If you had $10 to make a single dish for a dinner party of four, what would you buy and what would you make?
In the winter, you could do a hotpot with seasonal Asian vegetables like daikon, hakusai (Chinese cabbage), carrot, tofu, mung bean sprouts and some form of protein, such as chicken. Second option is a dumpling party. This is very interactive and fun, too. You could either buy the pre-made dumpling pastry or you could make it yourself with flour, water and salt. The filling could be pork and chives, or chicken and prawn, or a vegetarian option. Lastly would be a Japanese curry with potato, onion and carrots with your choice of meat. This curry is a bit different from Indian or Thai - it's somewhere in between in terms of hotness. Be prepared to be addicted. You can pick up all the ingredients at Asian grocery stores for next-to-nothing, and they're all delicious and healthy, too.
What television food show are you addicted to?
Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - the British version, it is much more informative, with not as much shouting or crazy emotions.
What utensil is a thing of beauty, both in its aesthetic and practical appeal?
Cooking chopsticks. These can be used for stirring (replacing a spoon), beating eggs (replacing a fork or whisk), frying, obviously transporting (replacing tongs) - it's multipurpose, and saves lots of space, hence my belief that less is more. It's another bonus that your drawers will be kept nice and tidy.
If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
A daikon. It's very versatile - and it cleanses the palate.
