Viet World Kitchen

Rethinking Tofu and Miso with Bourdain and Chang’s “The Mind of a Chef”

“When someone doesn’t like tofu or they feel like that it’s gross, I immediately assume that they’re some hardcore neo-conservative,” says David Chang, the chef and owner of the Momofuku restaurant group. Chang makes that provocative statement partway through the soy episode of The Mind of a Chef, a new PBS food and travel series produced and narrated by Anthony Bourdain.

Unlike many of the modern cooking shows, this one is punctuated by jokes (Chang says fart twice in this episode), profanity, and traditional as well as innovative cooking techniques. There is no loud screaming or overly staged dramatic situations. It’s as if you’re hanging out with Chang. The shows are smart.

I was planning to post a Burmese tofu recipe when I read a tweet from Xena N (@bowlfulofcomfor) about the segment. I stopped what I was doing and watched. In 23 minutes, the soy episode of The Mind of a Chef touches on a whole host of issues related to food, culture, and society. 

At the core, Bourdain and Chang say to viewers: Don’t think of tofu and miso simply as what vegetarians order instead of a steak. They are more than that. Here’s the full episode, available until December 22, 2012 on PBS.org:

How Banh Cuon Rice Noodle Rolls are Made (+ video)

On my last day in Seattle, Eric Banh took me and my friend, vegetarian cookbook author Michael Natkin out to eat. We started at noon and I ended up eating 4 meals with Eric that day. (Then I flew to Portland and had a very late dinner with other friends.)

Eric is the chef and restaurateur behind the Monsoon restaurants and Ba Bar; he also owned Baguette Box up until a little while ago when he sold it. He and his sister, Sophie, operate modern Viet restaurants that are fun and sophisticated tributes to Vietnam’s food traditions. We met in 2005 when I dined at Monsoon after it had been favorably reviewed in Gourmet. Eric and I clicked while talking about elevating the status of Vietnamese food. We’ve been friends ever since. Every time one of my book releases, he and Sophie organize a special event at one of their restaurants to showcase my work.

We hang out and eat a lot when I’m in town. Right now, Eric is obsessed about freshly made bun round rice noodles and banh cuon steamed rice noodle rolls. For more info on bun check the bun primer post but what are banh cuon? They are thin rice sheets that can be stuffed with a meat and mushroom mixture (like bottom row in the photo above) or served unstuffed (top row in the photo) with slices of silky Viet sausage (goi or cha lua), nuoc cham dipping sauce, and sometimes bean sprouts and herbs (if you’re southern Vietnamese). If you've had fun noodles or think of banh pho noodles, banh cuon are thinner and not cut into noodles. 

Though the noodles are more expensive, Eric and Sophie offer it at Monsoon at a fair price to customers. On the weekends at Ba Bar, Mr. Chau mans a banh cuon station by the front door, chatting with customers as he steams and fills their orders.

Eric is advocating for stellar bun rice noodles and banh cuon steamed rice noodles rolls so that his customers can further appreciate Vietnamese cuisine.  He wanted to show me what Seattle had to offer.

Asian Tofu Adventures on Canadian TV

The past three days of this week in Vancouver have been challenging -- early morning TV show appearances and evening cooking classes. I'm not a morning person so waking up at 6am three days in a row and going to bed soon after I get back from teaching was, frankly weird. But hey, when it rains, it pours and you just shouldn't say "no" to TV exposure. Plus I like the spontaneity of television.

The day before each TV appearance, I prepped the demo and packed up all my stuff -- small wares, equipment, food, and props -- knowing that I'd only be able to somewhat blindly get everything together minutes before my ride arrived. Here's a recap of how things went:

Monday, September 10: City TV's Breakfast Television
My alarm didn't go off and when I woke up, it was 6:43 a.m.! Random House publicist Trish Kells was picking me up at 7:10 a.m. I showered and did my hair very quickly, then grabbed my bus tub (remember how my favorite piece of gear for food gigs is the bus tub?). Trish was outside waiting and we drove to the studio in downtown Vancouver. Breakfast TV had coffee and rolls, and more importantly  -- a make up person. I needed to be camera friendly.  

No-Fuss Dumpling Folding Video

In July I traveled back East to do a consulting job, stopping enroute in New York City to see my friends at Saveur. (I've been a contributing editor at the magazine since 2007.) We'd been talking about making a video of me giving a cooking tip or two and settled on one about folding dumplings.

If you have Asian Dumplings, you know my motto about shaping dumplings. If you don't have the book, it's this: Get the wrapper closed. Practice pretty shapes later.  

Senior video producer Anique Halliday is a veteran of doing wonderful, fun educational videos; she worked on PBS projects before coming to Saveur. We huddled over the phone in June and then in July, spent a couple of hours at the Saveur test kitchen to produce this:

 

Saveur's "Test Kitchen Tips" videos have run the gamut from the viral one on how to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds to the practical one on dipping truffles in chocolate. Asian food-wise, editor in chief James Oseland has shown folks how to tie a knot with lemongrass and how to use and chop kaffir lime leaves into fine hairs. (James wrote the amazing Cradle of Flavor cookbook, which I reference and use all the time.) 

All of the "Ask the Test Kitchen" videos have been done with the Saveur staff and I was the first guest in their series. Anique said I was "a natural" and welcomed me back anytime. Let's just say that it helps to have a professional like her tell me what to do, and two terrific, seasoned cameramen to boot. 

If you're looking for more Asian dumpling tips, jump over to these links my other site devoted to dumplings for these videos:

• How to roll out Asian dumpling wrappers
• Basic Asian dumpling shapes: Half Moon, Pea Pod and Big Hug
• Advanced dumpling shapes: Pleated Crescent
• How to shape a rope edge (for empanadas, turnovers, curry puffs)
• How to fold basic wonton shapes
• How to Fold a Closed Satchel 
• How to Make Shanghai Spring Roll Wrappers 

There are more tips listed on this page at ADT. 

If there are cooking tips that you need want via video or text and photos, let me know below. I may not be able to get to them all soon but will put them on a to-do list. 

I'm hitting the road for the Pacific Northwest book tour tomorrow. My posts may be erratic for the next 3 weeks. But then, I'll be back. ;-)