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Food and Drinks
PostMagFood & Drink

Instagram, David Chang and Nai Nai chilli crisp: a day in the life of an Asian-American chef bro

  • Emmett Chow spends his time with his ‘ChowFans’ on Instagram, reading foodie books and working at the Lucky Dragon
  • He is busy perfecting his Nai Nai chilli crisp, and getting ready for a journey to the ‘852’, where he’ll be trying Hong Kong’s best food offerings

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Emmett Chow, who disappointed his parents when he decided to become a chef, communes with his ChowFans on Instagram, perfecting his chilli crisp recipe and dreaming about his Hong Kong trip. Illustration: Kevin Wong
Jenny Lau

Inspired by an amalgamation of the many personalities she has encountered in the world of food, Jenny Lau created the character of the modern Asian-American “chef bro”. Any likeness to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Emmett Chow wakes to the sound of his mom passive aggressively vacuuming outside his room. With no time to waste, he starts the day with scripture study: reading a few pages of The Noma Guide to Fermentation.

Then he hops onto Instagram for his weekly live-stream, #chewingtheporkfat. It’s his way of checking in on the community (7k followers and rising – he calls them the ChowFans, geddit?), who in turn keep him humble.

Mostly, it’s a way to offload things on his chest. Today’s topic: a 20-minute vendetta against anyone who says “bao buns”.

That’s so dumb, like, you wouldn’t say “bagel bread”.

The Noma Guide to Fermentation by Rene Redzepi and David Zilber.
The Noma Guide to Fermentation by Rene Redzepi and David Zilber.
A quick scroll of Instagram to catch up on food world gossip. The latest debacle: everyone’s hating on David Chang. In Emmett’s opinion Dave isn’t all that bad, he’s done hella good things. (He’ll keep that opinion on the down-low, though.)
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