As my way of celebrating Chinese New Year, I am sharing a quick profile of my 4 favorite Chinese TV chefs and couple of fun facts related to Chinese New Year. How do you know you love Chinese food? When everywhere you go, you ask for directions to the best Chinese restaurant. Not me. My late husband. But I wholly supported him in his quest. No matter which city we visited or wherever we lived, we looked for a Chinese restaurant. Once we found a good one, we were loyal customers. Sometimes we would leave the kids, sneak out of the house and go have lunch. Other times we would order take-out, go pick up the food, and then enjoy dinner at home. On rare occasions we actually got to sit down in a nice restaurant and enjoy a meal together. In addition to dining out or enjoying take-out, we loved watching cooking shows on television. Below are four (4) of our favorite Chinese chefs.
- Martin Yan
- Ming Tsai
- Ching He Huang
- Kylie Kwong
Martin Yan ~ We loved his show because he would always teach you one Chinese word and we liked to hear him say “If Yan can cook, you can too!” He was very encouraging and got us to try some Asian recipes at home. TV SHOWS: Yan Can Cook; Martin Yan's Hong Kong; Martin Yan – Quick & Easy
Ming Tsai ~ Ming Tsai's parents sent him to a cooking school in France. His television show combined the cuisines from both the East and the West. I especially liked the episodes where his parents were on the show cooking with him in the kitchen. Even though he is a professional chef and owns restaurants and has received awards, he still asks his mom for directions and cooking tips. TV SHOWS: East Meets West; Simply Ming
Ching He Huang ~ She said that as a child, she was taught how to cook by her grandmother. When she grew up, she went to a school and received training to cook professionally. One of her teachers praised her as being the best in the class and said he knew when she left school, whatever she decided to do, she was going to be successful. She had one TV show that aired from the UK, She was so good that she was invited to have her own cooking show in the US as well, in San Francisco, California. TV SHOWS: Chinese Food Made Easy; Easy Chinese San Francisco
Kylie Kwong ~ This lady chef is also a food caterer. Sometimes she shows how she prepares food to serve large crowds. Other times she prepares a meal for a small group of guests in her home. No matter what she cooks, it looks fabulous and your mouth waters. TV SHOW: Kylie Kwong: Heart and Soul
All of these chefs have published cookbooks. As this is a global community I am not sure if these shows are available worldwide. But if you get a chance, watch either or all of these TV cooking shows listed above. If you love Chinese food, you'll be delighted!
Chinese New Year for 2021 will be February 12th. It is the Year of the Ox. (Source)
Seven (7) Typical foods eaten on Chinese New Year are: 1. Fish — an Increase in Prosperity; 2. Chinese Dumplings — Wealth; 3. Spring Rolls — Wealth; 4. Glutinous Rice Cake — a Higher Income or Position; 5. Sweet Rice Balls — Family Togetherness; 6. Longevity Noodles — Happiness and Longevity; 7. Good Fortune Fruit — Fullness and Wealth (usually tangerines, oranges, and pomeloes). Source)
(Image credits - ClipArtKey and Pixabay)
