Miranda Brown3 days ago7 minThe Case for Ketchup, a Glorious Mutant (AS 258)A few weeks ago, we had a crisis at home. Sofi was demanding Dino-nuggets, but we were out of ketchup. This took us by surprise. Like mos...
Miranda Brown4 days ago7 minThe Portuguese and Montezuma’s Fiery Gift, with A Kimchi Recipe (AS 258)Last time, I ended with the case against Asian Doughnut Theory No. 1. No, the Portuguese did *not* bring churros from China. Churros are ...
Miranda BrownFeb 177 minDid Churros Come from China? A Historian's Refutation of the News (ASIAN 258)A few months ago, I awoke to find it there. On my Facebook feed. “Hey Conejita! Thought of you when I saw this.” I groaned. It was the s...
Miranda BrownFeb 168 minGoing with the Flow and Cooking Massaman Curry (with a different recipe) (ASIAN 258)“Massaman curry is like a lover,” King Rama II of Siam (1768-1824) once wrote, “As peppery and fragrant as the cumin seed. Its exciting a...
Miranda BrownFeb 107 minBiryani, Rice Fit For an Emperor (ASIAN 258)In March 2012, a chance trip to a restaurant changed my life. No, I didn’t meet Barak Obama, the Dali Lama, or Brad Pitt. For the budding...
Miranda BrownFeb 97 minDumpling Therapy (ASIAN 258)About a year ago, I awoke to find the famous dumpling map whirling around on the interwebs. That map, lifted (!#@) from Rachel Laudan’s c...
Erin BrightwellFeb 35 minTime for Spring! Beans, Demons, and Lucky Sushi Rolls (ASIAN 258)おはよう!Professor Brown has invited me to step in and take you to Japan for a quick tutorial on the food associated with the Japanese holida...
Miranda BrownFeb 18 minVegan Cheese: A Historian's Take on the War on Words (ASIAN 258)What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet -- Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Mr. Shakespeare was a...
Miranda BrownFeb 18 minBuddha Food! What Impossible Burger's CEO Should Have Known (ASIAN 258)In 1996, I found myself eating often at vegetarian buffets in southern Taiwan. On most days, I ordered plates of braised gluten. The glu...
Miranda BrownJan 249 minThe Proof in the Pudding: A Case for Taking Recipes Seriously (ASIAN 258)The idea for this blog goes back a ways. Five summers ago, I was sitting at a table with Yang Yong, a visiting student from China. We wer...
Miranda BrownJan 2311 minThe Great Noodle Debate (Asian 258)My first encounter with food history was in the fourth grade. One evening, my father came home to tell us over dinner that he had served ...
Miranda BrownJan 127 minASIAN 258: Mangle the Recipe, A Moral Conundrum? January 6, 2021 was supposed to be another gloomy morning in Ann Arbor. At about 9 am, I awoke, still groggy from a night of wrestling So...
Miranda BrownJan 116 minASIAN 258: Welcome to Asian Food and DrinkEver wonder why Asians put tapioca pearls in milk tea? The origins of sushi, tempura, or ramen? Or whether it’s disrespectful to Chinese ...
Miranda BrownSep 30, 20204 minPurple and White Mooncakes: A Twist on an Old Treat (With a Chocolate Variation)Twenty years ago, I found myself in China during the Mid-Autumn Festival, living a stone's throw from the Forbidden Palace. The holiday w...
Alison LiSep 24, 202014 minAn Open Letter to Dr. Anthony Fauci: To Stop COVID-19, Give Traditional Chinese Medicine a ChanceBy Benjamin Guan, Alison Li, and Andrea Lin April 26th, 2020
Tiffany Liu 劉盈瑩May 25, 20205 minEating Chinese in South AfricaOne sunny day, I had lunch with two South African-born Chinese (SABC) friends at a northern-style Chinese restaurant in Johannesburg’s New...
Ashira ChughApr 20, 20204 minQuick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry (ASIAN 258 Student Submission)Hello to all my peers in ASIAN 258! I hope you are all safe and healthy during this pandemic. During this pandemic, I like most of you, h...
Emma BuisApr 17, 20205 minIsolation Style Shrimp Mee Goreng (Asian 258 Student Submission)Whenever I look for recipes online, I try to find at least two to compare and end up going with kind of an average between the two approa...
Miranda BrownApr 16, 20209 minHigh-End Asian: The Pipe Dream Coming to Main Street (ASIAN 258)Like you, I wonder about the summer. I think about the first thing I will do when I can leave my house. I also imagine various futures. L...
Miranda BrownApr 14, 20209 minBubble Tea: A Layered and Sugar-Laced History with Recipe (ASIAN 258)As the parties awaited the verdict, temperatures soared outside. Not that this would have surprised anyone. It was late July in Taipei. B...