Asian Street Foods, Lisa Ling’s New Show, Take Out, Delicious Offerings

January 26, 2022,

It is always worth the search.

Worth trying different restaurants, similar in cuisine, looking for that unique taste.

Not out of a can. Not frozen.

For us, finding the perfect cook for Chinese Food is always worth the exploration.

What we’ve found is that one restaurant is better at certain dishes while another restaurant is supreme in something else.

So we move around and order based upon the cook.

When it comes to Chinese food specifically, and Asian cuisine in general, we have a new tour guide. You already know who she is. She is a household name.

Lisa Ling is an American journalist, television personality, and author.

She is currently the host of This Is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN.

Previously, she was a reporter on Channel One News, a co-host on the ABC daytime talk show The View (1999–2002), the host of National Geographic Explorer (2003–2010), and a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Lisa later hosted Our America with Lisa Ling on the Oprah Winfrey Network from 2011 to 2014.

She’s up to it again. Another ground breaking project that our taste buds and inquiring minds will love.

As reported by Variety Magazine regarding HBO MAX, “The streaming platform is ordering “Take Out,” a six-part docuseries that chronicles the cultural contributions and unique lives of the people and families behind America’s Asian food joints from award-winning journalist Lisa Ling.”

The series will explore the world of America's more than 45,000 Asian takeout restaurants.

We look forward to that.

Over the years we have enjoyed watching food preparation and various cuisines through global travel.

Anthony Bourdain was the ultimate master at bringing the various dishes of the world into our homes for us to salivate.

Most of the time.

Sometimes he ate some really strange foods, a few times, while they were still in motion.

The most enjoyable Food and Travel oriented shows we love are those that depict street cuisine. Where it is not out of a can or right from the freezer. We can actually tell the difference.

There is a show on Netflix that hit the spot. It’s called Street Food: Asia.

Netflix shares, “Explore street food in nine vibrant cities in Asia and hear the stories of the people who craft the delicious fare.”

Here are a few of their stories that captivated.

“Toyo is the humorous, fiery chef of a beloved izakaya in Osaka, the epicure's city known for popularizing street favorites from okonomiyaki to takoyaki.”

It is not just the food. His life story is a fascinating and, in our opinion, a somewhat sad tale as well.

That was Japan. Next is Bangkok.

“Hear the inspirational story of street food chef Jay Fai, who puts a spin on tom yum soup and boasts a Michelin star for her crab omelets.”

There is no one who works harder than Jay at her craft. Her life is a captivating story as well and we must admit, a little sad. There is a reason why she has to work so hard.

Then there is another episode that stood out to us in Cebu, Philippines.

“Benefitting from the rich biodiversity of the land and sea, Florencio Escabas makes a reef eel soup held dear by the island city's many residents.”

That series will keep you entertained, hungry and empathetic.

We now share one of our favorites when it is done right.

There is a favorite, hole in the wall (what else, of course), primarily take out restaurant in our neighborhood. It is literally run by a husband and wife team. Just the two of them.

While they don’t do everything perfect, their salt baked shrimp and fish dishes resemble perfection.

We love salt baked Chinese dishes because so many Chinese restaurants, to cater to Western tastes, present a lot of sweetened dishes.

Okay, that’s fine.

To balance it out, we like to have the sweet and salty on the same plate. It is a wonderful balance when cooked properly.

They cook it to perfection.

The earliest recipe found for salt-baked is from the fourth century BCE in Archestratus, “Life of Luxury”.

A salt crust is a method of cooking by completely covering an ingredient such as fish, chicken or vegetables in salt, sometimes bound together by water or egg white, before baking.

The salt layer acts as insulation and helps cook the food in an even and gentle manner. After baking, the salt crust is cracked and discarded, revealing the moist and evenly cooked food.

Typically delicate foods such as fish, chicken/poultry or vegetables are cooked using this method.

In each case the aim is to lock in moisture, protect the food from drying, ensure even cooking, and maximize the flavor.

We can attest to that.

The salt crust can be created simply by adding a sufficient quantity of coarse or fine salt to cover the food item. Water may be sprayed on top, to help the salt form a hard crust. Alternatively, the salt may be mixed with egg white to form a pliable paste.

Baking typically occurs in an oven at around 200 °C (390 °F), with the salt crust acting as a cooking vessel.

This slows heat transfer to the food creating a slow and low dry oven, beneficial to most proteins.

That is just a sample.

If you want to learn the basics of cooking Chinese food, we found a book on Amazon that you might like.

Easy Chinese Cookbook: Restaurant Favorites Made Simple Paperback – Illustrated, May 5, 2020

By Chris Toy (Author)

Recreate your favorite Chinese takeout meals at home

“Now you can capture the flavors of Chinatown in your own kitchen. This Chinese cookbook makes it quick and easy to prepare Chinese takeout favorites at home with beginner-friendly recipes that anyone can master.

From appetizers to desserts and everything in between, learn how to make classics like Egg Rolls, Hot and Sour Soup, Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Beef, Shrimp Lo Mein, and Sweet Egg Custard Dessert. These step-by-step recipes use simple, affordable, everyday ingredients you can find at most grocery stores and don’t require lengthy prep work or complicated cooking techniques.

This Chinese cookbook includes:

• An intro to Chinese cooking―Unlock the flavors of China with detailed information about regional flavor bases, essential ingredients and equipment lists, and tips for making Chinese cooking easy.
• Home takeout menus―Explore convenient pre-planned menus for DIY Dim Sum, a Chinese New Year Feast, Sichuan Night, Classic Cantonese Takeout, and Vegetarian and Vegan Takeout.
• Recipe tips and labels―Find weeknight-friendly recipes quickly with labels for dishes that take 30 minutes or less to prepare, plus recipe-specific suggestions for taking your culinary creations to the next level.

Make authentic, restaurant-quality Chinese meals in the comfort of your own kitchen with help from the Easy Chinese Cookbook.”

Sounds yummy.

We are always on the lookout.

A Chinese buffet styled restaurant that we frequented for years, to our horror and sadness, went out of business during the Covid-19 crisis.

Very sad.

We use to starve ourselves and drink a lot of water ahead of time, wait a couple of hours to let the water drain and clear out our stomachs, then we would go and have two heaping plates and after the main course, vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top for dessert.

It was our special feast once a month.

Talk about life being about the moments and appreciating them in the present.

Tomorrow they could be gone.

Forever.

Okay Lisa, we are on the look-out and we know your new series is going to make us hungry for more.

~ ~ ~

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Ling

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/hbo-max-take-out-aapi-cuisine-docuseries-lisa-ling-food-1234957896/

https://www.facebook.com/Rainbowtroutrecipes/

https://www.netflix.com/title/80244996

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_crust

https://femcompetitor.com/

https://grapplingstars.com/

https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/

https://fciwomenswrestling.com/