- Will we make new culinary developments
if we swap Chinese and Italian food elements?
- Let's talk about that.
(gentle, upbeat music)
- Good Mythical Morning.
- We're about to step foot into the world
of curious cross-cultural culinary creations.
But before we do, this portion of today's episode
is sponsored by The Motley Fool.
- Yeah, The Motley Fool is a subscription
stock picking service, where members gain access
to their library of expert stock recommendations,
which are carefully aimed at multiplying their net worth.
- You tired of missing out on investing trends?
- Well, yeah.
In general, if I miss out on a trend,
the only thing I want it to cost me is points with my kids.
- Well, the expert team of analysts over at The Motley Fool
recommend two brand new stock to its members each month,
sent directly to their inbox.
Members also receive new stock picks
every month from legendary investors.
- I like that term, legendary investors.
I've pretty sure getting stock picks from Amelia Earhart
and the Loch Ness Monster.
- Well, whatever floats your boat.
But if you're wondering why you should trust the picks
from the team at The Motley Fool,
well, their average stock pick has returned
over 500% as of October 2021.
That's beating the market by almost five X.
- You are only one step away
from joining The Motley Fool investing community
and taking the first step to supercharging your portfolio.
So visit fool.com/gmm to access a special new member offer
and start the journey to living smarter, happier,
and richer with The Motley Fool today.
- Thanks to The Motley Fool for sponsoring
that part of today's episode.
- All right, picture this.
It's Friday night.
You're exhausted from the work week
and you want to order in, but what do you do?
Do you get Chinese food or maybe Italian food?
I'm actually asking you now.
What should I order for my family?
- Well, I have been known to completely blow
my family's mind and get both.
- That's a great idea and it's also a perfect response
because it plays directly into this episode.
- Thank you.
- If Rhett can generate excitement
by combining Chinese and Italian dishes with his family,
think about how much more exciting it will be
to ask the Mythical Kitcheneers to do it here for us.
It's time for Chinese Italian versus Italian Chinese.
Which is "yasss" and which is "dish, please"?
- We recently posted a series of matchups.
We pitted a Chinese dish infused with Italian elements
against an Italian dish infused with Chinese elements
and you voted on which one you thought we would like better.
Now, make sure, you gotta be following us
on Facebook and Instagram, if you wanna vote, okay?
Exercise your right to vote for these things
that we do on this show.
The Mythical Kitcheneers have made these dishes
and now it's time to see how well you know our taste buds.
- This is a big creative challenge.
I'm interested in this and you little beasties
lost last time we did this format,
so today you can try your luck again.
You get a point for each round
the majority of you guessed correctly
and if you get three or more points,
we're gonna stroke your egos in Good Mythical More.
But if you don't get three right,
we'll pose with a glass of juice
and you must comment on that photo,
"Give me, give me some of that loser juice," on Instagram.
- You know you want it.
Let's get flavor swapping.
(logo whooshing)
(gentle music)
- All right, first up, we've got steamed buns,
a comfort food, combined with a meat ball,
another comfort food. - I'm very comfortable.
- But how will a meatball steamed bun measure up
to the combination of two other popular favorites,
Kung Pao chicken ravioli?
Dang, this smells good!
- Nicole, I'm gonna cut this open
while you tell me what happened here.
- [Nicole] So, I made an amazing meatball,
if I do say so myself.
- [Link] Say it!
- [Nicole] (laughing) With beef, pork, and veal,
and a ton of classic Italian spices
and it's wrapped around the bao bun.
- Oh, my goodness.
- [Nicole] And then it's on a bed of beautiful marinara
and then you have Kung Pao ravioli,
which I can explain now or later.
I'll probably do it later.
- Explain that.
- [Nicole] You guys are enjoying it right now.
- Oh, my goodness.
- [Link] I'm trying to get into this thing,
but keep a bite intact.
- Yeah, get some sauce.
This is a big bite.
Oh, wow.
- That bao pastry is a nice little layer.
- It's almost like a Beef Wellington treatment
to a meatball.
Man, that's good!
- [Link] That's so great.
- When I heard Kung Pao chicken ravioli,
I immediately just thought that I would like that more.
- Dang, son.
- But I can't imagine being much better than this.
That's a good meatball!
- Yeah and I like the doughy-ness of it, too.
- Now, I'm gonna resist the urge to cut this open.
I'm just gonna eat it because that's how I eat my ravioli.
- I'm gonna cut it open, just so, if you're curious.
- Actually, I think my mouth is too small to go around that,
so I'm gonna have to cut it.
- So what is there?
I see some peanuts inside of there.
- [Nicole] Yeah, so it's peanuts, chicken,
some bell peppers, and then it's tossed
in a creamy Kung Pao sauce,
topped with more peanuts and some chili.
A little spicy.
- Spicy peanut.
- That's also very, very tasty.
- Oh, my gosh, Nicole, you freaking done.
- These are both so special.
These are both so special, Nicole.
- [Nicole] You're so sweet.
Thank you.
- I know which one I'm voting for,
but I also just have to eat a little bit more of it
while it's here because as soon as it disappears.
You know what happens?
You enjoy it and then they just take it away
and I never seen it again.
- Oh, this can come back.
So I think we're still in more of an Italian area here
and we're in a little bit more of a Chinese taste over here.
- I feel like this one would win the menu wars.
You know what I'm saying?
Like if a restaurant, a Chinese-Italian fusion restaurant,
which is really, we're making your menu for you,
if you are that.
We'll put this on the menu first because it sounds better.
- Yeah.
- Which is why people may have voted for it more,
but I think the taste of this one's even better.
- Yeah and that's saying a lot.
So we are going with the meatball, would you agree?
- The way you would do that is with a golden tongue.
- Oh.
This is how we're saying that.
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Stevie] This is a really close game the whole way through
because 56% of the Mythical Beasts thought
that you would like the Kung Pao chicken ravioli better.
- Hey, I can't fault you for it, but you don't get a point.
- You're not here.
You're not tasting it.
- You're not wrong, but you're not quite as right
as you needed to be.
- Exactly.
(gentle, upbeat music)
Next up, we've got an Italian-ized version of wonton soup.
These are wontons filled with all the fixings
from an Italian sub and that's going up
against a peking duck risotto.
Do you think the risotto has a ducking chance? (chuckling)
- Maybe.
So there's an Italian sub in each of these?
What does that mean exactly?
- [Nicole] Pretty much what I did
was I chopped up a bunch of salami, mortadella,
capicola, prosciutto, provolone,
and spicy marinated peppers and I wrapped it in a wonton
and then I put it in a garlicky chicken broth.
- I'm gonna just wonton it, the whole thing,
right into my mouth.
- Yeah, so I can see the pieces peaking.
(Link grunting)
That's so much better than an Italian sub.
Talk about comforting.
Boy, if you get sick.
I'm calling you, Nicole, if I get sick.
- Don't do that.
- You need to bring over some of this.
- [Nicole] I don't think that's a good idea.
- Just leave it at the doorstep.
- Don't make her interact with a sick Link.
- You going in for dubs.
- That's really tasty.
It's very tasty, but I already like wonton so much anyway,
you know what I'm saying?
- So when we get over here to peking.
- It's not necessarily an improvement.
- Peaking duck?
- Peking duck.
- Peking.
- [Nicole] Yeah. - Yeah.
- [Link] What makes it peking?
- [Nicole] So I made risotto the typical way,
with a lot of broth.
I used shaoxing wine, which is a Chinese cooking wine,
instead of a classic white wine.
I put some duck fat in there, mixed it up,
and then there's actual pieces of peking duck
and crispy skin on the top, with some hoisin and scallions.
- Oh.
Yeah, that hoisin.
- That's a tasty risotto.
You don't like it.
(crew laughing)
- I feel like I should like it.
You don't like duck.
- But I just don't like duck.
I don't care what it's peking.
- Well, I'm not gonna, I like both of these a lot, but.
- But that one there.
- I really liked this one, as well, so.
- That one there.
- If you're feeling strongly about this one.
- Let's do it.
- We'll go with the wonton.
- Did you know that I couldn't go for the duck
and that swayed your vote?
- [Stevie] This was only separated by 61 votes.
So there were over 115,000 votes
and 61 people separated this.
So 51% of the Mythical Beasts thought
you would like the Italian wonton soup better.
- You were right.
- All right, you're good now.
- Maybe.
(gentle, upbeat music)
- All right, now to the meat of the competition.
We've got beef with broccoli rabe.
- Where's Rob?
He's back?
- It's a type of broccoli.
- Oh.
- Only this one's made with Italian beef and peppers
and that's going up against mu shu porchetta,
a pork roast stuffed with all the elements of mu shu pork.
Which one takes a golden tongue?
- We're having some fun today!
- [Link] Dang.
- [Rhett] And Rob's not even here.
- That is juicy!
- [Rhett] What makes rabe rabe?
- Beefy and broccoli rabe.
What is it, a skinny broccoli?
- [Nicole] Yeah, it's kind of like a flowering broccoli.
A little bit more bitter than what you're used to,
but it's a great accompaniment to a sandwich.
Also, there's some Calabrian chili crisps in there, as well.
- Oh, wow.
Yeah, it has a totally different taste to it.
- [Nicole] Yeah, it's like a bitter chew.
- Oh, there's some spiciness in there.
- [Nicole] That's the chili crisp.
- How do you describe this?
It really is beef and broccoli-ized Italian beef.
End of story.
- It's got that umami quality to it,
that's coming out of that Asian flavor.
- I could definitely see still going
into an Italian beef place
and getting this twist brought into it.
Very intriguing, very buzzworthy.
- Speaking of twists, bring in that whole pork roast.
That's what we're dealing with right there.
- Look at that spiral of amazing.
- [Rhett] I'm just gonna come in here.
- How did you even flop that over and get it to stay?
Lots of toothpicks?
- [Nicole] Honestly, yeah.
A labor of love is what I call that.
- Look at that.
Stare directly into that and you get sucked into the nether.
- I don't know how to tell you what I've done here, Link,
and how you should enjoy it.
This thing's thick all the way to the edge there.
- First of all, I probably shouldn't use a spoon.
- [Nicole] So we stuffed it with all of the classic fixings
that go into mu shu pork, so there's cabbage,
there's carrots, there's wood ear fungus,
which is just a mushroom.
Don't worry about it. - I like it.
- [Nicole] And some ginger, white pepper,
and then I glazed it with a little bit
of a oyster sauce, as well.
- And it's nice and-
- [Nicole] Crackly.
- Crackly on the top.
- [Rhett] Yeah, the crackling skin.
- Wow! - This is really, really good.
I kind of feel like I'm just eating
a really good pork roast.
- It's still probably my favorite thing that I've tasted,
but the balance is probably like 15%, 75%.
And then whatever's left is just because I don't know math.
- You can't really do math well.
So this is a close one for me because I love pork.
- So fabulous.
- But I feel like I'm just kind of just having a pork roast.
- Yeah.
- And I really respect happening here
and I also like the taste.
It's complex and it's a little bit confusing in a good way.
- Let's keep eating this, but let's vote for that.
- [Stevie] 56% of the Mythical Beasts thought
that you would like the Italian beef with broccoli better.
- I don't know how you don't figure that one out.
- You got it right, but I feel like you're just being lucky.
Honestly because we are very lucky.
(gentle, upbeat music)
- Okay, man, I didn't know if it could get any better,
but we have got lasagna egg rolls
where they pesto dipping sauce
going up against orange chicken parm!
Like, we've lived a life!
We've been on this earth for 44 and 43 years.
- Yes, and now!
- And just now, we're getting to orange chicken parm?
- And the freaking egg roll.
(crew laughing)
- Orange chicken, just so you culinary correctors out there,
don't get your panties in a wad.
We know our chicken is an Americanized version
of a Chinese dish, but listen, it's on the menu
at every Chinese restaurant, so we are incorporating it
and it's orange chicken parm!
- Good gosh.
All right, tell us about these egg rolls.
- [Nicole] All right, so we got tomato, basil, ricotta,
burrata rolled instead of lasagna noodle and fried,
served with pesto dipping sauce.
Do you love it?
I know.
- So every single thing is Italian, even the noodle,
but it's the form that has made it egg roll.
- [Nicole] Exactly.
- And then deep frying gives it that egg roll-like quality.
- A lot of things have been egg rolled.
Just go to Chili's.
- Yeah, they put southwest.
They got southwest egg rolls,
which by the way, very, very good.
The noodle gets a little harder than I want it to be
during the frying process, but.
- [Link] Yeah, because they're thick.
- That's something I can overlook, but-
- It's so tasty.
- What I will not overlook is this orange chicken parm!
- Throwing anything in a skillet,
throwing anything in a skillet like that,
you got me coming to the table.
- Unless it's duck, tomatoes, olives.
- [Link] That's true.
- There's a list.
- Okay, so we've got chunks of orange chicken.
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Link] Because that's how orange chicken is made.
It's chunked.
- [Nicole] Yes, so we got breaded chicken breasts,
tossed in a sticky tomato glaze
because it's inspired by the orange chicken, right?
And then it has a blanket of mozzarella cheese,
sesame seeds, and green onions over the top.
- Oh, my goodness.
- I brought some of the blanket over to my side.
- I'm gonna get a little bit more of that blanket.
Dink it and sink it.
(Rhett chuckling)
- This is just cheese.
- Still very orangy, but now, extremely cheesy.
- I don't want this to end.
You know, there are things that happen in life
and you're like, I wanna be present for this.
- Please don't let this ever be over.
- I wanna be completely present for this.
Rhett, you are eating orange chicken parm.
This will only be a memory minutes from now.
This will be psychological only.
Right now, it's physical.
It's visceral.
It's spiritual.
It's technological.
- It tastes good, y'all!
- All right.
- We've got to vote for this one
because the noodle around the egg roll.
- That's my only gripe with that one,
but I have no gripes with this one.
I just want to keep eating it, loving it.
- All right, it all comes down to this for you, Beasts.
Did you do it?
- [Stevie] 56%, again, of the Mythical Beasts thought
that you would like the lasagna egg rolls.
- Oh, you losers! (laughing)
- I understand. - We win, you lose!
- Go over to our Instagram.
You must comment on our glass of juice,
"Give me, give me some of that loser juice."
You must.
- That's what you deserve.
- Go over.
Do it.
- Thanks for subscribing and clicking that bell.
- You know what time it is.
Time to keep eating.
- I'm Madeline.
- And I'm Daniel.
- And we're in Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
doing a little camping, drinking our morning coffee.
- Feels good. - It feels good outside.
- [Both] And it's time to spin the Wheel of Mythicality.
- You know, just keep it loose, man.
It feels good. - Good vibes.
Good vibes.
- You don't need a second take.
- Thanks for including us, guys.
- Hey, we're camping, hey.
Click the top link to watch us guess
whether a famous invention is Chinese or Italian.
- Italian.
- In Good Mythical More.
- And to find out where
the Wheel of Mythicality is gonna land.
To get the Rhett and Link plushies,
join Third Degree Quarterly or annual by December 31st.
Visit mythicalsociety.com for details.