And Now Starring…Sandy Hu!

By Sandy Hu

This is so embarrassing to share, but when I was a little girl, I used to pretend to be doing a food demonstration as I washed the dishes, stirring up suds and transferring it from bowl to bowl as I whipped up my pretend food for an imaginary audience. I wasn’t interested in the cooking; I just wanted to be the star!

Growing up in Hilo before the days of the Food Network, a simple aspiration was to be on the stage of the electric company auditorium where free cooking demonstrations were held. It was one of the places where I saw real people performing in front of an audience and I was hooked!

The utility company home economists, along with the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service clubs for homemakers, played a huge role in disseminating recipes from Hawaii’s rich ethnic culinary cultures. It’s one of the places where my mom learned about recipes from other ethnic groups and replicated them for our family.

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Keep on Truckin’

By Andrew Hunter

Food trucks are all the rage in cities across the country. In Los Angeles, there’s a food truck gridlock with offerings ranging from grilled cheese to cupcakes. But the one who started the craze – with a compelling taco, savvy use of social media and a dedication to serving healthy and delicious food to all people regardless of circumstance – is my friend Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ fame.

I first met Roy at a holiday event at our kids’ school. I was in my chef whites looking for Ben and Nick in a sea of kids when I heard a little voice say, “chef, chef, daddy a chef.” I looked down to see a sweet little girl smiling up at me, and the telltale sign of a working chef … Roy’s black clogs splattered with sauce. The Kogi Taco Truck phenomenon hit many months later and quickly developed a cult following on Twitter.

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A Simple Korean-inspired Stir-fry

By David Hu

Korean food is getting to be all the rage, with food trucks like Kogi in Los Angeles. Today’s video recipe is a simple, one-pot Korean-inspired dish: Korean Sti-Fry Chicken.

When cooking the chicken, be sure your pan and oil are hot. Don’t crowd the pad or the chicken will steam instead of fry -- cook in two batches if your pan isn’t large enough. And let the chicken sear on one side before tossing, to keep chicken from sticking to the pan.

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