J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

It's good to recognize your flaws, but it's also good to recognize your skills.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Panko crumbs have tons of surface area, leading to exceptionally crisp coatings.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Good knife skills are lessons you learn over time.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

I have very strong opinions about bagels.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

My first restaurant job was Knight of the Round Grill.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Kombu isn't the only food rich in glutamic acid, though it may be the richest.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

An ice cream sundae isn't complete without a crunchy element.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

The key to a successful Thanksgiving is planning. Know what needs to get done, when it needs to be done, and how…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

The texture of Mexican crema is thinner than that of regular American sour cream, but it also has a more distinct tang…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Like a good grilled cheese, a good quesadilla is one that takes its time cooking, for a thoroughly melted interior and nice,…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Mapo tofu is my favorite food in the world. We always have tofu at home. Like, a lot of it.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

In its pure crystalline form, MSG can be added to soups, stews, sauces, and stocks to add a rounded, savory flavor.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Now, normally I do all my research on existing recipes before I start working on my own version.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

People should eat what they like, even if it's some jalapeno and cheese-covered monstrosity with blueberry cream cheese.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

One of the handiest features of crepes is that you can cook the pancakes all the way through and refrigerate them, to…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Air is the enemy of most foods and can increase their rate of spoilage. By transferring them to smaller containers, you not…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

You can cook a limited number of sous vide recipes in a beer cooler, but if the person you're buying for wants…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

In those rare cases in which you have a dull knife and cooking to do, but no ceramic in sight, the top…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Organizing your fridge for maximum efficiency - in terms of food shelf life, food safety, and easy access to the things you…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

So in order to make a large volume of sausage, you need to have a dedicated refrigerated room, where you can grind…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Brussels sprouts are unique creatures. When cooked poorly, they can give off a strongly sulfurous aroma that many find unpleasant. But if…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

See, tomato skins are really good at keeping tomato juices inside the tomato, but they have one defect: Moisture can escape from…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

There are a number of things that can cause your fridge to break down or lose power: electrical shorts or surges, clogged…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

I take my daughter to the San Mateo farmers market every Saturday morning, and despite repeated advice to the contrary, I usually…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Symbols have power and meaning and can mean different things to different people at different times and in different contexts.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Frying is essentially a drying process. Batters and breadings are formulated to dry out in a particularly graceful way.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

2015 was simultaneously the year in which I consumed the most popcorn of my life and the year in which I received…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Generally, if two ingredients sound like they're going to taste bad together, they're probably going to taste bad together.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

When planning a Thanksgiving menu, it's always a balancing act between representing all the classics and satisfying all the members of your…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Making sea urchin pasta is a lot like a toddler playing with Play-Doh: There are a million right ways to do it,…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Typically, the thinner the gauge of a pan, the more intense the hot and cool spots that form on its interior, which…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

My job on that first day, like for most green cooks, was official kitchen gofer. Whatever any other cook needed doing, I…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

A tempura batter has a lifespan of only moments before the flour becomes too saturated with water and a fresh batter must…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

The higher the surface area-to-volume ratio of a given amount of meat, the more efficiently it will freeze and the less damage…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Tempura-style batters were originally brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Historically, almost every cookbook and chef have taught that when you're cooking a piece of meat, the first step should be searing.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Different hot sauces fulfill different needs, and I wouldn't want anyone to live in a world in which each fridge held only…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

We host Thanksgiving in my mother's apartment in New York. I don't know if you've seen many New York apartment kitchens, but…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Walk into any Japanese fish market, and you'll see neat rows of sea urchin roe sold in little wooden trays.

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Well, my mom is Japanese. She moved to the U.S. when she was a teenager. And so, her food is - she…

— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt