Shrimp with spinach and tofu (leung boon ho mai baw choy dul foo)

Growing up in America, my older brother Douglas and I behaved more like American children than Chinese. It is only now, after nearly fifty years, that I have begun to heed our grandfather's instruction to "Remember China." [...]

In Chinese cooking, every ingredient and dish is imbued with its own brilliance and lore. Passed on through a lifetime of meals, conversations, celebrations, and rituals, every food we ate in our home had a story. [...]

To my mother and my father and, indeed, most Chinese people, selecting farm-fresh produce brings them pure delight and satisfaction. They literally glow, and beam, to bring home choice, blemish-free produce. [...]