#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Danielle Chang of Lucky Rice

Danielle Chang of Lucky Rice

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 was born in Taipei to Chinese parents whose ancestral home is Shanghai. I grew up in Asia until I was five, when I immigrated to Houston, TX. So I consider myself Chinese-American.

What does home taste like?

There’s always a pot of chicken soup boiling on the stove. I love that smell so much. Flavored with shiitake mushrooms, ginger and scallions. I wish I could bottle the scent into a candle!

Favourite Chinese vegetable:

Celtuce! Delicious fresh in salads, or pickles and served with congee for an easy breakfast.

Share a food memory:

Having a dumpling eat-off with my grandmother… we didn’t count by the number of dumplings we ate, but rather by the number of plates of dumplings we ate! She beat me by a landslide as her passion for life was articulated through her voracious appetite.

A Chinese recipe everyone should learn:

Fried tomato and eggs with lots of ginger and scallions and topped with cilantro.

The most important Chinese ingredient is:

Shaoxing wine - I add it to soups, sauces, marinades… it brings out flavor in the most mundane foods preparations (case in point: drunken chicken).

Who’s your Chinese food legend?

Martin Yan! He brought popular Chinese cooking to the US and paved the way for generations of Chinese cooks to come.

Dream dinner party guests:

My family, who I have never spent a holiday without, until this year.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

Home, comfort, wellness. Food is medicine.