- [Sara] "Sara's Weeknight Meals" is made possible by... - [Narrator] Aboard Oceania Cruises, our guests embrace a passion for travel, and our chefs are inspired by the flavors of the world and committed to providing fine dining at sea.

That's Oceania Cruises.

Oceania Cruises.

Your world your way.

- [Narrator] Since 1921, Season has brought you skinless and boneless sardine filets.

Our sardines are wild-caught, and contain essential vitamins and minerals for everyday meals.

Season Sardines.

Rich in omega-3s and protein.

♪ And it feels good - [Narrator] Sunsweet Amazin█ Prunes and Prune Juice.

(upbeat rock music) - And by Mutti Tomatoes of Parma, The Republic of Tea, and USA Rice.

(upbeat bass music) Today on "Sara's Weeknight Meals," we're going downtown to Chinatown on opposite sides of the continent.

Ooh, I'm smelling it.

I... My old friend, Grace Young, has worked for years to preserve New York's vanishing Chinatown.

- Chinatown is on life support, and it's quickly slipping away.

- I know you're very attached to your wok... Today, she's back in my kitchen with her trusty wok.

- We're making Chinese barbecued pork.

(Sara exclaiming in excitement) Yes.

Which is fabulous by itself, but we're going to use it for fried rice today, which is out of this world.

It is the best.

So many of my students call this "meat candy."

- If this is candy, I'm getting a sweet tooth.

Then we cross North America to this.

(William singing in foreign language) Can you believe we're in Vancouver's Chinatown?

I don't think you're talking about dumplings.

There's all sorts of deliciousness here.

Oh, my whole family is jealous right now.

(Judy laughing) We're making appetizers with tea, tea-smoked tofu with wakame salad, and Yunnan eggs.

Ooh, that's beautiful.

It's rainbow colored.

And then, dumplings.

- So we're gonna make a Korean version of Chinese dumplings.

- [Sara] That is just spectacular.

- Thank you.

- That was worth the price of admission.

Chinese treats you'll want on repeat, on "Sara's Weeknight Meals."

In this impossibly beautiful city on the edge of the continent lies one of the largest Chinatowns in the world.

Vancouver's Chinatown is a place where ancient traditions meet hipster hangouts, and where its namesake inhabitants were not always welcome.

(gentle percussive music) - Chinese couldn't live in the city of Vancouver, didn't have any rights, they couldn't get jobs in the professions, and they had to stick together to protect each other, so they all formed Chinatown.

- [Sara] Judy Lam Maxwell gives tours of Vancouver's Chinatown, and today, she's showing me the places that make it unique.

- So I'm gonna take you to Treasure Green Tea, Olivia owns it, she's second-generation tea sommelier, her dad started the business in 1981.

It was the first authentic Chinese tea shop in the city of Vancouver, and I'll drop you off here so that you can try a few teas and I'm gonna run some errands.

- How nice.

Lovely.

(gentle harp music) Some drink tea... (Sara moaning in satisfaction) Oh, that's so delicious.

Others cook with it.

- We are, today, featuring a tea-smoked tofu with wakame salad.

- [Sara] Oh, fun!

- I have extra firm tofu here, if you can slice it about quarter inch thick for me, and after that, please pat dry the tofu.

- Oh, okay.

- For our marination, we have one teaspoon of sugar and two teaspoon of salt.

So this is the lapsang souchong black tea from Fujian, it's a smoke black tea, very smokey.

- Wow!

That is, smells smokey!

- Smells almost like campfire.

So we have the tea here.

There's one tablespoon of lapsang souchong and one cup of water.

I did make the marination ahead of time, and it looks like this.

- [Sara] Oh, that's beautiful.

- Yeah, black tea, the color's actually very gorgeous.

So we gonna put the patted tofu into the bowl, and then- - [Sara] Any particular way?

Just... - [Olivia] Yes, so if they don't overlap each other will be the best, and I will pour the tea over it, and we'll marinate minimum one hour but preferably overnight.

- [Sara] So this is what it looks like after you've marinated?

- Yeah, so that one's marinated overnight, so we see the color is really beautiful.

So you would have a pen, and you wanna line it with couple foils.

One tablespoon of rice, and then, we have two tablespoon of tea.

- [Sara] This is so cool.

- [Olivia] This is a smoky tea, of course.

We can put the rack back on, and then, we place the tofu... - [Sara] On top.

- [Olivia] On top.

- Do you smoke other things besides tofu this way?

- Smoked duck is another one that we do.

- Wow.

Okay, now what happens?

- Now we turn this stove on.

Okay, it looks like it's smoking now.

Wonderful.

So this is the time that you turn off the stove, and then, we let it sit for 15 minutes.

- Okay.

- So what I'm putting on the topping is, this one is my homemade wakame salad, you can also put whatever you like on top, I also have kimchi and some nori seaweed as well, black sesame, they go really well with the smoked tofu as well.

(upbeat percussive music) - Oh.

That is so good.

That is so good.

That was delicious, and there's more to come.

- So this is a second-generation Chinese-Canadian owned, it's Kam Wai Dim Sum.

- Ooh, dim sum.

- [Judy] Everybody loves dumplings.

- Yes.

Just like dumplings, there's a surprise inside this shop.

(William singing in foreign language) William Liu gave up an opera career to take over his ailing father's dim sum shop.

(William singing in foreign language) Oh, goodness gracious.

I don't think you were singing about dumplings either.

- [William] No, definitely not about dumplings.

- Now, oh, my god, these look like little pillows.

- So the little pillow-y ones right here, so those are our barbecued pork buns, or bao as we call them.

This one is our sticky rice, or as we call it in Chinese... (indistinct) So on the outside is wrapped with a bamboo leaf, which it gives it a really beautiful aroma.

- [Sara] And this guy over here?

- Mushroom dumplings, so this one is our... One of our newer items for our menu, it's a vegan mushroom dumpling.

- Well, we gotta dig in.

- Absolutely.

Enjoy.

- My husband says never eat anything larger than your head, and this is getting awfully close.

So how do you eat these?

- You just break it apart.

- Oh, my whole family is jealous right now.

(Judy laughing) (Sara moaning in satisfaction) It's so good.

That's, like, barbecue, and sweet, and the essence of pork.

- [Judy] So this is a really popular thing to eat during Dragon Boat Festival.

- Okay.

And that's sticky rice.

- Yes.

(relaxed electronic music) It's comfort food.

It's very good.

- Well, I think this is all comfort food, I think we're fairly safe to say that.

- [Judy] Mushroom dumplings, there are about five different kinds of mushrooms inside.

- I'm a huge mushroom fan, and this... (Sara moaning in satisfaction) (relaxed electronic music) Wow.

(relaxed electronic music) This is just fantastic.

Do you think ours will look like that?

- Better.

(people laughing) - Okay then.

(relaxed electronic music) (upbeat oriental music) (upbeat oriental music continues) I'm here with Judy Lam Maxwell, who calls herself "Chinatown girl" because you do these amazing tours of Chinatown.

All the secret knowledge she has, this lady.

Anyway, now, we're at the end of our tour and we get the dumpling at the end of the rainbow.

You're gonna show me how to make dumplings?

- Yes.

- What kind of dumpling are we making?

- So we're gonna make bulgogi dumplings, Korean-style dumplings with ground beef.

- Oh, yay.

That sounds so good.

So I just minced up, per your direction, three garlic cloves, and then, what would you like me to do?

- Chop up a quarter of an onion, half an inch of ginger, and two scallions, and I'll grate the carrot, and I'll put half a cup of napa cabbage in the bowl.

(carrot grating) (light clanging) - So now I'm onto my ginger, and then, the scallions...

Both part of the scallions?

- [Judy] The whole one.

(relaxed electronic music) - So that's all the vegetables.

- So we're gonna add liquids now, and we're gonna start with one tablespoon of soy sauce, the soy sauce I use is organic and unpasteurized.

Half a tablespoon of fish sauce, half a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, not sesame oil, but toasted sesame oil.

Different flavor.

So now we're gonna add one and a half tablespoons of brown sugar.

- Oops.

So that's the sweet element here.

- Yes.

And then, one tablespoon of cornstarch, and quarter of a teaspoon of white pepper.

So Asians use white pepper instead of black pepper.

- [Sara] 'Cause it's sort of a drier heat?

- [Judy] Yes.

- [Sara] And an egg!

- So this ground beef, and I'm just gonna add it to this.

(paper rustling) - Oh, oh, I see, okay, you are beating it up.

Yeah, I never understand why people just say, "Throw an egg in," 'cause then, it's much harder to incorporate.

Now, this looks like a lifetime supply.

- Nothing ever goes to waste, I make dumplings for the elders in the community.

- Oh, how nice!

Should I get the wonton wrappers?

And where do you find them?

- [Judy] You can get them at any Chinese grocery store.

- Sometimes, supermarkets...

I've found them in supermarkets in the frozen food section.

All right, so what do we do?

- [Judy] I'm gonna put water on the edge of both sides.

- [Sara] Oh, both sides.

- Yes, and then, you put your thumbs an inch apart, you start with your left thumb at the start of where the water is, and then, your other thumb's an inch away, and then, you're gonna use your index finger to push and make the folds, so one, and you press it at the top, and move your fingers over and do another fold, two, move your fingers over again and do a third fold, three.

So I use a coffee spoon to fill the dumplings with the ingredients because a teaspoon is too big, so I've made a little pouch.

- [Sara] You sure did.

- [Judy] Gonna put water on the back, rest it on the mat or board and press the edges together.

- [Sara] Wow.

- And then, I push it down so that there's more surface area for cooking, and there we go.

- That's beautiful.

I'm nervous.

(Judy laughing) Okay.

So let's see what- - So we'll do it together.

- Okay.

(upbeat electronic music) - Over, and do another fold.

(upbeat electronic music) (upbeat electronic music continues) - These are gorgeous, they look like the Rockettes.

- You did a great job.

- Well, not really, but I... You say it's practice, practice, practice.

- [Judy] Yes.

So we're gonna cook them, and I'm gonna use avocado oil, you could use grape-seed oil, so you wanna use a high-temperature smoke point.

- I'm shocked, you don't heat the pan first?

- No, it doesn't make sense because some are gonna be cooking at different times.

So I'm gonna put a few more in.

- Okay.

And turn the heat on.

- [Judy] Medium high.

There we go, look at it.

Looks beautiful.

- Now, do you cover it?

- No, I'm just gonna wait 'til it starts crackling, and then, I'm gonna add water, and then, I'm gonna put the lid on.

Yeah, do you hear it crackling?

- No... Yeah.

A faint crackle.

Okay.

- So we can add some water now, so about half to three quarters of a cup.

(water pouring) So I just want it to be halfway up, you can see, and then, I'm gonna put the lid on, and I'm gonna put the heat down to medium, and then, I'm gonna put my timer on for five minutes.

- So what is the point of the shape?

The crescent.

(relaxed rock music) - So they're shaped like ingots, it's supposed to be, like, good luck, prosperity, you eat it, and then, you're... You have good luck.

- Wow.

Well, there's lots of things like that in Chinese culture.

- There's a lot of symbolism, there's a lot of superstition in Chinese cultures.

So this is ready.

(relaxed rock music) So this is gonna cook for about three-to-five more minutes.

By the time the water evaporates, it'll be crispy on the bottom.

- And when do you eat dumplings?

- Chinese New Years, birthdays, Christmas time, special celebrations is when you sit down together, make them together, and eat them together.

(relaxed rock music) - How do you get 'em out of the pan?

I mean, that's gonna take forever.

- Watch this.

- Oh, no.

(Judy laughing) I'm scared.

(dish clattering) - So this is really simple, you don't have to take them out one at a time.

(Sara exclaiming in amazement) There we go.

- Oh, you just pulled a Julia Child on me!

That is just spectacular.

- [Judy] Thank you.

- That was worth the price of admission.

(Judy laughing) Why, thank you.

Well, I think we must go eat.

- Yes, I think so.

- Yeah, let's head out to the garden.

- Okay, I'll take this out.

(upbeat guitar music) - So the moment has come, right?

Should we just...?

- Okay.

- Yeah, go right in.

Oh, dear.

These are big.

Can I eat it in two bites?

(Judy laughing) No?

(indistinct) (upbeat guitar music) Oh, wow.

(Judy grunting in satisfaction) That is so good.

- So can you tell which one are yours and which ones are mine?

Yours are the perfect ones.

- No, they all look the same.

- Oh, you got a point there.

I mean, after all, they are upside down.

That was genius, you did that for me.

You did that for me.

How nice.

(upbeat guitar music) (relaxed electronic music) - Your wok is talking to you.

(relaxed electronic music) (food sizzling) - Ooh, I'm smelling it, I'm- - Is that fabulous?

- It's so wonderful.

(relaxed electronic music) - Chinatown is on life support, and it's quickly slipping away.

(relaxed electronic music) - So a lot of people with no choice but to close up.

(relaxed electronic music) - They are linked to our past, and when we lose our past, we lose a part of ourselves.

(relaxed electronic music) - [Sara] What are we making today?

- We're making Chinese barbecued pork.

(Sara exclaiming in excitement) Yes, which is fabulous by itself, but we're gonna use it for fried rice today, which is out of this world.

- Oh, I'm so excited.

All righty, so we're gonna start with the marinade?

- Yeah.

- [Sara] Tell me what to do.

- We want two tablespoons of sugar.

(relaxed guitar music) Bean sauce, and you want just a tablespoon of it.

- [Sara] And what is bean sauce, exactly?

- Bean sauce is made with soybeans, it's sort of like Chinese miso.

(Sara exclaiming in surprise) Yeah.

Dark soy sauce.

It's aged a little bit longer.

This is hoisin sauce, this has more sugar in it.

- [Sara] I was gonna say, this is pretty sweet, - But a little bit of smokiness too.

And this is the regular soy sauce.

- [Sara] Yes.

And this is all a tablespoon of each one of these, right?

- Right.

Rice wine, shaoxing rice wine, but don't worry, if you can't find it, you could just use dry sherry.

One teaspoon of Asian sesame oil.

And lastly, a little bit of white pepper.

- Just a pinch?

- Yeah.

Eighth of a teaspoon, yeah.

- Okay, this is exactly an eighth of a teaspoon.

Okay, so the pork goes right in here?

- [Grace] Yep.

- [Sara] Okay, there we go, and what kind of pork was it?

- Oh, this is one pound of pork shoulder, or Boston butt.

Now, we're gonna cover it and put it in the refrigerator.

- For how long?

- Well, ideally, overnight, turning it occasionally, but if you're in a rush, four or five hours is great.

- Perfect.

Well, I think you need to hose down... (Grace laughing) And I'll get this in here.

(water running) Okay, so this, we've marinated overnight, and it looks different, it looks like it's been marinated.

- [Grace] Yep.

It's very, very simple.

All you need to do now is transfer it to this roasting pan that has the rack.

(relaxed guitar music) So the most important thing is you wanna leave about one inch of space between the pieces.

This is the critical part, you add about a quarter-of-an-inch of water, and this what... Is what keeps the meat moist as it's cooking.

- So it's sort of a steamy environment.

- Right.

- Now, what is this for?

- So this is honey.

- [Sara] That's local honey, by the way.

- Local honey, yep.

The best.

- Made from right near here.

- And we're just gonna drizzle a little of the honey on each piece.

- [Sara] Wow.

- And that's what gives it that wonderful glaze... (relaxed guitar music) That's sort of like a roast ham, so you get this beautiful sticky glaze at the end.

(relaxed guitar music) - [Sara] So this goes under the broiler?

- Yes.

- [Sara] Let's go pop it in.

- [Grace] So you want it four inches from the heat.

- Okay, and how long do you let it go?

- Seven to 10 minutes.

Okay.

Perfect.

- [Sara] Wonderful.

Say you don't wanna make it, can you buy it?

- Of course, it's excellent from a restaurant, but the homemade is incredible.

It is the best.

So many of my students call this "meat candy."

- [Sara] Wow.

Ooh, this is looking great.

- Yes.

Wow, that's beautiful.

Yeah.

(relaxed guitar music) So I'm just turning them over.

Oh, my god.

And that aroma.

Now, I'm just gonna brush on a little bit more marinade.

- [Sara] Just a little bit.

- [Grace] Just a little bit.

- And because this is going back under the broiler, it doesn't matter that the raw meat marinated in this 'cause this is gonna cook under the broiler.

- [Grace] Exactly.

- Now, this goes back under, what, for another, say...?

- [Grace] Seven-to-10 minute.

- [Sara] And cover it with foil if it starts to burn.

- Exactly.

Yep.

(relaxed guitar music) - So while that's finishing up, tell me about the work you've been doing in Chinatown.

- I've been trying to do everything in my power to raise awareness that we need to support these historic immigrant communities.

- Right, 'cause they've been around for years, and years, and years.

And we depend on them, I do too.

- They are a sacred part of America.

- What do you think?

Should we take a little peek?

- Yeah, I think you're right.

(upbeat rock music) Oh, it's perfect, oh, my god.

And the aroma.

(upbeat rock music) Here's our meat candy.

Chinese barbecued pork.

Perfect.

- Now what happens with this?

- So we're gonna let it rest 10 minutes, and then, cut it into one-half-inch diced pieces.

- Well, so let's go down and talk about fried rice.

(relaxed rock music) - So this rice has been cooked the day before, and I'm just gonna fluff it again.

If you did freshly-cooked rice, it's too hot and moist.

- [Sara] Really?

- Yeah, and so, fried rice becomes sticky and gummy.

- [Sara] You know, I realized that you could also use the leftover Chinese rice, right?

- Yeah, if you're in a pinch and you had some Chinese takeout, you can certainly use takeout rice.

This is a peeled and de-veined shrimp, and it's been padded dry, this is very important.

You don't want it to be sopping wet because when you put it into the hot wok with the oil, it's gonna spatter and it's also gonna take down the temperature of the wok.

- Oh, that makes sense.

- And I'm gonna cut this into half-inch pieces, and whenever you're prepping ingredients for a stir-fry, it's very important to try and cut your ingredients into more or less the same size.

- [Sara] Yeah, that makes sense.

You want these padded dry also, right?

- [Grace] Yes.

- [Sara] And the reason for having them all the same size is 'cause you want them all cooked at the same moment.

Now, do you want me to do the pork?

- [Grace] Yes.

(water running) The pork should be in half-inch dice.

(loud clattering) So let me talk to you about my wok a little bit.

- I know you're very attached to your wok, you just about sleep with it, don't you?

(Grace laughing) How does your husband feel about that?

- I know.

This is a flat-bottom, carbon steel walk, it's the wok that I recommend in general for most cooks.

It works great on gas, electric.

So it's really important to preheat the wok because, without that, your food is gonna stick when you do a stir-fry.

- [Sara] I got it.

- Yeah, and the other thing that we wanna do is line up the ingredients in the order that we're gonna use them, so here's a tablespoon of oil and the shrimp, another tablespoon of oil, can you grab the peas?

- [Sara] Oh, yes.

So we're just using frozen peas, about... Well, how much?

- One cup, I already measured it.

I test the temperature of the wok with a drop of water.

So this is about it.

- Okay.

So swirl around.

- [Grace] Yep.

(relaxed rock music) That's it.

- [Sara] How am I doing, boss?

- [Grace] Beautiful.

Yeah.

And then, immediately add the shrimp.

- [Sara] Okay.

Anywhere in particular?

- [Grace] Nowhere.

- [Sara] Okay.

Just in there.

- [Grace] Yeah.

And then, you can stir-fry it.

(indistinct) - Yeah, for about... Just until the shrimp turns orange.

- Okay, so I should be sort of just keeping it moving, is there a particular motion?

You're probably going nuts watching me.

- No, you're excellent, you're a natural-born wok-er.

(people laughing) - There you go, there you go.

- [Grace] So it's just turned orange, and so, I am going to add the next tablespoon of oil, and- - [Sara] What's next?

- The rice.

(food sizzling) - How do you add it?

All of it, just any particular way.

- [Grace] That's it.

- [Sara] Oh, that was very unceremonious.

(laughs) That was a very much of a... (Sara blows raspberry) Right in there.

- [Grace] And the peas.

I can take the peas now.

- [Sara] Okay.

And again, anywhere in particular, no?

- [Grace] No.

(relaxed rock music) - Okay.

The thing about Chinese cooking, it makes me so nervous, it's like doing watercolors, you spend hours getting all the materials ready, and then, 30 seconds you have to get it cooked, you have to get it painted.

- [Grace] Listen to our pan, the wok is always talking to you, do you hear the sizzle?

- [Sara] I do.

- So if we hadn't preheat it correctly, there would be no sizzle sound, and that is not good, and also, take a look at the fact there's absolutely no sticking, so this is natural nonstick cookware.

So now, we can add the pork and the scallions.

Yeah.

Just pour it all in.

Oh, that looks so good.

- [Sara] Doesn't it?

(food sizzling) - And now, a half-a-teaspoon of salt, roughly, and about a big pinch of white pepper.

- [Sara] Why white pepper?

I know this is common in Chinese cooking.

- The Chinese don't like black specks.

So in less than five minutes, you've got your meal.

- Now, there you go.

Again, like watercolors, you're like, "Get it done," and then, it's done.

- It's so beautiful.

- But yours is beautiful, my watercolors aren't necessarily.

(laughs) - [Grace] And the best thing is I always have cooked rice at home, and I suddenly realize I need to get dinner on the table, and I always have something in the fridge.

- [Sara] This is a perfect vehicle for leftovers, fried rice.

All right.

Well, if this is it, we're gonna go outside in my beautiful garden and have lunch.

- Absolutely.

- Let's do it.

- Okay.

(relaxed guitar music) - Oh, I'm so excited.

Wow.

- [Grace] I love this, it's my all-time favorite, fried rice.

- Oh, and the pork, and it's nice and moist, even though, you know, we cooked it medium-well because it's got all that fat in there, it keeps it going.

- All my friends who have made this recipe, all my students who have made this recipe, once you've made it, you can't stop thinking about it.

You become an addict for Chinese... Homemade Chinese barbecued pork.

- This is just so ridiculously good, I'm gonna have to make this meat candy.

When I told my son we were gonna do this, he's like, "Mom, can I come?"

Well, now, I'm gonna do it, and now, I see how easy it is, I have to say, thank you so much, and thank you for coming back.

Let's have a little toast.

- Sara, it's been my pleasure, and I'm glad you're a new addict.

(laughs) - Oh, my god, yes.

Thank you.

(relaxed piano music) Next time... we█ll go to Chinatown.

Absolutely.

Yes.

(relaxed guitar music) For recipes, videos and more, go to our website, saramoulton.com.

"Sara's Weeknight Meals" is made possible by... - [Narrator] Aboard Oceania Cruises, our guests embrace a passion for travel, and our chefs are inspired by the flavors of the world, and committed to providing fine dining at sea.

That's Oceania Cruises.

Oceania Cruises.

Your world, your way.

- [Narrator] Since 1921, Season has brought you skinless and boneless sardine filets.

Our sardines are wild-caught, and contain essential vitamins and minerals for everyday meals.

Season Sardines.

Rich in omega-3s and protein.

♪ And it feels good - [Narrator] Sunsweet Amazin█ Prunes and Prune Juice.

(upbeat rock music) - [Sara] And by Mutti Tomatoes of Parma, The Republic of Tea, and USA Rice.

(upbeat piano music) (upbeat orchestral music) (ethereal orchestral music)