Q&A With Instagram Chef @JNCookingChannel
For our next Interview, I have the pleasure of hosting one of my favourite Instagram Chefs, @jncookingchannel who cooks delicious step by steps, mouth watering meals. Her Vietnamese, and Asian style is prominent in almost all of her dishes. The meals are beautiful, full of colours, meat, and vegetables. They are all incredibly amazing, and constantly making me hungry!
The fact she knows how to take a good picture or video, is not a bad talent to have when you have your own cooking channels!
Thank you JN for your inspiration, and online friendship, it is a true pleasure to get to know you better!
Her amazing full of recipe videos YouTube Channel is HERE
And her complimenting Facebook Page is HERE
Her Instagram is @jncookingchannel
So here goes:
Q. You are an amazing cook, and have an awesome Instagram profile. Can you please tell us a little bit of where you are coming from, and how you obtained your cooking passion and inspiration?
A. My biggest inspiration is my mother. As a child in Saigon, I remember how she provided for us by selling day-old bread on the street. The small amount of money she made allowed her to buy basic rice and fish and pork, which she still managed to turn into delicious dishes to feed our family. My Instagram, Facebook, YouTube cooking videos actually started out as just a way to share her recipes with my nieces who wanted to learn to cook like their grandma. Pretty soon their college friends wanted access to the how-to videos and it grew from there.
Q. Tell us a bit of your Hardware: Ovens, Pans, Grills, Thermometers, Smokers, Knives, Special gear…
A. Honestly, my favorite tool is a pair of wooden chopsticks. They do everything; stir, flip, grab, test the frying temp of hot oil. Beyond that, quality cookware is a treat to work with. I favor Hammer Stahl American Clad stainless pans and love my set of Zwilling knives. I have to laugh at myself though, because half the time I’m using the little cheapie non-stick skillets I get from IKEA for a few bucks each.
Q. What is your favorite meat to cook, and why?
A. Um, all of it. Lol… I am a self-described meat-a-tarian! Vietnamese food is so versatile, so beef, pork, poultry and seafood can be used in endless combinations in rice dishes, noodles, wraps, rolls, soups, dumplings, on-and-on-and-on. Love it. But, if you pin me down to just ONE – I’m gonna go with shrimp. I love shrimp. It looks great, tastes great, and can be cooked so many ways.
Q. What is your favorite way to cook, and why?
A. In stages. Assembly style. I’m often multitasking, even for an individual dish. I may have something in the roasting pan, and the deep-fryer and a simmering pot and a couple of skillets. Many cultures may do the same, but it’s key to Vietnamese cooking. My Mom showed me how - even with a soup - each meat, shellfish, vegetable, grain, etc has to shine with its own pure flavor. So you cook them all separately. Then assemble them into the bowl just before serving – or even right at the table. You don’t get all those great distinct flavors if you simply throw everything into one pot and make a homogenous stew or a casserole.
Q. Can you share your favorite seasoning/marinade/sauce recipe?
A. It’s SO hard for me to choose just one sauce or meat marinade. I have a TON of favorites. I share plenty on YouTube, each for different situations. I guess my go-to marinade is a dry mix combo and almost always include granulated garlic.
Q. Can you share your #1 all-time favorite meat dish and recipe?
A. My JN’s Asian-Cajun Seafood dish. Recipe & Video are HERE
Q. What non-obvious cooking tip can you share?
A. Have fun! Be creative. Some cooks are reverential about certain recipes and stick to the ingredients like they’re a written law. I say, don’t be afraid to make them yours. Cook to your own tastes. Play around and discover new favorite dishes for kids who are picky eaters.
Also, a favorite JN expression is to say, “First we taste with our eyes.” Food should look tasty. Some dishes just look drool-worthy, right? We can’t wait to have a bite based on what we see. So, look for ways to expose the juicy, red beef slices when you serve a dish… or add a little color with bright fruits or veggies; the orange glow of shrimp, lobster claws or a sauce worth salivating over.
Q. Life Goals - What do you wish you could cook in the future? A whole cow? Crossed Lamb? Giant Paella…
A. I just recently got a huge, outdoor wood-fired smoker. I’m dreaming about learning about the seasoning and smoking craft and all the fun stuff I can make. We live in a wild game paradise, so there is an abundance of trout and salmon. I’m also a new fan of venison and I have access to deer, moose and elk. Ooh, I can almost smell the smoked brisket, sausages and spicy venison jerky.
Q. What will you never ever cook or eat and why?
A. Anything in the “bizarre” foods categories. You see things posted on social media of people cooking or eating things simply for the shock factor. I totally respect cultural traditions and delicacies; various forms of protein like insects and all that is one thing. But, the stuff that is eaten simply to gross people out doesn’t make sense to me.
Q. If you could take to an island with you a commercial sauce/dry-rub/marinade, which one will it be?
A. I’d be glad to give a favorite commercial product a plug here. But, honestly, I make my sauces and marinades from scratch. I could probably be pretty resourceful finding herbs and such on the deserted island… but it would be very helpful if you’d drop me off with keg of fish sauce.
Q. Must Have, can’t live without Cooking Accessory? Digital or non-Digital.
A. My wooden chopsticks. Better than Harry Potter’s magic wand.
Q. Name 5 awesome inspiring cooks we must follow on Instagram and feel free to elaborate.
A. Well, for sure the @Meatcurator, a fellow meat-a-tarian. There are so many I respect and follow that I hesitate to say for fear of insulting those I don’t mention. But, I’ll mention my man-crush … lol it’s gotta be @Nusr_et #Saltbae. Oh his knife skills, muscles and his cuts of meat. Enough said.