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Dec 8, 2023Liked by Andrea Nguyen

mm cant wait to try the mapo lasagna! ive had a mapo pasta and was amazed how well the pasta and mapo tofu went together

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Then this is right up your alley. Wooohooo! My husband was just saying how good that lasagna is.

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I think I forgot to post my comments after tying them up in Notes... Ooops!

Thank you for answering my two questions. Regarding your countertops, is there a reason you chose honed over polished even though they’re harder to clean? Pure aesthetics?

I have a suggestion for Maia regarding “cat proofing” her lemongrass. I have lemongrass planted in the ground and right next to it I have catnip in a pot. We have three cats, plus rare visitors, and no one has ever messed with the lemongrass!

An enhanced version of your cookbooks? Please explain! Is this a different paper version or an online only situation?

My doubanjiang appears to be the brand Master and it’s made in Taiwan. It has the same characters on the label that you show in your pictures. Do I understand correctly that it’s less spicy but more umami forward? It’s the only one I’ve ever used.

Regarding people with an overwhelming excess of limes, have you reached out to food banks/organizations that share food with people in need? I’m sure they would be super stoked to receive an influx of limes. I know some cities have groups of people that will come out and pick your fruit if it is just going to go to waste. In the neighborhood my mom lives in, people will put baskets of fruit in their front yard for people to help themselves to.

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No prob, Emily!

The hone surface looks more like natural stone to me. For photography, it has less sheen, which is a plus. HOWEVER, it does require a bit more maintenance. But I've learned to clean things up ASAP, especially anything with turmeric.

Enhanced cookbooks have video embedded in them. I pioneered them at Random House but they are technologically difficult to support. So we retired enhanced versions of Asian Dumplings and Asian Tofu. Now you can do stuff with QR codes or as in EGV, I point people to my website page with video tips.

I don't know the Master brand of DBJ. I'd have to taste it alongside the others. In the main, Taiwan flavors are not as big as Sichuan ones from Pixian -- the epicenter of DBJ.

Good idea about the food bank. I don't know what the rules are. Hope you can take part in a future Zoomer, Emily. You have too many good insights. Thanks so much.

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Thanks for the info. You’ll notice I never share a picture taken on my kitchen counter, unless there is so much food that you can’t see the counter at all.

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Andrea, do you freeze your tofu before using?

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founding

This post brightened my evening after a long hectic day of traveling! I recently attended a book signing for Fuchsia Dunlop’s new book, Invitation to a Banquet. We were gifted dried green peppercorns from 50 Hertz Tingly, which you introduced me to! Are the red ones more traditional for mapo tofu, or are they interchangeable?

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Thanks - must have just been reception where I was. Sorry!

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Links don’t seem to be - thanks!

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author

Hi Marian -- Is there something wrong with the links? They work for me. Is there one that does not work in particular? Thank you.

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