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00:00What is going on guys? Jet Tila here, and this is Ready Jet Cook, where I break down the basics
00:05of Asian cuisine and share some tips and tricks for making my favorite dishes.
00:10Today we're tackling yang chow fried rice and kung pao chicken, two dishes that have traveled all the way from
00:16China to find their home in American takeout menus.
00:20And I'm going to show you just how easy they are to make in your own home kitchen.
00:31You probably have most of the items you need in your pantry to make yang chow fried rice, starting with
00:36the star of the show, jasmine rice.
00:38This isn't just any rice, this is known to be the king of rice.
00:43Jasmine rice is unique because it's simultaneously long grain, fragrant, and super fluffy.
00:50So yang chow fried rice is fancy fried rice, meaning it's got a lot of amazing stuff in it, mainly
00:56shrimp and barbecue pork.
00:58We've got our barbecue pork back in the kitchen, but we need to talk about shrimp.
01:02Although you see the shrimp fresh and glistening, it's actually been previously frozen and that's okay because it's been IQF,
01:08individually quick frozen, either at sea or at the processor.
01:13Let me clarify a shrimp sizing to the market or the butcher or the fishmonger, we size them by how
01:20many in a pound?
01:21So 21-25 is a larger shrimp because there's 20 in a pound.
01:2641-50 is a small shrimp because there's 41-50 per pound.
01:31If you go to your butcher or fishmonger and say, I want a medium shrimp, they're probably going to give
01:36you like a 21-25, pretty common size.
01:38These shrimp are 21-25, 26-30, so they might appear big, but once you peel them, devein them, and
01:45cook them, they're going to shrink a little bit.
01:47So buy a little bigger than you think you want.
01:4921-25, 26-30, perfect for yang chow fried rice.
01:53With shrimp in hand, looks like we got everything else.
01:56Let's go check out.
02:01Fried rice is really deceptive because just about any fried rice is delicious and you want to eat it, but
02:07there are some tips and techniques that can make fried rice, you know, good to amazing.
02:13And I want to show you all of those secrets.
02:16So let's start prepping here.
02:18I like to take the ends off of the scallions first.
02:22I flip them all over at the same time, line them up, and then I take the tip off so
02:26they're even.
02:27And now I like to separate the whites from the greens.
02:31And instead of like cutting these perpendicular rounds, fine, right?
02:36Why don't I just show you the nicer way that doesn't take any more effort?
02:39So instead of a 90 degree, why don't we go 45 degree?
02:44And then a nice, consistent 45 degree slice all the way down the scallion.
02:50And this is called a bias slice.
02:52Takes no more effort, looks super cool.
02:55And ready jet cook OGs know that this is the only way I slice scallions.
03:01Scallions look gorgeous.
03:02Let's talk about one of my favorite proteins on earth.
03:05Cha Siu Southern Chinese barbecue pork.
03:08It is a thing of magic.
03:10It is a pork shoulder lacquered in five spice and soy sauce and honey.
03:16It is perfect.
03:17So you can kind of find it hanging in barbecue shops at your favorite Cantonese restaurants.
03:23This is the protein you want to use for like the best yang chow fried rice.
03:26Since we're cutting Cha Siu for fried rice, we're going to cut it small.
03:30So I'm going to cut this in half first.
03:32Remember, what's the Jatila rhyme, OGs?
03:36Tile becomes a slice, slice becomes a dice.
03:39So I'm going to cut Cha Siu tiles first.
03:42And then we're going to take these slices.
03:45We're going to cut them perpendicular.
03:47And then cut them into dice.
03:51One of the key things is you've got to make the rice a day ahead or early enough so it's
03:56cold before you make the actual fried rice.
03:59I've got two cups of rice, two cups of water, and I'm going to give that a stir.
04:05What I want to do is I want to saturate all the rice grains so I don't have any clumps
04:09that are going to stick together.
04:10If you're doing table rice to eat with other entrees, that's when you bring the finger technique in.
04:17If you place the index finger onto the rice, you bring the water line to that first crease in your
04:23index finger.
04:24Because you're making fried rice, I want a drier rice that absorbs all those flavors.
04:28I'm at max heat.
04:30The water is going to come to a boil.
04:32I'm going to reduce to a simmer.
04:35Simmer 20.
04:36Turn it off.
04:38Rest 20.
04:39It must be covered.
04:40You cannot cook jasmine rice uncovered.
04:43Some saucepan lids have the vent hole.
04:45I don't love that for making rice.
04:47I like a nice, tight-fitting lid because it actually creates pressure and limits evaporation in the water.
04:54Just make sure the water is at a simmer when you're cooking your rice and you'll have that perfect amount
04:59of water to rice without too much evaporation.
05:04Okay, so my rice has cooked for 20, rested for 20, and now I'm going to fluff it up.
05:11Your bottom line is don't break the rice grains.
05:14That's all I'm asking you to do when you're fluffing.
05:16So I like to take either wood or silicone and just kind of start loosening up those bits of rice.
05:23Don't go right to the middle and start smashing up the rice grains.
05:28So breaking up larger bits and then smaller bits of rice, and that's it.
05:32You want to make sure each grain of rice is just loosened up from the larger bits, and now you're
05:42ready to transfer it to further cool it.
05:45And that's perfect.
05:46And what are you looking for in case you don't really make rice a lot?
05:50Every rice grain is identifiable.
05:53They're not swollen, which means there was too much water, and they're not opaque, which means there wasn't enough water.
06:00But if I can identify every rice grain, I've done my job.
06:03And tasting-wise, you don't want it too soft.
06:07You don't want it too firm.
06:08This is perfect rice.
06:10So we want to cool this rice now.
06:12We're making sure the grains are nice, whole, and cold, so they'll heat up gently in the fried rice.
06:18So by the time you're eating that lovely plate of fried rice, it's like this fresh-cooked rice.
06:23My favorite technique is just to use a quarter sheet pan, or a half sheet pan if it's a lot
06:28of rice.
06:29And you're allowing all those warm bits of rice, now that they are fluffed and opened up, just to cool
06:35down naturally and stay in that whole grain.
06:39If I made fried rice with hot rice, it would basically just turn to mush.
06:43So I've transferred the rice into a quarter sheet pan, covered it with plastic.
06:46We're going to put it in the fridge to further cool it down.
06:50So I went ahead and made some rice ahead of time, so it's perfectly cold for fried rice.
06:55I know cooking in a wok looks really romantic, but all you need is something decently wide, some high sides,
07:01and you're good to go.
07:02So cook your food in a skillet.
07:04All right, so I'm going to start with some neutral oil.
07:06Canola, peanut, vegetable, avocado.
07:10You can get as fancy as you want, or not fancy.
07:13So our cha siu, which is already cooked, so I'm just warming it through.
07:22I'm using frozen peas and carrots because it's what we're kind of used to in the Chinese-American restaurant experience.
07:27But use any vegetable that's in your fridge.
07:29I'm letting the pork warm up because the shrimp cooks really, really quickly.
07:33Next, shrimp, big or small, is up to you.
07:40Now, eggs.
07:42I'm whisking three whole eggs here.
07:46All right, this is going to happen fast because I cook a style of fried rice called gold-covered silver,
07:53which just means I like the egg really wet because it coats the rice and makes it nice and fluffy.
07:59So this is my style.
08:03Now, I put the rice immediately into that egg.
08:09So smash the rice right into the egg.
08:13Gentle flip so the egg comes over the top.
08:16The egg actually envelops the rice, coats it completely, and creates like a non-stick surface.
08:22It's a pretty cool tip.
08:24And this way the egg stays nice and golden versus cooking all the moisture out of it and it drying
08:30out.
08:31Once we're mostly mixed together and you get those gold flakes and those Chinese barbecue bits, the colors coming together,
08:38I'm going to start seasoning now.
08:41Very simple seasoning, the majority of your salt and umami is going to come from chicken powder.
08:46And I don't like a soy saucy fried rice.
08:48I like a light golden fried rice, so I'm going to use oyster sauce and soy sauce very, very lightly.
08:55So just a little bit to add a little more punch.
09:01I'm actually going to show you a technique where I deglaze with it and not go right in.
09:06So around the edges, you can hear that sizzle.
09:10And if you notice, I'm being really delicate using silicone so I don't break up those grains.
09:16That's looking phenomenal.
09:17And this is the time I like to take my first taste before I actually put the scallions in because
09:22I don't want to overcook those scallions.
09:26Nice, umami, the fragrance of that soy sauce comes through, I'm pretty good.
09:33Add some scallions.
09:35Imagine making this for your friends and loved ones.
09:39That's why I think Yang Chao fried rice is like the king of fried rice because everything's in there.
09:45I mean, check out my one pan feast here.
09:48I love it so much.
09:50So in terms of plating, my only tip for you is leave all the delicious bits for the top.
09:56So I'm purposely just getting kind of the rice first and laying it down as the base.
10:01I'm leaving all this big shrimp in the pan for the last final scoops.
10:07And that way, when you take this to the table, your guest sees just like mountains of shrimp and they
10:15get super, super happy.
10:17The way I like to finish fried rice is very simply the greens of the scallions on top because I
10:24think they're a little lighter in taste than the whites.
10:26Don't forget a little bit of white pepper that's going to add just that floral spicy touch to make it
10:31perfect.
10:32All that's left to do is taste this amazing dish.
10:36That's it right there.
10:38Sorry, making you jealous, but I'm just doing my job.
10:45That rice is light and fluffy.
10:47The pork and shrimp are juicy and tender.
10:50And I'm getting every bit of that savory egg goodness.
10:53This is truly one of those kind of rock star dishes.
10:56And it all fits in one plate.
10:58Yang chow fried rice is fantastic on its own, but I'm going to round out this takeout feast by making
11:04some Kung Pao chicken to go along with it.
11:07Don't go anywhere.
11:08Kung Pao chicken was my grandma's go-to dish anytime she didn't have a meal plan, but we never complained
11:14because it was so delicious.
11:15It's also a dish I made for Ali really early on when we were dating, so it holds a special
11:21place in my heart.
11:22Kung Pao comes from the Sichuan area of China, which is known for two things, chilies and vinegar.
11:28And speaking of vinegar, Kung Pao uses black vinegar, which is very unique because it's made from rice.
11:35It's fermented in clay pots from anywhere from six months to many, many years.
11:39So it has that cool, funky, unique flavor, and it's great for dipping dumplings.
11:44So I've got my vinegar.
11:45We really need to talk about chili garlic sauce.
11:48So Chinese chili garlic sauce is pretty unique.
11:52I know sambal and sriracha have been pretty popular over the years, but in my opinion, chili garlic sauce from
11:59China is its own thing because it's got a ton of flavor.
12:04It's got a good amount of heat and garlic, and it's not overly vinegar like those other sauces can be.
12:10I've got a ton more ingredients I need to get.
12:12I will catch you back in the kitchen for the cook.
12:19So let's do a quick Kung Pao crash course.
12:22It's a stir-fry dish, so it basically comes down to a combination of protein, vegetables, aromatics, all cooked together
12:29really quickly in a wok.
12:31It's simple, it's quick, but yields incredible flavor.
12:35I'm using boneless chicken thighs.
12:37So these are skin and boned already, but there are times there's a little bit of fat on here.
12:43It's up to you whether to leave them.
12:45I trim out like the bigger pieces of fat, but if you have smaller pieces, I just leave them on
12:49there.
12:50I think they're extra flavor.
12:51So once you have the chicken thigh trimmed out like this, I cut it in half first to leave two
12:58long lengths, and then I put them together and cut kind of one-inch blocks out of them.
13:05And because it's a thigh, you're not going to get perfect one-inch cubes.
13:08Like, don't stress.
13:09As long as they're reasonably the same size, you're going to be fine.
13:13So this is Kung Pao chicken, but you pick the protein.
13:17If you like pork, use pork.
13:18If you like fish, use fish.
13:20If you want tofu, delicious.
13:22I'm going to teach you how to velvet this chicken, which is the secret to getting that ultra-tender, juicy
13:27nugget.
13:28So the two powders here, baking soda.
13:31This is cornstarch.
13:32Just a little bit of water.
13:34A little bit of oil.
13:36The oil actually kind of pre-lubricates the chicken for the pan so it doesn't stick.
13:41I'm going to put a little bit of soy sauce in here.
13:44This is going to help flavor the chicken.
13:48It's going to help tenderize that chicken.
13:50I'm going to let this marinate for about 10 to 15 minutes, and it's time to get saucy.
13:54So it's time to build the Kung Pao sauce.
13:58Let's start with a little oyster sauce.
14:00And this is black vinegar.
14:01I'm using Chinese chili garlic sauce to get deep umami flavors.
14:06You guys know my secret.
14:07Chicken power.
14:08It's very important that you use a Chinese chicken powder, not an American or Latin bullion,
14:15because these are formulated very specifically to have that Chinese taste to it.
14:20And in the world of Chinese cuisine, there's a billion types of soy sauces.
14:24This is dark soy, which means it's brewed and reduced more.
14:28It's going to have a deep kind of color and a rich flavor that is slightly sweet.
14:33The star of Szechuan cuisine is this right here.
14:36Szechuan peppercorn.
14:38It is truly unique in the food world.
14:40It is simultaneously sour like citric acid, spicy, and very floral.
14:47And the effect of this on the palate, it's actually quite numbing.
14:51Buy it whole, and you have to ground it yourself, or you can actually just buy the powder.
14:55Either one is fine, but use it sparingly because it actually will numb people's tongues.
15:01Kind of great for a prank as well, but you didn't hear it from me.
15:04Although this sauce is pretty thick, I need to dilute this and still kind of make a glaze.
15:08So the way to do it is to make a slurry.
15:10I have cornstarch in here, and I'm adding water.
15:15I'm going to stir this up to make a slurry.
15:18Don't dump the cornstarch right into the sauce because it'll just clump up.
15:22The best way to work it in is to dilute it with water, then put it in just like this.
15:26And you've just made Kung Pao sauce.
15:29If you find yourself falling in love with a recipe and making it a ton, make this recipe times four,
15:36times five.
15:37Put it in a squeeze bottle, put it in the fridge, and you've got Kung Pao sauce at your disposal.
15:42It's almost time to rock the walk, so don't go anywhere.
15:46All right, team, I've got my chicken marinating, and my sauce is ready.
15:49It's time to move on to the vegetable prep.
15:51So for ginger, I peel it.
15:56Ginger and garlic are foundational aromatics when it comes to Chinese food.
16:01It goes into everything.
16:02It pairs really, really well with that kind of wok hei, or breath of the wok.
16:08Garlic, don't overthink it.
16:09Just smash it and mince it.
16:16Half cup of each bell pepper.
16:19Tile becomes a slice.
16:21A slice becomes a dice.
16:28I like using red and green for the color variants, but they do taste quite different.
16:34The green is going to be a little more grassy.
16:36The red is going to be a little more sweet.
16:38So it's really up to you.
16:39I'm keeping them in the large dice this time to match with the chicken.
16:43All right, onion.
16:45Tip.
16:46Root.
16:48Discard.
16:49Half.
16:51Peel.
16:54Dice everything today.
16:57Next, I'm going to cut my scallions.
16:59I want the whites to be diced, matching with those vegetables.
17:05I'm going to take the greens now and bias slice them for garnish.
17:11And just like that, it's time to head to the wok.
17:14I'm preheating the wok at least two minutes on a home stove to get it screaming hot.
17:20Neutral, high-temperature oil going in until you see white smoke, which is right now ginger garlic.
17:28And it's all about order of operation.
17:30Whatever takes longer to cook is going to go in sooner.
17:33And in this case, it's going to be the chicken.
17:41We'll start moving the items around.
17:44Make sure to scrape as you go.
17:46Anything that starts to stick, the sooner you get it, the sooner you convert it into deliciousness.
17:51Because if you don't get it, you're going to convert it into burn.
17:54Chilis are going in.
17:56Warn everyone in the house that chili vapors are going to happen soon.
18:02Because of the shape of the wok, anything you toss comes right to the middle.
18:07I'm going to put peanuts now.
18:10And every time I add something, I want to toss.
18:14Because I want all these ingredients to come into contact with that hot wok.
18:19Yeah, Martin Yan used to joke, it's stir-fry, not stair-fry.
18:23Meaning, like, just stop standing there, move things around, and scrape them down.
18:28So it's veggie time.
18:31And remember, we cut all these vegetables about the same size, so they're going to cook at the same rate.
18:36That's why they can go in together.
18:39And I'm always listening for the sear.
18:42As long as the wok is screaming, that means you're at a good heat.
18:45If it starts to kind of quiet down, don't put anything in there.
18:48Let it come back up to temp, and then keep moving.
18:54And people are like, yo, how do you toss food in the wok?
18:57It's pretty easy once you kind of understand it.
19:01Let me kind of give you the mechanics.
19:02Trying to get the food to the far side, flip, and bring it back.
19:06And what's going to help you is using the shovel, right?
19:09So we're going to kind of center all the food.
19:11I'm going to position the shovel to push it forward.
19:14And then simultaneously flip and pull back towards me.
19:16And that's how you get a nice wok toss, by using the shovel.
19:21So remember, there is cornstarch in here.
19:24So give this sauce a stir before you add it to the pan.
19:29Cornstarch starts to thicken or quote-unquote activate.
19:34Work the sauce in.
19:35Let it start to come to a boil.
19:37And as it comes to a boil, it's going to thicken up nicely.
19:41I love to give you the visual cues before plating.
19:43So has the sauce thickened into a glaze?
19:46Check.
19:47Chicken cooked through, veggies cooked through, check.
19:50It's time to garnish and turn off the heat.
19:52All right, those tops.
19:53And these are those bias-sliced green tops.
19:57And this is ready to go to the plate.
20:15I mean, this dish packs a punch.
20:18You get that numbing spice from the Szechuan peppercorn,
20:21the notes of sweet and sour from the chicken and the sauce,
20:25and the crunch of the vegetables.
20:26This really is an irresistible classic.
20:30Kung Pao fried rice.
20:35The punch of this Kung Pao chicken pairs perfectly
20:39with the more mellow and almost sweet notes
20:42of the fried rice and shrimp.
20:44This is an irresistible pair.
20:46This dish has been a staple in my house,
20:48and hopefully it will become one in yours.
20:51So there you have it, two titans of Chinese takeout.
20:55Now it's your turn to cook this dish in your kitchen,
20:58and I'll see you next time on Ready Jet Cook.
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