Calvin Eng’s Yauh Ja Gwai Panzanella: A Chinese Cruller Twist on a Classic

We have officially entered peak summer produce season, so I’ll be eating juicy ripe tomatoes, corn on the cob, and summer squash all day, every day. One of my favorite dishes to make this time of year is panzanella, and Calvin Eng’s Yauh Ja Gwai Panzanella makes a very convincing case for replacing the bread with fried Chinese crullers. The yauh ja gwai soak up the garlic-mustard vinaigrette while still keeping some of their chew. Even smarter, the tomatoes are tossed with salt and MSG first, which draws out their juices and makes them taste even more tomato-y. Then in go mustard greens, apricots, peaches, mini mozzarella balls, cilantro, and scallions. The whole salad is refrigerated for 1 to 3 hours, giving the fruit and tomatoes time to release more juices and the crullers time to soak up all that flavor. It’s sweet, savory, tangy, and packed with flavor. I especially loved the peppery mustard greens and juicy peaches, two additions I’ll definitely be incorporating into future…