put weed connoisseur christina wong on your next cannabis party guest list

They say that the best inventions start with a pain point: In Christina Wong's case, her Baking with Chickens soon-to-be empire all started with "rage baking." While soothing her feelings between full-time gigs, she got baked, then baked, and then posted it all on Instagram— the good, the bad, the totally fvcked up — and included her favorite models and egg suppliers, her L.A. backyard chickens. Her style? Let's just say if there's a James Beard award for winging it, she'd land it. She doesn't always measure, she tries her own techniques, she's not afraid to fail and she has a blast while she (and her concoctions) get blasted. Turns out, Wong was onto something delicious, disruptive and insanely different. (Guess her 10-year background doing PR and marketing in the food industry paid off.) Fast forward a few years, she now hosts her own YouTube show, is a baker on Hulu's new show "Baker's Dozen" premiering on October 7, creates dope content, develops cannabis recipes and writes the kind of blog that gets you lost for hours.... all while juggling press demands and nabbing a Clio Cannabis Award in 2020. We talked to her about cooking with OUID as foreplay, improving your gummy palate and how to be your own cannabis baker (yes, she gives recipes).  To get to know her is to clucking love her. Grab a gummy and enjoy. 

xxx 

christina wong

You talk about artist Jeremyville’s quote “Trust in your ideas and jump” being a mantra of sorts as you took a leap of faith in creating your award-winning “Baking with Chickens” content studio — now that you’ve jumped and you’re in the life you wanted to create, how do you stay creative, evolving, juicy, passionate?  

 

Christina Wong: 

Can we real talk for a sec? I can tell you how I leaned into being an artist and found my groove, OR I can be honest and tell you that cannabis and microdosing mushrooms is my actual secret to staying creative, evolving, juicy and passionate. The last year has been a really fvcking emotionally difficult journey and these plants have given me clarity, focus and courage to push through and continue evolving. The right strain paired with the right playlist and spark of inspiration unlocks something inside me and everything just flows. I keep a “HIGH-deas” list where I write down ideas, revisit them later, and decide which ones are worth the leap of faith.

I read an interview where you said that organically creating community and remaining true to your voice and aesthetic was most important to you as you build your brand — which resonates so deeply — and I’m curious what you think about that level of authenticity as a metaphor for life?  

 

Christina Wong: 

I think the metaphor is that if you live your life for you, not for or by someone else’s standards, you’ll eventually find your community, your tribe and your passions. Your vibe attracts your tribe. What vibe are you putting out into the world?

christina wong

Switching to ouid… cannabis is obviously known for a few of its side effects: sexual arousal, loss of inhibition… how can incorporating cannabis in your cooking improve your love/sex life? 

 

Christina Wong: 

I love how cannabis makes food taste better when you’re high, it’s a fantastic feeling. Eating really fvcking delicious food is one of my greatest pleasures, and a little cannabis makes cooking and eating even more fun and indulgent. Enjoying a joint while cooking dinner, having a little dance party and enjoying a meal can be so incredibly sexy — whether you’re with someone or alone. I’ve had plenty of dance party dinners with just me and my ouid in my kitchen. If you’re making an infused dish then you’ll be in the mood a couple hours later after eating, perfect timing. A little ouid changes my mindset and puts me in the moment. I’m not thinking about the million of other things racing in my mind, just savoring what’s in front of me.

Our brand is obviously big on pleasure, how do you find pleasure while juggling chickens, weed, content creation, media requests, experimentation….? 

 

Christina Wong: 

If it’s important, you make time for it. Sometimes it’s simple moments like snipping flowers from the garden, allowing myself permission to go into a TikTok hole for an hour or spending time with friends. It’s important because taking the time to enjoy simple pleasures recharges my soul, and without it I wouldn’t be able to do everything else.

You seem to be always hunting, exploring, doing new things, feeding your curiosity, growing… what are some ways we can incorporate that into our own lives?  

 

Christina Wong: 

Have a Yes mentality. I have a policy where I just say yes and am open to try anything, which leads me to wonderful and unexpected experiences. For example: I found myself in a Lightspeed Saber League, doing acroyoga and rock climbing, and driving to meet a bunch of weed-loving strangers on the Internet who have become close friends and kindred spirits over the last year.

"Enjoying a joint while cooking dinner, having a little dance party and enjoying a meal can be so incredibly sexy — whether you’re with someone or alone. I’ve had plenty of dance party dinners with just me and my ouid in my kitchen."

— Christina Wong

Change up the music you listen to. I explore a wide range of genres and playlists on Spotify depending on my mood. I almost always find something weirdly wonderful and end up grooving to music that I normally wouldn’t seek out, which may spark a creative idea! Lately I’ve been listening to '60s and '70s Southeast Asian and Latin-American psychedelic funk, m-flo (a Japanese hip hop group), Egyptian jazz with The Cairo Jazz Band, and a Studio Ghibli jazz café mix.

You have an insane command of the taste profiles of gummies and strains (the same way a sommelier has for wine), how can we expand or understand our flavor palate (is there a flight we should try, words to use, can you experience flavor w/o getting high, etc.)?  

 

Christina Wong: 

Why thank you! I’m always working to improve my own palate and nose. Just like wine tasting you can train your nose and palate to identify flavors and aromas in cannabis — they’re called terpenes. You’ll recognize similar scents from everyday herbs and nature such as pine, lavender, citrus, hops, pepper, etc. To start, I’d recommend reading about the strain you’re enjoying on Leafly’s strain guide, and see if you’re able to identify the same aromas by smelling the flower. You can also train your nose using essential oils. If you want to go deeper, Green Flower has a Ganjier program, a cannabis sommelier certification.

If we want to play with cannabis in the kitchen, how should we start? (types of cooking, strains to try, tools to use, specific terpenes to hunt down, etc.)  

 

Christina Wong: 

Get yourself some cannabis flower, a mason jar and oil (butter, vegetable oil or coconut oil) to make cannabis-infused oil that you can substitute in recipes. Strains that are high in limonene, that smell citrus-y or lemon-y, are generally great for cooking since a hint of citrus works well in almost any dish. Then just use the oil and pair like you would any other herb with whatever you think tastes good. Just not too potent, keep it low dose so you don’t get fvcked up and don’t fuck up your friends.  

Julia Child's cherry pie 
Get high with Christina's take on Julia Child’s Cherry Clafoutis 

These days you can buy infused olive oils, chili oil and infused sugar from licensed dispensaries that make it easy to cook and bake-infused food at home. If you’d like to try infusing your own, check out my step-by-step “Cooking & Baking with Cannabis: A Complete Beginner’s Guide” on MedMen’s EMBER Journal.

You use strain-specific flowers, whole when possible, in your cooking to max flavor and experience, what are some of your insights that we can use in our own creating?  

 

Christina Wong: 

Trust your nose. When you smell the flower you’ll know if you like it or don’t like it. If you don’t like the smell, it’s likely that particular strain isn’t for you and what your body needs. I’m partial to strains that smell like citrus and pepper, which tend have more uplifting head high effects. Start with what you like and work backwards to pair it with ingredients that complement the aromas.

Enjoy the smell and flavor. Treat cannabis just like any other herb and embrace the natural flavor and aromas rather than trying to cover it up. By using whole flower, it will smell and taste a little “weedy” if you’re sensitive to the funkiness. But I love how infusing dishes and desserts with cannabis can take a dish from good to great with the added aromatics. It cuts sweetness on desserts and gives savory dishes a little something extra. I recommend beginners start at 5mg THC or less, see how you feel and increase or decrease from there. A little goes a long way, especially if you’re cooking with low dose. The purpose isn’t to get fvcked up, enjoy just enough to make you feel good.

We’d love to share a recipe or two of yours… perhaps one that pairs nicely with foreplay and another that’s great for a marathon weekend of pleasure, something to keep your senses engaged, appetite whet, mood hungry...  

 

Christina Wong: 

Here’s one of my favorites, a spin on Julia Child’s Cherry Clafoutis recipe that can be dessert or breakfast. Pronounced Kla-FOO-tee, clafoutis is a baked custardy flan-like dish with fruit and sprinkled with sugar that is easy to make, fun to say and even better to eat. The infused coconut or MCT oil in this recipe can be used for baking AND used as infused lube. HeYYYaa!

julia child cookbook
Pro cooking tip: Best eaten with or on a lover.


Infused Coconut Oil

INGREDIENTS: 

½ cup of coconut or MCT oil 

1g of 20% THC flower (% THC should be labeled on jars of flower at licensed dispensaries)  


INSTRUCTIONS: 

Activate the flower: 

To reduce the strong cannabis smell during decarb, place coarsely crumbled 1 gram of flower in a mason jar and seal with a metal lid. Place the jar on a baking sheet in the oven and bake at 240°F for 60 minutes. Using oven mitts, shake the mason jar every 20 minutes to evenly heat all the flower.   


Infuse the oil: 

After the jar cools enough to safely handle, pour ½ cup of coconut oil into the mason jar and place into the oven. Bake at 170°F for 2-3 hours or longer. Remove from oven to cool, and using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth, strain out the ground flower, and store the infused oil until ready to use.   


Dosing: 

This recipe makes approximately ½ cup of 140mg THC infused oil, which is 17.5mg THC per tablespoon.*  

 Infused Cherry Clafoutis

Strains with a cherry or vanilla flavors that are high in the Caryophyllene terpene (a stress-relieving strain with notes of pepper, cinnamon and clove) would pair well with this. Recommended 5 mg per serving, use 50 mg THC total in the recipe.*   


Time to Prepare: 75 mins Makes 1, serves 6   


INGREDIENTS: 

3 tablespoons infused coconut oil* (melted) 

1 1/4 cups milk of choice 

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling 

3 eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 pint (2 generous cups) cherries*, pitted (any berry or fruit can be substituted if cherries aren’t in season, great with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apples, pears, etc.) 


INSTRUCTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 340 degrees F. Lightly grease with coconut oil or butter a medium-size baking dish (pie pan, cake pan, whatever you have that’s oven-safe) approx. 9 to 10-inches in diameter and at least 1 1/2 inches deep.   


Mix the 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil, ½ cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1¼ cups milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 1 cup flour in a large bowl (or blender) until smooth. The batter should be smooth and shiny. 


Place about 2/3 of the pitted cherries on the bottom of the baking dish. Slowly pour the batter evenly over the cherries in the pan, and place the remaining cherries on top of the batter. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top of the batter and fruit.   


Place in the center of the oven and bake about 50-60 minutes, until top is puffed, edges are golden-brown, and the center is completely set. Cool slightly, and sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. (Clafoutis is best enjoyed warm. The center will sink as it cools.)   


** To make a regular not infused version, use plain butter instead of infused coconut oil and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes.

lunatic femme is all about pleasure, curiosity and of course, lingerie… what are your favorite pieces you own and why? 

 

Christina Wong: 

My sleep lingerie and négligée! Especially on hot summer nights paired with a silky satin robe. They’re more fun than my usual pajama pants and oversized T-shirt, and it just feels luxurious to fall asleep in something sexy and wake up feeling that way too. Nothing better than sipping a cup of coffee and scrambling eggs on a Sunday morning while wearing a négligée. I may need some new pieces when lunatic femme launches… just saying.

BONUS: What question should I be asking you and what is the answer?  

 

Christina Wong: 

Who are you, what do you do and how did you get here? These days I’m a cannabis baker, recipe developer, content creator and writer. I make beautiful infused creations using strain-specific cannabis flower and educate about cooking and baking with cannabis. I work with brands and publications to write recipes, articles and create content. It’s truly a dream come true.  Sometimes have to pinch myself because I’m still not sure how I got here. But here I am and I keep on going because this is so much fun! I spent over a decade doing PR and marketing in food, restaurants, hospitality and working with chefs. A couple years ago I landed an opportunity to work in cannabis where I learned everything I know, including how to infuse my first cannabutter. I combined my passion for food with weed, and found myself in the culinary cannabis community living my best life.

How has Christina Wong inspired you? Share your favorite cannabis recipes below👇💋

xxx, Lunatic Femme

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