Meet Emily Chow from Boston! Go behind the recipe of the Yuenyeung Dalgona Tiramisu Kit, part of our Asian American & Pacific Islander Collection. 15% of proceeds will be donated to the AAPI Community Fund.
We spoke with Emily about her recipe and her story as an Asian-American baker!
K: How long have you been baking?
E: I've enjoyed baking since I was a kid, but staying at home during the pandemic gave me lots of time to sharpen up my skills and explore new ideas.
K: Have you had any formal training?
E: None, unless you count reading Claire Saffitz's "Dessert Person" over and over!
K: What does Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?
E: We celebrate our heritage every day in countless different ways. APAHM is simply another opportunity to honor the history and culture of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
K: How did your identity as an Asian American affect you growing up?
E: When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to Hong Kong to visit our extended family. I remember feeling amazed at the fact that there was a big city where everyone looked like me. I hadn't even known that such a place could exist, outside of the small Chinatown that my family would frequent on the weekends. I was so accustomed to looking different from the people at school and in my hometown. It hadn't occurred to me that this wasn't the case everywhere else.
That trip was one of the many experiences that shaped my identity as I was growing up. I loved going on subsequent visits to Hong Kong, but I also loved the feeling of arriving home in Boston after a long trip. I started to realize that part of being Asian-American means finding a sense of belonging in more than one place - whether it's the U.S., or Hong Kong, or somewhere in between, or somewhere else entirely.
K: How has being Asian American impacted you in the culinary world?
E: When I bake, I draw a lot of inspiration from my childhood. Naturally, the flavors and textures of both American and Chinese food find their way into what I make. (One of my recent experiments was salted sesame blondies - but I was a bit heavy-handed with the sesame oil, and the taste was very reminiscent of my favorite "doll" instant noodles.)
K: Tell us more about what you chose for this collaboration for our AAPI collection! Why did you choose this recipe for the kit?
E: Tiramisu is a classic dessert, but this is my own spin on it!
K: Were there any things in particular that inspired you in making this recipe?
E: Everyone was whipping up dalgona coffee during the lockdown, including me! The first iteration of this dessert consisted of a vanilla swiss roll from a Chinese bakery, torn into chunks and layered with dalgona coffee. Later on, I changed the cake flavor to tea and added the yuenyeung soak. This coffee and tea dessert is inspired by my memories of eating and drinking in a cha chaan teng.
Yuenyeung Dalgona Tiramisu Kit: https://www.kitsby.com/products/yuenyeung-dalgona-tiramisu-kit
See the collection: https://www.kitsby.com/collections/aapi-collection
Emily's Instagram: @pineapplebyun
