How to Cook Japanese Rice

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

My friend Kay remembers going home from school and having to scrub potatoes and put them on to boil for dinner. I had a similar experience with the Asian version: making rice.

It’s been years since I’ve made rice in a pot – I always use my electric rice cooker, where it’s as simple as measuring out rice and water, pressing a button and walking away until the rice is done.

But recently, in trying to help out people on Twitter wanting to know how to make rice, I thought of the technique my mom taught me years ago. This is not the definitive way to cook rice and I’ve only tried it for white, short-grain rice – the sticky rice you get in Japanese restaurants. But for this type of rice, the method works like a charm.

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How to Cut a Mango

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

During the summer months, driving home after a weekend in Kona visiting relatives, we would pass roadside stands selling mangos. Mom would always make dad stop – she adored mangos – and soon our car would be filled with their heady, tropical fragrance.

In those days, very few Americans had tasted mangos outside of those of us living in tropical climates. But today, not only are they readily available in mainstream supermarkets, you’ll find them at smoothie shops and on restaurant menus, from casual to upscale.

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Okinawa Doughnuts – Fast!

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I don’t know if it was custom or culture, but growing up in Hilo, Hawaii, friends or relatives often dropped by without calling first. We had a gravel driveway and when we heard the crunch of car tires, we’d peek out the French doors to see who had come to call, then we’d fly about the house picking up.

Guests never came empty-handed. Usually they brought a box of assorted pastries from Robert’s Bakery that we could serve back to them.

Sometimes they brought homemade jams or jellies or produce from their backyard. When we could see there was no familiar bakery box in their hands as they ascended the stairs to our front porch, we knew we needed something to serve the guests – fast!

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How to Read a Recipe

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Dave loves to tell this story: Looking for cooking inspiration, he found a crowd-sourced tilapia recipe on the Internet. He invested the time and money to purchase the ingredients. He cooked, following instructions carefully and after tasting…promptly tossed the dish in the trash!

Dave came to me to find out why the dish was inedible. Perusing the offending recipe, I wisely told him, according to Dave, “Just looking at the ingredients, I could tell you this recipe wasn’t going to work.”

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Judging the James Beard Cookbook Awards

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I’m cooking up a lot of really delicious food in the Special Fork kitchen these days. But I can’t tell you what I’m making, nor can I share the recipes.

I’m a judge of the James Beard Foundation Book Awards once again this year (my third time; not in consecutive years), and I’m testing recipes from my final book choices.

The photo above shows all the cookbooks I received in my designated category. Since the category is secret, not only have I turned the spines away from you, I’ve had the slivers of color from the book jackets Photoshopped out.

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