Atsushi "ATS" Kono, an NYC chef and break-dancer, shares his healthy, high-protein meal of meatball and vegetable stew that's great for post-workout recovery. Watch how to make it and get the recipe in this episode of #WeightsandPlates.
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00:00 Basically, my life routine is simple --
00:03 cooking and dancing.
00:06 I don't like cooking slow.
00:08 I like, like, boom, boom, boom, boom, cha-ta-ta.
00:10 It's like rhythm.
00:12 So that is my style.
00:15 I love cooking healthy food.
00:17 So today, I prepare soup, chicken meatballs.
00:20 This is -- I cook very often because very healthy,
00:24 also simple and easy cook.
00:26 ♪♪
00:36 We are here in Chinatown at Kono.
00:39 Yakitori Omakase restaurant.
00:42 We just opened years ago, 2022, April.
00:47 I try to elevate it, like, the chicken things,
00:49 also yakitori things.
00:51 So I make beautiful, I make perfect way to serving,
00:54 and people make fun.
00:56 So that's my story.
00:57 I'm from Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
01:00 My father is a chef.
01:02 And then I went to culinary school in Tokyo,
01:05 came New York 2005,
01:07 and I opening another yakitori restaurant.
01:10 And I was fortunate as a head chef
01:13 and general manager up there.
01:15 So I want to show you yakitori demonstration.
01:18 So I use, actually, Japanese yakitori grill.
01:22 And also I use charcoal from Japan.
01:25 We call Kishu Binchotan, which is a white oak.
01:27 And I can cook.
01:29 It's almost two, three hours.
01:30 Keep heat up and grilling.
01:32 High temperature is about 1,000 degrees.
01:34 So I grill it at super high temperature,
01:37 make smoky and juicy and crispy chicken.
01:41 My fitness is the, I think,
01:43 so beginning of my B-boy life, breakdance life.
01:47 So basically, I need muscle.
01:49 I have to make stamina, get energy.
01:52 And my morning routine, biking, and stop the park,
01:56 and make sure my steps is all right,
01:58 and footwork's all right,
02:00 and a quick breakdancing practice.
02:02 And that's my daily training.
02:05 Maybe I can show you my breakdance.
02:07 So let's go to the park.
02:09 I have been since 12 years old, breakdancing.
02:19 At that time, I inspired from New York hip-hop movie,
02:23 "Wild Style" featuring at the Rocksteady Crew.
02:28 It's a legendary hip-hop crew.
02:30 Since 1977, this is our, like,
02:35 legendary hip-hop official crew in Bronx.
02:39 We made a history, not only breakdance,
02:42 DJ, rap, and graffiti.
02:45 [ Cheers and applause ]
02:49 I love fitness.
02:50 I love cooking healthy food.
02:53 So today, I prepare soup, chicken meatballs.
02:57 This is -- I cook very often
02:59 because very healthy, also simple and easy cook.
03:03 First of all, I want to cut ingredients.
03:06 So I have today's napa cabbage.
03:10 We call it hakusai, and daikon radish.
03:14 So we have scallion already prepared,
03:16 chopped scallion, ginger, potato starch,
03:20 and soy sauce and egg for the meatballs.
03:23 Let's cut.
03:25 Basically, my life routine is simple ingredients,
03:29 simple flavor, not too salty, spicy, sweet.
03:33 It's simple food.
03:35 It's my life.
03:37 Also, this is napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage.
03:41 Nice texture.
03:43 And also good moist for the soup.
03:46 Simply cut in half.
03:48 ♪♪
03:52 Okay. So now, hot gloves.
03:55 ♪♪
03:58 I don't like cooking slow and no tempo.
04:01 I like, like, boom, boom, boom, boom, cha-ta-ta.
04:04 It's like a rhythm.
04:06 So that is my style.
04:08 Okay, so this is ground chicken thigh meat.
04:14 I have mix scallion,
04:18 soy sauce,
04:22 a little bit of ginger,
04:27 starch,
04:29 one whole egg.
04:34 Simply mix very nice.
04:39 Make sure mix very nicely.
04:41 Make sure until sticky.
04:46 Make sure make sticky.
04:49 Okay, so let's heat up.
04:54 Here is chicken broth.
04:58 This is leftover service.
05:00 If cook at home, you can use bone and water
05:04 and some leftover vegetable and boil it.
05:07 So then first, vegetable put in the soup.
05:12 And then this point is I don't want to cook too much.
05:16 I want to save the texture.
05:19 So it's still crunchy, still fresh.
05:22 Yeah, always my mom and my grandma
05:24 make something similar soup for the soup time.
05:28 You see the start to boil and fire is going down.
05:32 And now it's meatball's time.
05:35 So I grab the left hand to meatball,
05:39 mix meatball like that.
05:42 And then use a spoon, scoop it and drop.
05:47 Just keep doing this.
05:54 I know this works, it's not easy.
06:03 Give massage.
06:06 Okay, this last one.
06:10 And then this point, don't cook harder.
06:15 Like just slow cook.
06:18 Because if cook harder, it's too much boil it.
06:21 So meatball makes so hard.
06:24 Cook slowly, heat up, it's going to be very tender.
06:30 And then just salt.
06:38 If you like pepper, you can put it.
06:40 But this time I want to just simple do only salt.
06:45 And then almost cooking like five to 10 minutes.
06:49 And perfect already heat up inside the meatballs
06:52 and vegetable cooking perfect.
06:58 Yes, very good.
07:03 Smell very good.
07:07 Fresh scallion, it's different texture.
07:10 So I want to put on top.
07:15 I like a little bit of ponzu.
07:18 And this is we call yuzu kosho.
07:21 Which is yuzu and pepper and salt.
07:24 That's it.
07:27 Okay, so my end of the day.
07:29 So I want to get relaxed a little bit.
07:31 I want to show you my secret spot.
07:38 Okay, come in.
07:42 So almost every day, I'm working four days.
07:46 And after the work, I come here.
07:48 I grab a little whiskey and listen to my favorite music.
07:54 And my favorite things like '90s hip hop.
07:58 All my selection in the case.
08:02 Here's my favorite Nas album, Illumatic.
08:06 So let's play this.
08:19 [Laughter]
08:20 [Music]