#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Frankie Gaw

 

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I’m a Midwest boy from Cincinnati, Ohio and my parents are from Taiwan so true Taiwanese American at heart.

What does home taste like?

Home tastes like strawberry milkshakes, Cincinnati chili, and stir fried tomato egg with white rice.

Favourite Chinese vegetable:

Taiwanese cabbage hands down.

Share a food memory:

Introducing my boyfriend to my family for the first time making dumplings and my mom telling him it’s tradition in Taiwan to eat a whole piece of raw garlic to pair with the dumpling. I still don’t know if it’s an actual tradition but he ate the garlic whole and my mom was very impressed!

What’s in your fridge at home?

Currently, there’s rice noodle batter from a photoshoot, 4 pounds of grilled chicken thighs from this week’s meal prep, three liters of sparkling water, and a ton of baby bok choy.

Who's your Chinese food legend?

Definitely my two grandmas! Not only can they cook, but they are such strong women who’ve sacrificed and worked so hard to get our family to where we are today.

What’s a Chinese recipe everyone should learn?

Steamed egg, it’s such a simple, nostalgic dish that delivers on flavor and texture while only taking 15 minutes.

Dream dinner party guests:

Padma Lakshmi, RuPaul, Oprah, Michael W. Twitty, Eddie Huang, Tan France.

Know any good Chinese restaurants?

Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown San Francisco is inspiring and delicious. They feature inventive takes on some of my favorite dishes like sourdough scallion pancakes and Dutch crunch bbq buns.

What would you like to tell the world about Chinese food?

There’s a whole world of delicious regional Chinese home cooking in America that deserves to be highlighted and discovered by mainstream food media.

 
#ChineseFoodiesofIGJenny Lauchinese identity, blogger, taiwanese american, dumplingsComment