Girl Meets Farm Season 14 Episode 08
Molly Yeh's dad is in town for game day, so she's throwing a sports party with an Asian-inspired menu! She serves up fluffy Steamed Pigs in a Blanket, saucy and junky Veggie Pan Fried Noodles, a Peanut Chicken 7-Ish-Layer Dip with flakey sesame pancakes for dunking, and puffy, chewy, sticky and sweet honey Sachima for dessert!
Year started: 2018
IMDB rating: 6.5
Categories: Food
Stars: Molly Yeh
Molly Yeh's dad is in town for game day, so she's throwing a sports party with an Asian-inspired menu! She serves up fluffy Steamed Pigs in a Blanket, saucy and junky Veggie Pan Fried Noodles, a Peanut Chicken 7-Ish-Layer Dip with flakey sesame pancakes for dunking, and puffy, chewy, sticky and sweet honey Sachima for dessert!
Year started: 2018
IMDB rating: 6.5
Categories: Food
Stars: Molly Yeh
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00My dad's in town for the Super Bowl!
00:02One team is so excited right now.
00:05So I'm throwing a sports party with an Asian-inspired menu.
00:09We kind of care about the game, but we care way more about the food.
00:12With my fluffy seamed pigs in a blanket.
00:14Hello!
00:15Saucy and slurpable veggie pan-fried noodles.
00:18These ring it in the flavor department.
00:21A peanut chicken 7-ish layer dip with flaky sesame pancakes for dunking.
00:27And for dessert, my satchima.
00:29Puffy honey bars that are chewy and sticky sweet.
00:33They'll make you feel like a champion, no matter what the score.
00:36Touchdown!
00:37Yay!
00:42Look at these beauties!
00:43Hey, this is me, Molly A.
00:46This is my husband, Nick.
00:47This is our growing family.
00:49And this is our farm on the North Dakota-Minnesota border.
00:52The place where I eat, sleep, and breathe food.
00:59My dad's in town and it's Super Bowl weekend.
01:04Sounds like a great excuse to cook a bunch of Asian food to me.
01:08For dessert, I am making my satchima, which are chewy, sweet bars made of strands of deep-fried dough that are glued together with a sugar syrup.
01:18I think of satchima as a Chinese version of a crispy rice square.
01:23And I'll start with my dough.
01:24It all just comes together in the food processor.
01:26I've got one and a half cups of bread flour in here for a little more oomph than all-purpose flour.
01:32And I'll sweeten it with two tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of baking powder.
01:37So this is kind of like a slightly sweet noodle dough, but the difference being the baking powder,
01:44which allows these to puff up and almost become like skinny little donuts when they fry.
01:48And a half teaspoon of kosher salt, then I'll pulse this to combine.
01:52All right.
01:54And then I'll bring this together with two whole eggs plus an extra egg yolk for that added richness.
02:02I love the yellow color of this dough.
02:06So as the egg incorporates, the dough turns into little clumps and then the clumps get a little
02:11bigger, and then ultimately it should all stick together into my dough.
02:16So it might seem a little bit disjointed at first, but if you press it together in your hand,
02:20it'll hold into a nice stiff dough. I'll grab some plastic wrap, ball it up, press it into a disc.
02:27I'll wrap this up and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
02:34My dough is rested and now I'm ready to roll it out and slice into the nudes.
02:38I'm going to work with just a quarter of the dough at a time, so I'll divide it into four pieces.
02:43I'll keep them covered when I'm not working with them so that they don't dry out.
02:46All right, and then I'm going to roll this out into a long skinny strip about three inches wide and an
02:52eighth of an inch thin. So it'll be a super thin strip. And just get at it with my rolling pin.
02:58This is all rolled out. I'll slice it now into a quarter inch thick strips. These are such a great
03:05Super Bowl dessert because they're not overly heavy. Typically satchima are pretty big, but because
03:11they're so airy, you can heat them all easily. Okay, I'll transfer these to my baking sheet. It's just
03:20lined with parchment paper so they don't all stick. I want to kind of separate them. All right, I'll keep on
03:26rolling and cutting. Okay, I'm ready to fry. I've got a couple of inches of neutral oil here,
03:36heating to 360 degrees, and I'll fry these in two batches so I don't overcrowd the pot.
03:43I'll put some on my spider and I'll kind of loosen them with my fingers as I make the transfer to make
03:48sure that they're not all stuck together. And they puff up and float immediately. They look so cool.
03:53They're such cute squiggles. I'm kind of gently stirring them just to ensure that they get evenly
04:02cooked on all sides. I'm so excited that my dad's in town for Super Bowl weekend because he and I have
04:09an equal level of sports fandom, which is that we kind of care about the game, but we care way more
04:15about the food. These look gorgeous and golden. I'll transfer them to a wire rack now so that any excess
04:22oil can drip off. I'll fry up the rest of my noodles and then get going on my sugar syrup.
04:28I've got my small saucepan here and to it, I'll add one cup of sugar
04:35with half a cup of honey. Traditionally, they're made with maltose syrup, not honey,
04:40but honey is so much easier to find around here. And it's a similar sort of sticky quality.
04:45A couple of pinch of kosher salt to balance out the sweetness,
04:48and then three tablespoons of water. I'll just help the syrup get going. I've got my candy
04:53thermometer clipped on and I'll heat this to 245 degrees, which will give me the texture that I
04:58want in order to glue all the noodles together, but it won't be too hard that I'll break a tooth.
05:03Once it starts bubbling, I don't want to touch it because that could cause the sugar to crystallize.
05:08Oh yeah, it's there. I'll remove it from the heat. My noodles are all here in a heat safe bowl.
05:13I'll drizzle the syrup all over them. And you want to work quickly before the syrup stiffens up.
05:19So once I get this all drizzled over, I'll toss the noodles thoroughly to ensure that they're
05:24completely coated and sprinkle on some sesame seeds for just added flavor and texture. And
05:30they look cute. They're like tiny footballs. They all look shiny and coated and party ready.
05:38I'll get them into my pan here. This is an eight by eight inch pan that I've lined
05:42on the bottom and all four of the sides with parchment paper so that they don't stick.
05:50And now this next step is really important so that they stick. This step is called the smash.
05:58You actually want to break the noodles so that they form into this square shape. So pack them firmly.
06:05That looks great. I'll finish with a few more sesame seeds.
06:12And some flaky salt will be tasty. A sea of golden noodles.
06:17I'll let these cool in the pan and then cut into squares.
06:19Oh yeah, that looks good.
06:36It's sweet and chewy and shinier than a Super Bowl ring.
06:39Coming up, pigs in a blanket like you've never steamed before.
06:54For one of the coolest party apps to ever touch down on a table, I am making my steamed pigs in a
07:02blanket. They are puffy, fluffy clouds of dough wrapped around sweet and salty Chinese sausage,
07:10steamed to perfection, and dunked in Chinese mustard. We are all winners when we eat these wieners.
07:18I just thought of that. Okay, to make my bun dough, I am using the go-to dough that I use whenever I make
07:25steamed buns. And it uses a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour, which yields the fluffiest dough.
07:33So one cup of cake flour. If you didn't have cake flour, though, you could sub all-purpose.
07:39Your buns won't be as fluffy, but they'll still be really good. And then two cups of all-purpose flour.
07:45Six tablespoons of granulated sugar. Sweetness is a hallmark of steamed bun dough.
07:50And then two and a quarter teaspoons of instant yeast will help these rise and get fluffy. And
07:55three quarters of a teaspoon of kosher salt. I'll whisk this to combine. And I use this dough when I'm
08:02making steamed pork buns or veggie buns. It's very versatile and really easy to come together.
08:08For my wet ingredients, just water and a little oil. This water is warm to about 105, 110 degrees.
08:16That helps the yeast activate. You don't want it to be too warm because it will kill the yeast.
08:21And two tablespoons of neutral oil will add nice softness to the dough. Okay. And lastly,
08:28I don't always add this to my steamed bun dough, but it'll be really pretty and festive for our Super
08:32Bowl party. I'm adding some sliced scallions. I'll mix this around into a shaggy dough before I get it
08:38onto my stat mixer to knead. Every year, Nick and I throw a Super Bowl party. And honestly, it really is just an
08:45excuse for me to make and eat a lot of pigs in blankets. I've made so many different variations
08:51on them with puff pastry or crescent dough, but this steamed bun dough takes the cake. I'll get this onto
08:58my stand mixer and knead it with a dough hook for about 10 to 12 minutes until the dough is smooth.
09:03It's still slightly sticky. You can knead this by hand too, if you want to get an arm workout in before the party.
09:08The scallions smell good. At this point, the dough should be just cleaning the sides of the bowl.
09:19If it does seem too sticky, you can dust it with a little bit more flour. Okay.
09:26This looks super smooth. And if I poke it, it's still a little tacky. I'll stretch it into a smooth
09:34bowl and then place it face down into my bowl, smush it around so that it gets coated in oil,
09:41and turn it back over. And then I'll cover this up and allow it to rise until it's doubled in size.
09:49My dough is puffy and ready to get even more delicious with the help of lap chong. Lap chong
09:56is a hard pork Chinese sausage that is sweet and salty and so fatty. And when the fat from the sausage
10:03seeps out into the bun, it is like mind blown amazingness. To shape, I'll get my dough out onto
10:10my counter. And I'll keep it covered when I'm not working with it so it doesn't dry out. And then I'll
10:16just lob off a piece of it. And the most secure way to wrap a pigs in a blanket is to roll your dough
10:23into a snake and then coil it around the sausage. Wrap it with a little bit less dough than you think
10:30you're going to need because it does rise quite a bit. You want to give it a tight wrapping. All right,
10:37I'll keep on going. My dad and I always used to go to Chinatown in Chicago when I was growing up,
10:44and we would eat so many steamed buns. I would always remove whatever barbecue pork or veggies
10:51or meat were in the filling and give him the filling and then I would eat just a fluffy bun dough.
10:58If they had been wrapped around hot dogs or lap chong, I would have eaten them though. All right,
11:03I've got a bamboo steamer that I have lined with parchment that I've poked some holes into so that
11:07the steam can come through. I'll space these out evenly. And these do get quite puffy so I want to make
11:13sure to give them some space in between. And I'll sprinkle with some black sesame seeds because
11:18that'll look really pretty. I'll keep on rolling. These have got to rise for another 30 minutes before
11:23I steam over a pot of boiling water. And then we'll steam for 20, rest for 10, and then I'll devour.
11:35He's got it! Oh, what a kitty catch! The anticipation is real.
11:41Hello! Hello! They look so good and puffy. They're just begging to be eaten. I've got the necessary
11:52hot Chinese mustard accompaniment. The extra little sparkly zing.
12:01Oh my god, they're so good. Mmmmm!
12:04The sausage is so snappy and the bun is perfectly sweet. This is my happy place. Touchdown! Yay!
12:13Next, the secret to long life and lasting flavor. Noodles are involved.
12:26Every sports party needs a gigantic mountain of carbohydrates. But today is extra special.
12:43I am making my pan-fried veggie noodles, which are chewy and saucy and greasy in exactly the way you want
12:51them to be. And they're so easy. They just all come together in one big skillet. I'll start by making my
12:58sauce. I'll combine two tablespoons of soy sauce with two tablespoons of dark soy sauce, which is
13:05sweeter and thicker than standard soy sauce. And it coats the noodles and it gives them that characteristic
13:11dark color. A couple of tablespoons of Shaoxing wine, which contributes acidity and depth and caramelized
13:19flavor. If you don't have this, you can substitute sherry wine. Two teaspoons of sugar will help
13:24caramelize the sauce so it gets thick and coats the noodles. And the sweet salty combo gets me going
13:30back for more. And then a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil for that gorgeous nuttiness and a boost of richness.
13:38Quick little whisk. I'll set this aside. I've got this mountain range of produce, which makes me feel
13:44not that bad for shoveling all these noodles into my mouth. Balance. And I'll heat up some neutral oil.
13:52And then I'll cook these in stages, starting with the veggies that take the most time to cook.
13:57So I've got a small head of broccoli that's broken into florets and some snap peas. And I'll let these go
14:03until they've developed some great color. This is like my ideal version of those greasy Chinese
14:10takeout noodles. And I just love making it from scratch because our closest Chinese takeout restaurant
14:16is all the way on the other side of town. So by the time we get them home, they're just not as hot,
14:23not as vibrant. This way I can eat them fresh right out of the pan. And I know my dad is not going to mind
14:29because that's something he would do. That's a John Yeh move right there. I'm seeing some beautiful
14:36brown swatches. I'm ready for the next round of veggies. I have some carrots and shredded cabbage.
14:43I'm cooking these for another few minutes until they wilt down and soften. Cabbage is my favorite
14:50vegetable to add with noodles because it melts down. It almost becomes invisible.
14:55That's one way I sneak some veggies into my kids.
15:01Okay, I'm going to create a space in the center.
15:05Add a touch more oil. And then I'll plop in my aromatics and allow those to sizzle.
15:10I've got some sliced scallions. I'll just add in the white parts at this point.
15:16And then some garlic and some fresh ginger. I'll dust in a tablespoon. The scallions, the ginger,
15:22and the garlic bring it in the flavor department. You want to let these sizzle for just about a minute
15:29or two until you can really start to smell them. And once they smell really good, that's how I know
15:34it's time to pile in the noodles. Because doing so is actually going to prevent the garlic and the
15:38ginger from burning and getting overcooked. So I've got a pound of lo mein noodles here,
15:43which are so chewy. They are the best texture. And I've just boiled these according to the package
15:50directions. And before I add the sauce, I want to cook them in some of this oil that's in the pan
15:56and give them some of that great color as well. That way you get some kind of crispy edges of the noodles
16:02and they get lightly fried. This is my dream. Okay, I'm ready for the sauce. I'll drizzle it right in.
16:10So I'll just kind of allow the sauce to simmer for a bit and thicken and encourage everything to
16:17melt together and become a perfect shovelable food. One of the greatest things about these noodles is
16:26that they're delicious at any temperature. Hot, right out of the pan, at room temperature when
16:31they've been sitting on the party table for a couple of hours. Cold out of the fridge when it's like late
16:37at night. My dad's favorite food group is leftovers. I'll have to fight me for these though.
16:44I'll get my serving bowl. Pile these in.
16:51I'll finish with my scallion greens and I have to make sure that they're okay for my dad.
16:56Just do one tester bite. Just one.
17:04They're so chewy and perfectly salty. Who doesn't want a big platter of saucy noodles on game day?
17:15Still to come, I'm diving seven layers deep into the dip of my dreams. Oh yeah, baby.
17:26I'm going to go.
17:26I'm going to go.
17:28I'm going to go.
17:30I'm going to go.
17:32I'm going to go.
17:32For our football party's final nosh, I'm making my peanut chicken seven-ish layer dip, which is
17:39creamy and salty and fresh and crunchy all in one beautiful bite. It's just as pretty to look at as it
17:47is to eat. I'll start with my first layer, which is a thick, dippable peanut sauce. I've got my creamy
17:53peanut butter here. Three quarters of a cup just popped into my bowl. Two tablespoons of soy sauce,
17:59which I'm using here to achieve that smooth, dippable consistency.
18:04And then a tablespoon of honey. A little bit of sweetness is what makes this layer so addictive.
18:10A tablespoon of sambal olec. It's a little bit more than a tablespoon, but that's okay.
18:15My dad can handle spicy. And a couple of teaspoons of toasted sesame oil.
18:19And then the juice of half a lime for that beautiful fruity brightness. And I'll stir this
18:25around until it's smooth. Seven layer dip is big around here. I like it because it's basically a meal
18:31and a dip. And this version is basically a chicken satay, which I love because chicken and peanut sauce
18:37together are delightful. So I'm going to combine all the layers right on my serving plate. Typically,
18:43seven layer dips are done in like a casserole dish or a bowl. I love plating them sometimes on a big,
18:49flat platter like this. So you can see all the layers from a bird's eye view.
18:55It was a perfect combo of sweet and salty. I'll get my chicken. This is just a shredded rotisserie
19:01chicken. I'll scatter this about.
19:06And then some pickles here that I've made with thinly sliced Persian cucumbers, tossed with some rice
19:12vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and toasted sesame oil, toss, toss, toss, quick pickle.
19:18The refreshing crunch that these provide rounds out all of these flavors and textures.
19:23The fourth layer is really fun. It's crunchy ramen noodles. This was just a packet that I broke up and
19:29toasted at 350 for a few minutes. My mom always used to make a salad with crunchy toasted ramen noodles on top of it.
19:37This is the crunch that every seven layer dip needs. Number five, mayo. I don't need mayo.
19:43Said no version of me ever. Some chili crisp for more heat. I'll splatter this on. Some scallions.
19:53We've reached seven layers. This next one is a bonus, but I love to add peanuts anytime I'm using peanut butter
20:01so that you can see that there's peanuts in it. Get more texture. I'll nestle in my lime wedges, which
20:09we're going to consider a ninth layer today. So we can have a touchdown plus a field goal. Makes nine. Boom. Time to eat.
20:18Wow. This looks amazing. Thank you for giving me a good excuse to make all this food.
20:23Thanks for making all this food. Cheers. Cheers.
20:29And this is what they should have at football games. Chinese sausage pig in a blanket.
20:38Is that a touchdown? Something happened.
20:41One team is so excited right now. You know these, right?
20:45These are like fried noodles. Oh wow.
20:52Delicious. This is a really long game. It's a good thing we got more food.