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Day With Mei

Chinese-American pantry recipes

Mei

Recipes, Savory · February 23, 2026

Homemade Cultured Butter

Make cultured butter at home from just two simple ingredients: cream and kefir, no special equipment required. Cultured butter is one of the simplest home fermentation projects and a great introduction into the transformative power of fermentation. This butter is…

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Recipes, Savory · February 20, 2026

Sichuan Spiced Salmon Gravlax

Gravlax is salmon that is cured with salt, sugar, and dill. I riffed on this Nordic classic by swapping the cure with my go-to Sichuanese cure made by toasting spices in salt. This gravlax recipe is a welcoming gateway into…

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Recipes, Savory · January 22, 2026

Hunan Stir-Fried Pork

This flavorful stir-fry comes together in just 15 minutes with tender thinly sliced pork and crisp vegetables. The literal translation of the dish 小炒肉 is “small stir-fried pork”, a reference to its quick cooking and humble origins as an everyday…

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Recipes, Savory, Tinned Fish · December 5, 2025

Simple Smoked Salmon Dip

This smoked salmon dip is a perfect appetizer that comes together in one bowl, in just 5 minutes. The dip is savory and spreadable—perfect for smearing on toast or dipping with crackers and crudite. The base of the dip is…

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Recipes, Savory · November 20, 2025

Fava Bean and Tofu Skin Salad with Mala Vinaigrette

Creamy, sweet fava beans meet delightfully bouncy tofu skin in this flavor-packed salad from Sichuan. The mala vinaigrette is flavored with chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn for a tingly spicy The entire dish comes together in just 15 minutes and…

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Recipes, Sweet · October 13, 2025

Tonka Bean Ice Cream

Tonka beans combine a several familiar aromas and flavors into something familiar, yet unique—like if cherry, vanilla bean, nutmeg, hay, and tobacco all mixed together into a single flavor. I ought to note tonka beans are illegal in the United…

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Recipes, Savory · July 7, 2025

Chicken Thighs in Goji Agrodolce

Crispy pan-roasted chicken thighs meet a Chinese-ish take on agrodolce, the sour-sweet Italian sauce.

Recipes, Savory, Tinned Fish · July 7, 2025

Monkfish Liver in Yuzu Kosho Ponzu

Monkfish liver with yuzu kosho ponzu is a luxurious appetizer that comes together in less than 10 minutes. Canned monkfish liver is a shortcut to a perfectly tender texture that’s ready to serve without any additional cooking time. What does…

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Recipes, Sweet · June 16, 2025

Strawberry Lychee Shortcake

This Chinese-American take on the classic strawberry shortcake is the perfect not-too-sweet summer dessert. Fluffy biscuits and lightly sweetened cream pair with juicy, macerated strawberries and lychees. In this recipe, strawberries meet lychees, my favorite tropical fruit that hits peak…

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Recipes, Savory · June 12, 2025

Silkie Chicken Soup

This nourishing Chinese herbal soup is made with silkie chicken, prized for its rich flavor and restorative properties. Simmered with traditional Chinese medicinal herbs like angelica root, astragalus, and goji berries, it’s a comforting dish rooted in healing. Walk into…

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Recipes, Savory, Tinned Fish · May 27, 2025

Tinned Squid with Parsley Vinaigrette

This quick recipe is an elegant upgrade to any tin of squid (or any tinned fish for that matter) for a vibrant and balanced appetizer or lunch. I recommend serving with toast or over salad greens to soak up the…

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Recipes, Sweet · May 7, 2025

Vegan Ice Cream Base

This plant-based ice cream base has the same satisfying creaminess and a texture that holds up in the freezer. If you just want the base recipe you’re welcome to skip to the bottom, my R&D notes are included for the…

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Hi! I'm Mei, a Chinese-American recipe developer seeing familiar foods from a new perspective.

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Tinned Fish Talk 🎣 King Salmon Cheeks from @wildfi Tinned Fish Talk 🎣 King Salmon Cheeks from @wildfishcannery 

King salmon cheeks are a cut you can’t get anywhere else in a can, it’s rare to even find at a fishmonger, much less a restaurant. Fish cheeks are rare because they are so small and labor-intensive to harvest. There’s only two per fish so you can imagine how much it takes to fill a single can.

The good news: this is one of the most uniquely pleasurable experiences I’ve had from a tin of fish. The bad news: there is a very limited quantity that sells out almost immediately each year (sorry!) For transparency, they sent me this tin ($44) but know i’ve been a continued customer and all opinions are my own.

I chose to warm up the unopened tin in hot water so the natural fat and collagen are even more luxurious—like a fatty, unctuous scallop. King salmon has a relatively mild flavor and richer texture compared to sockeye or coho. Wildfish Cannery is a one-of-a-kind operation here in North America with a tight-knit supply chain that hand-packs fish caught locally in Southeast Alaska. I hold a special respect for their culinary approach, the cannery is a direct opposition to the category’s commodity reputation.
2 weeks later, we have Sichuan larou! In the pre 2 weeks later, we have Sichuan larou! 

In the previous video, I cured pork belly in salt and spices for several days then set it outside to dry. I smoked it with apple wood pellets and cooked off a piece to taste.
How do you keep traditional foods alive? Sichuan How do you keep traditional foods alive?

Sichuan bacon season is back! Larou (Sichuan bacon) is a cured pork belly process similar to pancetta. It’s first seasoned with spices and salt in an equilibrium cure, hung outside to dehydrate, then (optionally) smoked. The earliest records of this wind-cured meat date back to the Zhou Dynasty roughly 3000 years ago. 

In Sichuan you can buy larou everywhere. In the US no one really makes it at scale. I grew up in the US making it with my family every winter season out of that necessity. Funny enough I’m the only one from my generation still carrying it on, and I’m the one farthest from home.
saved the best for last the suburbanite mall rat saved the best for last

the suburbanite mall rat in me is clawing to get out help me
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