We’re in Taipei and we’re here at How Living Club.
We’re going to do a cooking class, which I’m so excited about.
I love food and I love cooking.
So we’re going to try making our own.
We’re going to make beef noodles with a cucumber salad and bubble tea.
When I heard we were going to make bubble tea I couldn’t imagine it but we’re going to meet a chef
who’s going to show us how it goes.
I feel like we’re starring in our own TV show. -Hi everyone, I’m York.
I’m York.
He’s our chef.
I feel nervous about my knife skills being beside a chef.
Please don’t look too closely.
I’m ready.
You beat me!
He put this onion in the freezer for an hour?
Yes.
So it’s…I’m not crying.
Thank you very much.
It would be only tears of joy.
Yes.
So much possibility in an empty pot, don’t you think?
Olive oil to start. -Olive oil is best!
He says one tablespoon so I’m going to eyeball it here.
Maybe two.
Maybe two?
Maybe two.
Let’s just go bananas.
That sizzle though.
Smells good.
Now we’re cookin’!
Now you’re a real chef.
So scallion, chili, is this ginger?
Ginger, yes.
Oh I love ginger.
And this one ice sugar.
Sugar and salt.
They’re like little gem stones.
It’s snowing.
Looks like Canada.
Make the…
Give it a stir?
Make the sugar caramelize.
It’s so nice to cook ‘cause when you’re travelling you don’t have a kitchen all the time
and I just find it so relaxing.
I love cooking.
That one is Taiwanese way.
Big one, big size.
If you’re ever wondering how the Taiwanese way is to cut beef
that’s you’re perfect cut right there….size.
Perfect size.
It’s perfect.
I was going to cut it again and York was like, ‘Don’t cut that!
Don’t cut that.’
So we’re using the pot to do the vegetables on one side and then the beef on the other
and I just dropped them all in and he said don’t touch them for the first…
Just like making a steak.
…couple of minutes.
Ok.
Yeah, just like making a steak when you fry every side.
So the beef has been sitting here for a little while.
I wish you could smell this right now.
We need smell-o-vision, but we want all of the beef
to look like that.
So the sugar that we put in earlier is just caramelizing on the outside of the beef
and giving it so much flavour
so York says to just let it sit a little while until it all starts to look that nice brown colour.
So I’m just going to wait.
Just added the water so now the stock is really starting to…to build.
It smells so good.
So while the stock is getting a lot of flavour building, we’re to make cucumber salad?
Yeah, cucumber salad.
For the side?
Ok.
This one’s sugar, garlic, and rice vinegar.
Rice vinegar again?
Yeah. -Ok.
We cut the cucumber.
You can cut anyway you like.
Ok.
Someone cut like this, some cut like this but I…this way is my favourite way.
This one’s too big.
There - that looks better.
Kitchen no rules.
No rules, ok.
I’ll fit right in.
You have to be careful not to…your wrist.
Yeah, don’t slice yourself.
So garlic, sugar, rice vinegar with the cucumber that we crushed.
This is sesame oil.
So I’m allowed to try it?
Yeah, try.
If I could… -Oh that’s good.
If I could I try a lot.
Yeah.
Try a lot.
Yeah, ‘cause you’re the chef, right? I mean…
We’re going to make pan-fried dumplings.
We’re going to make that?
Of course.
It’s easy.
Today is my first time to teach someone to cook.
Really? -Yeah.
Oh you’re such a good teacher!
Thank you. -Thank you.
Are you serious? -Yes.
This is your first time?
Yes, my first time.
This is my first time too…making them.
Don’t be so shy.
So this is white pepper in there, can you see?
That has a lot of flavour.
We use white pepper a lot in Taiwan.
White pepper, rice wine…
It’s so satisfying when you see all the ingredients start to mix together.
I’m kind of nervous about this part.
It’s easy.
This for you, this for me.
Don’t put too much.
Otherwise you...
...difficult to eat.
How’s that amount?
Maybe… -A little more?
Yeah, bit more.
Water.
Water?
Yeah.
Oh.
Oh to make it sticky.
Yeah.
Push.
Just one push.
Just one push. -Just one push.
One push.
Push, push, and push.
Like that?
Yeah, put together.
That doesn’t look that bad!
Sort of.
Yeah, it’s ok, it’s ok.
First time.
Let’s compare our dumplings.
For the first time it’s good.
We’re taking a poll: which one is better?
Which one is York’s and which one is Eileen’s?
It’s not that hard to tell.
Push.
Oh!
That looks pretty good!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Just two.
Just two - ok.
Two ok.
The other way.
Look how good it looks!
Yes.
Ok, I don’t want to mess up the other side.
That looks real.
It looks like a real dumpling.
Push.
Yeah!
Push like this?
It sounds like you’re in labour right now.
I am labouring over this dumpling.
K there’s my second one.
Oh that’s nice!
Wow!
Yeah!
I’m getting the hang of this.
Good.
Dumpling master.
You can now call me ‘dumpling master.’
While we’ve been making the dumplings over there our soup has been simmering on the stove
and I’m going to taste the broth again now.
Oh!
I wish you could taste this.
Here.
This is all the ingredients you need for bubble tea?
Yes.
You need water, sugar, this one.
So first of all we mix the flour together.
So this is flour?
Yeah, uh potato…
Potato, oh, starch?
Potato starch.
I cannot conceive of making bubble tea.
I can’t believe that we’re making bubble tea right now.
It seems like a really complicated thing to make.
It’s easy, it’s easy.
Trust me.
He says it’s easy.
It’s more easy than the soup and dumplings.
What?! Ok.
Just mix for you, boil the water, add brown sugar.
This reminds me a little of maple syrup.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It’s so good - and this looks a little bit similar.
For the waffle?
Yeah, for waffles, pancakes…I put it on everything.
Fried chicken, fried chicken.
Fried chicken, yeah.
It's the south way.
I think York and I need a cooking show.
Yeah, this is your pilot.
Yeah.
This is our first time.
It has like a taffy texture.
So sticky.
Oh sweet lord.
Want to try?
Yes.
Take this one, cut.
Oh!
You use the bubble tea straw?!
Yeah.
So we have the dough for the little bubble tea balls
and as a cookie cutter we’re using the bubble tea straw which is perfect.
Yeah, it’s perfect.
Because then it’s the perfect size to get up when you’re drinking it.
Yes.
My mind is…I had no idea that’s how they made them.
Ok now repeat one hundred times.
A thousand times.
Yeah, a thousand times.
Your very own tapioca ‘M’.
Yay!
I’ve always wanted one.
We’re going to fry the dumplings now: part two.
Part two.
These are going to get fried in here.
You made a spiral sun.
Just like that.
Just all in?
Yes.
Oh!
Be careful the elephant.
This is why you don’t make enormous bubbles.
For this reason.
We also made a heart,
an elephant,
and I made a little sand dollar,
here’s Marc’s M,
and this looks like a little clover.
This is just a mistake.
I don’t know why this is in here.
I think it looks like a skull.
Ok, it’s a skull now.
And this we’re going to call a smile.
Look how big the elephant is!
Yeah.
So beautiful, right?
That’s beautiful.
So I’m putting some vegetable oil in.
Look at these noodles.
Now that’s a noodle.
For you and Marc.
Try.
Look at how beautiful that looks.
Mix it?
Yeah.
I need to be alone.
And the bubbles fit perfectly through the straw and now I know why.
So we’re going to plate the cucumbers and York says to let them sit like at least three hours
and if you crush them then the flavour absorbs more quickly
so you could let them sit for a little less time.
But the longer they sit the more flavour they take on
so overnight is even better.
These are going to be delicious.
Final touch for this soup: sprinkling the scallions.
Look at that!
It looks so good.
We just finished the entire meal and I cannot believe that, with York’s help,
that we made all of this together.
This is the beef noodle soup,
these are the pan-fried dumplings,
the cucumber salad with a bit of chili sauce on the side
and then the bubble tea and we actually learned how to make the little tapioca balls in the bottom of this.
I cannot wait to eat this.
I mean I have been, you know, tasting it like you’re supposed to as you go
but to actually see this all laid out in front of me and know that now I know how it’s made
I feel like I’m going to appreciate this food every time I see it now in a whole different way.
Thank you.
Thanks for being my first teacher.
Yes, my first students.
Thank you so much.
I’ll give you another hug.
Enjoy your lunch.
Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
Thanks. Thanks Marc.
This has been so much fun.
I still can’t believe that I made all of those dishes with the help of York.
I’m going to try this at home and I’m probably going to miss him very much.
But thank you so much York and to How Living for this absolutely unforgettable experience.