As a part of grocery chain HEB's ongoing Be the Change campaign to advance equity and inclusion, Central Market stores (which are owned by HEB) are celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month throughout the month of May. AAPI-owned brands offered in Central Market stores include Dang Bars, Sinto Gourmet Kimchi, Saongwon Korean Pancakes, Noona’s Ice Cream and at least a dozen more. Another buzzworthy brand you'll find on the shelves is Momofuku, founded by chef David Chang.
Chang will also lead a virtual cooking class from Central Market's online kitchen on Thursday, May 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. During the class, Chang will walk viewers through recipes for roasted mushroom salad and hangar steak. Cost is just $10 per household, so the whole family can join in, although this class comes with a warning for viewers. Like some of his food, Chang's language has been known to be spicy.
For those unfamiliar with chef Chang, he now has a memoir, a cookbook, a podcast to his credit and has appeared in shows on Netflix, Hulu and The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). His career as a restaurateur started in 2004 with one restaurant, Noodle Bar in New York City. Chang has since grown his business into a restaurant group with 15 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, including locations in New York City, Washington DC, Sydney, Toronto, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Chang has earned five James Beard Awards, and his restaurant Momofuku Ko in New York City has retained 2 MIchelin stars consistently since first awarded in 2009.
Other restaurants in the Momofuku group include the bakery Milk Bar and a fast casual chicken restaurant, Fuku. If that last one sounds familiar, you may remember its short-lived presence as a not-so-hot ghost kitchen in Dallas from last April. Last month, Chang relaunched the concept in the Dallas area last month with a new ghost kitchen partner, with (in my opinion) decidedly better results. My order from the Irving location on its first day of business brought a hot (and very spicy) chicken sandwich right to my door.
If you're craving food from Chang that's a little more creative than a fried chicken sandwich, Central Market's virtual cooking class might appeal. From the website, you can learn more about the course and register through either the Lovers Lane or Plano location. The provided shopping list for the class includes all necessary ingredients, as well as suggested wine and saké pairings. Fill your shopping basket online for pickup at any Central Market or shop in-store.
Among the necessary ingredients, you'll find Momofuku Savory Seasoned Salt, which is just one of the Momofuku products sold at Central Market. Other Momofuku products available at Central Market include three varieties of noodles and two other seasoned salt options.
If you'd like to turn your evening into a complete Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage celebration, there's probably no better way to do it than with food. You can shop from a wide selection of Asian-owned brands and products offered at Central Market. Some of these products are new-to-market, while others were already customer favorites. In addition to highlighting these products during the month of May, Central Market will also feature products including Katsu sandos and banh mi sandwiches as well as bamboo, bonsai, monkey trees and more.
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