Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 12, Episode 6 - Molly's Fast Food Fun Day - full transcript

[Molly Yeh] I'm putting
together the tastiest lunch

inspired by the intersection of my favorite
Asian treats and my favorite fast foods.

Yes, glossy town.

Juicy and succulent
char siu rib sandwiches.

Now this is
my fast food fantasy.

Indulgent bacon, egg
and cheese fried rice.

It's rocking my world.

Chocolate taiyaki,
the cutest waffles ever.

Yay!

And a refreshing strawberry
bubble tea to cap off the meal.

That is one baller tea.



Buckle up,
it's about to get delicious.

Buckle up,
it's about to get delicious.

Oh, yum.

Yay!

Hey, this is me. Molly Yeh.

This is my husband, Nick.

This is our growing family.

And this is our home, our farm on
the North Dakota Minnesota border.

The place where I eat,
sleep and breathe food.

For a feast inspired by my
love of Asian food and fast food,

I'm pit stopping
all around Asia.

I'm pit stopping
all around Asia.

First up, China.

I am making
my char siu rib sandwiches,



which are loaded with
sweet, saucy barbecue pork

and topped with onions,
mayo and pickles for crunch.

I think I'm going to need
a napkin for this one.

I'm starting with two racks of
baby back ribs, which are tender

and they're smaller, so
they'll fit cutely onto a bun.

I'll cover them
with a dry rub.

I'll get three tablespoons
of brown sugar.

Char siu always has
some sweetness.

Char siu always has
some sweetness.

I'll combine this with two
teaspoons of kosher salt,

half a teaspoon of freshly
cracked black pepper.

And then a teaspoon and a half
of Chinese five spice powder,

which is a defining flavor
of char siu pork.

This powder is a combination
of star anise, fennel, cloves,

Sichuan peppercorn
and cinnamon,

so it's warm, it's got loads of that licorice
flavor from the fennel and the anise.

I'll toss this together and then
rub it on both sides of the ribs.

So char siu is a traditional
style of Cantonese cooking

So char siu is a traditional
style of Cantonese cooking

and it literally means
fork-roasted,

because traditionally,
it's cooked on a skewer.

I'm obviously not doing that
this time,

but it's still going to have those
delicious, sweet five spice notes.

And typically, I eat char siu chopped
up in the middle of a steamed bun

but today, I'm doing a nod to those
drive through, saucy, rib sandwiches

that we all love.

Whether or not we admit it
in public.

I'll wrap the ribs
tightly in foil so they steam.

I'll get these
in the oven now,

low and slow at 325 degrees
for about an hour and a half

until the meat is tender

and a quarter inch of the
bones are starting to show.

And then after that,
I'll remove the bones.

My ribs are bone-free. The bones were
really easy to pull out of the meat,

since the meat is so tender.

And now the meat is ready for
that signature, sweet, sticky sauce.

So for the sauce, I'm
starting with red bean curd,

which is fermented soybean,

basically tofu that is
swimming in a red brine.

When you smell it, you smell
the cooking wine from the brine

and its redness comes
from fermented red rice.

So when you add this
to the sauce,

you're adding complexity,
a little saltiness,

you're adding complexity,
a little saltiness,

some great umami and of
course, that signature red color.

So I'm adding
these little cubes

as well as about
a tablespoon of the sauce.

And of course, you can find this
online or in Asian grocery stores.

I'll combine this with
half a cup of hoisin sauce,

for loads of sweet saltiness.

Half a cup of soy sauce.

Half a cup of honey to balance
the saltiness of the soy sauce.

A third of a cup of ketchup.

Can't have barbecue
without ketchup.

Can't have barbecue
without ketchup.

A third of a cup of rice vinegar
for that necessary acidity,

a tablespoon
of toasted sesame oil

for those dark, toasty notes,

half a teaspoon
of kosher salt,

a teaspoon
of Chinese five spice,

and lastly, I'll grate in
two inches of fresh ginger,

which brightens
the whole place up.

So I'll whisk this together and
allow it to reduce for five minutes

until it's smooth and thick and
saucy, like a barbecue sauce.

until it's smooth and thick and
saucy, like a barbecue sauce.

I remember making char siu when I
was extremely pregnant with Bernie

and my hands were
super swollen

but I needed to chop up
this much char siu

to get into the center
of steamed buns.

And by the end
of chopping all of it,

my hands were just ready to
fall off. The were in so much pain.

Ah, but it was worth it.

This is looking good.

So it's a lot of sauce.

I'm going to use some of it to
brush onto the outside of the ribs,

so that it can get
that great texture.

But then I have the remainder
of it to serve with the sandwiches.

But then I have the remainder
of it to serve with the sandwiches.

But since the ribs are cooked
already, I don't have to worry about

sticking my brush in raw meat
and putting it back in the sauce.

I'm a neurotic mom. I
think about things like that.

I'll get these in the oven now at
475 degrees for five to seven minutes,

just so that this sauce can
caramelize and get a little crisp,

and then I'll flip them over, glaze
again and stick them back in the oven

so they can get that texture
on the other side as well,

and then it'll be
time to assemble.

Oh, baby.

Back ribs.

That is one of the all time
great smells of this world.

Yes, glossy town.

USA? China? I don't know.

Oh, my gosh, what I do know
is that those are beautiful.

Okay. To assemble, I've got
my sesame seed buns here.

I'll mayo them on both sides with
Japanese mayo, which is sweet and rich.

I'll mayo them on both sides with
Japanese mayo, which is sweet and rich.

More mayo, more better.

And I'll top them
with a hunk of meat.

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Sticks the landing.

Oh, yeah.

It's so shiny.

And then top with
sliced red onions

and bread and butter pickles
for crunch.

The sweetness of the bread
and butter pickles just fits the vibe.

Oh, yeah.

Top them,

and dunk them in extra sauce.

and dunk them in extra sauce.

Please, join me
on this journey.

Oh, my God.

Sorry, that's just, like,
too good.

I think this is illegal.

That is the most tender meat.

It's sweet. It's saucy.

The little crunch from the
pickle is the cherry on top.

This is my fast food fantasy.

Coming up, my number one top breakfast
sandwich choice in fried rice form.

For a spoonable Asian twist

on my favorite fast food order
of all time,

I am making bacon,
egg and cheese fried rice.

It's salty, it's crispy, it's all under
a blanket of melty cheddar cheese

and best eaten in gigantic
sloppy shovels right into my mouth.

To start,
I'm crisping up the bacon.

To start,
I'm crisping up the bacon.

I do this first so that I
can render out the fat,

and that's
what I'm going to use

to cook both the eggs
and the rice.

I'll transfer it
to a wider rack

so that any excess grease
can drip off,

and the rack versus a paper
towel allows it to stay crispy.

And I'll pour the remaining
fat into a heat-safe vessel

for cooking later.

I've got four eggs here.
I'll give them a whip.

I think I make fried rice at
least once a week. It's so easy.

I have all of the ingredients
on hand at all times.

A few years ago, I started
finishing it with melty cheese,

A few years ago, I started
finishing it with melty cheese,

which just brought it
to the next level.

You don't typically see
dairy in Chinese food,

but I went off script
and tried it,

and have never looked back.

All right. These are whipped.

I'd like
a hard and fast scramble,

so I'll scramble these in
this hot pan with the bacon fat

for just about a minute or
two, until they are just set.

I'll remove them from the pan.

I'll season these eggs
with a pinch of salt.

I'll season these eggs
with a pinch of salt.

I'll add a bit more bacon fat
since my pan is looking dry,

and then use it to cook
a chopped yellow onion

and then some scallions.

I'll only cook the white and
the light green parts at this point,

because they're tougher
and they need that extra time.

I'll stir these around and allow
them to get soft and fragrant.

Next, three cloves
of finely-chopped garlic,

and then I'll grate in
some fresh ginger,

which is a little ingredient
that goes a long way

as far as
the depth and excitement.

And this should just cook
for about a minute.

I don't want to burn
the garlic and the ginger.

So while this goes, I'll grab
the rice, cheese and peas.

I've got a few cups of
leftover short grain rice here.

It's really best to use leftover,
day-old rice for fried rice,

because it's dried out
a little bit,

which allows it more space
to absorb flavor.

If you want to be a little
healthy, you could do brown rice.

But this is a fast food feast. Who
said anything about being healthy?

But this is a fast food feast. Who
said anything about being healthy?

I'll break it up
with my spatula

and start to get it warm
throughout.

I'll sneak in some veggies. I'm
going to toss in some frozen peas.

You could use fresh or frozen.

If you use frozen, they thaw almost
immediately because they're so small.

I'll stir these in.

And to finish this off, I'll chop
up the bacon and the eggs.

That's some good crispy bacon.

Toss everything together.

Spread it out in an even layer
to get the bottom crispy.

Spread it out in an even layer
to get the bottom crispy.

And then cover
with cheddar cheese

going all the way
to the edges.

Mm.

Now, we'll stick this
in the oven at 475 degrees,

just for a few minutes
to get the cheese melty.

Oh, yeah.
That is good and melty.

And there are crispy,
cheesy bits around the edges.

I'll finish with
a drizzle of sriracha.

Every good fried rice
has a little heat.

I'll add the ketchup
in private.

And my scallion greens.

And my scallion greens.

Wow. That is one
good looking fried rice.

I'm going to compose
the perfect bite.

Bacon, some egg,
crispy cheese,

and I'll dig to the bottom
and get some crispy rice, too.

Here comes the shovel.

Mm.

Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm.

Mm.

It's cheesy, it's bacony,
it's eggy,

It's cheesy, it's bacony,
it's eggy,

and the ginger in there,
oh, yes.

This is rocking my world.

Next, dessert time.

My chocolate fish-shaped treat
is fun to make and fun to eat.

For a dessert that'll make
everyone smile, I'm heading to Japan.

These chocolate taiyaki are
buttery, fluffy, fish-shaped waffles

that have melty
chocolate bellies.

I'll make a chocolate ganache
first, and then a waffle batter

and cook them together in this
really cool, fish-shaped mold.

Technically, it's a really hot
fish-shaped mold

but it's also cool.

All right. To start, I'm chopping
up four ounces of chocolate.

I'm going to make a ganache,
which will be moldable.

I'm going to make a ganache,
which will be moldable.

It'll make it easy to stuff
into the bellies of the waffle.

But then,
when the waffle cooks,

it'll melt down and get
ooey and gooey in the center.

I have a double boiler here.

Just a heat safe bowl set
over a pot of simmering water.

And I'll toss my chocolate in.

I'm cooking it
in a double boiler

because I don't want the
chocolate to overheat and seize up.

I'll combine this with a
quarter cup of heavy cream,

which turns the chocolate
into a smoother ganache.

which turns the chocolate
into a smoother ganache.

Once it sets,
it'll still be moldable.

Then I'll stir this around
and allow it to melt gently.

So taiyaki is this
popular street food in Japan.

Tai translates to
a red sea bream,

which is this fish that
symbolizes good luck in Japan,

and yaki just means cooked
over an open heat source.

So fish waffle, essentially.

And usually they're filled
with red bean paste,

but they can be filled with chocolate
or custard or even savory fillings.

but they can be filled with chocolate
or custard or even savory fillings.

I'm going with chocolate today
because Bernie loves waffles.

So she's going to go
crazy for these,

'cause I don't think she's ever
had a chocolate-filled waffle,

and she is
a chocolate monster.

Okay, so now that this is melted
together, I'll allow it to cool briefly

while I make my waffle batter.

I'll combine one and a
quarter cups of all-purpose flour

with a quarter cup of sugar,

and a quarter cup
of corn starch,

which will help the waffles
get fluffy,

one and a half teaspoons
of baking powder

and half a teaspoon
of baking soda

and half a teaspoon
of baking soda

will help the batter expand
in the fish mold

and then half a teaspoon
of kosher salt

and a quarter teaspoon
of Chinese five spice.

This adds an extra
bit of dimension

that you can't totally detect
as five spice,

you just feel that there's
more flavor there.

I'll get these combined.

Okay. I'll mix up
my wet ingredients.

I've got three quarters
of a cup of buttermilk.

The acidity in this will react with the
baking soda and the dry ingredients

The acidity in this will react with the
baking soda and the dry ingredients

to help the waffles
get fluffy.

And I'll zest in
half of an orange.

I'll crack in an egg,

splash in some vanilla,

and I'll whisk this up.

I'll pour the wet ingredients
into the dry ingredients.

I'll get this just combined.

I don't want to over mix this because
that's how the waffles will stay fluffy.

I'll whisk in some melted
butter, this is a quarter cup.

That'll just add
that great richness.

It also helps achieve the
crispy outer shell of the waffle.

It also helps achieve the
crispy outer shell of the waffle.

I'll mix this in.

Mm.

The buttermilk and the orange and
the five spice together smell delicious.

That's it for my batter.

I'm going to allow this to sit
for about 30 minutes now

just to allow the dry
ingredients to hydrate.

And in that time,
I'll also chill the ganache

so that it can get firm enough
for me to roll it into balls.

I've got my super cool
fish-shaped waffle mold.

It's non-stick and it goes
right on top of the stove.

I'll get this preheating
over medium low

while I melt some butter
for brushing the molds.

I'll brush both sides, bottom
and top, with some butter.

You could do
a non-stick spray here,

but I mean, the butter tastes
better, you get more of it,

so you get more crispiness.

so you get more crispiness.

This is ready to fill.

I'll scoop in batter,

enough to fill up the
bottom part most of the way.

Oh, I smell that five spice.

And I'll kind of nudge it
into the tail.

And I'll take a little piece
of chocolate ganache

and flatten it out
just slightly

so it doesn't poke out
of the fish

and stick it in the belly.

So it's kind of firm now, but as it
cooks and heats up, it'll get melty.

So it's kind of firm now, but as it
cooks and heats up, it'll get melty.

I'll add a little more batter on
top of the chocolate to cover it up

and then close up the mold

and press it down

and allow it to cook on this side for a
few minutes until it's golden and crisp.

So the first time I had this
was actually in Korea.

I went there in high school with my
sister and my dad and it was so much fun.

It was my first time ever in Asia,
and we saw these on the streets,

and had to get some because
they looked so gosh darned cute.

and had to get some because
they looked so gosh darned cute.

I still have a picture.

I wore really embarrassing
eyeliner. I think I had bangs, too.

We don't have to
talk about that.

Ooh.

They're looking good.

I'll give it a flip
and continue cooking

so that the other side
can brown.

Oh, I'm smelling that butter.

Next on the agenda
is to make unfilled taiyaki

and then cut off the heads
and put ice cream in them.

I see that
on the internet sometimes.

I see that
on the internet sometimes.

I think they're ready.

Yay!

I'll get them out of the mold.

And they come out
pretty easily.

These are heavy little fish.

Okay, I'll keep on
cooking these up.

He's looking at me.

Mm.

I'm definitely getting
that orange zest.

The butter, both on the shell
and in the batter is so tasty.

The butter, both on the shell
and in the batter is so tasty.

And that chocolate
melty belly is awesome.

I can safely say I have never
had a fish this darned sweet.

Still to come, a beautiful bubble
tea that you can make easily at home.

No drive through order is
complete without a sweet shake,

but I'll do you one better and whip
up a strawberry milk bubble tea.

It's sweet and fruity
and a little creamy

and it's so much fun to drink because
it's got those chewy tapioca balls,

which are actually really easy
to just order online

or find at an
international grocery store.

When they come,
they're hard and dehydrated,

When they come,
they're hard and dehydrated,

so all you have to do
to prepare them

is boil them in some water
until they get chewy.

It is important, you don't want to
do this until right before you serve,

because if you stick them back
in the refrigerator,

they could start to
firm up again.

I love these little guys.

I'll spoon these into the
bottom of my glasses.

I like a lot of them.

I used to make a lot of bubble
tea when I first moved here,

because when I got here,
I realized,

the closest Chinatown
is in another country.

So I ordered
these balls online

So I ordered
these balls online

and then Nick actually made me
one of those fat boba straws

out of metal,
out in the workshop

and then I drank it
and then we realized,

wait, maybe we should have
figured out if that metal was food safe.

I'm still here.

My sister and I would get
bubble tea all the time growing up,

when we would go
down to Chinatown

and it started off as just
something that only she was into

and I was a little nervous
about trying the tapioca pearls,

but then when I finally
tried them, I realized,

but then when I finally
tried them, I realized,

okay, this is really just
a fun, textural experience.

And next, I'll pour in
my strawberry syrup,

which is a little floral from some
jasmine and it's super easy to make,

I dissolve honey and water
together over a low heat

and then drop in a few floral
jasmine teabags and seep.

Remove the bags.

Add in fresh strawberries.

And a pinch of salt.

And then bring
everything to a boil,

and cook until
the mixture is syrupy,

strain it,

and chill the syrup.

And you can use this in
cocktails or mocktails, too.

It's really lovely.

Okay, I'll pour in
about a quarter cup of it.

And fill these glasses up the
rest of the way with some milk.

You can use any milk, here. I'm
using whole milk, 'cause it's rich.

And this is really
all to taste.

And this is really
all to taste.

So if you didn't want it
to be too sweet,

you could just add a little
of the syrup.

That looks
pretty in pink to me.

I'll give these a stir.

Mm, mm, mm.

Nice.

Mm. Oh, yeah.

Oh, I love the jasmine
in there.

It's that extra little
something something.

That is one baller tea.

All right. I'm hungry.