My motto in the kitchen is: Be creative, be open minded and be prepared to make mistakes - it's totally okay and my favorite way to learn! Food does not have to be just for sustenance it also brings people together and it can be a wonderful way to connect with people and cultures.
Welcome to Pups with Chopsticks!
I'm Joyce Lee and I'm so happy you are here! If you're on this page then you must be curious about who we are! The bad news? I'm terrible when it comes to talking about myself, but I'll try anyway and I'll call it a success if I only manage to stifle a few yawns from you.
I love to eat and re-create flavors I have experienced from travels, restaurants, and family recipes so that I can share them with my friends and family (yes, that includes you!).
I am a self-taught cook and have been cooking at a very young age (would you believe 10 years old?) by watching and mimicking my dad cook at home and by watching LOTS of Food Network shows after school (Yea, I picked Food Network over cartoons! What a weirdo right?). By the time I was in grade 5, I was already braising chicken wings as an after-school snack! haha! Yea I was a weird kid.
As I got older and a little less shy, I started to ask a lot of questions and learned a lot of neat cooking methods and tricks from people my dad and his friends (who worked at Chinese restaurants), and from all the wise and awesome grandmas and grandpas from grocery stores! I'm a firm believer that there is a lot of lost knowledge from our parents, grandparents, great grandparents so I like to ask them questions whenever I shop so that I can learn from them and keep that knowledge alive.
Before diving deep into my creative side and creating Pups with Chopsticks, I went to college and graduated to be some form of a techie but somehow ended up becoming some form of techie coordinator in the corporate world. Being a free spirit and creative soul, I knew it was not a place for me, so I threw logic out the window and decided to follow my heart and quit my job to start this blog. It was a bit reckless with no safety net or backup plan and to be honest, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but totally worth it because that's how Pups with Chopsticks was born.
What is Pups with Chopsticks?
I started this blog as a way for me to write down and document all my recipes for my friends and family since I have a terrible memory. Recipes I share have all been tried and tested and are still frequently used in my home today! I love sharing the process of how I complete a recipe (including mistakes I make, so you can avoid them).
At Pups with Chopsticks, you will find recipes here with international influences as well as comfort foods with twists with lots of flavors. I love finding new techniques to cook with, experimenting with flavors, and playing with new ingredients, so every time I learn something neat about an ingredient or a recipe, you can be sure I will share this with you so you can come along for the journey with me! 🙂
Fun Facts About Me
- I'm a huge cookbook and tropical plant junkie. I love collecting tropical plants, but keeping them alive is a different story! haha
- I'm a gamer! In my downtime, you will usually catch me on my computer playing some random video game (my current addiction right now is Path of Exile) or relaxing with a board game! Lately, my new passion is playing Magic the Gathering! Yup, I'm a huge nerd and an even bigger board game nerd! Terry has a bit of a problem and has somehow managed to collect over 1000 board games. We are still playing through them - I think we went through about 700?
- I'm a HUGE introvert, and borderline mute. 🙂 I basically don't like to chat much. I'm a very quiet person - I like to observe, listen and learn!
- I knit and crochet! I find it very relaxing and it lets me turn my brain off. Oddly, my pups all love it when I knit too - they all seemed to love snuggling with my piles of yarn.
The Pups Who Keep Me Company While I Cook
This is Oscar.
(2009-2024)
Thank you for being my best friend for 15 years. You were my first dog, and what you have taught me in your lifetime has shaped me to who I am today. I promise I'll try to live in the present more. Your unconditional love and support will be with me forever, and I will never forget you. I will never forget and cherish our memories and adventures of growing up, and growing old together. I'll see you again one day, and when I do, be prepared for lots of cozy snuggles again.
The squiggly emo dog. When he's not sighing or being grumpy, you'll find him on top of the stairs moping around and sighing like a sad panda. This little guy enjoys his 'ME' time - a lot, and he's known to be the old man of the house.
Favorite Pastime: Pretending to be a cat. (I swear he's got it down to a science!)
Meet Wilbur
(2009-2020)
Rest in peace little guy. We will never forget you and your silly smile and promise to love you forever. We will see you again one day, so be ready with all your toys for a lot of playing and snuggles.
This little guy is from Colombia and knows Spanish! We adopted him a few years ago and he has been the cuddly, 'awwwww' dog of the household ever since. When he's not napping (and he naps a lot!), you'll find him nibbling on the grass in the yard or terrorizing his huge basket of toys. 🙂
Favorite Pastime: Using his charm and finding clever ways to ninja treats from people and cuddling with his 100+ toys. He literally takes a toy everywhere he goes.
Say Hello to Harvey.
A supercharged 7lbs ball of happiness and rambunctiousness. He's the smallest pup in our family! Loves people, dogs, you name it he loves it - he will even make silly monkey noises to tell you how much he loves them. He's the small dog with lots of heart in our home.
Favorite Pastime: Making underground tunnels with blankets and hiding in them. He also loves bringing home sticks and leaves wherever he goes - we have piles of them at every door.
Toby says Hi!
In our home, this little guy is the known as the 'the tube' or 'Tubey'. He's is 200% fluff and muscle and 500% cuteness.
He came into this world with a rough start with a very bad overbite so he couldn't latch on to his mother for feeding and we didn't know if he'd survive at all but he was a fighter!
We decided to take him in to give him a warm and very loving chaotic home, knowing that he will have a lot of issues down the road and never regretted it a bit. Not to play favorites, but he's definitely the love of my life.
Despite his rocky start, he grew up to be a powerhouse! He can out wrestle Harvey anytime of the day!
It's hilarious watching him with the zoomies because he looks like he's a bowling ball flailing in the wind and half the time, he loses controls and smashes into something.
Favorite Pastime: Crouching low to the ground or hiding around corners waiting for Harvey to walk by so that he can pounce on him.
Fun Fact: Because of his bad overbite, he had to have 95% of all his teeth removed and has no lower teeth at all. Regardless of this, he still loves to chew and gum on Harvey's ears and legs for fun!
FAQs
Where did you come up with your blog name?
I combined my 2 loves in this world. My love of using chopsticks for eating everything, and the loves of my life: my dogs.
Do you make all these recipes at home?
Yes I do! All the recipes on this site are creations made by me, and are also recipes I frequently use at home with my family and friends! I actually use my site a lot myself when I don't know what to make for dinner! 🙂
I have been asked about the photos of these recipes as well, and they are also all taken by me as well, and no food ever goes to waste. They are always eaten right after I take the photos!
Where do you come up with your recipe ideas?
I love to eat and experiment with food. Whenever I eat out and find something I really like, I like to try it at multiple restaurants until I find one that I really like. Most of the time, it's a mix between multiple versions, so when I come home, I like to experiment and re-create the flavors exactly the way I enjoyed them. Once I have it exactly the way I like, I share it with everyone so they can also enjoy the recipe at home as well! I'm a huge hermit, so I love to stay at home and make food exactly the way I like it in the cozy comfort of my home instead of eating out.
Can I use your recipes in a roundup?
Yes, you may! Please use only ONE photo from the post and link back to the original source with credits to my site.
Can I do a guest post on your site?
All recipes are created, tested, written, and photographed by me. It's a one-man show since it's a personal blog for me to share my recipes so I do not accept guest posts or link exchanges. Sorry!
Can you review a product, host a giveaway or work with us to create a sponsored post?
I am currently focused on creating my own library of recipes for my blog and since I am a one-man show, unfortunately, I do not have the time to review products, host giveaways, or create sponsored posts.
How to Contact me
Please visit my contact page to send me a message! I'd love to hear from you!