{"id":2753,"date":"2019-03-20T09:57:53","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T09:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/living.chanintr.com\/?post_type=story&p=2753"},"modified":"2019-09-25T03:06:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T03:06:12","slug":"ricebox","status":"publish","type":"journal","link":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/","title":{"rendered":"RiceBox"},"content":{"rendered":"

Text by Euno Lee<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The Spring Arcade in Downtown Los Angeles is quickly earning a reputation for having practical and delicious fare; for one, there\u2019s the all-diets-welcome Blu Jam Cafe, where the vegetarian-friendly crunchy french toast is already the stuff of LA legend, and Gelateria Uli slings some of the most popular gelato and soft serve in the city. Walk deeper under the corridor of light strings, though, and you\u2019ll find a Hong Kong-style char siu (barbecue pork) that\u2019s been four cities, three generations and one hungry couple in the making.<\/p>\n

Leo and Lydia Lee are the husband-and-wife duo behind RiceBox<\/a>, a Cantonese-style comfort food concept that\u2019s all set to give Hong Kong-style barbecue a second-generation update \u2014 to some marvelous results. As for where it began: Lydia\u2019s grandfather owned a Cantonese barbecue restaurant in Central Hong Kong for 40 years, and Leo\u2019s family owned a Chinese restaurant in Mexico. The two moved to Los Angeles, home to one of the most competitive markets for Chinese cuisine in the United States. However, even with the stunning breadth of regionally focused Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, Leo and Lydia had trouble finding a proper Cantonese barbecue. So Lydia handed her grandfather\u2019s recipe for char siu to Leo \u2014 who quickly went to experimenting with the dish.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Even with a recipe in hand, conventional wisdom says one should never go into business with your friends and family. But Leo and Lydia are both at the storefront, and they seem to be already running the business with a comfortable command of their roles. Lydia\u2019s warm and engaging personality hits diners at the cash register, while Leo deftly cleaves a side of char siu or blistering, crackly porchetta into uniform slices. His focus is intense, working in silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mind\u2019s so busy in the kitchen, that I don\u2019t have time to worry about the other aspects,\u201d Leo said. \u201cI might be tired working from 4 a.m. in the morning, until whatever time… Lydia can pick up and talk to people and sell our product better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another element of a successful business that comes naturally in marriage is candid communication. Lydia acts as a form of quality control for Leo\u2019s work. It was her grandfather\u2019s recipe for char siu, after all, so she\u2019s the best acquainted with the flavors and textures that need to be imparted by the barbecued pork.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

One of the more modern solutions being employed by Leo involves holding vacuum-sealed char siu in a sous vide water bath. The vacuum sealing and precision of temperature afforded by a proper sous vide circulator allows Leo to hold char siu at a proper temperature without losing moisture. It\u2019s a bit of a hack that helps set the char siu at RiceBox apart from the drier, jerky-like renditions available at some of the more traditional char siu available in the city.<\/p>\n

The husband-and-wife synergy that gave birth to RiceBox is catalyzed day-in, day-out by Leo and Lydia\u2019s shared love for Cantonese barbecue. It\u2019s only fitting that their brainchild, a so-simple-it\u2019s-genius dish of rice, seasonal vegetables, pickles and a one-of-a-kind char siu, is something everyone in Los Angeles can love \u2014 together.<\/p>\n

ricebox.net<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2758,"template":"","filed_under":[],"class_list":["post-2753","journal","type-journal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRiceBox | Chanintr Living Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ricebox is a Cantonese-style comfort food concept known for its char siu (barbecue pork). The downtown Los Angeles spot is run by the husband-and-wife duo Leo and Lydia Lee.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RiceBox | Chanintr Living Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ricebox is a Cantonese-style comfort food concept known for its char siu (barbecue pork). The downtown Los Angeles spot is run by the husband-and-wife duo Leo and Lydia Lee.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CHANINTR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-25T03:06:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171-1024x820.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/\",\"name\":\"RiceBox | Chanintr Living Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-20T09:57:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-25T03:06:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ricebox is a Cantonese-style comfort food concept known for its char siu (barbecue pork). The downtown Los Angeles spot is run by the husband-and-wife duo Leo and Lydia Lee.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171.jpg\",\"width\":3625,\"height\":2904,\"caption\":\"rice box 171\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Journal\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"RiceBox\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/\",\"name\":\"CHANINTR\",\"description\":\"CHANINTR pursues the art of "Living Well" through our curation of quality products and services for the home from furniture, accessories, lighting, kitchens, to bathrooms.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"RiceBox | Chanintr Living Journal","description":"Ricebox is a Cantonese-style comfort food concept known for its char siu (barbecue pork). The downtown Los Angeles spot is run by the husband-and-wife duo Leo and Lydia Lee.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"RiceBox | Chanintr Living Journal","og_description":"Ricebox is a Cantonese-style comfort food concept known for its char siu (barbecue pork). The downtown Los Angeles spot is run by the husband-and-wife duo Leo and Lydia Lee.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/","og_site_name":"CHANINTR","article_modified_time":"2019-09-25T03:06:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":820,"url":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171-1024x820.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/","url":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/","name":"RiceBox | Chanintr Living Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-20T09:57:53+00:00","dateModified":"2019-09-25T03:06:12+00:00","description":"Ricebox is a Cantonese-style comfort food concept known for its char siu (barbecue pork). The downtown Los Angeles spot is run by the husband-and-wife duo Leo and Lydia Lee.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rice-box-171.jpg","width":3625,"height":2904,"caption":"rice box 171"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/ricebox\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Journal","item":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/journal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"RiceBox"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/#website","url":"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/","name":"CHANINTR","description":"CHANINTR pursues the art of "Living Well" through our curation of quality products and services for the home from furniture, accessories, lighting, kitchens, to bathrooms.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/34.124.208.30\/pages\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"excerpt":"Leo and Lydia Lee are the husband-and-wife duo behind RiceBox, a Cantonese-style comfort food concept that\u2019s all set to give Hong Kong-style barbecue a second-generation update \u2014 to some marvelous results.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journal\/2753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/journal"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"filed_under","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chanintr.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/filed_under?post=2753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}