As a big fan of Asian cooking—and certainly eating it—the super popular blog Rasa Malaysia was one of the first blogs my husband and I were converted to following. It’s easy and approachable take on what could be complex recipes, drill down to the basics. And to super flavor bursts of Asian delights.
As the petite powerhouse behind Rasa Malaysia, Bee Yin Low grew up in a family of great cooks and in a culture where food is a big celebration. She was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia–the food mecca of Malaysia—where Chinese food, Nyonya dishes, Indian curries, Malay sambal and Thai spices all became favorites and have influenced the Asian specialties she creates today.
Bee is a favorite among food bloggers and considers many of them her friends. She’s a driven lady, juggling between being a young mother, a blogging entrepreneur and adding new projects along the way.
And now Bee’s authored the cookbook Easy Chinese Recipes, Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao, featuring over 80 Chinese recipes perfect for the novice cook and anyone that doesn’t have a Chinese restaurant right next door. Her years of preparing these dishes at home helped her narrow down her vast recipe collection, like the super easy—and yes, I will tell you that you WILL need nimble fingers—Gyoza recipe. Little purses of heaven I tell you. Just watch Bee and her busy fingers in the video below.
Oh, and she may call this her “blooper reel” but I think it shows off her real personality, and her love for that little bucket of chunk baby of hers!
Thanks Bee for being our foodie crush!
1. Describe your blog in 3 words:
Easy Asian Recipes.
2. If you could be one food blogger other than yourself, who would you be?
Robyn Eckhardt of Eating Asia.
3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?
Not really blogs, but Foodgawker, Tastespotting, and Tasteologie because they allow me to discover new and amazing food blogs.
4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?
My wok.
5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?
It was probably egg tarts, which I shared the recipe in the cookbook. My egg tart custard was sinking after removing from the oven, but I finally perfected the “no-sink” egg tart recipe.
6. What did you have for dinner last night?
Fried shrimp fritters with sweet chili sauce, chicken with star anise and dried chilies in clay pot and a pot of nourishing watercress soup. With steamed jasmine rice.
7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you:
I am multi-lingual and speak five languages.
8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating:
Eating.
9. You signed the deal to create your first cookbook two years ago, and then created the recipes and photographs while you were pregnant. What was your biggest challenge during the process and your number one tip for aspiring cookbook authors?
The biggest challenge I had was the lack of props. Great photography starts with great and relevant props, that’s the reason why professional stylists bring suitcases of props when they work. Once you have a beautiful setting with nice props, food photography becomes relatively easy.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have many props to play with. Also, I was limited by my pregnancy belly. I couldn’t take the photographs at certain angles, for examples, ones that required me to stoop down, climb up on a chair for a top-down shot, etc.
My number tip of aspiring cookbook authors is that content is KING, create great and unique unique and great things will happen.
10. The one secret ingredient to your success is:
I am driven.
To celebrate the launch of her cookbook, Bee is pulling an Oprah and making her readers oh so giddy. Head over to her site to enter her Zojirushi rice steamer giveaway , signed cookbook giveaway and a ManPans stir fry wok giveaway. Contest ends Oct. 16, 2011.
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