Why do people assume that Chinese food has to be quick and easy?

Yeah, I think that's true. Ultimately, I think there's two types of people that're into cooking content - those that want to actually learn cooking, and those that want to get an idea or two so that they can feed themselves on a Tuesday. It *is* easy to kind of look down on the latter, but I always need to remember that not everyone has the same hobbies. I view the world through the prism of someone passionate about food, travel, and cooking - like, trying to figure out dishes is something that we do for fun on a Saturday. There are people that're equally passionate about, say, dance... and someone that doesn't really go out dancing (like the two of us) might seem to be just as alien to their experience as someone that doesn't really cook for themselves would be to us.

Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas

Char siu bao were challenging, I make sourdough bread, so that wasn't an issue. Thanks Stephanie,for telling me about the degassing of the ammonium carbonate. It would be kind of lame for me to think I'd get it perfect first off considering how many times you both worked on it. But by trying & following your videos, I really get a greater appreciation of the effort as well as learning the techniques. Once I learn a dish though, it does make local restaurant fare inadequate.

First of all, thank you for your amazing work and great videos. Please keep them coming, because they're so much needed to dispel the myths about Chinese cuisine out there and simply to give others a chance to experience real Chinese food. I think that among the reasons why people assume that Chinese food has to be simple and easy are the preconceived notions and ignorance. 90% of the English language sources market their books, shows, etc. in the fast and simple category. And then people aren't familiar with the techniques used in Chinese cuisine. People can learn the main techniques of French baking or making sauces, but outside of that, the cookbook industry (especially in the US) avoids techniques like plague, fearing that anything too involved will scare away the consumers. So, you're making an important contribution with your videos. In general, the more techniques one knows, the better of a cook one becomes.

Cheers Patrick, yeah we always feel like it's important to view every dish like it's our favorite dish. Take, say, Moo Shu Pork. Nowadays it's often just a sort of random stir-fry of pork, egg, and cucumber. But if you search online in Chinese, there's a small subsect of people that're downright passionate about Moo Shu Pork and what it should be. We kinda want to channel that passion, you know? And something we've found is that if you follow the breadcrumbs of the people that really care about something, it tends to make for a much tastier end result.

Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas

Ah don't get me wrong, more of a general rant - not really anything that's really getting to us :) I don't even necessarily consider the "too complicated" refrain even really that negative! Honestly, for whatever reason our comment section is one of the best on YouTube - there's a lot of really good cooks with a lot of smart comments and questions. More of an overarching thing... like, I'm similarly irked when I see a video of a chef that waxes poetic about how they're 'modernizing' Chinese cuisine by swapping in a bunch of French technique or whatever. I think Richard was probably correct about some of those comments, but still... I do think there's a lack of respect for the intricacies of Chinese cuisine among a good chunk of people. Like... look how the Michelin guide treats China. Guangzhou is one of the greatest food cities in the world, and it has the lowest number of stars of any city Michelin's done. I dunno, these thoughts are getting disorganized, and I'm probably talking about a few different things at once haha

Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas

Just a quick note to support you guys. I LOVE your cooking instructions because it is very authentic (I think). You are both obviously very passionate about what you do/post and it shows in the details of your work. I enjoy and appreciate very much. However, there will always be negative and annoying comments. But that's just internet. Please do not focus on those, but only take away from a few that truly and genuinely appreciate and love your work..... To answer your questions (only in my opinion) : - People assume because that's how the world perceive and portray "Chinese Food". - I can't answer your 2nd question as it seems more rhetorical. :-) ... and I agree. - I feel 3rd question is also rhetorical, and which I agree also. it has more to do with how things like Ramsay fussing about scramble eggs..... it's a f***ken scramble egg...! Western ingredients are never interesting. Take pepper, salt and butter away and they'll be lost. So, all in all, I hear what you are saying and feel your frustrations. But please don't let it bother you and keep doing what yous ENJOY doing. There are a few (like myself) are in complete in awe with how detail your research and recipes are. As my father would say "Keep up the good work" .

Yeah, I think that's probably right. Now that I think on it, western food has a reputation in China for being quite complicated - likely, it's just being not familiar with the ingredients and the techniques I'd imagine. One thing that we are guilty of is sort of sticking to 'special' dishes, things that are generally weekend or restaurant fare. There's probably a space out there for 'simple Chinese weeknight home cooking' that we're not quite filling - our obsessiveness is both our biggest strength and weakness I suppose :)

Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas

I had never thought about this before, thanks for sharing! I've never understood those comments. The depth of technique and how deeply you approach each recipe is a huge part of the appeal for me.

For me, I think a lot of the sense of additional difficulty comes from a lack of familiarity, with either the ingredients or the techniques. I can look at a complex western dish, and think that even though it looks difficult, I can probably pull it off. That's because, even though it involves a lot of steps, I recognize and have used most of the ingredients before, and am already familiar with the basic concepts involved in the recipe. On the other hand, when I look at any of the Chinese recipes you post, there is that initial intimidation of seeing something, for lack of a better term, completely foreign. I don't mean that as a negative thing; it's actually one of the things that keeps me coming back to your videos. However, there is a perceived level of extra difficulty right at the beginning, just because using most of these ingredients is not second nature to me (and often involves special ordering items). I don't regularly cook in a wok (I cheat and stir fry in a nonstick skillet), I rarely steam anything, and I've never killed and cleaned a chicken in my own kitchen (okay, okay, I know that was beyond what even you normally do). In any case, I can't speak for everyone who has made a comment, but I think that's as good an explanation I can come up with for me, and why I (so far) have tended to stick to your simpler recipes. That being said, I have made your Dan Dan noodles more times than I can count (that sauce is absolutely divine), and you have completely changed the way I approach making fried rice. As I cook more in this style, and gain more confidence in the techniques, I imagine I'll be tackling some of the more difficult recipes.