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My cookbook: "Tehran to New York"

On the Norouz day of 2020 spring, I finally published my book. The manuscript is titled: "Tehran to New York: A culinary bridge between Persian and Western cultures" and aims at presenting a unique blend of classic and contemporary Persian recipes, as well as samples of Western-style cuisine, offered in a Persian context. It is important to build bridges between cultures, and not walls. This book aims at constructing a bridge between the Persian and Western cultures. The book may be ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Tehran-New-York-culinary-cultures-ebook/dp/B0861H47GS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tehran+to+new+york&qid=1584810930&sr=8-1  
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Korealafel (Korean inspired falafel) with Gochujang/Tahini sauce

When one loves both the Korean Fried Chicken (KFC), and, the Middle Eastern falafel, in case they are a recipe developer, chances are that they come up with a fusion recipe to indulge them both. The presented falafel is heavily inspired by the sweet/spicy/Umami flavors of Korean fried chicken. The batter contains a small amount of Kimchi and the sauce contains the fermented Korean chili and rice paste, also known is Gochujang. For this recipe I used my homemade lacto-fermented cabbage kimchi; store-bought versions or even Sauerkraut will do the job and there will be no need to ferment your own Kimchi (though it is fun).        

Ingredients:
1 Pound (~450 gr) raw chickpeas, to be soaked overnight
5.29 Oz  (~150 gr or 1 cup) cabbage kimchi, finely chopped*
1 TSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP tomato paste
3 sprigs of scallions
6 cloves of garlic
2 TBSP chickpea (or all-purpose) flour
1 ½ TSP salt
2 TBSP kimchi juice
* * In case of not liking Kimchi, use store-bough Sauerkraut and  add 1 TSP of Korean chili powder or Gochujang to the ingredients.
Gochujang tahini:
½ cup tahini
1 TBSP Gochujang
1 TBSP white vinegar
1 TSP fine sugar
¼ TSP granulated garlic
2 TBSP kimchi juice (optional) 
Enough hot water to dilute the sauce

Soak the chickpeas overnight. Sauté the kimchi in the oil. when dry, add the tomato paste and toast in the oil. Set aside and let cook. Finely process the kimchi mixture, set a side. Finely process the garlic and scallion and set a side. Finely process the chickpeas, salt, and the kimchi juice. Mix the kimchi mixture, the scallion mixture, and the flour into the chickpea, making sure the batter is homogeneous and well-mixed. 
Form golf ball sized felafel patties and fry in hot oil, a minute per side (or per hemisphere?). To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients and add enough hot water until reaching your desired consistency. If you prefer not to kill the useful bacteria from the kimchi juice, add it at the end and when the sauce is cool.
If Bao is store-bought, revitalize it by steaming for a couple of minutes. Microwave does not quite work on these buns..
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