OUR BLOG

 (Photo via Bon Appetit by Laura Murray) Two weeks into lockdown, we’ve now had some time to adjust to our new normal and reflect. For some of us, this time has revealed just how stretched to nearing breaking point the systems around us had been until this point. It’s also showed us that when humanity is united in common cause, phenomenally rapid change is possible. In his essay “The New Coronation”, the thinker and writer Charles Eisenstein asks, what else might we achieve, in coherency? What world shall we create, when we awaken to our power? Already we are seeing resources...

(Photo Via Bon Appetit By Emma Fishman)      The world is in a strange place right now. Times like these highlight just how interwoven the fabric of our lives are, and our dependance on human connection just as we are told to temporarily put them on hold. A lot of us are spending time at home, perhaps alone, and maybe cooking a bit more than usual. In the absence of physical touch, the warm embrace of nostalgic comfort food is a welcome respite, and a reminder of the simple pleasures of life most of us still have access to.  In this spirit, when I saw our friend Cathy...

It's no secret that we're BIG on mapo tofu around here. Surprisingly easy to make and packing a giant flavor punch, it's rich, creamy, spicy, numbing and umami all at once. The secret to a truly great mapo tofu is in the Doubanjiang, or preserved fava bean paste, also known as the "soul of Sichuan cuisine", not to be confused with preserved black bean paste, or soy bean paste! The county of Pixian outside of Chengdu is the birth place of doubanjiang, and where it's still made the traditional way, fermenting fava beans with chili peppers (Erjingtiao variety) and salt....

Here at Fly By Jing, we have yet to meet a chicken tender we didn't love, but these healthy, baked home-made versions slathered with Mala Spice Mix may just be the ones we return to and reach for again and again without fail.  Mala translates to “numbingly spicy,” and is the signature flavor of Sichuan cuisine. With a secret mix of 11 herbs and spices, including Erjingtiao chili, umami rich mushroom and seaweed and the prized Qingxi Tribute pepper, our Mala Spice Mix is marked by a highly fragrant and tingly spice.  One of our favorite things about cooking with it is that...

for the new year    in a new place     return to the strange      you've made familiar    return to the house     you've made your own    return to the family    you've chosen and say    "I'm home"    - Chih Hao Wang   Growing up, we moved around a lot, like once-a-year a lot.  While never dull, our nomadic lifestyle didn't exactly make it easy to keep up with traditions from home. So when our extended family in Sichuan held elaborate Chinese new year celebrations, gathered around large lazy susans piled high with plates, we created our own traditions from far away.  While simple,...