If you’ll be in Los Angeles or its vicinity on Saturday, August 4, check out the LuckyRice Festival at the Helms Bakery in Culver City. It’s not your average Asian night market (no cheap electronics or knick knacks will be on sale!) but instead, there’ll be fabulous food and drink prepared by a bevy of stellar chefs and mixologists.
My friend Danielle Chang is the founder of LuckyRice, a media and marketing company focused on Asian cuisine and culture. She and her team have been putting on sold-out Asian celebrations in New York since 2009, the centerpiece of which is an annual night market called the LuckyRice Festival.
There are few events in the U.S. that spotlight Asian food and culture in such a cool manner. Danielle’s goal is to offer fun and engaging events that position Asian foodways as something for everyone. They’re not ghettoized affairs.
A couple years ago we chatted about expanding LuckyRice beyond its NY home base. In 2012, Danielle realized her goal of taking the event to Las Vegas and Los Angeles too.
Here’s photo recap of the May 2012 LuckyRice Festival under the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NYC:
The inaugural LuckyRice LA is being hosted by Sang Yoon (Lukshon and Father’s Office). He and Danielle have carefully curated the lineup of amazing local and out-of-town chefs to provide the food. You’ll be nibbling on tastings by:
Susur Lee (Top Chef Masters and Chef of Lee’s, Toronto; Chinois, Singapore and Zentan, Washington, DC), Angelo Sosa (Social Eatz, New York), Chai Chaowasaree (Honolulu, Hawaiian Airlines), Erik Bruner-Yang (Toki Underground, Washington DC), Andrea Nguyen (Santa Cruz) alongside renown local chefs such as Susan Feninger (STREET), Bryant Ng (Spice Table), Jet Tila (Charleston), Kris Yenbamroong (Night + Market), Mohan Ismail (RockSugar), Diep Tran (Good Girl Dinette) and Jenee Kim (Parks BBQ), Jitlada, Coolhaus and Eat Cake Cafe
Yes, that’s me in the list. I’ll be doing a couple of cool Asian Tofu dishes, signing and selling books, and chatting with guests about Asian cooking, ingredients -- whatever people want to ask about food. I’m flattered to be featured along with some of the best chefs in the nation. I worked for Susan in the early 1990s, and am friends with Bryant, Kris, Mohan, and Diep.
Let’s not forget the beverages. (Who can eat without drinking?) LuckyRice LA will feature 16 custom cocktails along with Singha Beer, craft sakes, shochus and homemade ginger ales. The mixologists for the evening include:
H. Joseph Ehrmann (Elixir, San Francisco), Orson Salicetti (Social Eatz, New York), Rosie Ruiz (Big Bar), Jaymee Mandeville (Drago Centro), Joseph Brooke (Mixology 101) and Gary Hayward (Bombay Sapphire)
It’s going to be a fabulous event. For details and to buy tickets, check the LuckyRice event page.
Or, toss your hat into the ring for a chance to win tickets. LuckyRice participants receive complimentary VIP tickets, and I’ve decided to give my pair away to one of you.
The two tickets are valued at $88 each (actually closer to $100 each with the taxes and processing fees). If you’re the winner, you get to bring a guest, enter 30 minutes early ahead of the crowd, and enjoy the VIP chef lounge all night long. A darn good deal, eh?
Here’s the giveaway lowdown:
Prize: 1 pair (2 VIP tickets) for LuckyRice LA Festival
Who is eligible to enter: You don’t have to live in Los Angeles to enter. However, you should be able to attend the event. If you cannot attend the event, you can pass the tickets to friends. They are barcoded so duplicates won't be tolerated.
How to enter: Simply leave a comment on this post. What’s your favorite tofu dish? Or, what’s your favorite Asian ingredient or chef? Include your email address so that I can contact you directly if you win.
Can you enter more than once? Yes, if you’re a fan of the VWK Facebook page, follow me on Twitter or have joined me on Pinterest, you can enter an extra time for each of those social media networks. If we’re buddies on all three, then shoot, you can enter 4 times. If you’re doing multiple entries, let me know who you are by including something like [FB], [Twitter], or [Pinterest] in your comment.
Deadline to enter: Saturday, July 28, noon (PST)
Selection, notification, and claiming the tickets: The winner will be randomly selected via Random.org and notified by email. The winner will be announced next Monday, July 30. I’ll send the winner the tickets. Then, it's just a matter of showing up at the event on August 4! If you’d like more details, read the official giveaway rules.
Good luck with winning the LuckyRice tickets!
Related posts: (if you're in the night market spirit)
- Vancouver Night Market
- Taipei Street Food
- Stir-fried clams with bean sauce (a street food/night market treat)
- Jackfruit, Toddy Palm, Pomegranate and Coconut Sweet Soup (che Thai, a street food or night market treat)
- Corn and Coconut Sweet Soup (che bap, a Viet snack that you can often buy from street vendors)
Ilene
I loved baked tofu with a peanut sauce.
Mary Ann Burgess
I'm learning some of the ways to use red miso and we love it.
Danielb
There are so many. Whether it be sambal (badjak or olek), ketjap manis, or dried cuttlefish. Growing up in California, Hawaii, & the Netherlands i was exposed to so many amazing ingredients. Yet as an adult am always discovering more. As a child my mom would make baked tofu cutlets, dredged in nutritional yeast,salt,garlic and pepper. Done with a bit of oil and sriracha, it is one of my faves to this day.
Danielb
2: One of my new faves to make at home is mock eel, done with shitake. The sauce is Mirin,Shriracha, garlic, ginger, shallot lemongrass, sesame, sugar, vinegar & soy.
vi nguyen
I love fried tofu stuffed with shiitake mushrooms with fish sauce and rice! It is the ultimate healthy comfort food for me!
jen maiser
1. I love tofu in so many preparations, but one of my favorites is simple hiyayakko.
jen maiser
2. Another fave is the way that Musha, here in Torrance, makes their tofu nuggets. Super flavorful. I have to figure out how they do it.
jen maiser
3. Favorite Asian ingredient #1: sesame (in all forms -- roasted sesame paste is one of my secret ingredients in the kitchen, but also love sesame oil).
jen maiser
4. Favorite Asian ingredient #2: Ginger. Again, in all forms.
Thanks for doing this, A! Awesome giveaway.
Ardent Quach
i love love stinky tofu from Tofu King. it smells but it will leave a YUM sound out from your mouth..
Giang
My favorite tofu dish is the fried tofu with mushroom and noodles from Vinh Loi Tofu in Reseda! Thanks!
Dong Shin
I love all the spicy dishs but by far Mapo tofu is my favorite.
D Shafer
My favorite ingredient is coconut milk! Add it to beef, chicken, fish -- everything tastes wonderful with it. The only caveat: it's hard not to drink half the can before cooking!!
D Shafer
I am also a FB fan!
Danvy
Love fried tofu with a peanut dipping sauce. Yum. great giveaways, thanks.
Jonah
Mabo Tofu! And love Thai peppers.
Margaret Martin
Mapo tofu. Hands down.
bang
I love silky tofu with ginger syrup serve as a hot dessert during dim sum
xuanie
Cilantro and chili peppers. They make everything taste better.
kolpin
my favorite ingredient are chinese dried black mushrooms...they're so meaty and delicious, they put poor old button mushrooms to shame!
thx for the giveaway!
kolpin
i'm your newest twitter follower now!
@kolpin4680
my email is kolpin4680 at gmail dot com
tweebh
My favorite tofu dish is Dau Hu Nhoi Thit – Braised Stuffed Tofu
Rian N.
I love pepper-salt tofu - that is, deep-fried cubes tossed with plenty of salt, pepper, sugar, and sliced jalapeno. Yum!
Zuri
For tofu it depends on what I'm in the mood for...panang curry with deep friend tofu, but mostly I like it when tofu is fresh and then deep fried.
Von
My favorite tofu dish is hands down mapo tofu. Watercress and tofu soup is a close second.
Christina C.
My favorite tofu dish is the fried tofu with mushrooms from V K Food in Rosemead.
Christina C.
[Twitter] I follow you on Twitter. (@kawaiidragon88)
Julie
I think my favorite is agedashi tofu because of all the textures involved--soft, starchy and crispy.
Christina C.
[Pinterest] I follow you on Pinterest.
Julie
I just started following you on Twitter! My second favorite tofu dish is Sichuan braised tofu with pork belly.
Elaine
barbecue fried tofu!
Lianne
My favorite ingredient is probably the peeled gingko nuts you find in soups. I always loved finding them at the bottom of the pot. 🙂
[Pinterest] - Lianne Louie
[Twitter] - @Defenestrate
andrea
my favorite tofu dish is agedashi tofu!
Carol W
I love salt and pepper tofu, crunchy on the outside, but silky on the inside. Probably not the healthiest use of tofu, though.
andrea
[Twitter] One of my favorite Asian chefs is Roy Choi! A-Frame is one of my current favorite restaurants.
andrea
[FB] One of my favorite Asian ingredients is shiso leaf. I love the smell so much that sometimes it's my favorite part of a chirashi bowl.
Anh
Favorite savory preparation : Korean Soft tofu soup aka soon tofu
Favorite sweet preparation: Dau Hu Nuoc Duong
Favorite snack: Fried tofu dipped with tuong cu da
Sansai
My favorite tofu dish right now is spicy korean tofu soup. I'd be interested in hearing the favorite Bay Area spots for this from connisseurs of the fine soup. The place I continue to go back to is the restaurant inside Kukje Market in Daly City.
Traci Goodwin
I love cilantro!
rkm
My favorite ingredient is nuoc mam!
Tuyet Nguyen
My favorite tofu is deep fried tofu with a very simple dipping sauce (black vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and sauteed chili crisp) topped with sauteed green onions!!
rose
Lemongrass is my favorite ingredient.
momgateway
Mabo dofu is my favorite
momgateway
I'm following you on FB
momgateway
I'm following you on twitter
momgateway
I'm following you on pinterest
Jessie
Far and away stinky tofu is my favorite tofu dish. It's the Chinese answer to cheese!
Very interesting article about cheese stink vs fermented (insert any food product that Chinese people like to ferment here) stink: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/ft/2011/05/kicking_up_a_stink.html
I'll also be entering on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Katie Nguyen
I love fish sauce and use it practically on everything. However, I love to use it to marinade my fried pork chops or fried chickens because they're more juicy and flavorful than using salt to marinade.
D Shafer
forgot to mention, my FB name is Daniel Budsy
D Shafer
I am a Twitter follower as well! @DanielBudsy
(and I still love coconut milk)