are robust and complex in flavour such as Bún bò Huế and Bún riêu but never the ubiquitous beef noodle soup. Was it that I heard it took hours to cook the broth and for less than $10 a bowl at restaurants, it wasn't worth the time. Nevertheless, it is far easier, less time-consuming and worth every bit of effort to brew your own. Here are some tips for that succulent broth:

* Use equal parts bones/bone-in meats to water lbs : quarts
* Use a mix of beef shin bones, oxtails and/or bone-in beef shank. Look for cuts with bone marrow.
* Parboil and rinse the bones.
* Toast your spices (star anise, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon sticks).
* Broil your onions and ginger until nicely charred.
* Add seasoning (salt, yellow rock sugar and fish sauce) during the last 1/2 hour. 3 hours total simmer. And Yes, a smidgen of MSG too for mouthfeel (which is naturally derived from seaweed btw)!!

Lastly, when you've got your recipe down, make sure to cook a large pot of broth to freeze for more pho on the whim down the road. My big yellow mama does those serious jobs for me!

Serve with thin banh rice noodles, bean sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, sliced onions, green onions, lime wedges and chilies/chili sauce at the table and you got pho take-out homestyle with love!

Vietnamese Pho Beef Noodles Soup

Serves 8 to 10

Cooking Time: Total 3 hours

2 to 2-1/2 lbs. beef bones, beef leg, knuckles, knees (with some marrow is best)
1-1/2 to 2 lbs. beef shanks, oxtail and/or stewing beef
NOTE: You want a total of 4 lbs. bones & meat

1 large white onion, peeled or not and halved
3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled or not, and halved lengthwise
4 star anise
4 whole cloves
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 brown cardamom pods, bruised
1 small daikon white radish, roughly chopped
4 quarts (16 cups) water
1 to 2 Tbsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. rock sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp. fish sauce
MSG, just a ¼ tsp. smidgen (or omit)

Serve with: raw beef, thinly sliced (beef chuck, brisket, rump), tendon, tripe, beef balls
- thin flat rice noodles (banh pho)
- garnishes: fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil), bean sprouts, lime wedges, thinly-sliced Thai bird chilies, thinly-sliced onions- green and white, hoisin and sriracha sauces.

You want to buy bones that have some marrow, such as beef leg, knuckles and knees. The marrow will add some collagen and give the soup body and extra flavour.

I love gelatinous beef tendon in pho. Make sure the package you buy contains slender pieces, as larger tendon pieces can take longer to cook than the three hours for the pho. 

Fill a large pot with water to cover the beef bones and meat. Add 1 tsp. salt and 3 slices of ginger. Bring to a boil for five minutes to remove impurities. Pour out the beef and water in a strainer. Rinse the bones and meat well; drain. Rinse and wipe the pot dry.

Place bones and meat back into the pot; cover with 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, char the onions and ginger. Turn the oven broiler to high, and place the baking rack about 6 – 8 inches away from the heating elements. Place the onion and ginger cut-side-up on a baking sheet, and brush with a bit of oil. Broil for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops of the onion and ginger are nicely charred. Remove and set aside.

In a pan, toast the star anise, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom pods over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, turning on its sides until fragrant. Place the smaller aromatics in a spice ball or wrapped in a cheese cloth. 

Add the spices and cinnamon sticks to the pot. Add the charred onion, ginger and radish; Bring the water back to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer for 2-1/2 hours, skimming the surface for oil often.

Beef Tendon: Add to the broth at the beginning. Larger pieces may take longer to cook.

Beef Tripe: Boil in water for five minutes with 2 slices of ginger, salt and white pepper. Thinly slice. Set aside and cook during last five minutes in broth before serving.

Stir in the fish sauce, sugar, salt and MSG; return to a boil then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Taste and season the broth as needed. Strain the broth through a fine strainer or one covered with a cheese cloth, keeping the meat and discarding the other solids.

Beef Balls (fresh/frozen): Add to the finished broth and boil for ten minutes.

Prep the noodles. Cook the noodles separately according to the package instructions. Drain in a strainer; briefly rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from cooking.

Assemble. Add a handful of noodles to each individual serving bowl. Portion the beef slices between each serving bowl. Add other meats- shank, oxtail, tripe, tendon, beef ball etc., Then ladle the hot broth into the serving bowls, being sure to submerge the meat completely so that it gets cooked. Top each bowl with lots and lots of garnishes, and finish with a squeeze of lime juice.

Cook's NOTE: To let the soup flavour penetrate the noodles, simmer the cooked banh pho rice noodles in some broth, portion out, then ladle on the hot steaming beef broth in the serving bowl.

My big yellow mama does big batch jobs, such as pho with double this recipe :)

Yummy succulence!

This past Sunday, I hosted my second, of three parts to the Cook For A Cause series. A two hours Cook-Along class with Vietnamese favourites- fresh and healthy shrimp and pork salad rice rolls (goi cuon) and this beloved classic pho- beef noodle soup. All the proceeds went to support food insecurity through food sharing programs for the homeless delivered by my partner Chef Steph Lo from Mama Lo's Bakery & Kitchen. Noteably, her next big one is cooking 1K hot Easter meals for the city's encamped. 

For more background info. on the cause, check out my Post. To date, the event has raised $1.5K! One more workshop is in the horizon on March 28th before the Easter cook-off.

It was a great success! What a fun day Sunday, cooking for a great cause!

Serve pho with a dipping sauce of hoisin and sriracha for your meats.

Some testimonials and eye candy photos from participants!

This couple Joe and Emily shared their goods with two other couples in their building, and they said it was even better than take-out!

The Tom family had an all-out affair with a Vietnamese meal that evening. Looks scrumptious!

Full Recipe:

Vietnamese Pho Beef Noodles Soup
Serves 8 to 10
Cooking Time: Total 3 hours

2 to 2-1/2 lbs. beef bones, beef leg, knuckles, knees (with some marrow is best)
1-1/2 to 2 lbs. beef shanks, oxtail and/or stewing beef
NOTE: You want a total of 4 lbs. bones & meat

1 large white onion, peeled or not and halved
3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled or not, and halved lengthwise
4 star anise
4 whole cloves
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 brown cardamom pods, bruised
1 small daikon white radish, roughly chopped
4 quarts (16 cups) water
1 to 2 Tbsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. rock sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp. fish sauce
MSG, just a ¼ tsp. smidgen (or omit)

Serve with: raw beef, thinly sliced (beef chuck, brisket, rump), tendon, tripe, beef balls
- thin flat rice noodles (banh pho)
- garnishes: fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil), bean sprouts, lime wedges, thinly-sliced Thai bird chilies, thinly-sliced onions- green and white, hoisin and sriracha sauces.

Fill a large pot with water to cover the beef bones and meat. Add 1 tsp. salt and 3 slices of ginger. Bring to a boil for five minutes to remove impurities. Pour out the beef and water in a strainer. Rinse the bones and meat well; drain. Rinse and wipe the pot dry.

Place bones and meat back into the pot; cover with 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil.

Beef Tendon: Add to the broth at the beginning. Larger pieces may take longer to cook.

Beef Tripe: Boil in water for five minutes with 2 slices of ginger, salt and white pepper.

Beef Balls (fresh/frozen): Add to the finished broth and boil for ten minutes.

Beef Slices (thin): see assemble.

Meanwhile, char the onions and ginger. Turn the oven broiler to high, and place the baking rack about 6 – 8 inches away from the heating elements. Place the onion and ginger cut-side-up on a baking sheet, and brush with a bit of oil. Broil for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops of the onion and ginger are nicely charred. Remove and set aside.

In a pan, toast the star anise, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom pods over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, turning on its sides until fragrant. Place the smaller aromatics in a spice ball or wrapped in a cheese cloth. Add the spices and cinnamon sticks to the pot. Add the charred onion, ginger and radish; Bring the water back to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer for 2-1/2 hours, skimming the surface for oil often.

Stir in the fish sauce, sugar, salt and MSG; return to a boil then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Taste and season the broth as needed. Strain the broth through a fine strainer or one covered with a cheese cloth, keeping the meat and discarding the other solids.

Prep the noodles. Cook the noodles separately according to the package instructions. Drain in a strainer; briefly rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from cooking.

Assemble. Add a handful of noodles to each individual serving bowl. Portion the beef slices between each serving bowl. Add other meats- shank, oxtail, tripe, tendon, beef ball etc., Then ladle the hot broth into the serving bowls, being sure to submerge the meat completely so that it gets cooked. Top each bowl with lots and lots of garnishes, and finish with a squeeze of lime juice.

Featured on Fête Chinoise: Community Projects and Lucky Trio Golden Beef Stir-Fry...

Happy Lunar New Year 🍊🏮! Sooooo excited to share that I have been featured on Fête Chinoise, a cultural platform that aims to empower individuals to deepen the connection between identity and Chinese culture. Through a curated lens and critical thinking, they present meaningful stories, artful experiences, and inspiring products through different channels.

In this article, I talk about my work projects in the community and share my lucky beef stir-fry recipe developed to ring in the Year of the Golden Ox-- my year! What a great honour 🙏!

Click here to read the entire article.

GOLDEN BEEF STIR-FRY WITH THE LUCKY TRIO

This beef stir fry is paired with a lucky trio of ingredients, including lotus roots, black fungus mushrooms and red chilis. It is a lovely dish full of luck for The Year of the Golden Ox!

Check out the recipe!

Cooking For A Cause Fundraiser Success...

Look 👀 at the WowNess from participants who cooked along in my Cook For A Cause virtual Chinese cooking class in the spirit of Chinese New Year and giving back! So impressed with everyone's version of the dishes 👏👏👏, and what a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon 🌷

Success 💥! From conception to execution in just over a week, I had the best time teaching virtually my Cantonese favourites to 18 households! I had childhood friends, ex collegues, friends from abroad (L.A., Curacao Islands, Argentina) and new faces join in on the 2-1/2 hours workshop cooking three delish dishes- Cantonese Chow Mein, Steamed Sticky Rice Pork Ribs and Chinese Egg Tarts Dan Tat! So much fun 🤗🔪🥢!

The proceeds raised from the event will go to support food insecurity and food sharing programs delivered by my incredible collaborative partner chef Steph Lo from Mama Lo's Bakery & Kitchen! Happy to say, the event collectively raised $1.2K 💥🙏! Thank you so much to all who participated!

My schedule is ramping up but if it's manageable I am looking to teach another Asian cooking workshop in a few weeks, so Stay Tuned.

 

Cooking For A Cause- Giving Back with A Chinese Cooking Class...

*Announcing- A Virtual At-Home Cooking Class with Me * 🔪

I have been thinking about teaching an online cooking class and after seeing enthusiastic responses after I posted on it, it all came together rather quickly. Chinese New Year is around the corner, and what better way to honour the new year than sharing my heritage, cooking with you my fave Cantonese cuisine dishes- Cantonese Chow Mein, Steamed Sticky Rice Pork Ribs on Banana Leaves and Chinese Egg Tarts- Dan Tat 🥢! This will be a demo class in which I will go at my own pace although you are free to cook along. Scroll down below to read the details on registering.

The other component to this is what I am most ExCiTed about! Some of you may know of the work I do to support food insecure causes and about my hope to end hunger. In this spirit, I am partnering with a beyond wonderful chef with a heart of gold- Chef Steph Lo. You see, when covid hit it curtailed her business Mama Lo's Bakery&Kitchen. Financially-strapped it didn't deter her from helping others facing food insecurity as she has always been doing (she was running a budget-friendly meal preparation service for low-income families). Lo drove once a week, or whenever possible, to Toronto to give 50 boxes of free food to the homeless, living in encampments throughout the city. She made headlines, when over the holidays through a GoFundMe campaign raised nearly $13,000 to cook 1100 hot Christmas meals for the city's encamped. We are talking about grappling with 90 frozen turkeys!!! And she plans to cook again 1K hot meals for Easter. She continues to cook regularly to serve meals to the needy and in the little spare time she has, is helping as a moderator on the incredible FB forum CareMongering connecting the needy to those who can help and vice versa.

To learn more of my partner's goodwill, read these inspiring articles:

Vaughan chef, who is struggling financially, helps Toronto homeless get nutritious meals.

https://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/10274151-vaughan-chef-who-is-struggling-financially-helps-toronto-homeless-get-nutritious-meals

REFLECTION: Vaughan chef makes Christmas ‘brighter’ for the homeless | Toronto.com

https://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/10291279-reflection-vaughan-chef-makes-christmas-brighter-for-the-homeless

There is a fee of $25 per person and $5 extra for each additional adult household member joining.

If you wish to contribute more to the cause, we greatly appreciate it but this is entirely optional.

All the proceeds will go to supporting Chef Steph in her food programs!! Click here to register 🌷! 

*For those participating outside of Canada, please note there may be a small extra free for processing.

Once you've paid, kindly send me your email to s5ng@yahoo.com.

I will send you the recipes and Zoom link by the end of day Friday, Feb 5th. Thank you!

Chef Lo cooking during the holidays to feed the homeless.

  

I am so excited to celebrate CNY on a high note of giving back and sharing this wonderful occasion with you 💞! 

I hope to e-see you there!

Sense of Community and Giving Back...

I am Chinese. And that makes me very proud.

With Chinese New Year just around the corner, the Year of the Golden Ox (my year), it adds to my self-reflection and humble affection towards things to come. I read, for the Ox it is a time to reap the benefits of the cumulative efforts made year in, year out. It sounds to be a positive year, where hard work is rewarded but regardless, and with the wrath of the current situation, we must always perservere to persist.

I am grateful for the work opportunities, collaborations and partnerships that allow me to creatively express myself while working closely with different communities. I am ExCiTed to be in an upcoming Chinese feature where I share my home cooking in an auspicious dish to celebrate our new year and to talk about some community things I am involved in and how I'm looking to do more.

Sharing a little bit of what I am working on... The Neighbourhood Table At Home rocks on with a further United Way grant to support a new six weeks Winter Program at St.Philip's Lutheran Church. This is a wonderful at-home initiative that started the past spring to help combat food insecurity in the Etobicoke neighbourhoods with volunteers from the church delivering to homes fresh produce boxes from @foodshareto. Similar to our fall program, this time we have two offerings every week- an online healthy cooking food skills workshop with me for 45 families, and a paper health assessment followed by recipes/tips and telephone call to 25 seniors conducted by my partner Sandy.

Here's to sharing good food at home safely together! Looking forward to our partnership again with Arab community @acctonline and East European community @polycultural!

The scene at the church on the first day of the Fall Launch.

I'm looking forward to sharing more good food recipes and practical tips families could use!

Awww, what a cutie!

Healthy Bentou Box Extraordinaire...

First off Happy New Year to all my friends and readers! Shy is the oyster, fervent is the clam, peaceful is the ocean floor rocked by the sands of time. -- Bradley Chicho

May we be the ocean floor in the new year. There is a Japanese saying on resilience- nana korobi ya oki- fall down 7 times, get up 8. No matter how difficult things may be, we have to keep going! Blessings to you all (❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ* 💕.

Look at these colourful, varied and healthy bentou boxes galore for dinner to celebrate a special birthday at home 🇯🇵🍱!

Not just any bento, but meticulously cooked and prepared by Japanese community-loved 80 year old Chef Ishii-san. A catering business he helms with his 80 year old wife, son, niece and the help of friends and my Japanese sister-in-law. The thing that makes his bentos top-notch and incomparable to others in the city is that he constructs his with 30 different types of ingredients to align with Japan's health experts recommending to eat 30 different types of food a day. Each food is uniquely seasoned and delicately cooked, and then beautifully presented in compartments for takeout. They often make 150 to 400 bentos at a time 😯, and you can only imagine how labourous that becomes! He wakes up early in the morning to start prepping and doesn't finish until late in the day with some recipes requiring two days in advance prep. 

I caught wind that he was heading into his second retirement this February, and I had to try his tasty bento one more time. Second retirement because his loyal clientele especially from JCCC (Japanese Cultural Community Centre) didn't allow him to stop cooking, and I just heard now that he may never retire... The demand is too strong! I wish him and his wife well as he has dedicated his whole life to his craft (he use to own a Japanese restaurant), and has the respect of so many in the Japanese community. Sending my deepest blessings! 

Perfect also to ring in 2021, Osechi Ryori are traditional foods enjoyed on New Year’s day in Japan. They come in an assortment of colourful dishes packed together in special boxes called jubako, which resemble bento boxes. Every dish has special meaning in welcoming the New Year. I see Chef Ishii-san has included rolled omelets, seafood and beans which are all auspicious good food! Arrigato gozaimasu 💖🙏!

To order take-out, email info.toriichi@gmail.com.

I have spent less time on social, doing my own things and getting ready for some more food projects on the horizon. Will be back to update 🥰! Be well. Eat well.