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PACK AT IT Ms. Tsai in the kitchen where she prepares meals for New York... — PACK AT IT Ms. Tsai in the kitchen where she prepares meals for New York City seniors.
Photo: Alex Lau for The Wall Street Journal

By Charlotte Druckman

Aug. 18, 2020 3:31 pm ET

EARLIER THIS MONTH, Moonlynn Tsai, co-owner and operator of the Malaysian cafe Kopitiam, in Manhattan’s Chinatown, achieved a major milestone. The Heart of Dinner #LovingChinatown initiative that she launched with her romantic partner, Yin Chang, at the beginning of April exceeded its goal of donating 20,000 meals a week to homebound Chinese seniors across three boroughs of New York City.

Ms. Tsai spends her day off at the organization’s temporary headquarters. The rest of the week, you’ll find her nearby, at the restaurant or prepping for clients who hire her as a private chef. This has become her schedule since the pandemic hit; it’s kept her busier than ever and leaves her without time to cook at home every night as she did before. “I’ve actually never ordered delivery as much as I do now,” she said when we caught up with her over the phone. She somehow found the time to talk about what went on in her kitchen B.C. (Before Covid) and her stash of ingredients that make everything taste better.

ON THIS YOU CAN RELY Ms. Tsai keeps her pantry stocked with items that can... — ON THIS YOU CAN RELY Ms. Tsai keeps her pantry stocked with items that can add depth to a dish, like dried longan, goji berries and lotus bulbs.
Photo: Alex Lau for The Wall Street Journal

My cooking mentors are: my mom and my grandma. My mom’s so great about using the minimum of ingredients to come up with a very, very aromatic, flavorful dish. She makes her own variations on a lot of very traditional Taiwanese meals. Also she is very much into traditional Chinese medicine, so I learned a lot about that from her. Then my grandma is hands-down the best cook I’ve ever met. The market plays a really big part in her cooking. She lives across the street from an open-air market in Taiwan, so when we used to visit her for months at a time she would go to the market for every single meal and see which stall had the best pork, best eggs and whatnot. Each meal was, like, nine courses, but she was so fast.

The most important piece of kitchen wisdom I ever received was: from my mom. She said, “You don’t have to use 10,000 ingredients for a dish.” You can let the produce shine, the meat shine, using the least amount to make that happen. It’s really carried on through my cooking style.

“ ‘If I weren’t a restaurateur I’d be a counselor for high school kids… I think that’s why I run my businesses the way I do—with a huge focus on mentorship.’ ”

My refrigerator is always stocked with: natto (Japanese fermented soybeans). Have you heard of NYrture New York Natto? It’s amazing, and I like that it’s not frozen and it’s handmade in Brooklyn. I’m obsessed with yuzu too. I have this yuzu kosho [condiment] and also a straight-up yuzu juice I love drizzling in everything. And lotus bulbs: It’s a very neutral flavor, but this ingredient is very good for diabetes and insomnia. The bulbs usually come dehydrated, so you just rehydrate them and sauté with a little bit of garlic. Right now, in my freezer I have 6 pints of the Oolong Milk Tea ice cream, my collaboration with [plant-based ice cream brand] Eclipse. It’s a fairly new company, doing a limited-edition series for charity, and they heard about Heart of Dinner. They asked me if I would like to collaborate with their ice cream maker in San Francisco. It’s so good it makes me forget it’s not real ice cream.

A food I could happily have every day of my life is: sushi. But if you‘re asking what kind of sushi, that’s a little more difficult. A sashimi bowl over rice, with avocado on the side? I could have that every day.

In my pantry, I always have: items I can use to add depth to a dish. I’m a granola fiend, so I always have some type of granola. Furikake [Japanese seasoning mix] goes so easy with everything. I always have white wood ear fungus. It makes a really great smoothie because it’s got a lot of collagen, and it’s really good for you. If you rehydrate it, there’s not much flavor to it, so you can toss it into all sorts of savory dishes and use it almost as a noodle, or you can turn it into dessert. I always have some goji berries and dried longan fruit on hand. And a lot of tea. Yin and I are both tea fanatics, especially oolong tea.

A typical breakfast for me is: furikake over rice and some natto. Another breakfast I do is a yogurt bowl—like, yogurt, peanut butter, goji berries and fruits. It’s so versatile.

BAG IT UP Heart of Dinner bags ready to be delivered. On days off, Ms.... — BAG IT UP Heart of Dinner bags ready to be delivered. On days off, Ms. Tsai prepares meals for the elderly through the initiative she launched with her romantic partner Yin Chang.
Photo: Alex Lau for The Wall Street Journal

On weeknights, it’s usually: purple multigrain rice in the pot. Yesterday I got a salmon steak, and you just lightly salt it, pan-fry it, put it over the multigrain rice. Cut up an avocado and some cucumbers, and it’s a great rice bowl. You’ve got your protein and your veggies and everything. I’m also a huge fan of soups. My personal favorite is a Taiwanese oxtail stew that I learned from my mom. I would liken it to how every home has a variation on chicken noodle soup: That is kind of what the Taiwanese oxtail stew is. It’s very simple: oxtail, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and you can add in potatoes if you like. My mom makes it like that. And then, because I love citrus, I’ll add wedges of lemon, and it gives it that extra tingle.

On days off: I’m cooking for the elderly we feed through Heart of Dinner. When we first started, it was just Yin and me. It was very important for us to make sure the meals were culturally appropriate—something our grandparents made for us or what we would have made for our grandparents. We make sure that it’s low sodium, low oil, not fried, low sugar, just because there can be a lot of health issues when you’re a little older. One of the favorite meals that we made is tomato egg [stir-fry], which is very nostalgic all across the Asian diaspora, with a side of sautéed veggies, over a bed of multigrain porridge. It was so good. We went, “Ooh, we’re going to have some after.” And we did, and we were so happy.

The music I listen to when I’m cooking is: silence. When I’m cooking alone and it’s quiet, it’s actually the time where I get to decompress. When Yin and I are together, we’ll put on a podcast. It’s kind of like you’re learning at the same time, or you’re able to go somewhere else. Our favorite podcast, “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” [in which people share the truth about how they’re doing], is really sad, but it’s also very uplifting. You just feel like, OK, you belong. “How I Built This” is another favorite, because I love entrepreneurial-type things—that’s where my brain goes. Listening to these founders talk about their startups and their journeys and how they got to where they got is very inspiring.

If I weren’t a restaurateur I’d be: a counselor for high school kids. I really wanted to be one. And I think that’s why I run my businesses the way I do—with a huge focus on mentorship.

When I cook for other people I like to make: shabu-shabu, because it's very interactive, and everyone gets to eat what they want and still feel like they’re part of the community of everyone around them. I also love making braised pork ribs. And there’s this Taiwanese omelet dish: It’s eggs, it’s pickled daikon, it’s scallions, and it pairs so well with rice. Everyone gets excited about the crunchiness—preserved daikon is an underexplored food item. I usually take it back into home cooking when I’m cooking for friends. Most of the people I hang out with are in the industry, and we eat restaurant food all the time. We really miss that connection of a home-cooked meal, what our parents would make.

—Edited from an interview by Charlotte Druckman

Taiwanese Tomato Egg

Total Time: 35 minutes

serves: 2

Ingredients

4 medium-large ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon water
½ tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Cooked rice, for serving

Directions

Peel and prep the tomatoes: Set a medium pot of water to boil over high heat. Gently score an “X” into the skin of each tomato and blanch in boiling water until cut splits open, 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatoes to a plate or cutting board. Let cool 5 minutes or until cool to the touch. Peel tomatoes and discard skin. Slice tomatoes into 8 wedges each, and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add tomatoes and cook, covered, until soft and jammy, 10 minutes. Add garlic and sugar, and stir to dissolve sugar. Continue cooking until flavors meld, a few minutes.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs with 1 tablespoon water and sesame oil. Pour eggs into pan with tomatoes. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon scallions, if using, and ½ teaspoon salt over eggs. Let eggs cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes, then lightly scramble, swirling center of eggs with a chopstick or the handle of a fork, 3 minutes. Once there is no more liquid left in pan, immediately transfer eggs to a serving plate. Garnish with remaining scallions, if using, and serve alongside rice.

—Adapted from Moonlynn Tsai

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What a Restaurateur Wants to Eat On Her Day Off (When She Has One) - The Wall Street Journal

PACK AT IT Ms. Tsai in the kitchen where she prepares meals for New York City seniors.

ON THIS YOU CAN RELY Ms. Tsai keeps her pantry stocked with items that can add depth to a dish, like dried longan, goji berries and lotus bulbs.

BAG IT UP Heart of Dinner bags ready to be delivered. On days off, Ms. Tsai prepares meals for the elderly through the initiative she launched with her romantic partner Yin Chang.