We’re out here celebrating the launch of Hetty McKinnon’s cookbook, Tenderheart with a lovely & insightful conversation with Hetty and an exclusive Za’atar Ramen recipe from the book!
Hetty Lui McKinnon is a Chinese Australian cook and food writer. A James Beard Foundation finalist, she is the author of five bestselling cookbooks, including Tenderheart, the much-loved and award-winning To Asia, With Love, not to mention her genre-defining Community. Hetty is also the editor and publisher of multicultural food journal Peddler and the host of the magazine’s podcast The House Specials. She is a regular recipe contributor to New York Times Cooking, The Washington Post, Bon Appetit (check our Hetty’s ode to Matbucha), Epicurious & more.
Name: Hetty McKinnon Occupation: Cookbook author, writer, recipe developer, vegetable enthusiast Residency: (South) Brooklyn, New York City
What is your favorite smell? The smell of ginger on my mother's hands. Growing up, her hands always smelled of ginger, because she was always cooking and ginger is so foundational to Cantonese meals. That smell, and the idea of it, brings me so much comfort.
What is your favorite way to spend your time?
I love supermarkets! Which is lucky, in the job I am in, haha. I love exploring supermarkets, especially if I'm in a new city because ingredients are a great window into another culture. Most of all, I love eating a meal with family and friends. It's simple, but it's joyous and real.
What is your favorite childhood food memory?
There are so many. Almost all my childhood memories are associated with food because I guess that is the lens in which I have filtered my consciousness. But one that stands out is the watermelon baskets my father made for our birthdays. He would bring home a massive watermelon from the produce markets where he worked, carve a handle and then use a melon baller to extract all the flesh. He would place all the watermelon balls, plus rockmelon (cantaloupe) and honeydew balls, back into the watermelon basket and then carve a birthday message into the side of the green watermelon rind. It was his labor of love. I think about his watermelon basket a lot.
If you were an animal- which one would you be?
Tiger. In Chinese culture, the tiger is seen as lucky but more importantly, they represent power, generosity, protection and unpredictability. Unpredictability is a huge part of who I am as a person. I love the element of surprise, I have never quite followed the path that people would expect.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Can you ask me that in 20 years? My greatest achievement is not work-related. It is raising my children to be good human beings who are empathetic and care about the world and each other. My kids are all teenagers now and I feel the weight of this responsibility every single day. I have two boys and we talk about being feminists. I remind them constantly. We also talk about racism a lot as our dinner conversation. I need to know that when I send them out into the world, that they are going to be kind, polite, generous, and empathetic. This generation that they are a part of generally doesn't possess a lot of these qualities.
What's your favorite restaurant/ cafe/ bakery?
This is a super hard question. I don't really have FAVOURITES because I like things and places for different reasons. The dish I think about the most in New York is the Mala Dry Pot from The Mala Project because I'm obsessed with how complex (and spicy) the flavors are and the fact I can choose what ingredients I want to use (read: I'm a food control freak). I love the soon tofu from BCD Tofu in K-Town, the e-fu noodles at Congee Village, the cacio e pepe and vegetable dishes at Via Carota, the vibe at Gage & Tollner, everything at Bonnie's.
What is your motto?
I'm not a big motto person, because most of them are so cliche, but one I think about a lot these days is: ”Treat others like you'd like to be treated yourself.” I think in 2023, this is still a lesson that many should heed.
What's your go-to comfort food?
Ginger fried rice
Top pantry essentials in your kitchen?
Olive oil, Maldon Sea Salt, Garlic, Ginger, and an overabundant spice pantry!
Where do you shop for specialty food items?
All over. I do big shops from big supermarkets in Chinatown or Sunset Park every now and then, but I mainly stock up so I don't have to go too often. I order online from Asian Veggies, an excellent online supermarket with Asian brands and produce. I love H-Mart if I'm in the area. I purchase most of my spices online from artisan producers. Spices are my one indulgence because I think they are so important to weeknight cooking and I don't feel like supermarket brands offer the freshest blends.
What's your favorite hiding place?
Hide? Like in the bathroom? Nah, I never feel a need to hide, but I do love being at home. I have become such a homebody since Covid. I love and appreciate my home so much more and it's truly my cozy happy place.
What did you eat for breakfast?
I start with black coffee, then a smoothie made with coconut water, celery and berries - the celery juice thing is a bit weird but i started with my brother who espoused how good it made him feel, and now my sister and I both start the day with it too.
Where in the world would you most like to live?
A constant question, in my mind! I can't answer that. I have lived in many places, and I like to think that there are still more places I could live but I don't think there is just one. The world is so vast, I never want to feel like I've run out of places to explore. I will forever be an outsider.
What is your favorite cookbook? This changes all the time, but right now, I'm reading and loving How To Eat by Nigella. I love cookbooks that we can read as a book.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
When I'm traveling with my family! My kids are curious travelers, we have been all over with them and they love experiencing new places and trying new foods. I feel very very close when we travel and that togetherness is something I really crave.
If you could collaborate with any person on a project. Who and what would it be?
I would like to cook a dinner inspired by the food of the movie In The Mood For Love, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. And my collaborator? My mother....
What is your theme song?
I don't have one song! I have playlists of theme songs. I will say Bitter Sweet Symphony, by The Verve, purely because it's one of the greatest openings to a pop song ever and the song is about beautiful, tragic moments of life, which we all experience as humans but it is these experiences that make us who we are. That was deeper than I expected. Honestly, I just love the song and I kinda think of it as my theme song for Tenderheart.
What is your favorite New York Shuk product? And what do you like to make with it?
That is an impossible question. It is a toss-up between za'atar and Shawarma spice! But I will choose Za'atar because my kids love it and it goes on everything from eggs, avo toast, roasted veggies to noodles!!!!!!!
