How about some far-out Asian flavors between all the holiday fare?

We are thrilled to offer some Filipino favorites from the incredible chef and human, Ria Dolly Barbosa. Chances are you’ve been impressed with Ria’s food before, either at Canele, Forage, Sqirl, or Go Get ‘Em Tiger. But you might not know that she opened a proper Filipino joint called Petit Peso during the pandemic, and it’s on the LA Times’ 101 best restaurants list (to be published this Sunday.) 

Ria is making us a batch of her coconuty chicken adobo and frozen lumpia, little Filipino egg rolls filled with either seasoned pork or vegan impossible “meat” and tightly rolled in a thin wrapper that’s crispy when fried. Lumpia are most often served with a simple sweet chili sauce, but we want to eat them wrapped in lettuce leaves with lots of herbs from the box and dipped in nuoc cham, the essential Vietnamese condiment made from fish sauce, chili, garlic, vinegar, or lime juice and sugar. So we’re offering Red Boat’s nuoc cham concentrate, the latest product made with what is widely considered to be the best fish sauce on the planet. 

Since we’re going to have some nuoc cham around, we figured we should get some bone-in pork chops from Peads and Barnetts. (If you don’t want to go Asian, these chops would also be delicious with the persimmon vinaigrette recipe we provided last week or the apple butter we sold the week before.) We’re also getting branzino fillets which we love with a bright, crunchy, Asian-inspired salad.

And what you’ve all been waiting for…. Mel’s International House of Spatchcock is back with our Korean-style gochujang chicken. We spatchcock and marinate it, you grill or roast it. It’s a bold, sweet and tangy family favorite. Make it a meal with a pot of koshihikari rice and our marinated cucumber and kale salads, which are ready to eat. Perhaps you’ll want some of Gimmedat’s small-batch napa cabbage kimchi with it as well. Jason Kim from Forage is making a vegan Korean miso soup with shitake broth and fresh spinach. And to add to your soup we’ve got local Meiji tofu, handmade in small batches with non-GMO soybeans. We are offering their supreme tofu which is silken, pudding-like, and incredible added to rich soups and stews, as well as their firm block tofu. 

And for something sweet, Jared Made’s frozen, chewy ginger cookies can compliment your Asian-inspired meal or improve any other winter day. Stock up on some of these cookies for Santa, gifts, or spoiled children.

For things to get as a treat or give as a gift, Small Town has selected a couple more organic wines for us. We’ve got Tiberri il Musticco Pet Nat Rose, a natural sparkling rose from Umbria, and Bring It, a versatile, chillable red blend from Swick. Clare Crespo’s 2022 Hurray Today illustrated calendars bring cheer, just like Clare. This is a working hypothesis, but we are fairly confident we can scientifically prove it. And we now have Farm To Curb gift certificates available for purchase as well!

This week’s box will have larger lettuces, scallions, and herbs for wrapping your Filipino egg rolls, limes, and carrots to add to your nuoc cham, Japanese sweet potatoes, baby broccoli, Asian pears, and more.