A social media chef reinvents American classics with an Asian twist: NPR

The culinary series is as fun as it is cathartic. Frankie Gaw has come up with fun brand names and designs to accompany every meal.

Frankie Gaw

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Frankie Gaw

Toasted Sesame Cheerios. A Pop-Tart topped with strawberry lychee frosting. And a Lunchable which includes fried pork gua bao, cucumber salad and Yakult.

Frankie Gaw’s social media page is full of videos of creations like these, items you typically won’t find at your local American grocery store.

That’s the whole point, says Gaw, creator of Taiwanese American cuisine and author of the cookbook. First generation.

“I wondered, in an alternate universe, where the world was much more inclusive and welcoming of all these diverse flavors, what are the things that Asian Americans would want to see?” he said.

Gaw spoke with NPR about the birth of his hit social media cooking series “Turning American classics Asian” and how it originated as a tribute to his family and upbringing in the Midwest.

The grocery store seemed stuck in time

The idea came about after a visit to his local supermarket. While browsing the aisles, Gaw noticed that much of the food stored on the shelves looked like what he had seen as a child 20 years ago. Meanwhile, ingredients like soy sauce and miso were still strictly grouped in the “Asian” or “international” aisles.

“Restaurants have adopted more Asian ingredients, and it feels like grocery stores have stayed the same,” Gaw said.

For many immigrants and children of immigrants, food is an integral part of identity. For Gaw, being straddled between the “Asian” section and the rest of the grocery store was also symbolic of his upbringing in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Growing up, Gaw felt like he was living a double life. In public, Gaw enjoyed chicken nuggets and fries from McDonald’s. At home, he enjoyed his grandmother’s beef noodle soup. It took him a while to embrace his dual-taste palette.

Years later, in his Seattle apartment, Gaw began experimenting with his childhood favorites. He tinkered with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup and turned it into congee. He infused mac and cheese with miso. He went so far as to design the packaging for each meal as if he owned a food company.

Gaw shared his preparations on social media. It took off. Her food and experiences at the grocery store resonated with people, especially other Asian Americans.

“It was a surprise. I didn’t realize how many people had similar experiences to mine,” he said.

A love letter to your child

“Turning American classics into Asian” isn’t just about Gaw’s appreciation for Asian flavors and ingredients, or his disagreement with American staples. Instead, it’s Gaw’s way of paying homage to both — and, on a larger scale, to the experiences of Asian Americans.

“I’ve always straddled that kind of in-between space,” he said. “Growing up in the Midwest, I never felt Asian enough. But then, being with my Asian family, I didn’t feel American enough.

If matcha-flavored Twinkies or strawberry-lychee Pop-Tarts had been around when Gaw was younger, he thinks it would have helped him get through that in-between experience.

“If I was in a generic American grocery store and saw rice cakes, I think that would have helped me break down the walls of, ‘Oh, that only exists in my house,'” he said. -he declares. “And I could have existed entirely in the world.”

The project also concerns his family and his childhood in the Midwest.

Gaw’s journey into cooking and her first cookbook was motivated by her father, who died in 2014 from lung cancer. Revisiting the old dishes of his father and paternal grandmother was a way to grieve and keep the memory of his father alive, Gaw said.

In this cooking series, he also remembers the time spent with his mother. It’s thanks to her that Gaw was able to indulge in Lunchables, Twinkies and Pop-Tarts as a child. She wanted to make sure he would fit in and make friends.

“My mom would stock the entire pantry, so that when I came in at lunchtime, I was like the number one kid in the cafeteria with the best lunch,” he said.

The project also stems from Gaw’s Midwestern roots. In his neighborhood, restaurants were synonymous with fast food and Olive Garden was the place to go on special occasions.

Late nights with his parents at the McDonald’s drive-thru were common when he was a child, Gaw said, because his parents were often exhausted after long hours at work. “It reminded us how hard they must have worked,” he said.

In Gaw’s version of a Happy Meal, he steams buns and pairs ground pork with scallions and ginger, topping it all off with a crunchy chili ketchup.

As he cooks, he thinks of his father, his mother, his grandparents – and the comfort these dishes would have brought them as they adjusted to life in America.

“I think they always felt like they were on the outside,” he said. “Seeing their food at a fast food place, I think that would have made them feel like they had a seat at the table.”