0:00 - Introduction and origins in Anhui and Shanghai before moving to Taiwan in 1949, moved to Hong Kong on his own at 15, moved to the US in 1963, studied at USC for a year but it was too expensive so he went to Oklahoma State, he graduated with a civil engineering degree, began working at a restaurant as an assistant manager, helped their restaurant get their first four-star rating in NYT, he helped put Sichuan food on the map, he became a major partner and opened his own Hunanese restaurant in 1972
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10:10 - Hunan food is farm and family cuisine from the countryside, describes the cuisine of Hunan, decided to start a Hunan restaurant with new dishes, some were not originally Chinese but invented for American consumers, he believes that people don’t want something too authentic, he wants to keep his Chinese food separate from fusion food, he sees a trend towards healthier lighter food
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15:54 - He worked in Chinese restaurants to pay his tuition, self-taught cook, he realized the importance of coming up with new dishes, American chefs are adopting more Chinese ingredients, his first impression of American food was diner food and cooking for himself, American cuisine has developed since he was a kid and gotten much better, chefs are rewarded and valorized more now, French cuisine is slowing down a little bit, discusses origins of General Tso’s Chicken
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24:30 - The press is very important for introducing a cuisine to the public, used to be newspapers but is now TV, 1970s and 1980s were a golden age for Chinese food in his opinion, harder market in uptown New York, he likes to help the public understand the nuance of Chinese food, past several years the NYT has been quiet about Chinese food, people understood Chinese food better back in the 70s and 80s
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28:05 - Grew up eating his grandmother’s Anhui cuisine and didn’t go to restaurants, describes Anhui food, moving to Hong Kong exposed him to different Chinese food, as a restauranteur he began eating food from other cultures, he likes learning from other cultures and uses French ingredients, he likes experimenting with different foods in Shun Lee, he views Shun Lee as a trendsetter for Chinese food, Shun Lee blends Cantonese Sichuan Hunan and Shanghai food
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34:01 - Studied civil engineering because that’s what his father wanted him to do, his hobby was always food, he defines himself by the satisfaction of owning his own restaurants, never opened an Anhui restaurant despite his origins, still has a lot of ideas but doesn’t have the ambition to open more places, he wants to see more Chinese people bring cuisine to NYC, happy to help people with ideas by giving them advice
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37:56 - He finds it hard to define what is Chinese food, changing small things for the audience is necessary, misconception of Chinese food among Americans is due to mixing up proportions of “spicy, sweet, and sour” in dishes, need to speak with customers about their spiciness preferences when they sit down and cater to them, sauces should be made specifically for each dish, tastes are different for people down in Chinatown versus uptown, his cookbooks are easier and use half-hour recipes
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