As with most chefs, his culinary perspective is formed based on where he has lived. Kung grew up traveling back and forth between Hong Kong and Toronto, where he enjoyed a mix of Cantonese home cooking and what he described as a typical North American dining experience, which included grilled cheese sandwiches served with canned cream of chicken soup. For about two decades he has been based in Detroit. “I would describe my culinary style as Chinese American or third culture Chinese, and what does that really mean other than celebrating my own expression of cultural diversity where I currently live? he wrote in the book’s introduction.
Get the recipe: Tofu Jerk Chow Mein
Third culture cuisine is “fusion cuisine that draws on lived experience,” Kung said in a phone interview. “Instead of immersing yourself in one culture from another culture, it’s more about living in between and having the nuances, understanding and appreciation of a local, a native.” When he rose to fame on TikTok, he faced criticism from viewers who questioned the authenticity of his recipe versions.
“As a queer person, I have had to defend my identity and my own existence every day of my life,” Kung said. “But once I started cooking, I realized I had to start again.”
But he never backed down, often directly addressing the issue in his videos alongside topics of control and cultural appropriation. “By fully accepting that as what my identity is and what I identify with, it literally erased all of those comments and critiques that people were normally so comfortable throwing at me,” he said. declared. “I think when you own something so freely, no one can really question the truth behind it anymore.”
And now Kung’s audience has welcomed his third culture cookbook with open arms. “Like every week, someone does this [dan dan] lasagna, and it makes me very happy.
In deciding which recipes to include in this book, Kung said, “A lot of what I was trying to do involved just following the Chinese migration, whether it was voluntary or not. » And as people move, they take their style of cooking with them, but often have to reinvent it with a different set of available ingredients or, in the case of entrepreneurs, to adapt it to a new customer’s palate .
Through his research, he learned about the history of the Chinese people in the Caribbean and how thousands of people were brought to the region as indentured laborers during the 19th century, particularly after the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean in 1834. “This constant influx led to the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean. development of Caribbean Chinese cuisine, which blends West Indian flavors with (primarily) Cantonese palates and cooking techniques,” Kung wrote. “Jerk chow mein is one of the must-haves of this cuisine.”
His version of the dish begins by making a jerk paste with green onions, garlic, Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, ginger and a host of seasonings, similar to what you might use to marinate jerk chicken . Then you simply stir-fry it with chow mein noodles, tofu, and snow peas — or whatever protein or veggies you like — and it’s ready to enjoy.
The chili peppers give the dish a scalp-tingling level of spice that made me pause briefly — then immediately come back for another bite, which is exactly what any true spicy food lover wants. If you love Caribbean cuisine and noodles, this Tofu Jerk Chow Mein recipe is for you. However, a word of warning: this dish is not for the faint of heart or the faint of tongue. But as Kung says: “The best things in life challenge us. »
Get the recipe: Tofu Jerk Chow Mein
