Join Chef Melissa for an immersive culinary journey through Taiwan, where you'll experience and learn about the authentic flavors that shaped her childhood and personal food story. In this hands-on, interactive cooking class, Chef Melissa will guide and instruct you through preparing some of Taiwan's most beloved, iconic dishes, influenced by the island's diverse and rich cultural heritage, multicultural influences, and unique geographic setting.
Start by crafting a comforting and aromatic egg drop soup prepared with homemade cooking liquid infused with ginger, scallions, and other aromatic ingredients, creating a soothing and warming first course. This seemingly simple yet delicious preparation teaches fundamental soup-making techniques and the importance of building layered, complex flavor profiles through proper technique.
Progress to Taiwan's world-famous three-cup chicken, a signature dish cooked in equal parts soy sauce, rice wine, and fragrant sesame oil, creating a complex, rich, glossy sauce that coats tender chicken pieces with flavor. Fresh basil adds brightness, aroma, and complexity to this beloved comfort food favorite throughout Taiwan.
Next, learn to make chive and shrimp fried rice, a versatile and satisfying dish that showcases how to create restaurant-quality rice dishes reliably at home using proper technique, precise heat control, and perfect timing. This essential dish demonstrates the critical importance of using cold, previously-cooked rice and maintaining high wok heat for successful fried rice preparation.
Finally, prepare a refreshing and traditional pineapple cake, a beloved Taiwanese pastry filled with pineapple jam or minced fresh pineapple, offering valuable practice in pastry-making and baking techniques that you can apply to other recipes and projects.
What You'll Learn: Fundamental cooking techniques essential to authentic Taiwanese cuisine and food preparation; how to build complex and layered flavors through traditional cooking methods and ingredient combinations; the cultural significance and history of these dishes in Taiwanese food tradition and daily life; how to source and select authentic Taiwanese ingredients for home cooking and meal planning.
Course Includes: All fresh ingredients provided for in-class cooking and preparation; handwritten recipes for subsequent home preparation and cooking; detailed guidance on finding and sourcing authentic Taiwanese ingredients in your local area and online; helpful tips and strategies for adapting dishes for your specific home kitchen and personal taste preferences.
