Five Ingredients: Chinese Malaysian - In Person

A hands-on in-person cooking class culminating in a dinner served with wine and beer. This class is limited to 12 students. Review our registration and cancellation policies here. Masks are welcome.

In the "Five Ingredients" series, our aim is to make Asian recipes accessible to anyone intimidated by unknown ingredients, a lack of storage, or a lack of time. In this class, we will make some comforting dishes from Linda's Chinese Malaysian repertoire of recipes - simplified to reduce complexity, but still full in flavor! Many of Malaysia's Chinese diaspora have roots in Southern China, including the island of Hainan.  Perhaps Hainan's greatest food export is Hainanese Chicken Rice where perfectly poached silky smooth chicken is balanced by the sauces, making it a perfect candidate for your weeknight meal rotation. Through this menu, you’ll learn key chicken butchery techniques, along with essential cooking techniques like steaming, stir frying, cooking rice, and how to make a few simple (but flavorful!) sauces. 

You will use a pantry of salt, sugar, sesame, soy sauce, and a high-heat neutral oil (ex. grapeseed, rice bran) and add to it no more than 5 other ingredients per recipe. If you're looking for new weeknight meal ideas or feel overwhelmed by the breadth of Asian pantry ingredients and don't know where to start, join us!
 

MENU

Chee Cheong Fun - Fresh House Made Rice Noodles with House Hoisin

Hainan Chicken Rice - Poached Chicken and Fragrant Rice, with Ginger Scallion Sauce and Chili Garlic Sauce

Salted Fish Bean Sprouts

Sai Mai Lo - Cantaloupe and Sago in Coconut Milk

This menu contains the following common allergens: Fish, Soy, Tree Nuts, Sesame. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions that concern your ability to cook along, please e-mail info@18reasons.org before purchasing a ticket.

Let’s Cook Together! 

Linda Tay Esposito is a teaching chef whose food represents a tribute and a commitment to the authenticity of the cuisines of the Pacific Rim. For the last 18 years, Linda has shared her passion and knowledge of East and Southeast Asian cuisines in the Bay Area by teaching at many notable cooking schools in the Bay Area. An all around food professional, Linda expanded the distribution for artisan tofu maker, Hodo Soy, and led the development of La Cocina’s municipal marketplace, where she uses food as a creative approach to economic development. Linda's specialties include Malaysian cuisine, Chinese cuisine, various Southeast Asian cuisines, and private classes and dinners at 18 Reasons.

_{Photo credit: Linda Tay Esposito}