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Day With Mei

Chinese-American pantry recipes

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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, Sweet · March 17, 2025

Buckwheat Black Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies get an upgrade with the addition of buckwheat flour and black sugar, creating a perfectly balanced treat that’s rich, nutty, and deeply satisfying. Whether you’re looking for a more nutrient-dense cookie or simply want to experiment with…

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Sweet · June 4, 2024

Almond Pound Cake with Fig Leaf Créme Fraîche Whip and Vinaigrette

Did you know fig leaves are edible? Yes! Fig leaves are edible and can be used in both sweet and savory applications. Leaves from all edible fig varieties (think turkey figs, missions figs, etc.) can be harvested year-round for use…

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Sweet · April 22, 2024

Fishy Toffee Pudding (Tamarind-Date Cake with Fish Sauce Toffee)

Tamarind-date cake meets fish sauce toffee in this take on sticky toffee pudding. I’ve been finding ways to incorporate fish into desserts (see my recipe for Panna Cotta with Passionfruit and Anchovy Granola) and this fishy toffee pudding is a…

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Sweet · April 2, 2024

Sichuan Hot Honey Baklava

Tingly, spicy, crunchy, chewy, and nutty— this Chinese-American take on baklava is unlike anything you’ve tasted before. Cashew and black sesame filling is rolled in crispy phyllo before getting drenched in a Sichuan spiced hot honey. The typical Turkish pistachios…

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Earl grey cookie with marshmallow in center being split in half

Sweet · January 1, 2024

Earl Grey Cookies with Marshmallow

If you’ve never put marshmallows in your tea, you’re missing out. These earl grey cookies with marshmallow have a light sugar cookie base with some chew. The exterior is rolled in earl grey sugar for a bit of crunch and…

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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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