“Expressing ourselves through food not only reflects our complicated identities, it affirms them,” says Jon Kung in his debut cookbook Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third Culture Kitchen. In this episode we talk about how cooking authentically from your own personal experience and freeing yourself from the strict dogma of “traditional cuisine” can take the intimidation out of cooking and keep you truly inspired.

Jon Kung is the popular Chinese American chef, content creator and podcast host who has amassed an online following of more than 2 million people for their unique style of third culture cooking, blending cultural traditions, flavors and ingredients that are meaningful and personal to them. Jon creates instructional yet entertaining cooking videos exploring the vast Chinese diaspora and applying culinary techniques of traditional Chinese cooking (stir-frying, braising, creating broths, using a cleaver) onto global flavors and ingredients. In addition to developing recipes, Jon hosts the podcast 1 For The Table with his close friend, legendary makeup mogul and extraordinary drag queen Kim Chi.