Kristina Cho is the talent behind Eat Cho Food. She's also an award-winning cookbook author, culinary creator, recipe developer, food stylist, and architect. Her groundbreaking debut cookbook, Mooncakes and Milk Bread, won her 2x James Beard awards and is the first ever cookbook to focus on Chinese bakeries. 

Kristina's food is distinctive, pulling inspiration from her Cantonese heritage, Midwest upbringing, and a sunny Californian sensibility. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Reuben, and rescue pup, Olive. Her newest cookbook Chinese Enough is out now! 

Kristina's Cooking Hacks

Stock Up on Dumplings

I make more dumplings than my household of 2 can possibly get through, which is why I always save room in the freezer for dumplings. It's my favorite form of meal prep and a bag of frozen dumplings makes for a lovely gift! Freeze them on a lined sheet pan with some space between until they are solid and then chuck them into a bag to keep in the freezer so they don't all stick together.

Homemade dumplings freeze incredibly well, but even if you stock up on your favorite store-bought dumplings you've already set yourself up for many nearly effortless meals. My rule is to never defrost frozen dumplings, simply boil/steam/pan-fry straight from frozen. Serving dumplings with my favorite dumpling dip with a side of crushed cucumber salad or adding them to an egg drop soup are some of my default dumpling routes.

A Turntable in the Pantry

I'm a visual person in nearly all aspects of my life. When it comes to my pantry I really love to be able to see everything that's in there. If a jar of doubanjiang gets pushed to the very back my brain doesn't always remember that it is there and I unnecessarily end up buying more. I placed a big-ish turntable, a lazy susan if you will, in my pantry and organized all my shelf stable sauces, oils, and vinegars there and it has been so handy! I can see everything I have by rotating!

Tiny Spoons Everywhere

I have a thing for very small spoons, ones that fit inside a little canister of sugar or scoop a consistent amount of salt so I can track while recipe testing. This is something I've most definitely picked up from my mom who picked this up from working at my family's Chinese American restaurant where the wok/prep stations had every ingredient at the ready for a stir-fry with a spoon for portioning. I'm always on the hunt for a cute wooden or metal spoon or scoop to place inside of whatever jar is needing it.

Embrace Alternative Flours

I don't have gluten sensitivities but I still love to venture out past regular bread and all-purpose flour when I bake. Flours like buckwheat, rye, and glutinous rice flour provide both incredible flavor and texture. My favorite chocolate cake of all-time uses a blend of all-purpose and buckwheat flour, the nutty buckwheat almost enhances the chocolate flavor and gives the cake such a tender texture.

If you ever want to experiment with incorporating an alternative flour into your regular cookies, biscuits, or cakes, start by substituting 25% of the white flour in the recipe with a new one (whole wheat is a delicious sub too!).

You Are the Rice Cooker

I haven't owned an actual rice cooker in about 8 years. After a very tragic accident where a can of beans fell on top of my glass rice cooker lid and shattered everywhere, I didn't necessarily feel inspired to replace right away. I've been making perfect fluffy rice in a saucepan on my stovetop ever since. There's no catchy song to tell you when your rice is done but stovetop rice is some of the best rice you'll ever have. I find that the rice cooks faster than in a traditional cooker and if any rice sticks to the bottom of your pan you get the gift that is crispy rice, a snack I would covet as a child. I also think becoming the rice cooker helps you be a little more present and mindful in the kitchen, you can't totally dissociate from the rice!

Soy Cured Egg Yolks

In this economy we can't be wasting eggs. I was once at a friend's house and he was making me a cocktail that required an egg white and then I saw him dump the egg yolk down the drain and I was stunned. In my shock, I was able to blurt out "why would you waste those?!" and then proceeded to tell them that next time you can save the yolks and make soy cured egg yolks.

It's one of the easiest and more delicious things you can make with a singular egg yolk if you're not planning on making ice cream or a curd. Simply place the yolk in a small bowl or container and pour enough soy sauce over top until it just skims the top. Keep it in the fridge for at least 12 hours and you have a dreamy soy cured egg yolk you can eat on top of hot rice. If you're feeling fancy you can add a splash of sugar, chilis, or mirin into the soy too!

Inspiration in the Aisles

I live in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, which I think is the mecca of incredible produce and grocery stores. Whenever I feel in a funk or desperately need some inspiration for recipes, I take a stroll through Berkeley Bowl, Monterey Market, 99 Ranch, Tokyo Fish Market, or all of them as a grocery shopping marathon and take my time really looking at what is in-season and finding potentially new to me ingredients that I should bring home to me. Wherever you live, consider making a trip to a new market and explore the aisles to find some inspiration.