1. PORK DUMPLINGS WITH SCALLION AND SOY DIPPING SAUCE
Made with a half pound of fatty ground pork (only 85¢!), freshly grated ginger, scallion ribbons, chopped cilantro and a splash of soy sauce, the stuffing is spooned into wonton wrappers ($1.39), sealed, steamed and flash-fried. Though Fernandes scraps the first batch after the pot stickers actually stick to the pot, she advises amateur chefs to forge ahead: “The good thing about cooking at home is that nothing has to be perfect—unless you’re having Anthony Bourdain over.”
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2. SAUTÉED BABY BOK CHOY
When you’ve got greens this good, keep it simple. Fernandes halves three bouquets of Shanghai baby bok choy (21¢), washes out the grit and browns ’em in smoking-hot vegetable oil with julienned ginger. The result is “bitter, slightly sweet and deliciously charred.”
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3. EGG NOODLES
Fernandes tosses a bundle of thin egg noodles ($1.69) with minced garlic, sliced red onion, scallions and soy sauce. A smattering of jalapeño makes the dish “nice and spicy,” and raw bean sprouts give it “moisture and crunch.”
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4. STEAMED FISH IN BANANA LEAF
Fernandes steams four ounces of fish ($1.92)—she recommends bass or snapper—in a banana leaf with ginger. Afterward, she bathes the fish with a handmade ginger-caramel sauce. Her secret ingredient? Tiparos Thai fish sauce ($1.19). “It’s pungent and very hard-core.”
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5. BANANA SPRING ROLLS
“I’m no baker, but I love making chefly desserts,” says Fernandes, who uses her remaining wontons to wrap a filling of crushed peanuts, gooey caramel and ultraripe baby bananas. She tops the lightly fried spring rolls with a plume of whipped cream, a mound of green apple matchsticks and a drizzling of caramel.
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