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Ready Jet Cook - Season 3 Episode 1 - Takeout at Home
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00:00What is going on guys? Jet Tila here and this is Ready Jet Cook where I break
00:05down the basics of Asian cuisine and share some tips and tricks for making my
00:09favorite dishes. Today we're tackling yang chow fried rice and Kung Pao chicken.
00:14Two dishes that have traveled all the way from China to find their home in
00:18American takeout menus. And I'm going to show you just how easy they are to make
00:23in your own home kitchen.
00:31You probably have most of the items you need in your pantry to make yang chow
00:35fried rice, starting with the star of the show, jasmine rice. This isn't just any
00:39rice, this is known to be the king of rice. Jasmine rice is unique because it's
00:45simultaneously long grain, fragrant, and super fluffy. So yang chow fried rice is
00:52fancy fried rice, meaning it's got a lot of amazing stuff in it, mainly shrimp and
00:57barbecue pork. We've got our barbecue pork back in the kitchen, but we need to
01:01talk about shrimp. Although you see the shrimp fresh and glistening, it's
01:04actually been previously frozen and that's okay because it's been IQF,
01:08individually quick frozen, either at sea or at the processor. Let me clarify a
01:14shrimp sizing to the market or the butcher or the fishmonger, we size them by
01:19how many in a pound. So 21-25 is a larger shrimp because there's 20 in a pound, 41-50
01:27is a small shrimp because there's 41-50 per pound. If you go to your butcher or
01:33fishmonger and say, I want a medium shrimp, they're probably going to give you like a
01:3621-25, pretty common size. These shrimp are 21-25, 26-30, so they might appear big, but
01:43once you peel them, devein them, and cook them, they're going to shrink a little bit. So buy a
01:48little bigger than you think you want. 21-25, 26-30, perfect for yang chow fried rice. With
01:54shrimp in hand, looks like we got everything else. Let's go check out.
02:02Fried rice is really deceptive because just about any fried rice is delicious and
02:06you want to eat it, but there are some tips and techniques that can make fried
02:10rice, you know, good to amazing. And I want to show you all of those secrets. So let's
02:16start prepping here. I like to take the ends off of the scallions first. I flip
02:22them all over at the same time, line them up, and then I take the tip off so
02:27they're even. And now I like to separate the whites from the greens. And instead of
02:32like cutting these perpendicular rounds, fine, right? Why don't I just show you the
02:37nicer way that doesn't take any more effort? So instead of a 90 degree, why don't
02:42we go 45 degree? And then a nice consistent 45 degree slice all the way down to
02:50scallion. And this is called a bias slice. Takes no more effort, looks super cool. And
02:55ready jet cook OGs know that this is the only way I slice scallions. Scallions look
03:02gorgeous. Let's talk about one of my favorite proteins on earth. Cha Siu Southern
03:07Chinese barbecue pork. It is a thing of magic. It is a pork shoulder lacquered in
03:13five spice and soy sauce and honey. It is perfect. So you can kind of find it
03:19hanging in barbecue shops at your favorite Cantonese restaurants. This is
03:23the protein you want to use for like the best Yang Chao fried rice. Since we're
03:27cutting char Siu for fried rice, we're gonna cut it small. So I'm gonna cut this in
03:31half first. Remember, what's the Jatila rhyme OGs? Tile becomes a slice, slice
03:38becomes a dice. So I'm gonna cut char Siu tiles first, and then we're gonna take
03:43these slices, we're gonna cut them perpendicular, and then cut them into
03:48dice. One of the key things is you got to make the rice a day ahead or early
03:56enough so it's cold before you make the actual fried rice. I got two cups of rice,
04:01two cups of water, and I'm gonna give that a stir. What I want to do is I want
04:06to saturate all the rice grains so I don't have any clumps that are gonna
04:09stick together. If you're doing table rice to eat with other entrees, that's
04:15when you bring the finger technique in. If you place the index finger onto the rice,
04:20you bring the water line to that first crease in your index finger. Because you're
04:25making fried rice, I want a drier rice that absorbs all those flavors. I'm at max heat.
04:30The water is gonna come to a boil. I'm gonna reduce to a simmer, simmer 20, turn
04:37it off, rest 20. It must be covered. You cannot cook jasmine rice uncovered. Some
04:43saucepan lids have the vent hole. I don't love that for making rice. I like a nice
04:48tight-fitting lid because it actually creates pressure and limits
04:52evaporation in the water. Just make sure the water is at a simmer when you're
04:57cooking your rice and you'll have that perfect amount of water to rice without
05:01too much evaporation. Okay, so my rice has cooked for 20, rested for 20, and now I'm
05:10going to fluff it up. Your bottom line is don't break the rice grains. That's all I'm
05:14asking you to do when you're fluffing. So I like to take either wood or silicone and
05:20just kind of start loosening up those bits of rice. Don't go right to the middle and
05:25start smashing up the rice grains. So breaking up larger bits and then smaller
05:30bits of rice and that's it. You want to make sure each grain of rice is just
05:37loosened up from the larger bits and now you're ready to transfer it to further
05:44cool it. And that's perfect. And what are you looking for in case you don't really
05:48make rice a lot? Every rice grain is identifiable. They're not swollen, which
05:55means there was too much water, and they're not opaque, which means there wasn't
05:59enough water. But if I can identify every rice grain, I've done my job, and tasting
06:05wise, you don't want it too soft, you don't want it too firm, this is perfect rice. So we
06:10want to cool this rice now. We're making sure the grains are nice, whole, and cold,
06:15so they'll heat up gently in the fried rice. So by the time you're eating that
06:20lovely plate of fried rice, it's like this fresh cooked rice. My favorite
06:24technique is just to use a quarter sheet pan or a half sheet pan if it's a lot of
06:28rice. And you're allowing all those warm bits of rice, now that they're fluffed and
06:34opened up, just to cool down naturally and stay in that whole grain. If I made fried
06:40rice with hot rice, it would basically just turn to mush. So I've transferred
06:44the rice into a quarter sheet pan, covered it with plastic, we're gonna put it in
06:47the fridge to further cool it down. So I went ahead and made some rice ahead of
06:53time, so it's perfectly cold for fried rice. I know cooking in a wok looks really
06:56romantic, but all you need is something decently wide, some high sides, and
07:01you're good to go. So cook your food in a skillet. Alright, so I'm gonna start with
07:05some neutral oil. Canola, peanut, vegetable, avocado, you can get as fancy as you want
07:11or not fancy. So our cha siu, which is already cooked, so I'm just warming it
07:16through.
07:22I'm using frozen peas and carrots because it's what we're kind of used to in the
07:25Chinese-American restaurant experience, but use any vegetable that's in your
07:29fridge. I'm letting the pork warm up because the shrimp cooks really, really
07:32quickly. Next, shrimp, big or small, is up to you.
07:40Now, eggs. I'm whisking three whole eggs here.
07:46Alright, this is gonna happen fast because I cook a style of fried rice called gold
07:52covered silver, which just means I like the egg really wet because it coats the
07:57rice and makes it nice and fluffy. So this is my style.
08:04I put the rice immediately into that egg. So smash the rice right into the egg. Gentle
08:13flip so the egg comes over the top. The egg actually envelops the rice, coats it
08:20completely, and creates like a non-stitch surface. It's a pretty cool tip. And this
08:25way the egg stays nice and golden versus cooking all the moisture out of it and it
08:30dries out. Once we're mostly mixed together and you get those gold flakes and those
08:35Chinese barbecue bits, the colors coming together, I'm gonna start seasoning now.
08:41Very simple seasoning. The majority of your salt and umami is gonna come from
08:45chicken powder. And I don't like a soy saucy fried rice. I like a light golden
08:50fried rice. So I'm gonna use oyster sauce and soy sauce very, very lightly. So just a
08:57little bit to add a little more punch. I'm actually gonna show you a technique
09:03where I deglaze with it and not go right in. So around the edges you can hear that
09:09sizzle. And if you notice, I'm being really delicate using silicone so I don't
09:14break up those grains. That's looking phenomenal. And this is the time I like to
09:19take my first taste before I actually put the scallions in because I don't want to
09:22overcook those scallions. Mmm. Nice. Umami, the fragrance of that soy sauce comes through.
09:32I'm pretty good. Add some scallions. Imagine making this for your friends and loved ones.
09:40That's why I think Yang Chao fried rice is like the king of fried rice because everything's
09:45in there. I mean, check out my one pan feast here. I love it so much. So in terms of
09:51plating,
09:52my only tip for you is leave all the delicious bits for the top. So I'm
09:57purposely 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. And that way
10:08when you take this to the table, your guests sees just like mountains of shrimp
10:14and they get super, super happy. The way I like to finish fried rice is very
10:19simply. The greens of the scallions on top, because I think they're a little lighter in
10:25taste than the whites. Don't forget a little bit of white pepper. It's going to add just
10:29that floral spicy touch to make it perfect. All that's left to do is taste this amazing
10:34dish. That's it right there. Sorry, making you jealous, but I'm just doing my job.
10:45That rice is light and fluffy. The pork and shrimp are juicy and tender, and I'm getting every bit of
10:52that savory egg goodness. This is truly one of those kind of rock star dishes, and it all fits
10:57in one plate. Yang chow fried rice is fantastic on its own, but I'm going to round out this takeout
11:03feast by making some Kung Pao chicken to go along with it. Don't go anywhere. Kung Pao chicken was my
11:09grandma's go-to dish anytime she didn't have a meal plan, but we never complained because it was so
11:15delicious. It's also a dish I made for Ali really early on when we were dating, so it holds a
11:20special
11:21place in my heart. Kung Pao comes from the Sichuan area of China, which is known for two things,
11:27chilies and vinegar. And speaking of vinegar, Kung Pao uses black vinegar, which is very unique because
11:34it's made from rice. It's fermented in clay pots from anywhere from six months to many, many years.
11:40So it has that cool, funky, unique flavor, and it's great for dipping dumplings. So I've got my vinegar.
11:45We really need to talk about chili garlic sauce. So 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
11:59from China is its own thing because it's got a ton of flavor. It's got a good amount of heat
12:05and garlic,
12:06and it's not overly vinegar like those other sauces can be. I've got a ton more ingredients I need to
12:12get. I will catch you back in the kitchen for the cook.
12:20So let's do a quick Kung Pao crash course. It's a stir-fry dish, so it basically comes down
12:25to a combination of protein, vegetables, aromatics, all cooked together really quickly in a wok.
12:31It's simple, it's quick, but yields incredible flavor. I'm using boneless chicken thighs. So these
12:38are skin and boned already, but there are times there's a little bit of fat on here. It's up to
12:44you whether to leave them. I trim out like the bigger pieces of fat, but if you have smaller pieces,
12:49I just leave them on there. I think they're extra flavor. So once you have the chicken thigh trimmed out
12:54like this, I cut it in half first to leave two long lengths, and then I put them together and
13:01cut
13:02kind of one-inch blocks out of them. Because it's a thigh, you're not going to get perfect one-inch
13:08cubes.
13:08Like, don't stress. As 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. If you like pork, use pork. If you like
13:19fish, use fish.
13:20If you want tofu, delicious. I'm going to teach you how to velvet this chicken, which is the secret
13:25to getting that ultra-tender, juicy nugget. So the two powders here, baking soda. This is cornstarch.
13:32Just a little bit of water. A little bit of oil. The oil actually kind of pre-lubricates the chicken
13:40for the pan so it doesn't stick. I'm going to put a little bit of soy sauce in here.
13:44This is going to help flavor the chicken. It'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.
13:55So it's time to build the Kung Pao sauce. Let's start with a little oyster sauce.
14:00And this is black vinegar. I'm using Chinese chili garlic sauce to get deep umami flavors.
14:06You guys know my secret. Chicken power. It's very important that you use a Chinese chicken powder,
14:12not an American or Latin bouillon, because these are formulated very specifically to have that
14:18Chinese taste to it. And 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. It's going to have a deep kind of color
14:30and a rich flavor that is slightly sweet. The star of Szechuan cuisine is this right here.
14:37Szechuan peppercorn. It is truly unique in the food world. It is simultaneously sour like citric acid,
14:45spicy, and very floral. And the effect of this on the palate, it's actually quite numbing. Buy it whole,
14:52and you have to ground it yourself, or you can actually just buy the powder. Either one is fine,
14:57but use it sparingly because it actually will numb people's tongues. Kind of great for a prank as
15:02well, but you didn't hear it from me. Although this sauce is pretty thick, I need to dilute this
15:07and still kind of make a glaze. So the way to do it is to make a slurry. I have
15:11cornstarch in here,
15:12and I'm adding water. I'm going to stir this up to make a slurry. Don't dump the cornstarch right
15:20into the sauce because it'll just clump up. The best way to work it in is to dilute it with
15:24water,
15:25then put it in just like this. And you've just made Kung Pao sauce. If you find yourself falling
15:31in love with a recipe and making it a ton, make this recipe times four, times five, put it in
15:38a
15:38squeeze bottle, put it in the fridge, and you've got Kung Pao sauce at your disposal. It's almost time
15:43to rock the walk, so don't go anywhere. All right, team, I've got my chicken marinating,
15:48and my sauce is ready. It's time to move on to the vegetable prep. So for ginger, I peel
15:54it. Ginger and garlic are foundational aromatics when it comes to Chinese food. It goes into
16:01everything. It pairs really, really well with that kind of wok hay or breath of the wok.
16:08Garlic, don't overthink it. Just smash it and mince it.
16:16Half cup of each bell pepper. Tile becomes a slice. A slice becomes a dice.
16:28I like using red and green for the color variants, but they do taste quite different. The green is
16:34going to be a little more grassy. The red is going to be a little more sweet. So it's really
16:38up to you.
16:39I'm keeping them in the large dice this time to match with the chicken. All right, onion.
16:45Tip, root, discard, half, peel. Dice everything today. Next, I'm going to cut my scallions. I want
16:59the whites to be diced, matching with those vegetables. I'm going to take the greens now
17:07and bias slice them for garnish. And just like that, it's time to head to the wok. I'm preheating
17:15the wok at least two minutes on a home stove to get it screaming hot. Neutral, high temperature
17:21oil going in until you see white smoke, which is right now ginger garlic. And it's all about order
17:30of operation. Whatever takes longer to cook is going to go in sooner. And in this case, it's going to
17:36be
17:36the chicken. We'll start moving the items around. Make sure to scrape as you go. Anything that starts
17:47to stick, the sooner you get it, the sooner you convert it into deliciousness. Because if you don't
17:52get it, you're going to convert it into burn. Chilis are going in. Warn everyone in the house
18:00that chili vapors are going to happen soon. Because of the shape of the wok, anything you toss comes
18:05right to the middle. I'm going to put peanuts now. And every time I add something, I want to toss
18:14because I want all these ingredients to come into contact with that hot wok. Yeah, Martin Yan used to
18:20make a joke. It's stir fry, not stair fry, meaning like just stop standing there, move things around
18:27and scrape them down. So it's veggie time. And remember, we cut all these vegetables about the
18:34same size. So they're going to cook at the same rate. That's why they can go in together. And I'm
18:40always listening for the sear. As long as the wok is screaming, that means you're at a good heat. If
18:46it
18:46starts to kind of quiet down, don't put anything in there. Let it come back up to temp and
18:50then keep moving. And people are like, yo, how do you toss food in the wok? It's pretty easy once
18:59you kind of understand it. Let me kind of give you the mechanics. Trying to get the food to the
19:04far
19:04side, flip and bring it back. And what's going to help you is using the shovel, right? So we're
19:09going to kind of center all the food. I'm going to position the shovel to push it forward. And then
19:14Simon says, you flip and pull back towards me. And that's how you get a nice wok toss by using
19:20the
19:20shovel. So remember, there is cornstarch in here. So give this sauce a stir before you add it to the
19:27pan.
19:30Cornstarch starts to thicken or quote unquote activate. Work the sauce in. Let it start to come to a boil.
19:37And then as it comes to a boil, it's going to thick it up nicely. I love to give you
19:42the visual
19:42cues before plating. So has the sauce thickened into a glaze? Check. Chicken cooked through, veggies
19:49cooked through. Check. It's time to garnish and turn off the heat. All right. Those tops. And these are
19:54those bias sliced green tops. And this is ready to go to the plate.
20:15I mean, this dish packs a punch. You get that numbing spice from the Szechuan peppercorn,
20:21the notes of sweet and sour from the chicken and the sauce, and the crunch of the vegetables.
20:27This really is an irresistible classic. Kung Pao fried rice.
20:36The punch of this Kung Pao chicken pairs perfectly with the more mellow and almost sweet notes of the
20:43fried rice and shrimp. This is an irresistible pair. This dish has been a staple in my house,
20:48and hopefully it will become one in yours. So there you have it. Two titans of Chinese takeout.
20:55Now it's your turn to cook this dish in your kitchen, and I'll see you next time on Ready Jet
21:01Cook.
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