Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

“It’s kind of like a grassy vanilla, maybe with some coconut or floral overtones,” says author Mia P. Manansala of pandan, which flavors numerous Southeast Asian desserts. That includes Manansala's crinkle cookie recipe, which she shares ahead of an upcoming book.

Chicago-based Heray Spice works with a farmers' co-op in Afghanistan to support Afghan farmers while providing quality saffron to chefs and at-home cooks in the United States. CEO and co-founder Mohammad Salehi talks about his love for saffron and some of the challenges his company has faced since the Taliban took control of his home country last year.

Whereas once Chinatown leaders had to turn to Norwegian architects, now there are noteworthy buildings and sites by Asian architects throughout Chicagoland, from skyscrapers to a library to a synagogue. Geoffrey Baer explores some. 

From an Olympic medal-winning, innovative swimmer and surfer to a terrifying outbreak of bubonic plague, tales from New Zealand and Samoa to the shameful chapter of Japanese American internment camps, there is a lot to learn, savor, and explore. 

Miyoko Ito’s life was full of tumult, roiled by an earthquake, internment, health issues, and a bizarre coda, but you might not guess it from her quiet artwork. At a time when Chicago art was focused on figuration, she embraced cool, controlled abstraction.

Sikhism is the world's fifth-largest religion, yet many Americans know little about it, and Sikhs have frequently found themselves the target of hate crimes. Learn more about Sikhs' beliefs, practices, and history in Chicagoland. 

Pastries from Michelin-starred chefs sit jewel-like next to buns from decades-old stalwarts of the community and treats from Instagram bakers in With Warm Welcome's Bakers Box, which aims to spotlight Asian American pastry chefs and their personal stories. 

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the fastest growing group in the United States. Find WTTW's coverage and content for Asian Pacific Heritage Month here.

In 1981, nearly 100 Japanese Americans testified at Northeastern Illinois University as part of an official government investigation into the constitutionality of the World War II internment camps that incarcerated 120,000 residents and citizens of Japanese ancestry. Their stories have recently been rediscovered in a tape collection found in the University's archives.

Tetsuya Theodore Fujita developed a scale measuring the intensity of tornados and prevented airplane crashes by discovering microbursts. Fujita "was often met with skepticism in the beginning—until he was proven right," says a University of Chicago colleague and friend. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Korea Times Chicago is doing everything from providing information on public health guidance in Korean to distributing masks, but even in normal times it plays a vital role. "We'd like to think that we are the glue that holds the community together."

For decades, Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood didn't have a park or any significant green space. Roughly 20 years ago, that changed. Get to know the story of Ping Tom Park, one of the city's hidden gems.