Amy Chua's parenting memoir, 'Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother' delves into the extreme measures she and some other Asian parents take to ensure their children's success later in life. In the book, Chua asserts that American parents allow too many luxuries and distractions to the path of progress, and outlines in unflinching detail the rigors she imposed on her own children's study, music practice and even birthday card making.

While seemingly much of this effort is geared toward producing doctors and lawyers, sometimes the best laid plans can take a slight turn. Eddie Huang, who famously published his mother's e-mail rebuke after he received a zero-star review of his restaurant in the New York Times, indeed earned that law degree. Then he chucked it all and opened a restaurant - for which he both credits and (lovingly) blames his parents.

Previously - Eddie Huang and his mother on Asian American identity and lessons learned from a bad review

Eddie Gehman Kohan of Obama Foodorama reports that an East Wing (that's the residential and First Lady's side of the White House) staffer says there will be no guest chef for the State Dinner honoring Chinese President Hu Jintao tonight.

Instead, Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses will be helming the kitchen and presenting a "quintessentially American" meal at the request of the Chinese delegation.
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Ming Tsai opened the doors of Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts, more than 10 years ago. Since then, he's earned two James Beard Foundation Awards, hosted three Emmy-nominated cooking shows, authored four cookbooks and competed on Season 3 of Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef". Before that young Tsai could be found in the kitchen with his mom and dad at their family-owned restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen, in Dayton, Ohio.

On the eve of a state dinner honoring Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the White House Nicole Dow spoke with Chef Tsai about regional Chinese cooking, the role of authenticity and how an American eater can up his or her chances of scoring the good stuff.
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All eyes are on Washington as Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives a day before a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss trade, currency and a host of other issues, including North Korea. Our eyes, more specifically, are on our plates.

This week, we'll be speaking with chefs and experts on Chinese food, exploring a Philadelphia suburb that boasts the "best" spring rolls in the United States and delving into how cook some of this at home.

In the meantime, reacquaint yourself with this November interview with Chef Eddie Huang of New York City's Baohaus restaurant and the now-shuttered Xiao Ye. In it, Huang and his muse/mentor/mother discuss what it means to cook "authentic" Chinese and Taiwanese food, his role as a cultural ambassador, and the particular challenges Asian-American kids face growing up in the United States - even when it's coming from their own mothers.

Read more on President Hu Jintao's visit