This post has been updated on my website here.
One of my new year goals for 2019 is to write more — and what better subject to write about than food? Asian culture is a culture that revolves heavily around food. The making, the eating, the sharing. Oftentimes revolved around gossip, singing, or maybe a game of mahjong for the uncles and aunties. It is something I am really excited to share.
These pears were grown by Papa Hsin in his yard in Canada. As Asian parents go, I didn’t grow up knowing my dad as he spent a lot of time working. As a child, sometimes the only interaction we will have is when he signed my report cards every week (a moment where I will tremble slightly, even though I have always been a top student). But food — will forever be a way Asian parents show love. A catch-up session with Papa Hsin will always start with him pulling out fruit, steamed buns or something he made from his bag and handing it over with a smile. I think it is his peace offering for all the smiles he didn’t give me when he signed my report cards.
Similar to me, my dad grew up in many places. One of my favorite subjects to ask him about is the time when he lived in Saudi Arabia and worked as a martial arts trainer for the police force. The stories of endless deserts, lizard hunting with bearded men, drinking camel milk and getting lost in sandstorms. Terrorism, female rights. They were the stories that teleported me to faraway places and planted in me a seed for travel and social justice. In fact — one of my career goals as a high school student was to become a journalist and cover stories of war and in the Middle East. Of course, that didn’t end up happening and today, both of us settled in Canada where I work as a photographer and him as a retired officer. I like to think that we are both finding our peace and place here. Him in his garden, hosting dinners with Chinese neighbors and me in the kitchen, behind the camera, or off backpacking to another exciting location.
Food to me will always be magic. It is the art of creating something from simple and good ingredients. Food is a vehicle for stories, culture, and tradition. A delicious reminder that we are cared for and thought of.
So here to the new year, I hope it will be one filled with stories and meals shared over tables with conversations that are long and good.
Roasted Korean pear with ginger
Ingredients:
• 4 Korean pears. Sliced in half with the seeds removed
• 1 tbsp fresh ground ginger*
• A dash of ground cinnamon
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tbs brown sugar (opt out if you aiming for less sugar)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Place pears on a baking tray with cut sides up. Sprinkle ground ginger, cinnamon powder, lemon juice on pears. Top with brown sugar.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until tender.
4. Let the pears cool before serving, preferably with vanilla ice cream. Preferably with a friend. Enjoy.
*I like to use organic ginger since I find it more pungent. I’ve also found ginger jam to be a good substitute.
Happy New Year!
1. Mix sesame powder into rice for desired shade of grey. Puncture cheese with boba straw for Totoro eyes.
2. Use plastic wrap to mold grey and white rice into appropriate size for torso, abdomen and ears.
3. Trim circles of nori for eyes, nose, and half moons for belly. Insert ears into Totoro torso and secure with toothpicks.
4. For Susuwatari (Soot Sprites) — roll rice ball onto nori sheet, soften edges of nori with water to shape. Decorate with eyes.
Gift them to a friend.
Introduce them to your 
The calm waters of Allepey, Kerala. It’s so peaceful here.
The tata with the coolest eyebrows who offered to row us around on his tiny boat (200 rupees) and said yes to this photo after we politely declined.
Our cook on the houseboat was a marvellous one. We had papped fried in coconut oil, vegetable stir fry with coconut, the best sambar daal, cucumber bean salad and multiple rounds of chai each day. 
The rows and rows of endless rice patties. I am certain that most of India is covered in rice fields.
Hai Brooklyn Bridge
Sophia Hsin 