Adventures in Starry Kitchen: 88 Asian-Inspired Recipes from America's Most Famous Underground Restaurant

HarperOne, 2017

Publisher Description

The behind-the-scenes story of America’s most famous underground restaurant, featuring more than eighty-eight deceptively simple and unbelievably delicious pan-Asian recipes and dozens of luscious full color photos.

In 2008, as the American economy cratered, newly unemployed Nguyen Tran and his newly unemployed wife-to-be, Thi, opened an off-the-grid eatery in their small Los Angeles studio apartment. Word of their fabulous food quickly spread, turning their culinary “speakeasy,” Starry Kitchen, into an underground sensation—and the #1 Asian fusion restaurant in L.A. on Yelp. Whether you’re cooking for two, four, or sixty, Adventures in Starry Kitchen demonstrates you don't have to be a desperately hip (or even trained) chef to master sensational modern food that will amaze and delight.

Find The Book

Recipes

Apartment Days

Braised and Caramelized Vietnamese Coco Pork Belly (a.k.a. Thit Kho)
Lemongrass Chicken
Lemongrass Tofu
Braised Coca-Cola Jackfruit
Taiwanese Fried Pork Chop
Japanese Curry Meatballs
Prepackaged Curry!
Nom Nom Pork (a.k.a. Nem Nuong)
Garlic Noodles (a.k.a Make-Out Noodles!)
Crispy Tofu Balls

Lunch Days

Cucumber Mint Agua Fresca
Honey Sesame Dressing
Double-Fried Chicken WAAAAAAAAAAAANGS
Sweet Ginger Chicken WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG Sauce
Tangy Korean Pepper Paste Wing Sauce
Tamarind Wing Sauce
Pandan/Galangal Chicken
Korean Spicy Pork Belly
Kara-Age
“Crack” Krab Cakes
Malaysian Chicken Curry
Malaysian Coco Chicken
Pineapple Beer Chicken Wing Soup
Salted Plum Lychee Panna Cotta
Taiwanese Minced Pork w/ Pickled Licorice
4½ Cheese Bacon Mac and Cheese
Vietnames Eggrolls (a.k.a. Cha Gio)

First Dinner Pop-Up

Citrus Sesame Tofu
Bó Là l’Ôt (Grilled Beef Wrapped in Sesame Leaves)
Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio
Green Curry Silky Tofu
Ribeye Satay Noodles
Braised Spicy Chicken Feet
Shrimp and Pork Chili Oil Wontons with Szechuan Shredded Potatoes
Sesame Oil Spareribs
Osmanthus Panna Cotta w/ Red Wine Poached Pears
Pandan Bavarian Cream
Profiteroles
Salted Duck Egg Cereal Crawns
Claypot Caramelized Striped Bass
Grilled Fish Heads and Tails

Second Pop-Up / Button Mash

Soda Chanh (a.k.a. Vietnamese Lime Soda)
Watermelon Ginger Agua Fresca
Ginger Sesame Rainbow Roasted Carrots (a.k.a. Roasted Carrots with Sweet Soy Glaze)
Miso Charred Brussels Sprouts
Mustard Greens and Pancetta
Canto-Style Chayote, Enoki, and Goji Berries
Shrimp Toast (Bruschetta)
Classic Double Cheeseburger
Almond “Tofu” Jell-O
Five-Spice Apple Fritters (Formerly Known as Fluffy the Apple Fritter and its Banana Jam Sidekick)
Black Sesame Panna Cotta
Green Tea Lemon Latte Cookies
Pandan Churros
Coconut Kaya Cream
Sweet and Sour Ribeye Beef
Hanoi Grilled Turmeric Fish with Dill and Onion
Bun Cha Hanoi (a.k.a. Hanoi Grilled Pork Belly and Pork Patty)
Triple-Cooked Osmanthus Pork Spareribs
Spicy Korean Noodles
Dan Dan Noodles/Mien
Banh Beo (a.k.a. Steamed Vietnamese Rice Crepe)
Popiah (a.k.a. Bo Bia)
Soy Bean Jicama
French/Green/Long Beans
Curry Tofu “Fries”
Good Ol’ “Fries”
Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce
Spam Brussels Sprout Fried Rice
Galangal Chicken Fried Rice
Shrimp and Grilled Pineapple Fried Rice
Roast Pork Belly
Roast Pork Belly XO Fried Rice
Vietnamese Minced Beef-Tacular
Singaporean Chili Crab
Chili Crab Sauce
Buttermilk Beer Beignets
Black Pepper Crab
Singaporean Chili Crab Gumbo