Blogging has taken the food world by storm because of its ability to showcase the cooking, writing, and photography skills of foodies all around the world (You can do it too). Listed below are seven beautiful food blogs that introduce Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean recipes and share unique cultural cooking techniques, kitchen tools, and ingredients.
1. No Recipes
Photo courtesy of Marc Matsumoto on norecipes.com
Japanese food is more than just sushi, and Marc Matsumoto created No Recipes in 2007 so people can prepare a variety of amazing Japanese foods despite different backgrounds and skill levels. The blog features many Japanese recipes such as Hokkaido-style miso ramen (pictured above), oyakodon, and miso glazed eggplant.
Since Marc never cooks based on a recipe, he hopes to teach others about new ingredients and proper techniques so they will also have the confidence to experiment and cook with “No Recipe.” He includes a number of fascinating recipes such as soy milk panna cotta with black sugar sauce and curried lamb karaage.
2. Indiechine
Photo Courtesy of Linh Nguyen on indiechine.com
Linh Nguyen started her blog, Indiechine, to introduce Vietnamese culture and food with the world. Linh writes heartfelt posts where she shares cultural experiences as a resident of Hội An such as her family’s traditions during Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) and her trip to a local outdoor market.
Classic recipes such as sautéed beef vermicelli salad (pictured above), crispy banana fritters, and daikon and carrot pickles give an even deeper look into Vietnamese culture. Her blog is perfect to read while sipping on a homemade cup of strong and refreshing Vietnamese coffee.
3. China Sichuan Food
Photo courtesy of Elaine Luo on chinasichuanfood.com
Sick of Chinese takeout? Elaine Luo began China Sichuan Food with hopes to share traditional Chinese recipes, with a focus on Sichuan style foods. Having learned about Sichuan, Shanxi, and Cantonese styles of cooking, she is able to bring a variety of different recipes for readers to try such as red oil wonton (pictured above), biang biang noodles, and glutinous rice balls with crushed peanuts.
She also includes posts where she records the plethora of foods she tries when she travels such as her trip to Yunnan province.
4. The Woks of Life
Photo courtesy of Judy Leung on thewoksoflife.com
The Woks of Life is run by Bill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin, a family of food enthusiasts who use this blog as a platform to connect a family separated across the world. The Woks of Life shares classic Chinese recipes such as spicy beef noodle soup (pictured above), Hainanese chicken rice, and red bean bread.
Their authentic recipes, which are passed on from generation to generation, are a reflection that Asian foods should not be considered trends. They also frequently experiment with recipes that add Chinese twists to non-Chinese recipes such as their “spicy numbing” cacio e pepe which integrates Sichuan peppercorns in a classic Italian dish.
5. Just One Cookbook
Photo courtesy of Namiko Chen on justonecookbook.com
Namiko Chen, or Nami, started Just One Cookbook as a means to preserve all her family recipes in one place to pass onto her children. Nami introduces specific Japanese techniques and ingredients such as in her eggplant agebitashi recipe where she teaches two techniques called suage (deep-frying vegetables with no flour) and kakushibocho (scoring of ingredients).
She includes a variety of different recipes such as green tea shaved ice (pictured above), baked tonkatsu, and Hiroshima okonomiyaki. Just make sure you’re pronouncing everything right!
6. My Korean Kitchen
Photo courtesy of Sue Pressey on mykoreankitchen.com
My Korean Kitchenbegan in 2006 as a platform for Sue Pressey to teach and share her love of Korean food and Korean fusion food with the world. Her blog includes recipes for kimchi jigae (pictured above) and kimchi fried rice which have become popular as the fermented and refreshing ingredient has exploded in the American culinary world.
Amazing recipes for lesser known dishes such as jjolmyeon (spicy chewy noodles) and hotteok (sweet pancakes) are also included. For those who do not have access to Korean ingredients where they live, Sue has her own online Korean grocery store on her site.
7. Omnivore’s Cookbook
Photo courtesy of Maggie Zhu on omnivorescookbook.com
Maggie Zhu began Omnivore’s Cookbook in hopes to share Chinese recipes that can easily be made at home. Her recipes range from classic beef noodle soup (pictured above) to Szechuan dry-fried green beans to her mother’s mandarin duck pancakes.
Each one includes step-by-step pictures which allows those who are not familiar with Asian cooking to follow along and learn more about the different ingredients that are important to Chinese cooking. Omnivore’s Cookbook also introduces essential spices, ingredients, and tools to share Chinese food culture with her readers. Have leftovers? Turn them into Italian delicacies.