Junzi — Food that Moves us Forward
“In times like this, we in the hospitality business can only continue to do what we know best: to cook, serve, and nourish. Just because there’s a crisis out there, doesn’t mean what we eat at home can’t be opportunities for creative collaborations and cultural exploration.”
Junzi takeout bags
One of the things that has surprised and inspired me the most over these past few months is witnessing how eateries of all sizes have been able to innovate and fight against the seemingly insurmountable challenges that COVID-19 has presented to the restaurant industry. Michelin-star establishments such as Carbone and Cote have pivoted to delivery models, dim sum houses such as Nom Wah Tea Parlour have started selling frozen dumplings in bulk for delivery, and popular chains such as Xian Famous Foods have started selling DIY meal kits.
However, the most innovative and impressive move, in my opinion, was made by Junzi Kitchen. Dubbed by Vogue as the “Sweetgreen of Chinese Food”, Junzi Kitchen is a local, fast-casual chain of “New Chinese” restaurants that started as an incubator project at Yale with the ambition of creating healthy, good-tasting Chinese food made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Their classic menu consists of customizable noodle bowls and chūn bǐng(1), although they’ve recently introduced rice bowls and salads.
Chinese Food is Good for You
I had originally heard about Junzi from one of my coworkers who went to Yale for undergrad. I was particularly intrigued about the concept of “healthy” Chinese food, as Chinese food has had a reputation in the West as being greasy, chock-full of MSG and generally just bad for you. My office orders group lunch every day, but we only ever order Chinese food on Fridays because people complain that it’s a “gut bomb” and that it’s “too heavy” for a weekday meal. Funny concept, since billions of Chinese people all over the world eat Chinese food every meal of every day and are perfectly functional. Unfortunately, the reputation of Chinese food as being “unhealthy” or a “cheat meal” has permeated the American psyche (case in point: Chinese Restaurant Syndrome is a real term in the Merriam Webster dictionary), and many Americans won’t even visit a Chinese restaurant unless they have a “no MSG” sign displayed in the window.
I could get into a whole discussion about how MSG has been unfairly demonized, but I’ll save that for a later date. Chefs like David Chang and food writers like Harold McGee have spoken and written extensively about this subject, so, for now, you can read about it here and here.
A few restaurants have tried to capitalize on the “fear” of Chinese food by introducing “cleaner” Chinese food, but were unsuccessful because they failed to make an effort to understand and respect the culture and history behind traditional Chinese cooking. Lucky Lee’s, a former Greenwich Village restaurant run by nutritionist Arielle Haspel, closed down within a year of opening-- likely at least partially due to an onslaught of backlash it had faced for the way the restaurant was marketed (the exact cause of the restaurant’s demise is unknown, and there are likely many other factors that led the owners to decide to shut the restaurant down, but it is widely speculated that the seemingly racist marketing strategy had a part to play).
In one Instagram post that was later deleted, the caption read: “We heard you’re obsessed with lo mein but rarely eat it. You said it makes you feel bloated and icky the next day? Well, wait until you slurp up our HIGH lo mein. Not too oily. Or salty.” (2) The comment section was immediately flooded with people pointing out that the caption implied that traditional Chinese food was “icky” and undesirable, and that the owner was profiteering off a fear of Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. While I personally don’t believe that the owner had any ill will, I do think that this unfortunate instance of insensitivity illustrates the importance of understanding the culture that you are representing. The line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation can be thin, and the best way to avoid crossing the line is to take the time to educate oneself about the history behind each country / region’s unique cuisine.
Volume 14: Five Elements of the Chinese Pantry ($32)
Clockwise from the top left:
Vinegar - Hot and sour soup with simmered littleneck clams, wood ear mushrooms and Zhenjiang vinegar
Tea - Tender beef brisket braised in pu’er tea red sauce
Salt - Cured celtuce medallions and picked Hunan peppers tossed in wasabi and white soy
Soy Sauce - Steamed Tofu skin stuffed with tofu, lima beans and ground pork belly
Oil - Egg noodles tossed in abalone sauce, XO, smoked chive oil and Chaozhou chili oil (my fave!)
Junzi Kitchen is one restaurant that not only seeks to introduce healthy Chinese food to the Western world, but also aims to stay true to its Chinese roots and maintain the authenticity behind each dish. Rather than positioning itself as a restaurant that is reinventing Chinese food and making it “healthier” (which in and of itself implies that Chinese food is inherently “unhealthy”), it aims to highlight the healthy aspects of Chinese eating that have existed for centuries. Just like how not all American food is inherently unhealthy, not all Chinese food is inherently unhealthy. For example, when native Chinese people like my parents think of American cuisine, they typically think of burgers, pizza or steak. When I visit my hometown of Chongqing, “let’s get xī cān” (xī cān(3) refers to Western food) typically means “let’s go get some burgers”. However, that doesn’t mean that burgers, pizza and steak make up 100% of the American diet. The same goes for Chinese cuisine. Just because orange chicken, broccoli beef and lo-mien are what come to mind for most Americans when they think Chinese food, doesn’t mean that the scope of the Panda Express menu represents the extent of Chinese cuisine. Just like how American cuisine has healthy options like avocado toast, kale salads and quinoa bowls, Chinese cuisine is full of healthy options such as liángbàn mù'ěr (wood-ear salad), zhēng shuǐ dàn (steamed egg), dòu huā (savory tofu pudding) and xiānggū jītāng (chicken mushroom soup).
In fact, traditional Chinese cooking is fundamentally rooted in the belief that food has medicinal and healing properties. Food plays a central role in traditional Chinese medicine, which is based on the principle that medicine should be preventative rather than reactive. For centuries, traditional Chinese doctors have used “food therapy”(4) as a way to prevent (rather than treat) chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. The idea behind food therapy is that the body is in a continuous state of flux, and that by eating a well-rounded, balanced diet, you can prevent imbalances that lead to disease by keeping the opposing forces of yin and yang in check.
TLDR; you can stay healthier and live longer by eating a wholesome and balanced diet.
Rather than marketing itself as “re-invented” Chinese food, Junzi incorporates the already healthy elements of traditional Chinese cuisine in its dishes. For example, Junzi’s tomato & egg sauce is derived from a traditional Chinese dish called fānqié chǎo jīdàn (tomato & egg stir fry), which is a nutritious dish that I and most other Chinese kids grew up loving. Their noodles are springy and unfried, an authentic recreation of the noodles enjoyed on a daily basis in the northern regions of China. Their vegetables are fresh and seasonal, which reflects the Chinese food philosophy that “eating well means eating seasonally”(5). True to this philosophy, Junzi’s menu focuses on seasonal vegetables and ancient Chinese grains to create a rich symphony of flavors, textures, and colors. You can read more about their ingredients and vegetable-forward, health-conscious approach on their website.
In an authentic expression of the company’s mission, the Junzi staff poured their faith in the healing abilities of Chinese cooking into the creation of Distance Dining Volume 1: Chinese Food is Good For You (we’ll talk more about Distance Dining in a bit). The menu featured three hallmarks of Chinese cooking: healing chicken broth with red dates, lion’s head meatball (shīzi tóu)(6) with goji-braised cabbage, and a yam and osmanthus (guìhuā) dessert featuring longan fruit, ginger and black sugar.
Volume 13: Creole Chinese x Chef Kia Damon ($32)
Yaka mien with Cajun egg - Yaka mien is a New Orleans twist on Chinese beef noodle soup
Building Bridges with Distance Dining
When COVID-19 hit, Junzi, like all restaurants, was hit hard. Columbia students had fled from the campus, abandoning their Morningside Heights location, and office workers had stopped commuting into the City, impacting their Midtown (Bryant Park) location. However, remarkably, Junzi stood its ground against COVID-19 and fought with everything it had to become stronger than ever before. What was once just a fast-casual lunch spot has become a platform for change and a beacon for hope for the restaurant community.
There were two things that Junzi did that, from my point of view as an outsider, drastically altered its course and contributed to the restaurant's survival and strength as a social and political platform:
The first was their “Share a Meal” program, which provides “healthy, balanced and convenient meals” for healthcare heroes fighting on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic. This program allows delivery customers to donate to the cause by adding “Share a Meal” to their carts during the checkout process. For every $10 donated, Junzi delivers a freshly made noodle or rice bowl into the hands of a frontline healthcare worker. As of June 9th, according to Junzi’s official Instagram account, they have donated almost 6,000 bowls to healthcare workers and have extended the program to accommodate requests from local shelters, as well as essential teams at community activism and non-profit organizations.
The second thing that Junzi did was launch a “crisis delivery pop up” called “Distance Dining” (7) . Distance Dining is not your ordinary delivery meal experience— it’s an entire production that involves chefs from all over the city and highlights the complex relationships between food and identity. Every week, there is a different theme, which usually involves exploring the intersectionality between Chinese food and other food cultures. Each meal consists of three to five impeccably packaged, fully or partially cooked (the majority of the noodles come uncooked in order to prevent the noodles from getting soggy during the delivery process) courses which are meant to be reheated in the comfort and safety of your own home. Each set also comes with a colorful info card that has some background on the history and culture behind each dish on one side and cooking / reheating instructions on the other side. And finally, of course, no Junzi meal would be complete without a White Rabbit candy to top it all off (you can read more about this iconic treat here ).
Volume 9: Korean Chinese x Nowon x Farmshelf ($32)
Top: Jjajanngmyeon with black bean braised pork over fresh flour noodles, with potato, summer squash, cucumber, and danmuji
Bottom: Sweet and sour soup with glass shrimp, clams, octopus and squid; topped with red sorrel; served with guo ba (Chinese crispy rice)
Banchan: Honeyed anchovies, soybean paste cabbage, beansprouts
Every Friday at 7.00pm, Junzi’s head chef Lucas Sin would host an Instagram Live video along with the chefs involved in preparing that week’s dishes to explain how to reheat each course. During the stream, Lucas and friends would share stories about how their unique backgrounds and perspectives have influenced their cooking and how COVID has impacted their businesses. There were frequently discussions about race, culture and about how food encapsulates the intimate relationship between cooking and identity. This was particularly poignant and relevant in Volume 11: West African Chinese and Volume 13: Creole Chinese, which were developed in light of the rejuvenation of the Black Lives Matter movement in June to celebrate the influences that Black culture has had on Chinese cooking and Chinese lives. As a Chinese American immigrant who grew up in the shadow of the model minority myth, these series were especially eye opening and helped me question some of my own pre-existing assumptions about race, privilege and identity.
Volume 5: Chinese-Thai x Fish Cheeks ($28)
The full kit
Volume 5: Chinese-Thai x Fish Cheeks ($28)
Top: 19th Century Khao Soi with Chin Haw style curry broth, egg noodles, minced chicken, pickled cabbage, red onion and crispy egg noodle topping
Bottom: Yunnan beech mushroom shumai steamed with taro, fish sauce and coriander; served with a mushroom chili sauce
Volume 5: Chinese-Thai x Fish Cheeks ($28)
Pào lǔ dá - Creamed coconut dessert with forbidden rice, tapioca, condensed milk, lavender perfumed coconut flakes and coconut melba toast
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to try every week of Distance Dining (I didn’t hear about it until Volume 5, and there were some weeks when I was out of town), but I have tried the majority of the volumes that have been released so far. It would take days to fully summarize my experiences with and thoughts about each volume, so I’ve chosen to feature a couple of my favorite menus throughout this post. My favorite menu was Volume 5: Chinese-Thai, a collaboration with cult-favorite NYC restaurant Fish Cheeks, which featured mushroom shumai with Yunnan beech mushrooms, 19th century khao soi with Chin Haw(8) style curry broth, and pào lǔ dá— a Yunnanese creamed coconut dessert with forbidden rice that originated in Thailand.
Although Distance Dining is over for now, I hope that, through this blog post and other articles, Junzi’s “COVID attitude” can continue to inspire others even after this pandemic is over and that the restaurant’s legacy will live on.
Volume 7: Maylaysian Chinese x Kopitiam ($32)
Top: Criss Cross Shrooms - Kopitiam’s famous curry leaf and red chili stir-fry with Smallhold blue oyster mushrooms, woodear, and lotus; served with coconut rice
Bottom: Lobak - deep fried five-spice pork roll wrapped in tofu skin, served with sesame cured cucumber and a soy dipping sauce
Surprise course: Soy-braised chicken
Tips:
Unfortunately, Distance Dining is over for now, but I would highly recommend checking out their regular menu as well! Their bowls and bings are all customizable, and they have a ton of vegan and vegetarian options!
Notes:
Chūn bǐng translates to “spring pancake”, and is essentially the Chinese version of a crepe or tortilla. It is typically eaten in the northern regions of China during Lìchūn, a holiday celebrating the first of 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunar calendar.
Quote courtesy of Eater
Xī cān refers to Western Food, whereas Zhōng cān refers to Chinese Food. On flights from the US to China, you’ll typically hear the inflight meal options referred to as either Xī cān or Zhōng cān
Article about medicine as food
From the Junzi website
Shīzi tóu, also known as “lion’s head meatballs”, are an oversized Chinese meatball typically made with ground pork. The dish originated in the Jiangsu Province of China and eventually became a staple of Shanghainese cuisine. Click here to learn more
Here are some other articles about Distance Dining if you want to learn more:
Article from the NYT
Article from The New Yorker
Article from NBC
The Chin Haw are Chinese people from Yunnan, a province in southern China, who migrated to Thailand during the 19th century during a period of political unrest