Hi,
My name is Chef Woo Can and I'm a true New Yorker raised in the little town of Massapequa Park, NY. Although Long Island is 2 words, a true Long Islander combines both words together like LONNG....I....SLANDER with no emphasis on each word.
I am Chinese American and like most families of second generation we adapted to our surrounding in Long Island. Needless to say there was one difference, the food we ate on the weekends and during the week.
For me it was pretty exciting growing up. On the weekend I would visit my friends and they would invite me for dinner. I said great. They would make hot dogs and hamburgers, Ellios pizza or Banquet fried chicken but the best part was T.V dinners. When my friends came to my house, it was the usual, a bowl of rice and some sort of Chinese dish my mom cooked up. But to my friends, they thought it was a treat having home made Chinese food.
My mom adapted to the cuisine of the time because she too was Chinese American born in NYC Chinatown. My dad was typical, couldn't put together a meal, period, so he definitely relied on Mom most of the time but he loved to go out to eat at various restaurants.
Eventually, I worked in NYC Chinatown to be exposed to cooking since I was always interested in entertaining cooking as a potential career. I never knew working in my Uncle's Chinese restaurant was so back breaking. Where's the air condition? My Uncle said, you want air condition, here open the window!. I learned the nack for sarcasm.
He told me to wash the dishes, I said where's the dish washer, he pointed to the sink and said there it is. Just fill it up and sprile some powder and the dishes would be clean and sanitized.
Then I learn that 90% of the job was involved in prepping the food. Everything needs to be prepped. Back then, manual labor was key but now there ae firms that do the prepping. From deboning a chicken with a super sharp knife, to prep frying the fried food to peeling shrimp in the alleyway. It was back breaking but I was young. We always looked roward to the head chef making his favorite meals. Boy, a bowl of hot rice was perfect.
Then my Uncle sent me to learn to cook. I said, where's the cookbook, He said there isn't one and the only cookbook is your eyes and taste buds! I said what? He said when you accomplish that technique, You'll have learned the true way to cook. He was right. I eyed every ingredient as balanced, flavors relationships between salt and sweet and sour and spicy. It was like I was creating a masterpiece. The only other thing in Chinese cooking was to always keep the temperature on high while always stir frying the ingredients being cooked. That combination of high heat created a unique aroma called "Wok Hay" It was never a burnt smell because stir frying would always prevent that from happening.
I put into action everything I learned while cooking for family. Aaah, it worked, they ate everything on the plate. Hmmm, let me cook for relatives, then friends then adult education class, to developing a website chefwoocan.com to being a food and restaurant critic, to foodie to blogger to food writer.
It's been a heck of a ride. My viewership has increased so I guess I/m doing something right!
So, again, welcome to my website chefwoocan.com and be entertained and enlightened.
By the way, my food tours are starting up, send me an email if you have any questions BUT always remember this
If Chef Woo Can, You Can Too!!!!!!!!!
.
My name is Chef Woo Can and I'm a true New Yorker raised in the little town of Massapequa Park, NY. Although Long Island is 2 words, a true Long Islander combines both words together like LONNG....I....SLANDER with no emphasis on each word.
I am Chinese American and like most families of second generation we adapted to our surrounding in Long Island. Needless to say there was one difference, the food we ate on the weekends and during the week.
For me it was pretty exciting growing up. On the weekend I would visit my friends and they would invite me for dinner. I said great. They would make hot dogs and hamburgers, Ellios pizza or Banquet fried chicken but the best part was T.V dinners. When my friends came to my house, it was the usual, a bowl of rice and some sort of Chinese dish my mom cooked up. But to my friends, they thought it was a treat having home made Chinese food.
My mom adapted to the cuisine of the time because she too was Chinese American born in NYC Chinatown. My dad was typical, couldn't put together a meal, period, so he definitely relied on Mom most of the time but he loved to go out to eat at various restaurants.
Eventually, I worked in NYC Chinatown to be exposed to cooking since I was always interested in entertaining cooking as a potential career. I never knew working in my Uncle's Chinese restaurant was so back breaking. Where's the air condition? My Uncle said, you want air condition, here open the window!. I learned the nack for sarcasm.
He told me to wash the dishes, I said where's the dish washer, he pointed to the sink and said there it is. Just fill it up and sprile some powder and the dishes would be clean and sanitized.
Then I learn that 90% of the job was involved in prepping the food. Everything needs to be prepped. Back then, manual labor was key but now there ae firms that do the prepping. From deboning a chicken with a super sharp knife, to prep frying the fried food to peeling shrimp in the alleyway. It was back breaking but I was young. We always looked roward to the head chef making his favorite meals. Boy, a bowl of hot rice was perfect.
Then my Uncle sent me to learn to cook. I said, where's the cookbook, He said there isn't one and the only cookbook is your eyes and taste buds! I said what? He said when you accomplish that technique, You'll have learned the true way to cook. He was right. I eyed every ingredient as balanced, flavors relationships between salt and sweet and sour and spicy. It was like I was creating a masterpiece. The only other thing in Chinese cooking was to always keep the temperature on high while always stir frying the ingredients being cooked. That combination of high heat created a unique aroma called "Wok Hay" It was never a burnt smell because stir frying would always prevent that from happening.
I put into action everything I learned while cooking for family. Aaah, it worked, they ate everything on the plate. Hmmm, let me cook for relatives, then friends then adult education class, to developing a website chefwoocan.com to being a food and restaurant critic, to foodie to blogger to food writer.
It's been a heck of a ride. My viewership has increased so I guess I/m doing something right!
So, again, welcome to my website chefwoocan.com and be entertained and enlightened.
By the way, my food tours are starting up, send me an email if you have any questions BUT always remember this
If Chef Woo Can, You Can Too!!!!!!!!!
.