{"id":4619,"date":"2025-10-29T15:12:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kikkomanusa.com\/foodservice\/?page_id=4619"},"modified":"2025-12-23T17:30:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T17:30:34","slug":"cantonese-american-cooking-from-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kikkomanusa.com\/foodservice\/cantonese-american-cooking-from-the-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"CHEF CALVIN ENG: CANTONESE AMERICAN COOKING FROM THE HEART"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHEF CALVIN ENG: CANTONESE AMERICAN COOKING FROM THE HEART<\/h1>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\nCantonese American Cooking From the Heart\n <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Chef<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Chef Calvin Eng<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Bonnie\u2019s | Brooklyn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Soy Sauce Hack: Wok Magic<\/h2>\n

\u201cIf you hit a hot wok with soy sauce around the edges and let it caramelize before adding your ingredients, you get this incredible, smoky depth of flavor. It\u2019s a game-changer.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>
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At Bonnie\u2019s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, every plate tells a story \u2014 the story of a kid who grew up between Chinatown and Brooklyn, who once tried to blend in, and who now proudly celebrates the flavors that shaped him. Chef Calvin Eng, a Kikkoman Kitchen Cabinet<\/em><\/u><\/a> inductee, is putting Cantonese American cooking in the spotlight \u2014 with a voice, vision, and heart all his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Calvin Eng didn\u2019t always plan on being a chef \u2014 much less a flag bearer for Cantonese flavors. As a kid, he grew up eating massive family-style dinners his mom would make every night: whole fish, stir-fried vegetables, Cantonese charcuterie, and plenty of steamed jasmine rice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He also tagged along with his mom through the tight, fragrant alleys of Manhattan\u2019s Chinatown. She\u2019d chat in Toisanese with fishmongers and produce vendors, filling her bags with fresh greens, roast duck, and pastries \u2014 while he\u2019d sulk, wishing for peanut butter sandwiches like the \u201cmore American\u201d kids at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Years later, fresh out of culinary school and working near Chinatown, something shifted. Wandering those same streets, he noticed which shops had closed and which had survived. \u201cIt hit me that there was no better time to reconnect with my heritage,\u201d he says. \u201cI started to feel proud. Speaking Toisanese with the shopkeepers and seeing their faces light up \u2014 it felt like coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n A Restaurant Built on Memory<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bonnie\u2019s, named for his mom, is Calvin\u2019s love letter to that homecoming. It\u2019s not a strictly Cantonese restaurant or an \u201celevated\u201d reinvention of tradition \u2014 it\u2019s personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery dish starts with a memory,\u201d Calvin says. \u201cSomething I grew up eating at home, at a banquet hall, or in a restaurant with my family. From there, I build it out with my own techniques, flavors, and ideas. I\u2019m not chasing authenticity \u2014 I\u2019m telling my story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He\u2019s also on a mission to shift perceptions. \u201cCantonese food is one of the most technical, nuanced cuisines out there,\u201d he says. \u201cI want people to understand that \u2014 and to taste it for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The stories Calvin tells at Bonnie\u2019s have resonated. The restaurant has drawn raves from The New York Times<\/em>, Bon App\u00e9tit<\/em>, and Eater<\/em>, and earned him nods as a James Beard Award finalist, Forbes<\/em> 30 Under 30 honoree, StarChefs Rising Star, and Food & Wine<\/em> Best New Chef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Flavor Without Compromise<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Calvin, seasoning is the backbone of good cooking \u2014 and consistency matters. That\u2019s why he turns to Kikkoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGrowing up in Brooklyn, we always had Kikkoman\u00ae Soy Sauce in the pantry,\u201d he says. \u201cI think of soy sauce as salt, flavor, and umami in one bottle. It balances fat and acid beautifully and adds layers of complexity to everything. A little goes a long way in any cuisine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He especially appreciates Kikkoman\u2019s gluten-free options<\/a> \u2014 including Soy Sauce, Hoisin, and Panko \u2014 because they let him serve everyone without sacrificing flavor. \u201cI never want a dietary restriction to be the reason someone can\u2019t experience my food,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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