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I've been writing about various restaurants and food establishments, new ingredients and sauces for quite awhile. Check out my archives. Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com www.chefwoocancollection.etsy.com Secrets Of Asian Cooking
White Pepper Besides the sauces, there are some other things to consider when completing your pantry. White Pepper is not very popular in American restaurants. The black pepper is king but white pepper is more aromatic than black pepper and is much stronger. When you go to your local Chinese restaurant, on the side of the table will be a salt and pepper shaker. 99% of the times the pepper will be white pepper. It's aromatic and strong flavor but doesn't overwhelm the dish, it just as a bit of spicy that is pronounced in the dish. Where can you find it? Since a lot of markets have expanded their Asian condiments, finding white pepper may actually be very easy to find. How is it used? If you love Hot & Sour soup, the white pepper adds a slight flavor dimension. But anywhere you like a little peppery spicy, add a dash of white pepper. It comes already ground but you can purchase the actual peppercorns and place it in your grinder for more texture. Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com www.chefwoocancollection.etsy.com Secrets Of Asian Cooking (6-6)
Fish Sauce Some sauces are autonomous for specific regions and Fish sauce is one sauce that is predominantly popular in Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Burma. Fish sauce in these countries is used instead of regular soy sauce, so it's very salty but what makes it unique is the pungent flavor and aroma. It's a very strong and aromatic sauce. How is it made? Good question, it's made from various types of fish from the ocean. Then they are placed in bins to allow fermentation resulting in a very strong but salty sauce. It may seem no appealing on how it's produced and the aroma itself can be somewhat revolting but combined with other sauces and ingredients creates a distinct flavor. Just remember this using a salty sauce compliments a sweet sauce and that combination of salty and sweet makes any dish perfect. Whether it be Asian, European or American. They compliment themselves. Now, there are obviously different grades of soy sauce, just like when you buy a bottle of vodka. There's the cheap inexpensive kind but the favor is hard versus a more expensive brand that's considered very smooth and desirable. I choose this brand it's called "Viet Huong" with 3 crabs on the label under 3 crabs brand. It's in a long glass bottle 24 fl ounces made with anchovy, salt, water fructose and hydrolysed vegetable protein. This brand is made in China, the color is a nice tea color and perfect. They have fish sauce made in the Philippines but it's so dark and very strong flavor The uses are infinite for Southeast Asian cuisine, one of the most popular is Pad Thai, most Thai dishes use it along with Vietnamese dishes. Note: It's so strong, you might want to buy a smaller bottle because its that pungent. By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com www.chefwoocancollection.etsy.com Secrets Of Asian Cooking (5-6) Dark Soy Sauce Did you ever wonder when ordering a dish especially beef dishes, the color of the beef and sauce is so brown color? Typically when cooking beef, the color is not so appealing to the eye. Well, one of the most important things when cooking in front of family, friends or customers is how it looks. The better it looks the more appetizing it is. So, welcome Dark Soy Sauce. The purpose of this sauce is to add color to any dish specifically beef. Although it says "Soy Sauce" in the title, it has very little to do with flavor. It's essentially carmel coloring and the consistency is very thick. You may ask what brand is a good brand, well I recommend "Lee Kum Kee" brand Dark Soy Sauce. There are literally thousands to choose from and some brands are cheaply made or they actually sell it as a thick soy sauce. To the average American, we don't know and to sort out which one is legit may be time consuming and very expensive. So, take it from Chef Woo Can, "Lee Kum Kee Brand is the best. I've been using it for years. This brand is of the highest quality and only the best for our families. How do you use it, well, while stir frying ingredients, as you add your sauce, you can add a dash of dark soy sauce. In no time, the color of the dish will start changing. It's up to you how dark you want to go and that will be through using it and experimenting. Every dish is different but after you mastered the use of dark soy sauce, you'll see a notieable difference. P.S: Do Not Use As Soy Sauce because you'll be very disappointed. There is no noticeable soy sauce flavor. As to why they label it as dark soy sauce, I couldn't tell you. By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com www.chefwoocancollection.etsy.com Aloha Guys! Food Brings Everyone Together
Editor In Chief/ Chef Woo Can If you just woke up from a bad nightmare, well, Good Day, Good Evening to you. You did! Our country is going through a different period of time. Who's right and who's wrong? Does it really matter blaming who we feel si wrong or right? When can we ever agree? Is t really possible. I think we no longer respect each other's opinion, and the only way to combat a view that's not in line with our own, we argue, we no longer learn how to listen, we're so afraid to speak our mind worrying about being labelled by an individual or group. Who's to say if eaither one of us is correct? I guess it's that mob mentality swayed by politicians fueling their anger rather deescalate the problem or issue. Now, you may wonder what Chef Woo Can is talking about, he knows how to cook which in itself is a creative art form. You make a mistake or do something wrong or read a recipe wrong, you have the creative ability to change it rather than throw it out. Social Media is contributing largely to information and misinformation. There is nothing we can do. It is what it is right now! I feel that if you get a group of people that are totally opposite, with varying backgrounds and economic status, and offer them their favorite foods in 1 room, I guarantee in a matter of minutes, this group will start talking about food in general, they talk about their favorite food and the passion we have with that favorite food and in no time, they'll offer you to try the food, although initially reluctant your are persuaded to try and you do and after awhile it does taste good and then both of you start taking about it, there is a sense of calm in the room, peace a little humor and happiness and ultimately the conversation is understanding differences and talk about their background leading them to getting to know one another. Then the issue of talking about topics of differences, whether its Covid, Vax or no vax or world politics, personal opinions while your eating this delicious favorite foods you never saw before to actually talking to each other on a civilized level. The more we listen the more we understand one another. We may not always agree but we can agree to disagree which is a positive step because not everything in life we'll agree to but at least we learned to respect each other, lern to listen and calmly talk about similarities and even differences All this over eating food. Food has that calming effect, what it does to our brain is amazing. The final analysis, is eating a talking go hand in hand. Imagine, if Putin and Biden got together over a long weekend eating and sharing their favorite foods all day long for the entire weekend. I'll bet they talk, listen and would come to some sort of compromise and understanding and ultimately avoid war. When there is little communication among leaders, war is always the answer but it doesn't have to be! Always remember this Knowledge is Power! No knowledge requires the tactic of Lying and confusion! Are our views conceived from others or from our own research? By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com Brothers Seafood Restaurant 1475 Brace Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 A funny thing happened in New Jersey last week. Believe it or not I was watching Tik Tok and saw a short video of this place o business .and their specialy is Dim Sum. For those that don't know what Dim Sum is, well, its our Chinese Brunch serving little dishes (tapas) of Asian appetizers whether it be chicken, pork, seafood, shrimp or beef. They are prepare with various flavors and cooking styles like deep frying, steaming or braising. Little old ladies push the traditional cart around the dining hall and you stop them as they come by and point to the dish your interested in. Then they mark the size of the dish which represents a certain price. Then they have a separate cart for a variety of desserts, yummy! and during your stay, they bring platters of seafood, noodles of varying types and delicious Asian vegetables. What was a good sign was when we approached the entrance of the restaurant, it was crowded, typically I hate crowds but in this case when it comes to Dim Sum establishments, its a good thing. It's just says that the food is fantastic and very fresh. My stomach was growling. We waited for about 20 minutes and were seated promptly. Ok, so if no old ladies seen pushing the cart, how do we order. Well, they provided us with 1 sheet of their entire Dim Sum Menu and we just checked off what we wanted. Now, I was starving but after my wife and my daughter finished with the sheet, it appeared to me that they were starving too. I looked at them and gave them this look as if I was shocked that they were starving too. Ok, the food arrived quickly, piping hot and fresh. The first items called phonectically Woo Kork (taro with ground pork inside then deep fried to a golden color was fabulous, Har Gow, was shrimp wrapped in a translucent skin, so delicious made perfectly with a dash of soy sauce (I've loved this Dim Sum since I was a kid), steamed spareribs with black bean sauce, Spareribs are choped in small pieces and marinated with soy sauce, sugar and black beans with a tad of baking soda to make the meat more tender. Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, (sticky rice with Chinese saudage, shitake mushroom and dried tiny alted shrimp). Dow Mui (snow pea pod vine). Interesting fact, 20 years ago, a pound of this vine went for 50 cents a lb. Today, its going for $7.00/ lb? A virtually unknown vine became so popular due to flavor and tenderness and the price sky rockets. Manila clams stir fry with black beans sauce. A favorite at Dim Sum. That combination of clam with that special sauce is perfect. Chicken feet, Ok, I know it seems gross but how its prepared will make it taste so delicious, you'll ask, can I have another one. Yes, it's a chicken foot, but they clip the nails and its famous for the collagen and cartilage and good for you. The little piggy bao is filled with a delicious custard inside a steamed bun. A better description is "Spanish Tapas" Lots of small dishes with delicious varieties of popular foods! Chef Woo Can rating on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent, I give Brothers Seafood Restaurant a 1,000+. It was that good!!!!! P.S: After your carted out and have some energy left, visit the Asian Supermarket. By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com www.chefwoocancollection.etsy.com PF Chang's Honey Chicken
I wanted to focus on the line of PF Chang's frozen entrees because having frequented this establishment I was pleasantly surprised of their food at their restaurant, so why not. It couldn't be that bad right? Well, I was completely wrong. I bought the Honey Chicken entree at my local supermarket and here is what I thought of it: PF Chang's Honey Chicken Now, when you have a fried coating it is very very difficult to maintain a crispness when frozen. You would need to at least heat up in this case the chicken in the toaster oven or air fryer. The toss it in a pan with the sauce. Simple right? I think the management team at PF Chang wanted to imitate the actual take out process. Have it made fresh, all crispy and toss with sauce and box it. So when you eat it the crispness losses it with the sauce and ultimately becomes a little soggy. That's what I think they were thinking or God Knows what they were trying to do. First, they say its Honey Chicken, I mean honey taste is honey taste and the only difference depends on where the bees ket the honey from what flower. But honey is honey, and I didn't taste any semblance to honey flavor. The chicken, chicken breast when cooked tightens up the breast muscle and requires a good chew. Now, there are ways to tenderize chicken but the way I know is not what they did. I believe they ground up the chicken in a mash added extenders and binders and breaded it and quick fried it. It felt like a mini chicken morsel. But when your dealing with a corporation, I guess you can expect this type of processing to be fast and quick. Again, the sauce was very sweet. In terms of value, yes, they did give a lot of so called chicken, they had to the title said "Honey Chicken." I was very disappointed to say the least so on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being excellent, I give a rating of -90, yes minus 90. It was that bad. If PF Chang continues with this line of frozen entree, they better get their act together or their brand will end up in the gutter. Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com On YouTube under Chef Woo Can PF Chang Frozen Dinner Entree/ Shrimp Lo Meinj
When PF Chang the restaurant opened up across the country, it was a huge success. The atmosphere was beautiful, customer service was professional and the staff were well trained in selling the menu. For Asian American restaurant, the corporation did their homework. They developed a great reputation for food quality so, why not try their pre-packaged frozen foods at home? With Covid running rampant, it would be the logical decision to buy their foods at my local supermarket. Well, I did try their frozen foods, specifically the Shrimp Lo Mein and the Honey Chicken. Here is my review of these 2 dishes: Shrimp Lo Mein: We are always attracted by the picture on the package, no matter if its done as a marketing ploy by a professional photographer. His job is to make the picture so delicious, it has to make the American Consumer salivate. It did with me. The ingredients included shrimp, shitake mushroom and bok choy. Interesting ingredients because shrimp is very expensive and shitake mushroom as well. The directions were easy, heat non stick pan, add a little oil and empty the package in the pan. The noodles were extremely thin and as the heat defrosted the sauce, there was a lot of sauce, I mean alot of sauce. I tasted the sauce and to my amazement it was undeniably very sweet. I did notice some slivers of carrots, the shrimp were tiny, when I say tiny TINY!, but I was looking for the bok choy, moving the noodles around and saw a strand of what might be bok choy. As for the Shitake mushroom, also a sliver of mushroom. When I say sliver, there wasn't enough to give some semblance of flavor? The sweetness overpowered the dish but there was so much sauce, it really wasn't Lo mein like all of us know. The noodles, let's put it this way, you'd get more noodle substance in a bag of ramen noodles. If your a Diabetic, stay away, your blood sugar would go through the roof and they should have a warning label to inform of high sugar content. For the price, well it was inexpensive, but no value. Since I have cooked all my life, this was an example of hitting certain buttons to make a sale. Sweetness always sells, convenience and price. The shrimp were tiny, no flavor, instead of tiny baby shrimp they could have added a couple of nice size 16-20 shrimp, more noodles, alot of bok choy and instead of shitake mushrooms, maybe white mushrooms instead. The sauce provided was to purposely cook the noodles and provide moisture to the dish? Where was the soy sauce or salty flavor? In all, PF Chang's frozen entree was terrible, absolutely terrible. When they are a huge corporation, this is the result that churn out? It's an emabrassment. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being excellent, I give the PF Chang Frozen Meal and _-100), yes a minus 100!!! You'd bebetter off going to your local take out restaurant for real Shrimp Lo Mein! The next dish will be PF Chang's Honey Chicken. Stay Tuned By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com "Chef Woo Can" on You Tube Secrets Of Asian Cooking
Shao Shing Wine This is the most popular wine in all of Asian. Just like the name its origin started in the Shao Shing Province in China. There is not one dish that doesn't use this delicious tasting wine. Wine in any dish makes it very special. This wine has a unique sweetness. A must in your pantry. Some unique dishes its used in is drunken shrimp dish but also used in all dishes but the flavor is there. It's a traditional Chinese wine made by fermenting glutinous rice, water and wheat-based yeast. It must be produced in Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It is widely used as both a beverage and a cooking wine in Chinese cuisine. It is internationally well known and renowned throughout mainland China, as well as in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. A must have to bring the fullness of flavor to your dish. By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan.com Under "Chef Woo Can" on You Tube Secrets of Asian Cooking (3-6)
Thin Soy Sauce Soy sauce is made of fermented soy beans and the most popular that people recognize is Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Kikkoman is just 1 of thousands of brands of soy sauce. Alot of brands use the full potency of the soy sauce and then just add water. Tehnically it would be correct and sold as thin soy sauce but there are brands out there that control the fermentation process to a shorter period thus cutting down the potency of the soy flavor. Thin soy sauce was used as a dipping sauce, it was light and never over-powering. The brand I use is the "Healthy Boy Brand" on yellow label with a picture of a little boy. It's use with dim sum dipping sauce or used to stir fry vegetables. By Chef Woo Can www.chefwoocan Under "Chef Woo Can" on You Tube . |
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