If I could only have one type of food with me, I would bring soy sauce. The reason being that if I have soy sauce, I can flavor a lot of things.
Chinese culture has a lot of virtues that are tremendously valuable to not only us as Asian-Americans, but also the world in general.
I also have a lot of preserved foods, things that will keep for a long time like dried fish, seaweed or lotus seed.
People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live.
In general I love to eat anything. I enjoy anything that is well prepared, a good spaghetti, lasagna, taco, steak, sushi, refried beans.
The problem with a lot of Chinese is that they put up divisions between Taiwanese, Hong Kong natives, mainlanders. We are never united. I really hope that the Chinese can be more united.
The only thing that counts is if you know how to prepare your ingredients. Even if with the best and freshest ingredients in the world, if your dish is tasteless or burnt, it's ruined.
I can represent my culture while helping not only the Chinese-American community, but also the community at large.
I can represent my culture while helping not only the Chinese-American community, but also the community at large.
Some people never contribute anything positive to society, they may even drain our resources, but most of us try to do something better, to give back.
So when I do Chinese cooking, I mix everything together, then the kids have to eat their vegetables. They won't have the patience to pick them out.
I've never considered myself a celebrity or even part of the entertainment business. I'm a cooking teacher.
Just like if you were brought up on a farm, you would most likely carry on your father's business as a farmer; I was brought up in the kitchen and ended up becoming a chef.