Serena Dai

Jan 12, 2025 | theatlantic.com | Serena Dai

It started as a friendship of convenience. Kira and Nino, a husband and wife, had lived in the same building as my husband and me for years. We interacted occasionally, as congenial acquaintances do. Then the pandemic hit, and well, you know: We had time; we had proximity. We exchanged food and drinks and books and laughs, and one day I looked up and we were all honest-to-God genuine friends, the kind who water each other’s plants and know each other’s Sichuan-takeout requests.

Jul 19, 2024 | sfchronicle.com | Serena Dai

Over the years, the cliche that you are what you eat has started to apply to not just nutrition but to personality, to lifestyle and to politics. Liberals drink plant-based milk and conservatives stick to whole. Saying you love tacos on your dating profile signals that you’re down-to-earth yet cultured.

May 26, 2024 | bonappetit.com | Serena Dai

Chinese home cooking is full of vegetarian fare that requires a quick toss in a hot wok, just like this sweet, savory, and slightly tart cabbage stir-fry. Green cabbage retains its crunch, while earthy black vinegar—a must-get for this recipe and a pantry all-star for those who love Chinese cooking—does the heavy lifting for flavor. Chinese cabbage stir-fry is best-known in the US as a Sichuanese dish, packed with heat and tingle.

May 26, 2024 | bonappetit.com | Serena Dai

In The Fourth Trimester, we ask parents: What meal nourished you after welcoming your baby? This month, it’s a healing cabbage stir-fry from editor and writer Serena Dai. I hit a milestone five weeks after giving birth to my daughter, one that I will remember forever. I had my first normal poop. My close friends and family will understand what a big deal this was for me. I had digestive issues for the first twenty-something years of my life. My bowel movements were infrequent and hard as bricks.

May 26, 2024 | yahoo.com | Serena Dai

Illustration by Dror CohenIn The Fourth Trimester, we ask parents: What meal nourished you after welcoming your baby? This month, it’s a healing cabbage stir-fry from editor and writer Serena Dai. I hit a milestone five weeks after giving birth to my daughter, one that I will remember forever. I had my first normal poop. My close friends and family will understand what a big deal this was for me. I had digestive issues for the first twenty-something years of my life.