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HOT & SPICY FOODS DURING THE SUMMER MAY COOL YOU DOWN?
Hot and Spicy Things Are Exactly What You Should Be Eating during the Hot Summer 2020 Summertime in American culture means ice cream and popsicles, but here's why you should consider sweating it out by eating hot and spicy to beat the heat. Get ready for Chef Woo Can’s philosophical approach to eating hot and spicy during the hot Summers. In the past, we’ve spent our fair share of Summers chilling out (literally) with lots of ice cream, cool smoothies, frozen cocktails, flavored ice BUT is that the only way to cool off? While there’s nothing wrong with our Summer time favorite treats, heat has the power to cool us down. Yep, I said it, heat can cool you down! In our United States of America, this might a new view but in other parts of the world, they fight the sweltering heat with hot and spicy dishes. Some of you may have tried Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup or maybe cold noodles with spicy sauce and your thinking, your kidding? Nope, it might actually cool you down. Case in point, let’s say you sip a hot drink, that sensation triggers nerves on your tongue to signal your brain to start a cooling mechanism which may include sweating (which lowers your body’s internal temperature enough to counter balance the hot effects. It’s a cultural difference but it will take time to redirect hot and spicy in the summe time. Our notion of having hot soup during the fall and winter months will not change but for those daring to take the plunge, it might be a challenging and most rewarding experience. The same goes for Spicy dishes that we taste in hot chilis activate the same nerves endings and cooling responses in our body. These cooling effects don’t just give us relief, it can bring back appetite which many like myself suppress in hot weather. Peppers cause you to really enjoy the flavors and engage with your food when you don’t feel like you want to eat anything. In Southeast Asian there is a balance, “Ying & Yang” in all meals. Hot and Spicy in one dish than a cooling dish with cucumbers, watermelon and lettuce takes the edge off, a balance of flavors. Cooling to hot and spicy. By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com #hotandspicyoodduringthesummercoolsyoudown #chefwoocanrecommendseatinghotandspicy #hotandspicyfoodcoolingeffect Wegman's
I will be the first person that loves Wegman's. I love them for various reasons, food quality, professional service from staff, cleanliness and constant varieties of fruits, exotic fruits and vegetables, sustainable seafood and delicious beef. Ovrall, figure this, the kids have Disney World to look forward to my Chef Woo Can has Wegman's. Ok, prices might be a little higher but the quality you get in return and flavors is well worth it! I usually make homemade crab cakes by buying the container of Jumbo Lump crabmeat from Virginia. I know the Maryland Jumbo Lump crab cake will be out in Septemeber to Novemeber. But during Mother's Day, they were all out of Jumbo Lump crab meat. They did have ready maid crab cakes and my wife loves crab cakes. Now, when I cook, I'm never cheap on the ingredients and I never cut corners, so I had to expect that to happen with ready maid crab cakes. On Mother's Day, I popped them in the oven and broiled them When I took a bite, there were very light, may be a little too much baking powder or too much egg, it was more fluffy, where's the crabmeat? Kinda disappointed because I love whatever Wegman's offers. I know thy are in business and they have to stretch their products to get more sales but to compromise on seafood when prices are already high, they may need to reevaluate this. Then my wife loves a nice steak but not necessarily a steak person in terms of how she likes it cooked. Her preference is more well done. I love New York Strip Steak, they offered a package of 4 vacuum sealed stripped steaks. I'm not an advocate of pre-packaged vacuum sealed steaks. Got it home, allowed it to sit at room temperature, seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides and brought it out the grill and cooked it until it was medium rare. Allowed it to sit for 10 minutes to retain the juices and her cut was a little less medium rare but more leaning to well. I cu it up in slices and I have to say there was no natural flavor. By adding salt and pepper should bring out the flavors but it didn't. The texture I expected but flavor, it was a disappointment. Anyway, looking forward for fresh figs coming up in June. If you never had fresh figs, you gotta try. If they offer Champagne mangoes, there are the yellow mangoes, try it. th pit is small and choose them unwrinkled but firm. They make delicious smoothies., you get more bang of mango meat than the green, orange and red colored ones. Nice to know: Asparagu, so delicious, they come big, small skinny but either way you need to prep them to rid the tough long stems. The best way is to take an asparagus, hold firm at the bottom of the asparagus and mid section of the top and bend. Where it cracks is where the tough part ends, throw tht piece out. Yes it might be shorter but its so bad when you eat the tough part, so fibrous. or you can take the potato peeler and shave off the bottom portion of the base but 5 inches. By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com #chefwoocanandwegmancrabcakes, #crabcakesmediocre, #asparaguspreparation I'M TIRED OF COOKING!
I'M TIRED OF COOKING! Since this pandemic I've had the pleasure of cooking every single meal at home, al least in the beginning. For me it relaxes me in these stressful times and I can be creative in many ways. In the beginning it was a little challenging having food delivered as some products may not have been available, but who can be choosey right now. I made good with what was available. My daughter was the only one I had to feed besides myself. Boy, is she fussy. It was lie I was cooking on an episode of "Chopped" Now, you might realize I mostly cook Asian and for the most part I get a thumbs up from my darling daughter whn just turned 12 yesterday. Any variation from Asian is a hit or miss, so I try not to make too much. I try to cook breakfast but because of the demands of school, teachrs are giving students work and close deadlines. It goes without saying that I prefer my daughter to go to bed early but with all the work she must complete the reality is she get things done late and thats when all her friends finish too. So, most of the time I cook breakfast myself, scambled eff or sunny side up eggs with either Canadian bacon or bacon with buttered toast, cup of fruit and coffee, fresh maid, no Keurig. Lunch and dinner I pln for. You may ask how about the wife. Well, she decides that she gaining weight, working in the office, stressed out, high anxiety, she feels she may eat in excess and gain more weight. Who hasn't gained weight right now. Now is not the time to go on a diet? Anyway, she makes her special diet with organic foods, its better for you she says. The aftermath of the kitchen looks like a tornado hit it after she cooks, There goes the non-stick pans. Every one of them is scared for life. I bought high quality non stick pan and have guarded it with my life literally. Anyway, cooking everyday provide a quality meal for myself and my daughter. You feel good and get all those good nutrients and in someway helps us mentally and physically. We feel better but every once in awhile, I'd like to take a break and have someone cook for me. ry reputable placeSince, I know I cook healthier than all the Asian take Out places, I still have a craving for the most Chinese American dishes, yep, Chicken Chow Mein, an egg roll and may be wonton soup. Yes, unhealthy and yet delicious and once in awhile is ok. I had gone to 2 different take out places and I'd like to share with you my experiences: Wok To Go Very reputable, during the pandemic, they were one of a few take out Chinese restaurants. I asked for delivery. I ordered pan fried dumplings and you know how the traditional places make the dumplings in a crescent moon shape. We;;, Wok to Go, has their special way of folding their dumplings, different but very tasty. The Miso soup was good, this is fermented bean curd with sea weed and small cubes of tofu. Soup is only good when its hot and although it was delivery, it was piping hot. As every know the General Chou Chicken, we sked for the sauce to be put on the side to avoid getting the chicken soft. We like it crunchy. Although it came in breast meat, that was ok. When breast meat is cooked, it becomes tough. The preferre chicken is dark meat (thigh meat) after its been seasoned a battered, you can hardly taste the after flavor for dark meat. My dughter ordered Orange chicken and we ordered Beef with Broccoli. The concern from the food standpoint is when I cook I use very little salt and sugar. I appreciate the natural flavor of the meats and vegeeies and the sauce brings out that flavor., so for me the meal was very salty and sweet. But no one ever said Chinese Food was healthy. Once in awhile is ok "Asian Cafe" My friend is the owner of this take out place. He purchased this restaurant awhile ago with the same name. In the beginning it was difficult for him, name recognition if not reputable takes quite a long time to persuade people to try again. It took awhile but he offered good quality food and just like a matchbox set on fire, word spread and he was off to the races. Then Covid-19 hit, set him back, he took precautions to protect his workers and customers. Once you enter, your in a small compartment designed for 1 person to pickup order. I know its a start to get back to business and maybe he has to watch his portions to his customers but when I ordered from him, I ordered Mongolian Beef. Sad to say I got more onions and scallions than beef. 75% was scallion and onions. Where's the beef! I ordered the red curry shown on the window, the coconut red curry broth was spicy and smooth but there was more bamboo shoots, onions, scallion and sliced peppers than sliced chicken. You need to know that before this pandemic, the quantity of meat wasn't a problem but I say, in order to continue with customer loyalty, you need to provide good value with if anything equal quantity of protein with veggies. I was a disappointed. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being excellent, I give Asian Cafe a "3" with an explanation. During the best of times, there was no skimping of the meats but I do realize he climbing out of tough times and I don't want him to loose his customer base that he built up. By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com @chefwoocanreviewofasiancafe, #chefwoocanfoodandrestaurantcritic, #Asiancafe QUALITY OF TAKE OUT DELIVERY FOOD &/OR DRIVE THRU
Popeye's Chicken Of Bel Air, MD Restaurants haven't been given the thumbs up to reopen yet here in Maryland. But they can offer curbside service, delivery and pickup. I know that those establishment are hurting real bad but at the same time I give them an "A" for all their efforts offering 50% or less of their service allowed. At the same time, as customers, most of us have been laid off, furloughed, unemployed with limited funds and being tired of cooking, and our wish to support business through these tough time, I have to offer my opinion of what is being offered. As a restaurant critic its my passion to critique any restaurant and inform my viewers what I experienced whether it be good or bad, sometimes with a pinch of sarcasm, (that's my New York upbringing). Since the pandemic, businesses have been scurrying to make things as right as possible. Reinforce to the public what steps have been implemented from social distancing as well as how often they clean and require employees to wear face masks and gloves to ensure confidence that customers every precaution is being taken above a beyond. First off, I reside in Bel Air, MD and the only fried chicken place we had was KFC. Lately, we received Chick Fil A and it was wonderful. I haven't frequented the place for awhile since the pandemic since now Popeye's has opened next door. Because I personally and my family had been in "Shelter In Place" and my love for fast food on occassion, I want value and I feel Popeyes provides the value when it comes to their chicken "classic' sandwich. I had uploaded the application and ordered for pickup, so far my sandwich has always been crispy and delicious and when pickup, the server offers a greeting, wearing gloves and a face mask. I also ordered the fried chicken special and it was great, flavorful and most imporotantly, very crispy and crunchy. In the beginning when the store opened, there were alot of new recruits before the pandemic, ok, I went in to see the inside and it was nice and when I met the cashier, she was less than enthusiastic to welcome me. I hope that has changed but by getting pickup, they made up for that. Popeye's should know because of their excellent service I will continue to patronize their establishment. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being ecellent, I give Popeye's in Bel Air a 5. Good job Popeyes! By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com #chefwoocanratespopeyesofbelair, #fantasticpopeyeschicken Small Business Is Hurting Real Bad!
Small business, the self employed, sole proprietorships are the fabric of our country. They are the epitome of the American Dream. We inherited business from family and made it better or saved as much as we could to live the American Dream of owning our own business. The only thing that has changed over the years is the technology. We have stuck it out through thick and thin, natural and economic disasters but our American spirit has always risen to the occasion. That spirit is so strong, we stayed focus and through unpredictable circumstances we overcame. There's something about our American Spirit, its a part of all of us. So, when it comes to helping us during this terrible Covid-19 Pandemic, we need help. Our government says they need to inject lots of money toward our cause of getting back our business to start getting business back. But government has failed to realize that money isn;t always the solution. It helps but not the cure all to end all. I know this blog took a definite right turn but I have to say my opinion. Yes, I may lose some followers and I apologize but I'm not taking anyone side in the political system. Let's think this through my suggestion or opinion. During the best of times business operating at 100% full capacity and rent or lease can be sustained by the entrepreneur at 100%. So, lets say 80% of food service is dining inside and 20% is carry out orders. So the Pandemic eliminated dining in service. Even today, the probability of contamination inside an establishment is much higher especially higher if your not wearing a face mask. Let's despite the owners intent to open, the expense in precautions on contamination and reassuring the public that everything is ok will take time. The owners make the decision to close down the inside dining but emphasize curbside or delivery. In so doing, they will be generating 20% of revenues but the rent or lease is at 100%. If curbside service and delivery is the new wave of the future then logically, the rent or lese must be adjusted accordingly. Landlords are leasing/renting to make money but let's be serious, they need to know "We Are All In This Together" They should adjust their lease or rent accordingly to allow the entrepreneur to make some money. They need to go to their lending institution and ask for help. By doing this may not require as much money than the 2 trillion dollar bailout which may hurt us long term as a country overall. If anything, maybe a fraction of that money would help comply with CDC guidelines to minimize the spread of the virus. That's it!!!! BUT this is an election year and there's a lot at stake. Doesn't matter and that's the curve ball that has complicated matters and confusion and total chaos for a uniform standrd operating procedure. Obviously, these lending institutions are multinational and have a lot of investment income. These guys don't even twitch an eyelid when loaning highly speculative risk with millions of dollars. Now the role of the Federal government is to pass legislation to require these multinational financial to cut back and assist the commercial investors. Believe me when times are better they will make their money back but right now we must balance our economy while following a federal strategy to bring our nation together on how to address the Covid-19 pandemic. So, what hope is there? I cannot answer this question as I'm suffering along with all other business owners. We'll haver to allow our State governments to offer their guidance. We need to listen to them no matter how frustrated we are. Stay safe my friends and follow these 3 requirements to stay safe: 1. Wash your hands for 20 seconds, wear or carry a face mask if 6 " social distancing is not possible and 3. Shelter In Place" whenever possible. We are helping each other and ourselves to contain this virus. Again "We Are In It Together" Baking, Who am I kidding? I've always felt that cooking is a little more difficult than baking. There are so many ingredients, various styles and techniques required to cook a good meal. I just thought with baking, just follow the directions and you get delicious cake or fresh bread. Thats what I thought. Well, during this "Shelter In Place" I had a lot of time to burn. Cooking is my passion but every once in awhile, I'd like to try different things, like baking!. My daughter and myself love a nice French baquette. I always wondered how's it made, a little yeast, some flour and a tray of water in the oven to make that crispiness. This wouldn't be the first time I tried to bake. Once upon a time I tried to make cupcakes. The recipe asks for soft butter. My rationale was whatever way to melt butter was ok. Wrong, first lesson, when a recipe asks for soft butter that doesn't mean melted butter. So, that mistake won't be repeated. Well, I took a look at the recipe for a French Baquette. I followed it to a T and saw the dough rise twice., so far so good but when the recipe said to form a baquette like shape and lay it on a cookie sheet, I did on parchment paper. Stuck the tray of water in the preheated oven to create steam which will make a crusty bread. But when I placed the baqueete on the parchment paper it had no body. After putting it in the oven, it was flat, no body, no firmness. So, I said maybe I'll go back to basics and try making a simple chocolate chip cookies. But review of this simple recipe I noticed that the recipe required 1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. I felt its way too much sugar. Then I was thinking what about substituting white sugar with Stevia but 1/2 cup and brown sugar 1/2 cup. Well, even though Stevia may be a good sugar substitute, using it for baking may not be the best nd cutting the quantity down for white and brown sugar definitely has an effect on the overall consistency and chewiness of the cookie. The cookies I thought was suppose to melt down so to speak by putting a clump of batter on the parchment paper. The cookies did bake but never melted down. The next batch I flattened the dough, in the final analysis, the cookies were brittle and very heavy? That was the straw that broke the camels back. I will never bake anything ever again. Baking is a precision craft an exact science. By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com #baking, #bakingisaprecisioncraft, #chefwoocanandbaking CHEF WOO CAN IS BACK AS RESTAURANT CRITIC WITH A TWIST!
As restaurants get back to some sort of normalcy they are facing a drastic change in how they'll be doing business. They will have new priority and that is offering a safe dining area that potential customers can trust. Whether it through advertising or positie word of mouth, the marketing of their brand with precautions taken in compliance with State requirements is essential for reopening. Obviously this will pose to the establishment additional expense for compliance, rehiring furloughed employees who may or may not return, cost of food hs gone up dramatically because meat packing plants have closed and sensing whether customers will want to come back for their favorite dishes or just for the sake of getting out considering everyone has been in "shelter in place" for a couple of months? Is there a guarantee that business will be up and running right away or will it be slow process. My responsibility is the at this point order curbside pickup right now and determine if the quality has been compromised. Now more than ever is it important if the quality of these fine establishments have been compromised. I could have done this review of take out or curbside pickup earlier but in all fairness to restaurants, it was a chaotic time. Now, while things have slowly begun to reopen, I felt this is the best time to see how's it going. I won't be very strict considering that the mom and pop business has invested their life earning in their business and only fare to promote their brands on my website because I believe whole heartedly that given time, they will bounce back! So, stay tuned. I will not be eating in any dining room as the silent enemy is still out there and to be frank, I don't want to catch this contagious virus. Sometime in the future maybe but not right now. By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com @chefwoocanisbackasrestaurantcriticandblogger, Asian Food Products at Amazon.com & Wegman's
Sometimes during this crisis the choices of how we're going to feed our families have placed tremendous pressure on us to create different meals for our family. But the [rpblem is after reading the recipe they ask for certain ingredients not exactly readily available at our local supermarkets. I'm talking traditional authentic sauces. Don't get me wrong most supermarkets have an international aisle and the most common ingredients are available and catered to American taste. They are slow to introduce Vietnamese cuisine and sauces. If you don't care if the availability is commercial american Asian sauces then fine. At Wegman's, they see a potential market share by catering to the Asian Community. It's easy convenient and Asians have settled in the suburbs catering to affluent Americans who choose to buy authentic sauces and ingredinets. There is actually a refrigerated section for Asian produce like Baby Bok Choy, fresh ginger, Gai Lan, snap peas, snow peas, and Daikon to name a few. Another company that may be very surprised at to offer Asian products is Amazon.com. Yep, Amazon.com. They offer a wide variety of Asian products and sauces and although you might pay more, various company vendors see Amazon helping them sell some popular products, so be careful and shop around. The products are fresh and note that the rating system may be low may be from Asians that know they can pay less but when you need a prouct and this Covid-19 is creating stress shopping at these Asian supermarkets, I feel just click and you'll get your poduct delivered right away. When this Pandemic is over, I will be doing a Vlog at a Asian Supermarket, introducing new vegetables, exotic fruit, pre-packaged frozen dumpling, varieties of Ramen Noodles, Asian table wear and cooking equipment to all types of sauces. Stay in touch. By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocan.com #wegmansfreshasianproduce, #amazonasianingredients, #amazonwegmansasianproduce |
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