Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 5, Episode 5 - Chinese Family Favorites - full transcript

My dad and aunt lucy are
in town for the weekend,

and I'm making some of
my family's favorite

chinese-inspired dishes
passed down for generations.

Oh, look at how crispy
that bottom is!

My grandma's sweet and sour
tepong pork

with an addictive fried rice
that's a cinch to make.

Grandma would approve.
Yes!

A side loaded with flavor,

my sauteed spinach
with sweet black garlic,

and for dessert,

they'll love my
chocolate-stuffed sesame balls.



Mmm.
Mmm, this is so good.

Oh, yah.

Mmm!

Hey, this is me,
molly yeh.

I'm a cookbook author
and food blogger.

This is my husband, nick.

This is our new addition,
and this is our home,

our farm on the
north dakota-minnesota border,

the place where I eat,
sleep and breathe food.

these look like a party.

My food is a delicious mix

of my chinese and jewish
heritage

and a taste of the midwest.

My dad and aunt lucy
are visiting the farm,



so I thought I would make them
a special treat --

my version of my grandma
mary's tepong pork,

which they rave about
from their childhood.

It's tender and juicy,

and it's braised
with cloves and star anise

to give it
a dark sweetness

that's intensely good.

To start, I'm seasoning
a pork shoulder on all sides.

It's really big,
but my dad has a huge appetite.

He calls it his bulk
food requirement.

Bfr for short.

We won't get into that.

Then I'll get a layer of oil
heating up in my dutch oven,

and I want to sear
the pork shoulder first,

which will help it get that
crust and lock in the juices.

It's really
important for the flavor.

Then I'll sear
the pork shoulder.

I want it to get
a brown crust on all sides.

I'm putting
the fat side down first,

so that I can sear it
when the pan is the hottest,

and all that pork fat

will help flavor
the rest of the pork.

All right, I'm gonna quarter up
some onions as this sears.

These will add
a subtle sweetness.

Tepong is the chinese name
for red-cooked pork shoulder.

It comes from the
shanghai region,

and it is
my dad's ultimate comfort food.

He always talks
about the way

that my grandma
used to make it.

Next, I'll grab some garlic
and ginger.

I've got four cloves of garlic,

and I'll give them
a little smash,

help them incorporate.

And then I'm gonna peel
a knob of ginger

just by using
the edge of a spoon

to scrape off the skin.

Ginger will add
a nice zinginess.

Let me check on my pork.

It's smelling so good in here.

This is ready to flip.

I'll let it sear
on the other side

while I grab my spices.

I've got star anise
and cloves.

Star anise adds
a little licorice flavor,

and cloves
are so dark and warm.

These are gonna add amazing
depth of flavor to the tepong.

Okay, speaking of which,

I'm gonna get the pork
out of the pan.

it's sounding good.

I'll let this set aside

while cook up my onions
and other veggies.

I'll also throw in
my garlic cloves,

and then I'll use a fine zester
to grate in my fresh ginger.

Next, I'll add my cloves
and star anise.

And then be careful not
to eat these at the end,

but they have such amazing
flavor in their full form.

I'm gonna add
a little handful of each.

These will get
strained out at the end.

Next, I'll add three tablespoons
of dark brown sugar

for some sweetness.

This is what I particularly
like about this recipe

is how sweet and savory
it is at the same time.

I'll stir these around,
and then let the sugar melt.

It's smelling so good
in here already.

My dad was raised on
my grandma mary's tepong pork.

She didn't used to
sear the pork first,

and she used slightly
different spices.

So I'm really hoping

that he likes my version
as much as hers.

This is looking great.

Now I'm gonna grab my liquids.

I'm gonna add
a cup of soy sauce,

which will add great saltiness
and flavor,

and I'm using dark soy sauce.

I feel like the theme
with this tepong is darkness.

I'll also add
a cup of sherry vinegar,

which will add that
vinegary acidity.

It also adds some
great caramel flavor.

Now I'll
add the pork back in.

I want it to be fat side up
this time,

because when it braises,

the fat will kind of fall down
into the meat,

and make it
extra juicy.

Now I'll cover it with water
and let it come to a simmer.

I'm smelling those dark spices.

It looks beautiful.

I'm gonna let this
braise at 325

for 3 and 1/2
to 4 hours until it's tender.

I hope my dad and aunt
like this

as much as they love
my grandma's version.

yay, hello.
Hello, daddy.

Hey.

It's so good to be --
aunt lucy!

Here's aunt lucy!

yay, let's have fun.
I'm so happy you're here.

Come on in!
Okay.

Let's have some fun.

Yay!

Coming up...

These look so plump and happy.

...I've got a lovely sweet treat
for tonight's dinner,

my chocolate-stuffed
sesame balls.

Then, I'm loading up
some fried rice

with a ton of fixins
that just explode with flavor.

I'll saute some spinach with
some sweet black garlic

and then I'll get
a little help from my dad

finishing off
grandma's tepong pork

before we all
sit down for dinner.

Grandma would be
so proud of you.

how about a donut?

my dad's in town visiting,

and he and my aunt lucy
are having a blast

playing with bernie
while I whip up

some chinese-inspired dishes
for all of us to enjoy.

For dessert, I am making
my chocolate sesame balls,

which are like chewy,
sweet dumplings

that are filled
with chocolate-hazelnut spread.

They are so good.

To get started, I'll make
a rice flour dough.

I'm gonna dissolve
some sugar in water.

I'll get one cup of water,

and I'll add it
to my saucepan,

along with
3/4 of a cup of sugar.

And this is to help
the sugar dissolve,

so that you don't have
granules of it

in the rice flour dough.

I'll whisk this and heat it up
just until it's boiling.

Now while this comes to a boil,
I'll grab a bowl,

and I'm gonna add two cups
of glutinous rice flour,

which is
finely-ground-up rice,

and this adds
the chewy texture to the dough.

It's so soft
and nice to work with.

Add half a teaspoon
of baking powder,

and 1/4 teaspoon of salt,

and I'll give this
a whisk to combine.

These sesame balls
are my version of the ones

that I always get with my dad
in chinatown in chicago.

Typically, they're filled
with red bean paste,

but I love
chocolate-hazelnut spread,

so I thought these would be
a great filling in the center.

My dry ingredients
are combined.

Now I'm gonna add
the sugar water.

I'll stir this right in,

and this is gonna form
a really sticky dough.

I'll stir this up.

Once it gets too thick
to stir with my whisk,

I'm gonna switch to a spatula.

It's looking a little sticky,

so I'm gonna add
a little more rice flour

to get the consistency
nice and smooth.

I'm just gonna get in here
with my hands.

I want to be careful
not to add too much rice flour.

Otherwise, the dough
will be crumbly.

I'm gonna get it
onto my work surface here,

and lose this bowl.

Look at that.

Rice flour dough
is so fun to play with.

I'm gonna grab
my bench scraper.

The texture is really pliable.

Feels kind of like clay.

All right, I'm ready to form
my sesame balls now.

To do that,
I'm gonna divide my dough

into 12 equal pieces.

I'm gonna roll it out
into a snake.

One of the things
I love about these

is how perfectly spherical
they get when they fry,

they are so
geometrically pleasing.

And roll into balls.

So it's important here

to find the right consistency
of the dough

because you don't want it
to be so sticky

that you can't
work with it,

but you also want it to be
sticky enough

so that the sesame seeds
stick on the outside.

Now I'm ready to fill.

First, I'm gonna grab a plate
for my sesame seeds.

Once these are filled,

I'm gonna roll them
in sesame seeds,

which will add a nice,
crunchy coating,

and that
delicious sesame flavor.

So to fill my balls,
I'll grab one piece of dough,

and I'll form a divot
in the center with my thumb,

and then I'll add
3/4 of a teaspoon

of chocolate-hazelnut spread,

and you can add
different fillings

if you want to,

or even just
a piece of a chocolate bar.

And now I'm gonna use my
fingers to pinch the edges shut

and to lock in
the filling,

and then I'm gonna
roll it around

until it's smooth again.

And then I'll roll it
in the sesame seeds.

Gorgeous.

Just like this,

and now I'll fill the rest.

these look
so plump and happy.

They are ready to fry.

I have a few inches
of neutral-flavored oil

heated up in my pot
to 360 degrees,

and now I'm going
to fry these in batches

until they're golden brown.

So I'm turning these gently
to make sure

that they're getting
fried all over.

Oh, and they're
already starting

to look so
good and puffy.

They're reminding me
of bernie's cute, chubby cheeks,

which, by the way, she got
from my dad's side.

This color is beautiful
and golden,

and they puffed up so nicely.

I'm gonna transfer them now
to a wire rack,

so that any excess oil
can drip off,

and then I'll continue frying
these in batches.

I've got to taste
one of these.

I can't wait.

mmm.

They're so chewy, and they have
a great crisped exterior.

Look, you can see
the chocolate on the inside.

I'm gonna keep on frying
these in batches now,

and these are gonna be
the perfect ending bite

to our meal.

Mmm.

Next...

No tears.

...Onions, scallions
and leeks, oh my.

My fried rice has it all,

and you won't
want to miss it.

I'm making a meal of some
of my favorite chinese dishes,

hoping to get
the yeh seal of approval

from my dad and aunt lucy,
who are visiting the farm.

For a side dish,

I'm making my fried rice
with all the alliums,

which means that it's loaded

with members
of the onion family.

I've got onions,
shallots, scallions and leeks.

Gonna be scrumptious.

To get started,
I'm gonna scramble my eggs.

I've got four eggs here.

I like a lot of scrambled eggs
in my fried rice.

It's tasty,
adds fluffiness.

I'll whip these up.

And I have my pan
heating here.

I'm gonna add a layer of oil
so that the eggs don't stick,

and my pan is heating
at a medium-high.

I like a fast-scrambled egg.

And it only takes, like,
a few seconds

for the eggs to cook,

and when they're still a little
runny and glossy like this,

I'm gonna remove them
from the heat

because they'll continue to cook
in the fried rice.

I don't want to
overcook them,

because that would yield
a dry scrambled egg.

I'll season my scrambled eggs.

Get some
salt and pepper on there.

And now that my eggs are
scrambled perfectly,

I'll prep all of my alliums
for my fried rice.

gang's all here
and no tears.

Okay, so to cook my alliums,

I'm gonna add
two tablespoons of butter

to the pan
that I cook my eggs in.

I always use butter
with my fried rice.

I'll let this melt,

and I'll add my alliums.

It's about to smell
so good in here.

I'll cook these
until they're nice and soft

for about 5 to 7 minutes.

I'm gonna add a pinch of salt,

and this will help soften them.

I started making this dish
in the dead of winter,

because sometimes around here
fresh vegetables in the winter

are hard to come by,

but onions are
always reliable.

So I just started piling them
into my fried rice,

and it was so good
and flavorful.

While these cook,
I'll mince up my garlic,

and garlic is a part
of the allium family, too,

but I want
to add it later

because it takes
less time to cook

than the rest
of my alliums.

It smells heavenly
in here.

I'll also add
some fresh ginger.

And I'm not even gonna chop it.

I'm going to use my fine zester

to grate it
right into the pan.

I'll give it a stir.

My dad is obsessed
with being a grandpa.

He loves hanging out
with bernie,

and playing music
for her.

Maybe one day
he'll retire closer to us.

Oh, the onions are starting
to get brown and crisp.

I am ready to get my rice.

This is a perfect way
to use up leftover rice.

I'll dump this right in,

and then I'll also add my egg,

and as I add it,
I'm going to give it

a rough chop
with my spatula,

just breaking it up
into bite-size pieces.

I'll fold everything together,

and if at any point your pan
is looking a little dry,

you can add
more butter or oil.

I'm gonna season
with some salt.

I prefer
a salt-seasoned fried rice

over a soy sauce.

I really like to taste
the alliums and the eggs,

and I don't like
anything interfering with it.

And now I'm gonna
spread this out in the pan,

then I'm going
to let it cook undisturbed

for about five minutes, so that
the bottom can get crisp.

oh, look at how crispy
that bottom is!

Yes!

Oh, and it smells
like crisp onion.

Okay, my dad and aunt lucy
better love this.

Yas.

To finish this off,
I'll top with a drizzle of mayo.

It'll add great creaminess.

A bit of sriracha for heat,

a sprinkle of cilantro,
and my reserved scallions.

Mmm.

It's so good.

The sweetness of the onions,

and the fluffy
but kind of crispy rice,

and the creamy mayo
and the sriracha come together

for one all-star fried rice.

This yeh approves.

for a super quick and easy
vegetable side dish,

I'm whipping up
my spinach with black garlic.

It has great earthiness,

and it goes beautifully
with the tepong pork.

I'm gonna start by slicing up
two cloves of black garlic,

which is
an incredible ingredient,

that's common in
chinese cooking.

Isn't that cool?

You can find it
at specialty stores or online,

and it's great in
salad dressings and marinades,

and it's gonna go
beautifully with the spinach.

And if you don't have access
to black garlic,

you can just use regular.

The flavor is a little bit
more subtle and sweeter.

It has notes of molasses,

these are so squishy,
just like bernie's cheeks.

Right, now I'm gonna heat

a drizzle of olive oil
in my pan,

then I'll add my garlic,

and cook it
just for about a minute.

Now I'm gonna add
all of the spinach in batches,

allowing it to wilt slightly

to make room
for the rest of it.

I want to cook this until
it's wilted but not overcooked.

I want it to be
bright and green.

While this finishes up wilting,
I'll grab my chili paste.

I love this paste.

I'm gonna add
a couple of teaspoons of this.

It's got a great amount
of heat and vinegar in it, too,

so it adds a nice acidity.

And I'll also season
with salt and pepper,

and that's it.

Mm.

I love the black garlic,
and that sweetness?

Incredible.

This is gonna be outstanding
next to grandma mary's pork.

Still to come...

Can I just
put the eggs in?
Yep.

My dad's lending a hand

to carry on
a yeh family tradition.

Grandma would be
so proud of you, molly.

And then it's time to eat.

Mmm, this really
takes me back.

my dad's in town
and we're hanging out

having no fun at all,

and I gotta start
on the tepong,

my slow cooked pork.
Mmm, I smell this.

It's been cooking
for four hours,

and now we have
to finish it up.

Do you want to help me
finish it?
Oh, yes.

Oh, just like grandma's.

Now we have
to make lu dan with it.

Yes, so I have
the hard-boiled eggs.
Oh, perfect!

Lu dan are the hard-boiled eggs
that we're gonna put

into the juices
of the pork,

and they're gonna soak up
all of that flavor.

Mmm, marinated.

So, you want to cut these
all around? Yes.
I'll prepare them, yeah.

Gonna satisfy
your bulk food requirement.
Now look at that,
that's perfect.

Yes.
This is a huge piece
of pork,

I hope you're hungry.
Oh my gosh, I sure am.

Okay, can I just put
the eggs in?
Yep.

Gently lower the eggs in,
and then were gonna reduce
there we go.

All of these juices
to make a sauce.

Mmm, that's perfect.

So my dad is making little slits
all over the hard-boiled eggs,

so that the juices can get
all in up...Into the yolk.
Into the yolk.

All right, let me put this
back on the stove.

We're gonna let
the juices reduce

just for about
five minutes,

and then
it'll make a sauce

and help the eggs
get tasty.

While these cook,
I'll slice the pork

and maybe we can
sneak a taste.

Mmm.

Hey, let me slice it.

Smells so good.

That has a lot of fat on it.

I know, I love it.

mmm, perfect.

Really?

Grandma would approve.
Yes!

I'm slicing this
against the grain

into big, thick slices.

How are the eggs doing?

They're doing great.

Do you want to spoon them on
next to the pork?

Yes.

These are really
good looking lu dan.

You can sort of
see the way the gravy

is seeping into the egg,
just like that,
yeah!

And that makes it perfect.

Hey, can you just, yeah,
put them next to the pork.

I like the onions
in here, too.

Me too.

Mm-hmm.

Look at that,
this looks amazing.

Cool, I want to taste it.
Do.

oh yeah, let's do that, mmm.

So sweet.

Can I get the ladle?
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Yeah, look at this.

Yeah, ladle some
of the juices all over.
Oh, my gosh.

More flavor.

You're carrying on
the yeh tradition.
Yay!

Amazing! Okay.

Yay!
Should we go get lucy
and eat?

Let's.

mmm.
Molly,
this looks amazing.

Bfr must be satisfied.

Did you even help at all?

He did the eggs!

Fried rice that's loaded
with alliums,
thank you.

And I top mine
with mayo.

It's so smart,

because you were
such a picky kid

when it came to food.

I know.

Isn't this fun?

This is awesome.

Your first time
on the farm.

This is great,
it's perfect.

So are you gonna
move here, then?

grandma would be
so proud of you.
Yay.

This is her recipe,
right?

You used her recipe?

Inspired by it.
Oh, okay.

Oh, the eggs look great,
daddy.

Yeah, it went
all the way through, like...

The spinach
is so perfect,

and the black garlic
is so sweet,

goes well with it.

Isn't black
garlic so good?

Mmm, this really takes me back.

So you tired bernie out?

She's talking now.

Yes, she is.

She talked up a storm.

She can say momma.

I think she was saying,
"grandpa."

I think she said,
"aunt lucy."

did you guys
save room for dessert?

Always room for dessert.
You can
make room, right?

Okay, good.

Sesame balls!
Oh!

Oh, lucy's favorite!
Filled with
chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Oh, wow, can we have them now?
They're my favorite.

Go, yes!

Oh, oh, mmm!
Mmm.

Mm!

Mmm.

Oh, the chocolate
in the middle.

I'm seriously, so glad
you guys came to visit.

I'm so glad we're here.

You have to do it
more often, and I promise

it won't be when it's
40 degrees below zero.