Jarrett Wrisley

Jarrett Wrisley hails from Allentown, Pennsylvania. For the past seven years, he's been working as a writer in Asia, though he still dreams of greasy cheese steaks. More

Jarrett Wrisley hails from Allentown, Pennsylvania. For the past seven years, he's been working as a writer in Asia, though he still dreams of (and occasionally returns for) greasy cheese steaks. Jarrett's first trip to Asia came as a college student, when he traveled to Beijing to study Mandarin Chinese. He returned to China after graduation, and began writing about Chinese food in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. After a six-month stint in Chengdu, he moved on to Shanghai, where he worked as a food critic and magazine editor for four years before striking out on his own. After six years in China, he recently moved to Bangkok, where yellow-clad protesters immediately shut down the airport where he had just landed. Luckily for him, he couldn't leave—and now intends to stay. Jarrett is presently working on a series of modern Chinese cookbooks with Hong Kong chef Jereme Leung and writing features that focus on food and culture in Asia. He'll be bouncing around the region as much as possible and writing about things he encounters along the way. His blog trains an eye on food but addresses other cultural phenomena, tidbits of travel, and the oddball politics of East Asia.

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Busting a Food Myth: Wine Really Does Go With Thai Cuisine

Busting a Food Myth: Wine Really Does Go With Thai Cuisine

A wine dinner at a Bangkok restaurant proves an enigmatic Irishman wrong about the relation of wine to Asian food More »

Recipe: Soul Food Mahanakorn's Lamb Grapow

This lamb grapow recipe yields a simple street-style stir-fry of chopped meat, tiny Thai garlic cloves, chili, and pungent holy basil More »

A New Restaurant's Biggest Crisis

A New Restaurant's Biggest Crisis

The owner of Bangkok's recently opened Soul Food Mahanakorn weighs his toughest decision thus far: whether to fire a manager—and risk losing the entire staff More »

One Month in, a Restaurateur Tinkers With the Machine

One Month in, a Restaurateur Tinkers With the Machine

Glitches and unending work have weighed on Soul Food Mahanakorn's owner—but his first weeks have all been worth it More »

The Big Day: After Months of Work, a Restaurant Opens

The Big Day: After Months of Work, a Restaurant Opens

Not even a flood can stop our first-time restaurateur as he triumphantly opens Soul Food Mahanakorn More »

Dad at His Side, a Restaurateur Perseveres

Dad at His Side, a Restaurateur Perseveres

Building a restaurant abroad can seem impossible—but not if your contractor father flies 12,000 miles to pitch in More »

To MSG or Not to MSG?

To MSG or Not to MSG?

Monosodium glutamate is everywhere in Asia. But is it the cooking equivalent of steroids? A restaurateur decides whether he wants his chicken to be juiced. More »

A Restaurateur's First Mate

A Restaurateur's First Mate

Thanapat "Pat" Chamuangkul is more than a manager. He's a cultural guide for a restaurant owner in a strange land. More »

The Name Game: A Restaurateur's Struggle

The Name Game: A Restaurateur's Struggle

A name doesn't matter, or does it? An entrepreneur finds inspiration in other businesses—including "Reggae Chicken." More »

Thailand's Other Protests: Pro-Sustainable Food

Thailand's Other Protests: Pro-Sustainable Food

The rural communities that fueled the Red Shirt movement are also calling for an end to industrial agriculture. Slide Show More »

In Bangkok, Cooking in a Time of Chaos

In Bangkok, Cooking in a Time of Chaos

Trapped in his house as Molotov cocktails and bullets fill his city, a soon-to-be restaurateur finds solace in food More »

Spicy, Fishy, Sour: Cooking in Southern Thailand

Spicy, Fishy, Sour: Cooking in Southern Thailand

How to demystify an in-your-face regional cuisine? Dive into a kitchen and stem 14 pounds of chilies per day. Slide Show More »

Among Thailand's Failed Eateries, Finding Hope

Among Thailand's Failed Eateries, Finding Hope

When a budding restaurateur searches Bangkok for a home for his business, imagination sustains him as much as food More »

Touched by a Chef: A Thai Slow Food Movement

Touched by a Chef: A Thai Slow Food Movement

How Thomas Keller inspired a student to make perfect frozen desserts—and try to revitalize Thailand's cuisine More »

A Bitter Thai Cuisine, Seasoned by the Past

A Bitter Thai Cuisine, Seasoned by the Past

Current events recall northeastern Thailand's difficult history—as does jim jeow, a sauce made with digestive juices More »

Recipe: Gaeng Om (Northeastern Thai Curry)

Halfway between a soup and a curry, this Isaan recipe is often served with grilled meats as a cleansing herbal tonic More »

In Thailand's Northeast, Simple, Honest Food

In Thailand's Northeast, Simple, Honest Food

Like its people, Isaan's cuisine is direct and feisty: enlivened with chilies, herbs, and good humor. Slide Show More »

Recipe: Moo Yang Naam Tok (Thai Pork Salad)

Meaning "grilled pork waterfall," the words refer to a warm dish of grilled meat, spicy dressing, and herbs More »

A Writer's Risk: The Restaurant Life

A Writer's Risk: The Restaurant Life

After sampling street food from Shanghai to Bangkok, the author begins his next adventure: selling it himself. More »

Sausage-Making on the Mekong River

Sausage-Making on the Mekong River

Most outsiders probably don't associate Thai cooking with charcuterie--but they should. SLIDE SHOW  I More »

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