COOKING HAS BEEN A PART OF THE HO FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS, SO IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT 11-YEAR-OLD LIA IS TURNING OUT TO BE QUITE THE CHEF HERSELF.

“Both Peter and I come from families that love to cook ...,” says Michelle Ho, mother and community volunteer. “It’s a way for us to connect and enjoy the time together.”

Here, Lia shares one of her latest cookie recipes, while Michelle offers a couple of easy-to-make dishes that have become family favorites.

“Our family loves to eat roast chicken,” she says. “This recipe requires very few ingredients and it’s done in an hour, and it’s good. It has crispy skin, and it’s really tender and juicy inside.

“Then, we always use the chicken carcass to make jook, which is Peter’s grandmother’s recipe that he learned from his mom. It’s a super simple dish that lasts for days.”

EASY ROAST CHICKEN

• 12-inch cast iron skillet
• 1 whole chicken (around 4 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Hawaiian salt/Kosher salt, to taste
• fresh ground pepper, to taste
Optional: Garlic and herbs (such as rosemary and thyme)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with skillet inside. Rub chicken with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste. Remove giblets. Add salt and pepper, garlic and herbs into the chicken cavity. Set in the oven, breast-side up, and cook for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees, and cook for about 45 minutes. Let chicken sit for 15 minutes.

Optional gravy: Mix approximately 2/3 cup water with 6 tablespoons cornstarch. Bring the drippings of the chicken to a boil, add a quarter cup of dry white wine, and whisk in the cornstarch and water until smooth. Turn heat down to low while whisking the roux. Stir until smooth.

CHICKEN JOOK (CONGEE)

• 10 cups water
• 1 cup rice
• bones leftover from roast chicken

• salt, to taste

Optional garnishes: green onion, wonton chip strips, cilantro, dash of soy sauce, chicken meat leftover from the roast chicken

Wash rice and put in a pot with water and bones leftover from the roast chicken. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1-3 hours, to your liking. When finished, carefully remove and discard the bones. Flavor with salt to your liking.

BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(makes 18 cookies)
• 1 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 3⁄4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 9 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

For brown butter, melt salted butter over stove on medium heat and let bubble, stirring every minute or so until golden brown underneath; make sure it does not burn. Cool for at least 8 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, salt and cooled brown butter until a thick, crumbly paste comes together with no lumps of sugar or salt. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, beating until ribbons fall slowly.

Sift the flour and baking soda into your bowl then fold in. Fold in chocolate chips; then chill the dough for a minimum of 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough using an ice cream scooper onto baking sheet, leaving at least 4 inches of space in between cookies and edge of the sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges have started to turn golden brown.

Enjoy!