Lisa Lin

How to Make Wonton Cups (2 Ways)

When I was developing my fried shrimp wontons recipe, I went through many packages of dumpling wrappers and had many leftover. Not wanting to waste the wrappers, I decided to turn them into baked ...

Fried Shrimp Wontons

At a recent family gathering, Mama Lin cooked fried shrimp wontons that she shaped into candy-like parcels. It was a fun appetizer that my mom adapted from a video she saw on WeChat. At the dinner, ...

Sweet Chili Sauce

One of my favorite dipping sauces is a Thai-style sweet chili sauce (nam chim kai, น้ำจิ้มไก่). Its sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors pair very well with fried foods or any kind of protein (such as ...

Black Sesame Tang Yuan (黑芝麻湯圓)

In Chinese culture, the 15th day of the Lunar New Year is known as the Lantern Festival, 元宵節, (pronounced yuan xiao jie in Mandarin; yoon xiew jzeet in Cantonese). This is the night of the first full ...

Lotus Root Upside Down Cake

For the past few years, I have been documenting and recording my mom’s Lunar New Year recipes with the hope of preserving them for future generations in my family. Although they seemed complicated at ...

Nian Gao Waffles (Mochi Waffles)

Whenever my I make Mama Lin’s nian gao (年糕, new year’s cake) for Lunar New Year, I usually pan fry the cake to give the cake crispy edges. A few years ago, someone suggested that I turn the nian gao ...

Orange & Black Sesame Cookies

A while back, I embarked on a baking marathon and made cookies from a bunch of recipes that I had bookmarked for months. I baked a wide range of cookies from some of my favorite food writers, ...

Black Sesame Paste

When I was a little kid, I was very afraid of black sesame desserts because I didn’t understand how food could turn dark like ink. Fortunately, Mama Lin helped me out of that phase by preparing ...

Hong Kong Style Coconut Tarts with Lemon

Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post! Hong Kong style coconut tarts (椰撻 or 椰子塔) are a Chinese bakery classic. Although they’re often outshined by their pastry cousins, the egg tart ...

Baked Ginger Persimmon Mochi

I’ve mentioned before that persimmons are one of my favorite fruits. They’re in season during the fall and early winter months, and I want to make the most of them while they’re around. I’ve tried ...

Thai-Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

This Thai-spiced butternut squash soup is one of my go-to dishes during the winter and fall months. It is very easy to make and doesn’t use a lot of ingredients. I’ll make a batch of this and have it ...

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats

‘Tis the season for gatherings, food, and panic about what to bring to a holiday potluck. If any of you are scrambling to figure out what to bring to a party, look no further than these pumpkin spice ...