As you may know, over the past many years I have been experimenting with baking techniques that replicate the traditional Uyghur tonur oven. Those experiments tended to include the use of a broiler, and/or a super hot and dense cooking vessel like a Baking Steel. Here was post from 2015 on samsa under a broiler, and here was a post on my early attempts at Uyghur bazaar-style nan. Since my last posts on the subject I’ve learned several things and have found some new devices to help make that experience a bit closer to my goal. It’s still a little wonky, but I’m getting closer. If you’ve come to ..read more

One of the new Philly Asian markets to open in late 2019 was the two-story Asianfresh 家和超市, where Imperial Inn used to be at 144 N. 10th St. in Chinatown Happy New Year! This past year has been brutal for much of Philadelphia’s food scene, with so many restaurants and bars having been forced to close. That said, our Asian markets seem to at least be scraping by, and in some cases even doing well. The only markets that I know of that closed in late 2019 and 2020 did so for reasons other than the pandemic. I was particularly sad to see some Chinatown markets go, and the Big 8 Supermarket in the ..read more

“Smells like Mongolian spirit, man!” This is my favorite line from Nargie’s Mongolian Cuisine‘s tsuivan episode (see link below). I now realize this was most likely a reference to Nirvana’s hit single as Nargie is clearly a big fan, but it is still a profound statement highlighting the status of this beloved comfort food in Mongolia. In honor of Nargie and this favorite dish, today I’m submerging some leftover tsuivan (цуйван) in hot milk tea for breakfast here in Philadelphia. It’s a perfect hot breakfast for these cool mornings. If you are not familiar with that YouTube show from ArtGer, ch ..read more

A fried foxtail millet pilaf with sweet and savory Chinese sausage and pickled mustard greens The millets of China, Mongolia, and Central Asia are hearty crops that can be sustained in very arid climates. For tens of thousands of years they have served as important staple crops for many of those region’s food cultures (especially before the widespread use of wheat). Today I am writing about two of the most common types of millet that have ancient Eurasian roots, but can be easily found in Philadelphia Chinese markets: foxtail millet (Setaricia italica) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum ..read more

Vatan Market in Bustleton I was thrilled to learn about a new market that opened up in NE Philly this past year–a market that caters to Central Asian tastes! It is called Vatan Market and it is located at 11726A Bustleton Ave, just across the street from the large NetCost market that I previously highlighted. Vatan means “homeland” in several Central Asian languages (like Uzbek, Tajik, and Uyghur, for example), and the market clearly caters to these groups. Much of the products come from neighboring countries with stronger imports to the US, notably Russia, Turkey, and Iran. It is a great mix ..read more

A recent attempt at replicating Yunnan-style fragrant and crispy peppers. They are not as spicy as they look–those are sesame seeds, not pepper seeds In recent years an interesting snack seems to be trending all around China: fried “fragrant and crispy” peppers (香脆椒, aka 香辣酥), sometimes translated into English as “fried chile crisp”, or “magic chili”. I don’t recall seeing these in the 90s when I lived in Guangzhou, but it was probably already a thing at least in Sichuan, if not the broader Southwest. Now you can find iterations of this snack at corner stores and groceries all over the country ..read more

A Uyghur-style qordaq stew topped with a thick noodle skin. In Uyghur this might be called simply yapma, or by qualifying the type of dough toping: petir yapma or Qumul yapmisi Greetings after a long hiatus! Even though I haven’t been reporting here as much as I’d have liked, since my last post I have been continuing on my journey through culinary traditions on the frontiers of Turkic, Mongolian, and Tibetan food culture. Today’s theme is a style of cooking that is shared among three cultures between Xinjiang and Mongolia: Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Mongols. It is “covered” meals–i.e. a soup, stew ..read more

A quick gundruk and soybean “pickle” (Gundruk ko achar गुन्द्रुकको अचार) Over the past several months I have been slowly exploring Nepali food and cooking with rare items from our local supplier of foodstuffs from Nepal, Friendly Market on S. 7th St. in South Philly (see here for my 2014 introduction to that market). Every time I go in there I come away with at least one new ingredient or condiment that opens my eyes to a new culinary horizon. The shop owners Julio and Sovannary are always happy to talk about how their very specialized stock of ingredients can be used, and I always learn goo ..read more

One of my favorite things in the world. Home-style laghman from a small restaurant Teweruk ta’amliri (“Legacy foods”) on Nobishi Road in Kashgar Great laghman (لەغمەن) is well worth obsessing over. Hand-pulled and perfectly chewy wheat noodles are boiled, drained, and then topped with a hot stir fry of fatty mutton, garlic, tomato, and peppers with any seasonal vegetables. Check out my 2015 post on the topic if you want to learn more, or even make these at home. The noodles pictured above were perfect–it looked like a large plate of noodles, but I devoured them in an instant. They were so ..read more