Joanne Molinaro is a hotshot American lawyer who’s better known as the Korean Vegan, says Monica Eng in The Washington Post. The daughter of North Korean immigrants, she’s on a mission to make plant-based versions of all her favourite Korean dishes. She uses meaty marinated mushrooms instead of beef and mung-bean-based Just Egg for her egg dishes. Her TikTok account, @thekoreanvegan, has gained 2.7 million followers in the past year and she has just published a recipe book with Penguin.
Molinaro’s cooking videos are unconventional. She pairs “gorgeous images of food prep” with “voiceovers about immigrant life, broken relationships and childhood trauma”. She describes her mother’s near-starvation and murder in North Korea while making vegan s’mores, and talks about her tricky relationship with her father over black soybean noodles called jajangmyeon. In 60 seconds she makes you want to laugh, cry and devour everything on her plate. Read her recipe for dooboo jeon (tofu cakes) here.
Get an air fryer for tastier tuck
Like everyone else who has an air fryer, “I won’t shut up about mine”, says Alex Beggs in Bon Appétit. They’re “mini countertop convection ovens” – they use a fan to circulate hot air around your food, cooking it more evenly and efficiently than in a normal oven. Air fryers also use “a lot less oil than deep-frying”, which makes for healthier dinners. Vegetables are cooked “in a flash”, and chicken, fish and fried tofu come out “so, so crispy”. Beggs recommends the Cosori Air Fryer XL, £99.99.
Ingredient of the week: sweet chestnuts
Autumn is “synonymous” with sweet chestnuts, says Mark Diacono in Country Life. Their “earthy, sweet nuttiness” suits shorter, colder days. Roast them in a frying pan over a fire or, “less romantically”, for 25 minutes in the oven at 200C. Be sure to cut a small slit in each chestnut “to stop them exploding”. Leave to cool a little before peeling: the “well-charred” shell should slide away easily from the “smoky sweet kernel”. Use them in soups, stews, stuffing and marron glacé, or throw a “few bashed handfuls” into a chocolate cake or brownie mix. They also make wonderful jam or chestnut cream “when puréed with brown sugar and vanilla”.