Imagine peaking into the heart of Asian culinary arts with the creative genius that is Chef Woo Can. This episode, we're going on a journey with the author of 'The You Can Do It Asian Cookbook', a master who's making waves in the Asian cuisine scene. From his humble beginnings in New York's cities Chinatown to his current role as a chef professor at Harford Community College, Chef Woo Can's story is one of resilience, creativity, and an unyielding love for food.
Chef Woo Can uncovers his teaching philosophy and how he believes recipes are merely guidelines, not rigid instructions set in stone, as he shares some unique cooking techniques and secrets. You'll get to know his favorite dishes like pork belly, the essentials of washing rice, the different types of rice, and why he insists on a thin layer of fat when cooking pork. He also reveals industry secrets on making dishes look more appetizing, and the importance of buying fresh ingredients from local Asian butcher stores and Whole Foods.
We also delve into Chef Woo Can's interesting journey as a chef, from his transition from an Asian family to becoming a chef professor at Harford Community College, how COVID-19 led him to post his cooking videos on YouTube, and much more. Get ready to explore the intricacies of Asian cooking, the importance of preparation, and balancing tradition with creativity. So, tie your apron, sharpen your knives, and join us for an insightful culinary adventure with Chef Woo Can.
Links:
Chef Woo Can
Da Funky One
Studio
If you would like consideration to be on the podcast send an email to info@soundfaderstudios.com.
I want to thank you for taking the time and visiting us. If you enjoyed this episode please like, subscribe, follow, and share so other can enjoy.
Imagine peaking into the heart of Asian culinary arts with the creative genius that is Chef Woo Can. This episode, we're going on a journey with the author of 'The You Can Do It Asian Cookbook', a master who's making waves in the Asian cuisine scene. From his humble beginnings in New York's cities Chinatown to his current role as a chef professor at Harford Community College, Chef Woo Can's story is one of resilience, creativity, and an unyielding love for food.
Chef Woo Can uncovers his teaching philosophy and how he believes recipes are merely guidelines, not rigid instructions set in stone, as he shares some unique cooking techniques and secrets. You'll get to know his favorite dishes like pork belly, the essentials of washing rice, the different types of rice, and why he insists on a thin layer of fat when cooking pork. He also reveals industry secrets on making dishes look more appetizing, and the importance of buying fresh ingredients from local Asian butcher stores and Whole Foods.
We also delve into Chef Woo Can's interesting journey as a chef, from his transition from an Asian family to becoming a chef professor at Harford Community College, how COVID-19 led him to post his cooking videos on YouTube, and much more. Get ready to explore the intricacies of Asian cooking, the importance of preparation, and balancing tradition with creativity. So, tie your apron, sharpen your knives, and join us for an insightful culinary adventure with Chef Woo Can.
Links:
Chef Woo Can
Da Funky One
Studio
If you would like consideration to be on the podcast send an email to info@soundfaderstudios.com.
I want to thank you for taking the time and visiting us. If you enjoyed this episode please like, subscribe, follow, and share so other can enjoy.
Welcome to the guest list. Alright, now let's get this started. Welcome all my guest listeners, all of my intergalactic and funketeers. I am IB Sonar the funky one, proud member of the R&B, funk, hip hop band Shattered Aspirations. If you haven't heard us yet, make sure to check us out. Good music, good stuff, grown and sexy. If you like it, come on, listen, listen. We can hear some, all streaming platforms. Also, if you like to hear some of the best DJ mixes, you can hear yours truly, sonar the funky one, or you just call me the funky one, on MixCloud.
Da Funky One:I have a lot of cool mixes, me being a producer, slash DJ. I don't just mix the songs, I kind of recreate them. You know how I would like to hear them. It's fun, it adds enough a layer to the music. You know, almost like my. The same way, my keyboards and everything around me that I use produced music is an instrument. My turntables and my mixer is another instrument because of the things I like to do with it. I just switch it up a little bit and all those links to all of that can be seen on actually, it's the guest ListBuzzBroutcom, and also you'll be able to get all those links on all the other websites as well. But what I recommend everyone doing, you know, take a second, pause this and, as you pause it, go to ShatteredAspirationscom and when you go there, type in your information uh, for us, you know to join the mailing list. And so what happens is, every time we do something, every time we do anything, you're going to be notified. You're going to be able to see it. And another cool thing about it especially with, with, with um, the DJ, and, and, as we build more content for the other websites, you're going to be able to download it for free. It's not going to be forever, you know. There's a limited amount of time. You allow the download up, but everybody who's an actual member be able to download it. And eventually we're going to go to a subscription base Eventually, but it's not now. Once we build up enough content, we probably won't have a choice to go subscription base, because we got to have a way to pay for servers and everything to keep all this data for all of our listeners and all of our, our people who follow us, so they have information that they can get at any time, which would be cool. Which would be cool? Uh, that's going to happen shortly, uh, hopefully shortly.
Da Funky One:Uh, second, so this is right now, our second podcast to air. It's been about a month since the last airing. I know it's. It's spread out further than what we like and probably further than what you would like, and we plan on getting more episodes out more frequently. You know, we just have to figure out the logistics of scheduling between you know, shatter aspirations, a band, uh, you know the funky one, uh, as me, uh, dj and uh, this show and and you know, uh, far as getting more content out, getting guests, if you know somebody's talking about guests, if you know somebody who might be interested in promoting something and and want to be a part of a podcast, reach out to us. You know, go to info at sound fader studioscom again info at sound fader studioscom and and send an email out and we'll get back to you. It's real simple. It's real simple.
Da Funky One:Um, in this podcast, again, it's a little different.
Da Funky One:We're going to have guests, but sometimes it might be the band getting together.
Da Funky One:They might do a live session.
Da Funky One:You might hear that. You might just do you know, some party mixes for, for, for people. We might have some DJs just talking about different things, um, uh, different music, different singers, just anything that we kind of, like you know, want to do, because really it's a podcast and we don't have to technically stay in a format. You know we could do what we want to do. We don't have to stay in a format. I mean, it's nice to have a format, but it doesn't always have to be a format. It can be, the format could be we're just going to get and have a jam session and you'll be able to be a part of that. You may be able to comment on it live. You know we have a lot of ideas that we're thinking about, you know. Um, also, if you know someone who's going to do something like far as graphic design, you know, give us a call. Again. You go to info at soundfaderstudioscom and and when you do that, you know, send an information in. Who knows who knows right? Either way, we're going to figure this out.
Da Funky One:We're going to figure out a way to get more content out there. We're going to do all those things again with new guests. All the time, um, I try to find things and talk to people who who interest me. So again, that being said, I've had the pleasure of speaking to a very good friend of mine. His name is chef Wu, and so chef Wu came to the studio to promote his book. His book is called that you can do it Asian cookbook, and if you guys don't know, you probably don't know being there a second episode.
Da Funky One:Uh, I am a bit of a chef myself and while I was in Philly let me be an affiliate if I cooked at a few restaurants and even had a spot of my own for a while, had a nightclub, it was called the spot. Um, I had that for a while and so I, you know I cooked also. I had, I worked at, uh, had my own little space at a flea market. I was like I'm crazy and I was cooking cheese, steaks and and all the Philly stuff that that we, like you, know as Philadelphia's like, um, so I fed a lot of a bunch of hungry people. Never had any complaints, at least not openly, but either way, Asian cuisine always sort of been a challenge for me. I could make something similar. It'll be edible, it will be good, but it never really felt like it was authentic.
Da Funky One:And so what I liked in this book is that, as he wrote things down for us, he put it in layman terms, that kind of make it a bit easier for someone like me maybe you, you know to make meals at home and it tastes more authentic, which in turn, you know, maybe make things at home, we all want to save money. It can save you money and you kind of know what's in the food that you're eating, which is also a good thing. And so it works in two phases you know, you get to save money and and you get to know what, what you, what you have in it with the ingredients Sorry, but that's the same with all cooking. You know we want to save money. You want to have better, healthier choices, and really that's what we all want. You know I'm informed, informed info that can kind of like help us eat healthier, which in turn gives us some joy in our lives, and really that's what we all want, right, we want some joy, want to feel good. At least you know, at least I think so.
Da Funky One:Anyway, here's the conversation with chef. Welcome, man.
Chef Woo:Hey, Jim, thanks a lot for inviting me to your podcast. It's really a pleasure.
Da Funky One:I'm happy you're here.
Chef Woo:So let's you know a little bit about me. My trade name is chef, who can? And you say, maybe when I get that name from us wondering about that chef who can is basically saying if I can do it, then you can do it too.
Chef Woo:So, chef who can? You can too. So whenever it comes to cooking everybody gets a little nervous when you know they talk about cooking because everybody says they don't know how to cook. You know they're kind of like embarrassed by throwing things in the microwave and cooking. And here I am, here today to let you know that Asian cooking is not very hard to do. In fact it's very easy to do and there's no secret special sources that you need to use. It's basic sources that I'll point out later in the program that you can make the popular brown sauce, the sweet and sour sauce, the general show sauce, which is a combination of both, and it's just a lot of fun. What's in the brown sauce? Brown sauce consists mainly of an oyster sauce, a thin soy sauce, some sugar, a little bit of a slurry sauce, a thickener and a little coloring.
Da Funky One:So what's a slurry? I'm just talking from the aspect of someone who's totally ignorant. A slurry?
Chef Woo:I'm sorry about that.
Da Funky One:That's okay, it's okay.
Chef Woo:A slurry is a combination of cornstarch and water, okay, so you add those two together and you have a little, a little sauce that after you cook your meal and the flavors perfect, the colors perfect you add a little slurry sauce and that will basically thicken it up a little bit.
Da Funky One:So that's like when you thicken up gravy. Yes, I never knew. It was called slurry, just slurry.
Chef Woo:So basically just wanted to know that I teach at the local college, Harvard Community College how long? You've been there. I've been there for like it's almost a year and a half. How do you, what do you think about it so far? I mean, I love it. I love teaching, educating, informing my students and their reaction is like wow, I never knew this before. So I feel that they're learning and I give them the creativity to create dishes at the end of the classes and.
Chef Woo:I asked them to participate in making it. So in the beginning, you know they're a little reluctant.
Da Funky One:So, like the atmosphere that you that you teach in, is it more like a kitchen that you're in?
Chef Woo:Yes, At Harvard Community College there's a commercial kitchen. So you have the stove, you got the sinks, you got the display. There's even a mirror display. So if I have my walk on top of the counter, there's a mirror that faces on top and they could see it from afar.
Da Funky One:So does everybody have their own station, or it's like you have the main station, I have the main station?
Chef Woo:They see it and they are amazed at what can be done. They never knew anything about stir-frying and their main concern was and I try to stress to them that you know, a recipe is great but you can't take it for bait, you know. In other words, you can't go strictly by the measurements If they say half a teaspoon of that, a teaspoon of this, because it sort of takes a fun out of creating your own dish.
Chef Woo:So I'm trying to teach them that. Just taste it. If you want a little bit more sweeter, add a little more sugar. A little more saltier, add a little bit more soy sauce a little bit, a little bit spicier.
Chef Woo:So you make it to taste, make it to taste, make it to taste when you are through with it, then you can be very proud of what you made. Right, right. What happens here is that when you go to Barnes Noble to buy a cookbook, it's a beautiful picture cover Every dish. The picture is perfect. So you get kind of intimidated that after you create this dish it should look like this. So you got one strike right and then you follow everything to the T and obviously the authors are chefs and they tell you to buy this, buy that, do this, do that. But they really never explain to you why?
Da Funky One:But they have a team of probably photographers yes, for you know Photoshop to make it look as good as it can. Plus, I've learned this tricks when it comes to food, when you market it, like I didn't know that for cereal they use glue, elmer's glue, they put their seal, so it gives you that whiteness.
Chef Woo:So that's an industry that is a multi-million dollar industry, and their whole job is to recreate these creations and make it look as appetizing as possible. Right, however unconventional the means are, they'll do whatever they do if it imitates what they want to accomplish.
Da Funky One:Right right.
Chef Woo:So these so-called Michelin chefs, they tell you to buy this. They buy it by that. But I would like to know why, and if I knew why, I would be in a better position to know what I'm doing.
Da Funky One:But the things that you do. For the most part, I can go to the supermarket, a regular supermarket, buy it off the shelf and I could be able to make so with me and in my classes.
Chef Woo:All the ingredients I use you can get at ShopRite, giant, aldi, right, and I also let them know that we have an Asian e-commerce site and you can go to. Amazon and you can't find it and at least I'm letting them know where you can buy this stuff and a lot of these cookbooks. They don't really say where to buy it.
Da Funky One:I don't know of any good places down here, like in Philly, off of Watch out for you. Yes, it's that big market. I love that place, man. Everything is there. They actually have a live shrimp and everything in the back.
Chef Woo:So, basically, they learning, they believe in me, so they have trust in what I say. And at the end of the class, at the end of each session, I asked them to create their own dish. Mm-hmm right, and you'll be amazed of how they create their own dish. They're even amazed.
Da Funky One:So do you find some people if you're a teacher, you probably find some people that can sell Everyone's at a different level Do you find people like you scratch your head, like they just never can make the dish?
Chef Woo:No, they do their best. I'm not gonna be a Gordon Ramsay.
Da Funky One:I rip them up.
Chef Woo:I'm gonna say that you know, just add this to the dish or take it off the stove a little bit earlier, but otherwise it's a fantastic dish Cause.
Chef Woo:Everybody's taste is different, so everyone is making it towards their palate, right so you have some that did a Filipino dish, you have some that did a Japanese dish, you have some that did a Thai dish. I mean, when you give them the confidence, they can create something, and that's what I, that's all that I asked for in my class is that they create something, and you'll be surprised at what they created. It's delicious.
Da Funky One:So you've been doing it now for almost two years teaching, but you've been doing it a lot longer than that.
Chef Woo:So how did I get my start? Well, I'm a Suburbia boy from New York, long Island, gotcha I speak I don't know if you can tell by my accent, right. So what happens is in Suburbia. There's nothing to do. I used to work at Hop.
Chef Woo:Hop, so you know Right okay, suffolk County and Rakhatkama Right, suffolk County. I was in Nassau County, okay. So what happens is my dear old mother threw me into Chinatown, new York city. My uncle had a restaurant there, so I stayed with my grandmother. So here's a complete contrast from Suburbia living into city living. And so I go into my uncle's restaurant and he knows that I know nothing about restaurant cooking, so he starts me off in the kitchen right Washing dishes, then preparing all the food and peeling things and shredding things and deboning things.
Chef Woo:Here's an example. He says you got a peel shrimp. This is before the days where you can go to a store and buy a bag of peeled shrimp. Right, right right.
Chef Woo:So he gets a bushel of shrimp. So he says you got to peel it. I said well where the heck am I gonna peel? So he says we're going the alleyway. So I sit down on the stoop, saw it peel in the shrimp In no less than 10 seconds. There's an alley cat walking on top. The alley cat was bigger than a freaking dog. He's giving me his look. You never saw me peel so shrimp so fast in my life right.
Chef Woo:He was amazed. But I said well, why don't you just go get to a store, ask them to debone a chicken?
Chef Woo:The days of what we have now, as chicken cutlets didn't exist back. Then he says it costs money and chicken was cheap. Then yeah, he says it costs money, isn't it worth it? He says no, you debone it by yourself, it saves a lot of money. So he showed me how to debone a whole freaking chicken, so I used. He gave me this razor blade, sharp knife and he showed me so. In the beginning it was kind of tough.
Chef Woo:I never, had so many band-aids on my fingers. Okay, I was just asking that one. But after a while you know you deal with like a hundred chickens a day, right, right. How fast can you debone a chicken? Right, so I did it pretty fast. And so all these things the school of hard knocks in the restaurant business. It pays off. So now I share that with my class. I show them it's better to prepare things yourself. Save some money, especially now with the way inflation is everything. It's better to do it yourself. At least you know what you're doing, it's right in front of you and it may take a little time.
Chef Woo:Preparation is the biggest thing, the actual stir-frying is really nothing, right. You know exactly. You control what you put into the sauces and everything else like that. So what happens is in my class. I asked them you want me to do Asian American dishes? They said is that the General Shallow's Chicken and the beef broccoli? I said, yeah, that's what you, you know, that's what or do you want traditional Right right.
Chef Woo:He says well, chef, chef Woo. He says the Asian American. They fry it, they use a lot of sugar, a lot of salt, a lot of gravy. We don't really appreciate the true flavor, right, right. But we heard so much about traditional Asian cooking. The vegetables are crunchy, nutritious. You can actually taste the beef flavor, the chicken flavor, seafood, the shrimp flavor, because you guys don't really use a lot of sauce. I said, yeah, that's correct, so we would have to learn that way. So I present them with different dishes. They're a little when they don't know, they're a little pessimistic.
Chef Woo:But then they try it, they like it. It's not heavy in the salt, heavy in the sugar. They really enjoy it. So then I tell them where to buy it, where they can order it online, they buy the ingredients and basically all of them have purchased the sauces and with each class I give them a recipe of a dish that's made.
Da Funky One:You ever think of like marketing your own sauces?
Chef Woo:So I have. So what I have is an Etsy account. Okay, right, so it's a wwwetsycom slash shop, slash creations by Woo. Okay, so I have some small condiments that are on the Etsy account and you can apply that, not just for Asian food. I have an item that's called a garlic crunch. It's little pellets, little tiny granules of garlic, but you can add it on a hamburger and you get a nice crunch garlic crunch flavor. Yes, it does. Or you can sprinkle it on pizza. So it's not just Asian food, it's like a dry. It's like a dry, dry, okay, okay.
Chef Woo:And then there's a sweet and sour ginger sauce a chili sweet chili ginger sauce that you can use for a marinade or if you have chicken, just brush it on top. It's a very good sauce, very nice Little ginger flavor with a little sweetness and chili flavor. So I've taken those classes, I've expanded and I enjoy it and there's no better satisfaction for me to see the look on people's faces and then when I ask them to create something, they create a masterpiece. It's really. You know, guy from New York, I don't hold anything back. I call spade a spade. You know, if it's good, it's good.
Chef Woo:If it needs little modification, I'll tell them, but they're open to you know, not criticism, but critique.
Da Funky One:It's funny, man, because you know some community call it soul food. But I guess in your community that would be your soul food. Yeah, Because it's comfort food for you. That's what you grew up, that's what your mother, father, grandmother, everyone that's what they cooked, absolutely so they see the other side Because they're saying, well, how come you guys are so skinny?
Chef Woo:And they're thinking we're eating Asian American food. I say, well, we don't eat Asian American food, we have our own traditional ways. So they said but I do like some of the Asian American food, like egg food young, I do like that and chicken chow mein every once in a while. You like it, I do.
Da Funky One:And the egg roll of course, with the shrimp toast.
Chef Woo:So everything in moderation is okay, right, right. So I mean, so I work in Chinatown, right, well, you know working, thinking you're working eight hours a day, it's like 15 hours a day, right. And I said to my uncle he says you know, you're violating the law, I'm a juvenile, I'm a slave labor, you family don't matter, right. So then, but I learned that way and then I took that trade, did it with family. Family had a business, my father was working for a grumman corporation, so I had a carvel. So when the kids I have two, a sister and two brothers, so they were still small so when they got back home I created a little brunch and then I created dinner, right, and so I was very helpful to the family. So you know, the best satisfaction you can get when you're cooking is that if it's good, there's nothing left over, the plate is clean, if there's still stuff left over, then they may not have really liked it so much.
Chef Woo:So then I took that. So I was living in Jersey, by the Jersey Shore, bradley Beach, and I had connections. I was still working on Wall Street, so I had connections with the Fulton Fish Market. So what did you do on Wall Street? I was international insurance.
Da Funky One:International insurance like what is that exactly Right?
Chef Woo:AIG. Okay, so we wrote insurance policies for overseas accounts, and domestically as well. So we insured apartment buildings, YMCA's hazardous waste, taller mom and pop stores, strip malls.
Da Funky One:Okay.
Chef Woo:So we provided the insurance. So they buy the insurance to protect them. So if you as a customer falls and trips in a store, they're insured. I got you. So for that coverage we had to charge them a premium.
Da Funky One:Underweight. I got you, I got you.
Chef Woo:How long did you do that? Did that for 25, 30 years, Wow, Wow, Commuting right, Ooh, so, yeah. So you know, when I hear coming down here that you know a half an hour commute is a lot. Hour and a half every day, one way.
Da Funky One:Yeah, that's what I'm used to Three hours a day Two hours there, two hours back.
Chef Woo:And then if you decide to work late, so you're thinking, hey, maybe I'll work a little later because the train, the subway will be empty Well, everybody and their sister's working late too. So I had to learn how to stand up and take a little nap standing up.
Da Funky One:But? But in New York is always busy, it's always busy. It's like never a time where there's not a lot of traffic, seems like this is late, late at night. Right, you know, but other than that I've not lived up there. I lived in Manhattan for a while, right down from Times Times Square. It was always busy.
Chef Woo:So it's a. It's one of a kind. The city never sleeps. You learn how to survive in the city, the concrete jungle, and for as long as I've worked there it's hard to lose.
Da Funky One:So what is some of the craziest moments you've dealt with when you worked at the restaurant? Like what are some like stories? Because I can tell you some stories when I had my nightclub.
Chef Woo:Okay, I'll tell you stories from a cooking standpoint.
Da Funky One:Or just, yeah, you can start with cooking standpoint If you got something else.
Chef Woo:So I had to say I was very naive. I'm a kid, okay.
Da Funky One:So that's exactly how old were you in that timeframe 15, 16, 17,.
Chef Woo:okay, so I just had to walk to my grandmother's place, Mm-hmm. And so I wash the dishes. Of course, silly me. I asked where the hell is the dishwasher? You are the dishwasher, so he said. Where is the dishwasher? So you?
Chef Woo:know, those little tea cups yeah, it was porcelain tea cups and after a while they're kind of heavy. Yeah, they've been in a whole bunch of them in the sink, washed them, rinsed them, had me prepare, so you know, frog legs, mm-hmm. Back then, you know, we didn't have relationship with China. There were bullfrogs in a cage.
Chef Woo:So I said well, what do we do with this? He says we're gonna get the frog legs. I said but they're still alive. He says yeah, you gotta kill them. Show me, show me how to kill them. So how did you kill them, man? What A hammer to the head, or Knife.
Da Funky One:Knife, knife to the head, cut, invert, pull the leg out Wow, now China is leading exporter of frog legs.
Chef Woo:My mother she said because she was a farm girl.
Da Funky One:And for as far as killing chickens, she said she just grabbed the chicken by the neck. She'll swing it around and just yank it and the head will fall off and the chicken will just keep running and it just dropped dead eventually and they just you know. But it's crazy. That's why I was wondering, like how you guys did it. We didn't do live chickens, thank God.
Chef Woo:But when we want to get crabs and obviously I'm living in the state of crabs, maryland they would bring bushels in and crabs were very popular in Chinatown and it wasn't just the old bay, it was crabs Cantonese style. But was the old bay even a thing?
Da Funky One:I remember a period where I didn't even ever ate old bay. Down here they have old bay Right right, so we just cooked it Chinese style, you know ginger and scallion.
Chef Woo:Okay, gotcha Right.
Chef Woo:And then there's like a minced pork gravy with black bean sauce on top scallion and you know, green sauce on top scallions and fresh ginger and garlic, and so we had to prepare the crabs. Well, if there's bushels like four bushels, and you got to clean it and prepare it, so when the cook has an order, he just grabs an order that's one portion, he's not gonna sit there and clean it. I have to do all that work, right? Well, they gave me YMS gloves, I thought, because it's YMS this is no way that.
Chef Woo:I'm getting pinched. Little did I know that those claws are pretty strong. It's got pinched a couple of times.
Da Funky One:So if I had, if I came to your restaurant and I ordered the crabs, they would make them fresh. From that point on, they would get it in fresh, okay.
Chef Woo:Then they have to prep it for each order. So it's like six, okay, right. So it's in a dish, that's one order. It has the ginger, the scallion, the black beans, whatever. So you get an order. So I just give him one tray. That's one order, gotcha. So he just adds a sauce to it, gotcha, gotcha. So, yes, it is still fresh. This is the day, fresh, right. But the funniest thing was then they sent me to the walk. So you have to imagine that the walk is stomach level and it's natural gas and there's a little lever on the front that adjusts the intensity and the height of the gas.
Chef Woo:The higher you go, the higher the flame is.
Da Funky One:Right right.
Chef Woo:Intensity, and then the walk sits right on top of it. So I'm, cooking is busy, sometimes you forget something. But what you forget might be costly. So I'm taking a bamboo brush and wiping the walk and to get rid of the water, you lift up the walk to get rid of the water, but once you lift the walk up, the flames come up. So you should have already lowered the lever of the gas, but I forgot to lower it, so it was still. It came up blazing and I was leaning over, so I singed my eyebrows. Needless to say, every time I cleaned the walk, I always made sure that the level was low. It's funny.
Da Funky One:You told me I singed my eyebrows, I think of my father, my father. He was younger and this is the story he told me. He said my aunt was supposed to watch him. My grandmother had my aunt watch him and for some reason or another my aunt was on the phone or talking to a boy, my father being a baby, he stuck his head in the stove, the gas stove turned it on and phew, and so he's a baby now. Imagine being five years old with no eyebrows and my grandmother came home and saw that that was not a pleasant thing. So that's why I was just thinking about that and you said you singed your eyebrows all the way going Not a little way, but enough. I felt the heat, felt the heat. That's funny.
Da Funky One:So how old were you when you finally got to take the mantle and cook? Did they start that off quick? They started off quick. So college, right? So after you. So around 15, 16, I'm just trying to get the time. So around 15, 16, you were preparing, prepping, learning that stuff. My first exposure to cooking, right? But when you actually started to get behind the grill, so to speak, or the stove, was when you was like in college, in college I took that trade and I cooked for my roommates, Okay, Okay.
Chef Woo:So they loved it. So you know it was basic dishes very simple dishes fried rice, bacon, fried rice and all that so they loved that.
Da Funky One:And then, but were you cooking at the restaurant before then? I wasn't, no, okay.
Chef Woo:I was thinking about the culinary Institute of. America.
Chef Woo:But in an Asian family they don't look at it as a chef, they only look at it as a cook restaurant. So my parents were Asian and my mom said she couldn't be convinced that it was, you know, a chef at the culinary Institute. Right, she always thinks of it as a cook, because you can't really put two and two together, that you could get paid a lot of money and I was single and I probably would have done very well, and but to be a chef you really have to be single. You can't have a relationship, you can't get married, because all the time is devoted to cooking. So you're really depriving your children, your wife and whatever normal life.
Chef Woo:Right, you make a lot of money, but it means nothing if you're not around, right? So got down here and cook for family and relatives, right, and always learned a little bit more.
Chef Woo:And then got down here. I was kind of bored because I didn't have any friends down here I'm a transplant and I said let me see the college. The college Harvard Community College would be interested. And they were. They didn't have the commercial kitchen back then, it was just a classroom with the stove, so obviously the ventilation system didn't really exist. So they put me in a class at night time and it's pretty funny. Other classes were right next to me doing their classes, whether it's Russian studies or creative writing or whatever, right, but their doors were always open. See, probably a bunch of hungry people in the hallway so I'm cooking.
Chef Woo:The Rome is traveling outside the classroom, down the hallway. It's going into each class and by the time the class ended there was a huge congregation of students and they said Chef, are you going to have another class? It smells so delicious. We just had to come here because we want a little bit, but unfortunately I had to travel in my job. Right, right, and basically that put a stop to that. But it's just let me know that people are craving Asian food.
Da Funky One:So you're the reason why they probably put a commercial kitchen in there. You probably was part of the motivation behind it.
Chef Woo:So then obviously my students are from Maryland and I said let me bring some crabs. She says Chef. So that's a tall order. You know we we had a king of crabs. You know we have Obey and you know we steam it in beer and you know you can't really. I mean, unless you can really top that, don't believe in me, I can't. You never had crabs. The way. I make it. So I made it. They lined up. I gave them some rice because he's got to have the gravy with crabs.
Da Funky One:They piled the gravy.
Chef Woo:I gave them a couple of crabs. They sat down Total silence. They were loving it, they were liking it. They were sucking what I made out. They were just enjoying the crabs. At the end of the day they said, Chef, you did outdo us. Your crabs are really delicious.
Chef Woo:That's cool, right, so you just shake myself on the back there. They probably made you feel pretty good, all right. So then I continued the class and then, but I had to travel so I couldn't continue it, and then I went back again and the only time slot they had was on a Friday, and that's the worst day. Everybody's finished work, they don't want to go any place. I want to go home. So I didn't have that many people that came, so it wasn't until I got called after COVID. No, before COVID. I got called, it was doing well. Then COVID hit. Nobody wanted to come out Right.
Chef Woo:They were so scared Then, when it was OK, then they came out in droves. They signed up for every class they could think of, just to get out of the house.
Da Funky One:So that's when you started posting your stuff on YouTube and stuff, right? So then?
Chef Woo:not that I'm thanking COVID, but what can you really do, Right? So at that time I said well, I'm at that age where maybe I should retire, because I could be here today, gone tomorrow.
Da Funky One:Right, right.
Chef Woo:So let me retire. And then what should I do? Well, retirement is a whole different world. This is feeding up on YouTube, so let me make a video. So you know camera, smartphone camera, a pod with a light. Read a little bit on YouTube about how to make a video, so I started making videos. So I didn't know any better that there's two ways of making videos to appease two different crowds. You have the older crowd that really does appreciate the step by step process and then showing them the final dish. Versus the young people, that's the shorts. The shorts you just want to see the dish Right.
Da Funky One:So get to the skinny of it real quick.
Chef Woo:So a majority of my videos, which I have an excess of 200 videos, or the majority of them are the process, and it wasn't only until it, maybe the last six, eight months, that I did a lot of shorts. So after I did the step by step process, then it took a picture of the final dish, so I made a short out of it and you know how short it's all like, right, right? So you get more, more views on shorts from the young people maybe not as many with the older people, but it's the older people that want to subscribe to the video, right? So you have to balance both. So right now I'm in a situation where it's fun. It's not a fun. I love talking in front of the camera, I love telling people how to do things, how to make things, and they do appreciate it. So it does come across the step by step as a class, because the feedback I got is that they appreciate, they can appreciate the step by step and they feel like they're in a classroom.
Chef Woo:Young people. Some of them are complaining, chef, it's too long. So then I have to cut back. I try 10 seconds. Whatever the minimum is the max man's. There's a lot of talking, so then I said so they enjoy that. So I'm all over the world.
Da Funky One:Every country can think of. So where's the furthest place that we shot to? Because what happened to me one time since I create music and I had a lady from New Zealand contact me and she was so excited about the song and for me it wasn't much of anything, but it just you just never know how whatever you do touches somebody else Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia, australia, australia.
Chef Woo:China? Really no, that's Taiwan.
Da Funky One:So what do they ask you when they talk to you? What do they say?
Chef Woo:They don't really say much, they just view it, they don't say anything. Okay, okay, okay, but that's the farthest. And then Brazil, brazil Okay, that's cool man, and they want me to do some in Spanish. So I haven't really, from a technological standpoint, I haven't gotten there yet, but I will. So I know that there is a tremendous demand because a lot of people feel comfortable with my videos. Okay, there are times I'm nervous, I'll stutter a little bit, I will forget a plate or two, I will forget a fork or a pan. It's natural, and I think people feel comfortable because they can relate to that.
Da Funky One:But you know it's funny like what. I've learned like when I am performing is that if I make a mistake, only person knows it's me.
Chef Woo:Right, but I admit the mistake because I can't. Where is it? Oh. I think that makes them feel more that I'm more down to earth. I'm more approachable and then I call it spades man. I call like. It is Like I say to my students these Michelin chefs in the cookbook, they want you to buy truffles. Where do you get truffles from Right? So, first of all, they don't tell you where to buy it.
Da Funky One:Right.
Chef Woo:And when you find it you're kind of surprised that the cost was charging for it.
Da Funky One:Only place I've seen truffles in my whole life was when Wegman's first opened.
Chef Woo:Right, and then do you really know what a truffle is and how it really impacted this? So you buy it and they only want a little bit of a shaving on top of the dish, and then you finish with the dish and you try it. Do you really know the difference?
Da Funky One:Right, right.
Chef Woo:So it's not very practical. So when you don't know why, I would feel that you have a tendency not to want to really be motivated to do it, or it's just the end thing. I use truffle oil, but I don't know exactly what impact it had on flavor.
Da Funky One:Right.
Chef Woo:Right. So I said let me write a book.
Chef Woo:Right, so I wrote a book, and this book is about the why. It answers the why. It explains why you do this, why you do that, how much time is needed, what kind of substitutes can you use? Right, and it took a while to write, but there's 25 recipes, and these are traditional Asian recipes. I cover the gamut from Southeast Asia, korea, malaysia, and it's called the you Can Do it Asian Cookbook and it's located on the Amazon books. You can search on the chef who can, who is W O O chef who can, and you'll be able to see my book.
Da Funky One:Yeah, I got me. I got a copy from it already for so extra Amazon copy because I, like you know, I'm always it's easy for me. Yeah, you know it's easy reading.
Chef Woo:It's how I speak, so you feel comfortable. It's tried to spell out as much reasoning as possible as to why things are done the way they they are done. How long did it take you to do the book? So you know, sporadically, you know, jim is like if I sat there, maybe a shorter period of time, but it took like a year. Okay, right. On and off, you know. So now you're an author man, so I'm an author now. So then you're an.
Da Funky One:Author.
Chef Woo:And then that spurred me to say, hey, any of the books that I write will evolve around food.
Da Funky One:But see, now, that sort of legitimizes you though, you know, because now people can't just look at you as a slouch because you have a book, if it's looking behind it, and this is, you know, it's very well written, you know, everything's kind of in place so well.
Chef Woo:And it tells you exactly where to buy the stuff.
Da Funky One:That's important. That's important. But I didn't know and this is just me doing my own reading online because I, you know, I like to make you know shrimp fried rice and stuff like that Also, but mine never taste it as good as I would like it to taste. I didn't know there's a difference in soy sauces.
Chef Woo:You know so. So where you may think that when you order takeout you order the shrimp fried rice, it's kind of brownish color and most people want that color. That's what they used to write.
Chef Woo:But if they try to make it themselves, they're thinking Brown, maybe I have to put a lot of soy sauce in. And they put a lot of soy sauce in, they don't get the color and it's very salty, very salty, right? Well, the secret is is that there's a sauce it's called dark soy sauce. So even though the word says dark soy sauce, it's a little misnomer. It's more of a caramel color, right? So as you cook, in the fried rice, you drizzle some dark soy sauce on and don't give you that brown color, right, right? And you don't have to use as much soy sauce.
Da Funky One:That's what I learned, because they were saying, like if you go to the store you get Kiko man or something like that is just you're going to pour it all in there. He's just going to mess your dish up.
Chef Woo:And the other secret for fried rice is you make the rice before the night.
Da Funky One:Yes, yes.
Chef Woo:You make them night rice the rice before, let it cool, then put it on a cookie sheet, spread it out, stick an refrigerator and let it chill. By doing that, the moisture on the rice grains will be absorbed by the rice grains Right, so that when you actually apply it to your walk or pan, that heat will release the moisture and you'll still have tender, non sticking fried rice.
Da Funky One:Well, also in. I don't know if you do this, but I also read that one of the tricks is they use whole grain rice and jasmine rice. Yes, they mix it together. Well you can use jasmine, use jasmine rice.
Chef Woo:Jasmine rice is the new rice right now. That's what I like. It's very aromatic, so when you cook it you'll smell it, you'll appreciate the jasmine aroma Right. And so if you cook it the rice you take it out and you try to make fried rice because it's so hot and steaming. Even when you move it it's going to turn to mush, mushy.
Chef Woo:Yeah, so people say I can't make it. So the secret is to refrigerate the rice, put a little less water so it won't be so you know, mushy after it's done. A little less water will do Right, and it's about an inch of water once the rice is leveled at an inch of water. So do you use a rice cooker or I use a rice cooker. Okay, our lives are busy. You know, our lifestyle is going crazy. Who has time to stand over the stove and watch that boiled rice cook right, and once the water evaporates you got to put a cover on it and then wait half an hour and then fluff it up.
Da Funky One:No one has time for that.
Chef Woo:Right, you buy a rice cooker and you can probably get some good deals Maybe no more than $15. But the one pot, that one pot, that does all. I heard that they can cook rice, so you can use that and press it. Wash the rice Very important to wash the rice six times.
Chef Woo:You know the starch off of it right Right Now as to why six times, dear mom told me six times. I never questioned her. She says six times. Six times. Rinse out the starch, like Jim says, because it's the starch that makes the rice sticky. Put in a rice cooker. Fill up the water until it's an inch above leveled rice, press the button and you have perfect jasmine rice.
Da Funky One:But there's some dishes where you want it to be sticky right.
Chef Woo:So then there is the glutinous rice. That's a sticky rice, so that's more for, like, another dish called sticky rice and that has a whole bunch of ingredients in it and it's very good, but it really sticks to your ribs, right. And then, but basically, jasmine rice is the universal. You can use jasmine rice when you're making sushi, right, you don't have to be a professional to get the right rice. You can make, do what you have. And it's just as good, because when you're making Japanese sushi rice, you're adding vinegar and sugar.
Chef Woo:Right right, so you will never know the difference.
Da Funky One:Right, so growing up, your mom used to cook for you, or your grandmother. Who was your dish? Who was the thing that you love? Okay, so we.
Chef Woo:you guys might think it's kind of crazy, but Having a little fat in the meat is good for you. It tenderizes the meat that you have. It gives it flavor. So when you have a layer of fat, a thin layer of fat, a thin layer of meat, that combination is a perfect texture for a nice, tender, flavorful pork. I leaned towards pork. It was cheaper back then. Beef is a little bit higher grade but you know, the Americanization of food.
Chef Woo:They included beef flank steak, but my favorite was pork belly that's been roasted on the pork, on the pig. You see those pigs hanging in the stores. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the skin is so delicious I mean it's so roasted that you can actually take off a piece, dip it in some hoisin sauce. It's crispy, it's seasoned it's just delicious that with the rest of the pork, with just rice and a little soy sauce to it, it's just a perfect dish. I could eat three or four bowls.
Da Funky One:Making me hungry, man yeah.
Chef Woo:So, like my brother just renewed his vows last month and they had a suckling pig Really, but they killed it. They didn't know how to prepare it. It was the pig Right right the skin was kind of soggy. It just really hurt me.
Da Funky One:How do you cook a pig, though? Like if you had to cook a pig, like, what do they do wrong?
Chef Woo:So you gut it, you cut it so it's flat, you hang it and tremendous heat, 900 degrees in these roasting ovens. It actually singes the skin, so you get singed skin, but it cooks a quick so it doesn't dry out. Right, right, right. So if you ever have an air fryer, use an air fryer. Go to an Asian butcher store, order a piece of pork belly with skin. On Costco now they see that there's another market for Asian people, so now they're trying to incorporate a lot of Asian ingredients and Asian people flock to Costco. Right, makes sense. It's cheaper, you buy in better volume, right, and they have what?
Da Funky One:they have Every billion people. Why not tap into that market?
Chef Woo:But Whole Foods. You won't see any Asian people in Whole Foods Gotcha More expensive, they don't really cater to the Asian Right. But you'll see Costco no matter where you go and if you're in LA, San Francisco, Dallas, the major cities, New York, Costco is filled with Asian people and they carry more Asian goods than like here in Maryland, in Middle River, Gotcha, Gotcha. But anything salty pork with a little fat on it, it's just delicious. Salted fish, bakala it's made in a Chinese way over pork. Pork chops, strips.
Da Funky One:Right, it's so delicious. So what do you make normally for home, man? Like what do you normally go to? Because I have a 15-year-old daughter. Mm-hmm.
Chef Woo:I try to make her a balanced meal which is friends your daughter's, friends with my daughter, and so I order. I try to get fresh vegetables, chicken vegetables. And really the only place I can go is Wegmans. I try to give her a protein and I try to give her a little carbohydrates. Go to jasmine rice, perfect combination. But because she's Americanized, she looks at me. She's like what's for dinner tonight? And I go I tell her it's Chinese.
Chef Woo:And then I see her eyes rolling back of her head. She's like daddy Chinese again. I can't, I can't remember. This look like what Any other person would kill for my daughter.
Chef Woo:Right, right, right. I mean I cook for my neighbors Because she's on a diet, my daughter's on a diet, my wife, you know she's on a diet, right, I can't eat all the food, so I give it away to my neighbors. They love it, mm-hmm. I actually apologized to one of my neighbors. I made a low-main, because when you buy low-main, when you make it in a packet, you don't know how fresh that low-main is. The noodles, right, if it's been sitting around, I have no idea of knowing.
Da Funky One:Right, they didn't know they don't have an expiration date Right right.
Chef Woo:So I take out a package. It's sort of like broke apart but I try to salvage it. It's still good but she loved it. My neighbor loved it. So my daughter says, daddy, can you buy Chick-fil-A? I said what, daddy, can you buy those waffle fries? You know it can get a thick shake. So it crushes my heart when I hear my daughter say this. So then, I start cooking American. They said Daddy, can I have Chinese, because they can't make up their mind, right, they can't make up their mind.
Da Funky One:It's funny, man Like Taylor used to always love nuggets from McDonald's, right, and I said that's the worst you can eat, right, and if it's for us, I'm going to make you some real nuggets. So I came home, got the chicken from the market, made it on bread and all that stuff and I cooked it for her. And she says, oh, now that's what she wants, because it's nothing better than good homemade food. It's cheaper, it tastes better. You know what's in it. It's not processed, you know, because I've tasted your food, man, it's good. You made me some stuff.
Chef Woo:So what happens is. So I want to tell your audience that food outside being made by these merchants. They're doing it to make money, so they would do everything they can to cut corners. One of those areas that probably a lot of you listen to know about is that when you order like beef with broccoli or chicken with broccoli, I bet you, many of you guys, probably think that the chicken is not real because it's texture of chicken breasts or beef, it seems as so tender, right, right To the point where you guys actually think that it may not be really real beef or real chicken.
Chef Woo:It is real beef and real chicken. But to make it more palatable the merchants add a little baking soda and they buy the cheapest grade of beef, which is like a top round, and if you know beef top round you can get very cheap. But there's no marbling.
Da Funky One:Right, right Right.
Chef Woo:It's just a solid piece of meat which, because it's cheaper, it's more tougher. So they make money by buying top round. But they can't sell it the way it is because nobody will eat it. So they have to tenderize and break up the muscle. So they have to add a little baking soda. What baking soda does is break up the muscle to make it more tender. So instead of paying 8.99 for a piece of flank steak, they're getting away with paying 2.99 for top round. And then you have to, they have to tenderize it by adding baking soda. Now they're not going to be cutting the pieces and taking a mallet and tenderizing it that way.
Chef Woo:Bacon soda is the easiest way. So that's why you may not feel that you're really getting true beef. And they do the same thing with chicken, because chicken breast is muscle and when you cook a muscle it's always going to be tight and chewy. So they want to break up the muscle. They add baking soda.
Da Funky One:So do they rinse that bacon soda off of it, or is it just stays within it?
Chef Woo:Some of them rinse it off. Some of them add a little bit of baking soda. So the thinner you cut, the less baking soda you can cut, the thicker your cut is then you have to add a little bit more baking soda. So let the chemical process take effect.
Da Funky One:Right right, that's interesting that you said it. So what other things do you know? They do that with Shrimp, shrimp. How do they do that? Do they put baking soda on shrimp?
Chef Woo:Shrimp in our country has been given a bad rap. Merchants rather over cook the shrimp than under cook it. So what we know as shrimp is kind of rubbery, but for people in the Midwest when they have shrimp they find it's like too rubbery. But the true way of eating shrimp doesn't require a lot of heat. So you cook it at 60%. It's perfectly done. So when you take my classes, when I cook shrimp I only cook at 60%, because when you cook at 60%, when you're adding the vegetables and the sauce, then I'll make it reach to 95% cooking. What they do is they cook at 100%, so it's already cooked. Then they add the vegetable and the sauce and it's 120% overcooked. But we're so used to overcooked shrimp we don't think nothing of it.
Da Funky One:Yeah, yeah, you know that's interesting, you say that, but I guess I don't know the difference. I guess I eat it all.
Chef Woo:That's what they're banking on.
Da Funky One:That's what they're banking on people like me.
Chef Woo:So here's another clue is, when you buy shrimp, disregard the signs that say extra jumbo, extra large or jumbo or medium.
Chef Woo:If they don't give you a number for the shrimp, walk away, because now, with the way inflation is, they're saying that a medium sized shrimp is extra large, so they'll charge you $12 for, in reality, a medium sized shrimp that should only be charged for $4. So you say a number. What's the number Right? The number will tell you how many shrimp are in a pound, gotcha. So if you buy 26 to 30, those are a little shrimp. Okay 26 to 30 shrimp will make up one pound.
Chef Woo:I got you 16 to 20 is medium means. 16 to 20 shrimp will make up one pound, but extra jumbo may be 10. So I have a question for you so 10 is extra extra large, right, right, but they'll give you a medium size for the price of a jumbo.
Da Funky One:So what I always thought was I was bought the like either medium or small only because me, because I'm cheap, you know. But the other thing was always think like a pound is a pound is a pound, so what's the difference?
Chef Woo:Like, if you're getting more, so you get more ones you get more per pound, okay, but you may not get the flavor Right, okay, you're not going to get the enjoyment of being fulfilled after you eat the little guys Gotcha, so it's not worth it. So 16, 20 is a nice size. Now remember that whether it's chicken or whether it's beef or whether it's seafood, the more processing that's involved, the cost goes up. So you buy a bag of shrimp that's a D shelled, d vein. They add the cost to work for you. So it's better for you to get shrimp that hasn't been shelled and hasn't been the vein, and it'll be lower price Cause, yeah, you're doing a little bit of work yourself, like the boneless chicken.
Chef Woo:Right yeah, they have boneless chicken thighs without the skin, but you're paying for it. Pay it right Right. So with the bone and the skin it's much lower in price.
Da Funky One:See, I've always for me always preferred to buy the whole chicken, that I come home and I just cut it up.
Chef Woo:And you would probably know as well as I do anything with the bone in. It adds more flavor, right.
Da Funky One:Right, I know, but I did do a project one time, like a couple of weeks ago. I said a project but I deboned the chicken and I flattened it out, butterfly, the whole thing put on the grill. That was pretty good, man, it's pretty good. Made my own to Ziki sauce and it was it was good.
Chef Woo:Now, now times are bad. Yeah, it's right. It's very easy to call Dordache and order from the restaurant, or even go to the restaurant. And if you go into the restaurant to socialize, that's good too. But the foods are all processed. You know McDonald's French fries. Who can say no to McDonald's French fries? They're still right back in the day. The flavor was based on before. Yeah, beef, the beef fat. They removed that. It's too expensive to do so. They have a spray, imitate the beef flavor and they spray the French fries. So French fries. The reason why it tastes so good is because of the beef flavor. Gotcha, I got you. And it's not even natural, it's not the meat talent, it's a sprayed version. So everything that you buy, you may say it's delicious.
Chef Woo:They've accomplished their first objective, because then you'll come back for more. They made it reasonable in terms of price, so you use the cheapest ingredients. They may not be the most healthiest. I said I got you there the visual the box did in such a way that you can't say no to it. I mean, how many times have you gone to the frozen food section and target? As a matter of fact, the box picture was so appealing you can't say no to it. Right, right, it was pot roast, but never it never tastes like it looks.
Chef Woo:So we brought it home, took off the wrapper, put it in a microwave. Where's the pot roast? It was like a small piece of meat with a potato or two. That was it. That was it. So they got you there. It's better to cook at home. Take the time to prepare the meal for your family.
Chef Woo:They're worth every minute of it to buy the best ingredients. It may pay a little bit more, but you'll know that they're eating healthy. Include vegetables. Learn how to make the vegetables. My cookbook will teach you how to make the best vegetables. Okay, vegetables.
Chef Woo:you know, vegetables come very leafy, very stalky very big, very small, so I really couldn't give you a measurement in terms of time Right, but it beats the days when we're growing up when they killed the hell out of broccoli and they made it, you know, so mushy. I mean no wonder we hate vegetables. So Chef Foucais' advice is whatever vegetable you buy, make sure it's al dente and many of you heard of al dente appliance for Italian food. But al dente means it's not overcooked and it's not undercooked. And according to Chef Foucais, al dente means an emerald green color. Once the vegetable turns emerald green color, that's al dente, that's perfect. And if you're not going to eat the vegetable, right then, and there, take that vegetable, add emerald green, plunge it in cold water to stop the process, cooking process so it won't turn putrid green. And when you're ready to cook it, maybe just add it to the dish, maybe 30 seconds to heat it up, and you get beautiful, tasty vegetables that are crunchy and nutritious. All right.
Chef Woo:So al dente equals emerald green color. Whether it's leafy, whether it's stalky, whether it's huge or small, it doesn't matter. It works perfectly. And if you cook chicken, beef or shrimp, cook it 70% cooked, Take it out, plunge it in cold water, set it aside, make your sauce and gravy and when that's perfected based on flavor and consistency, then heat it up and add back your proteins and it'll be perfectly done. It won't be overcooked, it won't be chewy or bouncy, it'll be perfect. So anything over 75% done, take it out.
Da Funky One:Well, still, I appreciate you coming, man, it was a pleasure. Can you lease before you go? Yes, just give everyone your link somewhere to visit you and to get your products, man Right, so give it to them now. Yeah, yeah, you can give it to them now.
Chef Woo:My website is wwwchefwoocom, that is, I'm a restaurant critic and so I let you know what restaurants I tasted. I always want to give you guys, let you know ahead of time if it's a good restaurant to go to.
Chef Woo:I'll be critiquing the atmosphere, service, the food, the value that you get for your money. And I'm brutally honest, I put on a scale of one to 10, you know, and so far, a few places I went, they got exceeding 10, which was good. My second website is YouTube. Obviously, just go to YouTube if you're a subscriber, put in chef Woo Ken, right, if you're a subscriber, I would appreciate you subscribing because basically, if I meet a thousand subscribers, youtube will feed me a little bit of a little royalty, a couple of dollars. But as that grows, then the dollars become a little bit bigger, then advertisers get involved. So you know, I'm a little retired. I'm retired right now, so I'm always trying to find ways to have a passive income. So if you can give me a thumbs up and subscribe to my YouTube website, that'd be great.
Chef Woo:My third website is Etsy. That's wwwetsycom slash shop slash creations by Woo, and that will provide you with a couple of condiments, sauces, and then during the holidays I'll have peanut brittle, gourmet peanut brittle that has various flavors. I'll have chocolate pretzel sticks. I'll have pecan turtles. I'll have.
Chef Woo:Italian biscotti cookies. So I cover the gamut so that will be available during the holidays. I'm trying to get that during the summer months but people aren't into moods and stuff. They rather have it during the holidays and then I guess the that's about it. Those are the things I have.
Da Funky One:Well, one thing I think you didn't mention. I noticed sometimes you Amazon books.
Chef Woo:Let's go to Amazon, put in chef Woo can and I will pop up and I always appreciate, you know, if you can take a look at it and make a purchase.
Da Funky One:You get the book, but you also another thing you didn't mention I noticed that sometimes you do functions and people will get you to cook for them. So how can they find?
Chef Woo:you. So basically you can go to my website, chef Woocancom, you can send me a message, I'll get it, and if you're in the Hartford County area, let me know. Before the pandemic I used to go to people's homes and show them a couple of dishes they would. They would invite their friends, whether it's an evening event, the ladies have a little wine, little champagne, and they watch me cook and they enjoy it. So I can do those kind of functions for you. And if you'd like to have somebody to cook you a nice Asian meal, fresh, I'm always there to be hired. So let me know, correspond with me on my chef Woocancom website.
Da Funky One:Bro, and if the money's right you can go further than that.
Chef Woo:Yes, yes, there's nothing like home cook meal, done in your own home. You know, it's fresh, it's delicious I never skimp on any of the ingredients and you can appreciate the flavor. So right now I hear that the Chinese takeout restaurants. They're giving you less but charging you more. Right, I give you what you want and I charge accordingly. Well, stu man, I appreciate it. Buddy, thank you for showing up. It's been a pleasure, it's been a lot of fun. I hope I didn't talk too much.
Da Funky One:No man, no man it was nice, it was a pleasure, it was a pleasure.
Chef Woo:Thanks, all right, that was Chef Woo. Thank you for coming, chef. If you want to go get Chef. Woo's book you can find it on Amazon.
Da Funky One:You can also, you know, if you want to book him or you want to, you know, you can go to the website. You can go to the website. You can go to the website, you can. Also, you know, if you want to book him or you want to see more about Chef Woo, you can go to chefwoocancom Chef Woo cancom, and again I want to thank him for coming. Also, remember, go to shatter aspirationscom to check out the band. Join the mailing list and with that you'll be able to get all things Shatter Inspiration, all things Sonar, if you want, all things guest list. So anytime something happens, just make sure you join and this way you can get all the good information. And if, again, if anybody out there wants to be on the guest list, go to info at soundfaderstudioscom. That's info at soundfaderstudioscom, and when you put it in, just put in your subject.
Da Funky One:We'll like to be on the podcast. There's a couple of things that you would need to be on the podcast. One, you know, it's got to be interesting too. You got to have a link for people to go to. If you have a product or something people want to know how to get to you, you got to have that accessible. So that's it Again. Thank you, chef Woo, for coming on the show and I will talk to you guys. I will talk to you and again, thank you for coming to show and I will talk to you all later. Thanks, thank you.