Hey guys, I know that this video got a little… sassy… in parts. Wasn’t our intention, but it is what it is. *Please* don’t interpret this video as directed at any individual creators or anything: 1. The quick cuts of everyone saying ‘better than takeout’ were *only* to illustrate the ubiquity of the term. I also included the La Choy dragon in there to show it’s got a really deep history - I even remember seeing old recipes from the 70s and 80s also claiming stuff as ‘better than takeout’ (couldn’t seem to be able to dig them up from a quick google though). Again, all we want to do is get people to think twice before using the quip. I’m also aware that some creators’ livelihoods depend on owning that term for SEO purposes - I wouldn’t expect (or even want) them to make some kind of change just because we’re a little miffed. 2. “Better than takeout” also certainly isn’t *solely* a Chinese phenomenon. Other Asian cuisines - and Mexican! - also seem quite popular to categorize under the label. And yes, you *can* definitely also find ‘better than takeout pizza’ and ‘better than takeout burgers’, but the quantity definitely seems to pale in comparison. 3. Anyway, I know this is definitely another video that could be put in the bucket of “Chris and Steph tilt at the people-obsessing-about-restaurant-stove windmill” (maybe one day we’ll make a playlist, lol). I’m definitely aware that our position runs contradictory to a lot of people in the space. 4. In my personal view, the biggest advantage that that people don’t talk about re those restaurant stoves is *speed*. Like, take a look at the video of that dude whipping up some stir-fried Horfun: www.bilibili.com/video/BV1EV4y137ad/ He’s able to pump that thing out in basically two minutes flat. If it was us, working on a home stove, that whole thing might take… 6 minutes? 8 minutes? Now imagine a dinner rush… the chef that knows how to work that burner would be able to get three to four times the sales! It’d be stupid not to opt for it, provided you had the ability. 5. Are there some advantages, flavor wise, that those stoves provide? I’d grant that they do seem to provide *something*, but if we control for everything else (restaurant techniques like guoyou, restaurant approaches to seasoning, the skill of the chef, the fact that a restaurant stir-fry is served hot from the wok instead of needing to wait at the table) we believe that that something is… subtle. Much of what the flavors that people attribute to ‘wok hei’, we believe, is actually just the flavor of chefs being good at their jobs. 6. Generally speaking though, if you look online in English, people talking about wok hei will begin to extol the ‘char’ that the stoves provide. But next time you’re getting Cantonese food at a restaurant, I want you to ask yourself - how “charred” is the food that you’re eating, really? In Cantonese, ‘breath of the wok’ and ‘char’ are two separate concepts - the former, “wok hei” (镬气); the latter, “nong” (燶). In the Cantonese cooking system, wok hei is something that’s valued; nong is something to be avoided. American barbecue would be an example of something that would be very ‘nong’, which is likely why American-style BBQ joints seem to struggle in Guangdong. Those ‘nong’ bits are, in a TCM context, super ‘shanghuo’ (i.e. 上火, “warming” in a bad way) - like, Steph’s mom will obsessively snip off any charred bits from her food. Hell, some of Steph’s friends even avoid the crispy rice at the bottom of claypot rice for the same reason… 7. In sum, char is a quality that *American* cuisine values, not Cantonese. THAT SAID, if you personally enjoy your stir fries charred? Do it! Char your beef! Adjust to your tastes! International adaptation is fun. We just think there’s a certain level of oddness using a Cantonese term to justify something that is a very non-Cantonese end result. 8. The elephant in the room, however, is that online some of the proponents of actively charring stir fried ingredients are actually Americans with Cantonese ancestral backgrounds. So I do think we have to be open to the idea that wok hei might actually mean something *different* to Cantonese-Americans than it does to Cantonese in Guangdong. But like, maybe that’s to be expected? I mean, Chinese communities in America’ve been around just as long or longer than Italian communities, right? It makes sense that many people’s tastes would be more ‘American’ in nature, because I mean, they’re… Americans. So while something like Tim Chin’s ‘Torch Hei’ might cause Steph’s mom to recoil in horror, it’s probably correct for him in his kitchen according to his tastes. 9. In a similar sense, there’s another sort of category of video out there that earnestly tries to make a ‘superior’ homestyle version of [insert takeout dish here] - usually using some sort of variation of one of Kenji’s classic SE recipes. But if I remember correctly, in those articles Kenji’s very upfront that he’s uses a sort of ‘Korean Fried Chicken’ approach in order to add crunch. And if you like that sort of crunch like Kenji does, that’s cool! Cook it! Enjoy it! Kenji’s one of the best recipe writers of our time for a reason. But then, it’s not fair to compare the ‘crunch’ of your homemade version vs takeout, because the takeout version isn’t going for ‘crunch’. 10. A few years back Priya Krishna coined the term “Crispy Gone Soggy”, and went on an offensive of sorts to try to convince people that many of the best deep fried dishes aren’t necessarily ‘crispy’ anymore. For example, everyone loves Chicken Parm, but the deep fried coating there’s less for crunch, and more for absorbing the flavors of the sauce. It’s something that I deeply deeply agree with, BUT I think a Chinese culinary term - ‘pao’ (泡), i.e. ‘puffy with sauce’ - could also be used to describe the phenomenon (and might be a little more appetizing-sounding in English haha). 11. Because quite often (but certainly not always!), the point of certain coatings in saucy stir fries is in order to *absorb the sauce*. Because if you want something crunch + saucy, a question that’s worth asking, I think, is… why not just dip? Like, for me personally, if I’m getting something quite crunchy like Korean Fried Chicken, I personally actually prefer the plain sort and to dip in the sauce. The chicken stays crunchier, I can control the sauce quantity, and it’s less messy to eat. 12. But if YOU like your stuff crunchy, that’s cool! You’re allowed to adjust to your tastes, whether cultural or otherwise - that’s part of the fun! I just think it’s a little silly to then claim that these adjustments then are somehow intrinsically superior. Like, there’s this book on Cantonese cuisine (that we otherwise really enjoy), that in one part discusses the history of Cantonese chefs going abroad and spreading the cuisine. In the 1970s, they mention, that Cantonese chefs went to Singapore and Thailand and - his words - “significantly elevated the local cuisine”. Recently, living here in Bangkok, we’ve been enjoying whipping up a bit of Thai food, but sometimes I find that I can’t help but cut back a bit on the sugar, marinate my meat, etc etc. Sometimes I’ll joke around with Steph “here, try some of my Pad Krapow, but SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED”. The joke is that I’m not actually elevating anything, I’m just tweaking Thai cuisine based off of my own tastes and a few techniques employed by the cooking system I’m most familiar with (probably Cantonese, by this point). Want to do the same thing with Cantonese food and American techniques/tastes? Awesome! Even on this channel I’ll find myself doing so for a bit of Cha Chaan Teng fare. Just know that you *are* adjusting, and (given the popularity of Chinese food worldwide), your adjustment probably won’t be intrinsically ‘better’, though they’ll probably be better for your own tastes. 13. Quick aside that for the ‘not saucy’ seasoning at 8:02, the correct water quantity is the second (yellow, highlighted) one - i.e. 1 tbsp. Sorry about that - forgot to correct the first textbox. And of course, the recipe in the description box is the correct :) Oof. Apologies for the novella there. We’ve obviously got… a lot of stuff to say lol. Again, HUGE thank you to everyone that’s watched over these six years; and an especially huge thank you to everyone that’s supported us on Patreon. Being able to have ‘freedom from the algorithm’ has been huge in being able to create the sort of content that we’re passionate about :)

I will forever and always preach the gospel that regional chinese cuisine is just as varied and complex and worthy of all the same respect and reverence that we give to italian and french cuisine in western culture, and everything you two do on this channel has been on the front lines of that fight and I wanna thank you guys for that and say keep up the good fight and cheers to at least another 6 years of dope content ahead!

Sis is SPITTING! I will never give up the relationship I have with my local Chinese delivery guy who tells me the stuff on the menu to order the following Tuesday.

Some information to add about the marinade ingredients: Table salt, baking soda, and soy sauce all help tenderize the meat. The underlying chemistry is the same as brining: the dissolved salt ions allow some proteins to relax their structure. Papain (papaya enzyme) and sometimes bromelain (pineapple enzyme) are proteases. They cut the protein in your meat into smaller peptides, thus improving texture and flavour. There are some Chinese soups that use papaya or pineapple in them, supposedly for the same purpose, although I suspect most of the enzyme are denatured by heat before they can do anything. Cornstarch and egg white basically make the marinade stick to the meat, thus improving flavour and protecting the ingredients.

Broccoli cooking: so my dad taught me this technique he learned from a Chinese cook in the 1960s in a Bahamas hotel kitchen: ripping hot peanut oil and salt. Then throw in broccoli for a few seconds to char. Pour in a small glass of water that contains chopped garlic. Cover immediately and let steam to doneness. The texture is awesome in ni time and the garlic flavour is infused in the broccoli, which gets evenly seasoned. No idea if it’s a Chinese technique or a kitchen hack, but it has never failed me and it’s the reason why I love broccoli.

I agree with Steph’s take and see the same phenomenon with Mexican food, which is (mainly in the US) seen as lesser or un elevated which comes from the same ignorance and condescension. Examples like the “better than Chinese stir fry takeout” movement take a dish and isolates it from it’s origin, traditions and culture, simplifying it to the lowest common denominator that people enjoy. All these KZfaqrs that call themselves chefs forget that studying cuisine goes hand in hand with an anthropological and cultural understanding of the food, not just the ingredients on the recipe.

Man, that "Magic School Bus to Flavourville" line was a punch of nostalgia I didn't know I had in me about learning about taste buds and the tongue. It's amazing how educational that cartoon was. And I'm not even from an english speaking country. Edit: BTW, loved the casually thrown in memes in this episode. Edit 2: That rant was spot fucking on!

The funny thing about the pasta example is that it is really easy to make better than 90% of what you'll get in an ordinary restaurant outside of Italy by using high quality pasta and emulsifying your sauces correctly.

In regards to the "better than take-out", I usually ignore those recipes.... CAUSE I WANT THE RECIPE TO BE LIKE TAKEOUT!

1) I love that you provided a non sauced version of this dish. So many recipes I see online, are so sauced. And growing up, my family has always made it with minimal external ingredients. I love being able to taste the broccoli and beef without being inundated with excessive soy sauce and oyster sauce and whatever else you put in to “Bump up the flavor”. Sometimes it’s good to just savor the simple ingredients and appreciate it! 2) Steph’s “better than takeout” exposition at the end was lovely. I think more people need to hear it. 3) I’ve always wondered why everyone’s definition of “wok hei”, which always differed from how my dad taught me, has always confused me. And your explanation really nailed it. Great vid! I love a good broccoli beef, and a wonderful video.

I found you guys after the kenji shout-out ages back and I’m so fucking happy I did. I LOVE how in depth and down to earth the cooking is. You cover the fancy and the normal, but most importantly you explain WHY. it’s the same reason I loved kenjis stuff. I don’t want to just know how to cook, I want to understand how. And be able to apply that knowledge elsewhere. This episode what PACKED with knowledge

French chef dousing an omelet with 50 sticks of butter and slow cooking a duck leg confit in a swimming pool of duck fat for 48 hours Some people: that's true mastery of cuisine right there Chinese chef passing a few lean pork strips through a wok of oil The same people: Damn it smells good but that's too much fat for my healthy lifestyle

"In a Western context... people tend to eat beef not completely cooked." Congratulations, you channeled the energy of every traditional Asian mother, including mine.

I live in a college town with a large Chinese student base, so the local chinese takeout is honestly incredible. Ive also had really bad takeout in "middle-of-nowhere" towns that was barely edible. Sometimes making home cooked chinese food that is better than takeout means making it actually taste good.

Oh man, Steph's rant at end articulates everything I've ever wanted to say about why people trying to 'improve' Chinese food has always rubbed me the wrong way. I get that there's probably no ill intent behind it, but man does it feel patronising.

Literally, upping my Patreon monthly membership because of this video. Especially the end. ICONIC! Love y’all so much and congratulations on 6 years!

I absolutely love your framing of, "how, in the absence of [insert dish here], would you cook X." It really boils it down to the essence of cooking. How would you, intentionally and thoughtfully, apply heat to "this specific ingredient" to make it delicious. If you can work that part out, then everything else is gravy.

Its kind of ironic, whenever us asians see the title "better than takeout" we automatically know to avoid that recipe...or we completely ignore the technique that recipe gives and use what we were taught

You geeks are so lovable. It's obvious how you love and take your craft very seriously. Your honesty in the face of trends is a testament to that. Also, thanks you for all the help you provided me in my ongoing journey into chinese cuisine. As a french guy, it is as humbling as it is exciting. Well... Thx for your sharing your passion with such love, care and precision, you're great !

I hear you Steph 100%, I’m in the gourmet burger space and while the majority of the time people appreciate the work, we do end up getting the comparison to fast food places regardless of the time and effort put in. Not so much online admittedly, mostly in person, but it happens nonetheless. I actually started watching your channel to see more interior Chinese foods/cooking methods but have since gained an even greater appreciation for my local Chinese food places. There’s a lot of sourcing, prep, and skill that go into it and I’m glad to have a window through yall to get an idea of how it’s done.

Because of this video, I cooked my first proper stir fry! It certainly wasn’t perfect, but eating the finished dish I was blown away that I made something that actually tasted like take out beef and broccoli, instead of just tasting like soya sauce. Thank you!

Right on Steph!! Loved the ending with the little dragon too. Be as sassy as you want guys. We love you to bits! 😁 I have never had anything "better" than takeout. Chinese take out is made by people who are amazingly talented and who perform alchemy in their kitchens. One of my dreams is to actually be able to have the innate knowledge and skill to magically whip up some authentic Chinese cuisines or even westernized options. I have been watching videos from many of the people all around China, for years, just to understand and learn the essence of culture and cooking combined. I know that there is a rhythm, pattern, etc to how it all comes together and it takes years of passing on that knowledge for a person to have this gift. I hope to someday figure it out in my heart. Even then, I don't think I could give up my Chinese take out!! Canadians are very dedicated to their love of Chinese food. When I was little, my siblings and I would do all kinds of chores for neighbors, just so we could pool our money and go down to the local place to devour as many egg rolls as we could afford. The people that ran the place are like family. I went to school with the kids and it was always a treat to go into their home and hear stories and eat "real" food from back home. I am a very lucky person. ☺

I grew up in the SF bay area and there has always been very good quality Chinese food. However, I think that Chinese restaurants in parts of the US where there isn't a significant Chinese population generally range from mediocre to bad. So, if you're not in San Francisco, LA, Seattle or New York, the Chinese food you make at home (with the help of Steph and Chris) is generally "better than Chinese take out". Thanks for the inspiration and instruction. I love your channel.

5:15 I suppose an allegory here I can think of is with pasta. Sure you could just combine cooked-to-package pasta with your sauce when serving, but finishing the pasta in the sauce is almost always better from a texture/final seasoning perspective.

"Better than takeout" might be condescending, but then so is every auntie who's ever said, "Why did you waste money on that? We could have made it better at home!"

I'm just learning how to cook and I love the approach to this channel. It's very unpretentious. You aren't trying to impress people with your flashy bullshit, you're just earnestly trying to educate people on how to prepare stuff well. You're accommodating people of varying skill levels who may not have the same available tools. I like it a lot.

I think a particular issue with the Chinese takeaways is that (at least here in America) the food that the cooks make doesn’t suit their tastes, so they don't eat it. For the past 60 years or so, Asian immigrants (not just Chinese) have started these restaurants and make the same menu items since they were told that's all the Americans will eat. So you have a lot of cooks that can't really gauge the quality what they're giving to the customer. Which sucks, because I really like the style of food and I really appreciate their efforts, but (at least in my experience) I've probably eaten at 3 crummy takeaway joints before finding a really good one. So about the success rate for your typical American fast food joint

I’ve been learning how to make Chinese takeout recipes because it’s good not because “I can do it healthier (better)”. I’m American from the southern US and we have are own cooking traditions and techniques. It irritates me when someone denigrates southern cuisine by wanting to make it healthier as if southern recipes are inherently unhealthful. I’m happy to learn the history, techniques, and intricacies of dishes that have a favor palette that I can’t master without a good teacher.

Excellent points. For the record, my goal is rarely "better than takeout". It's about making food as I like, occasionally tweaking things more to my taste. So knowing the reasons for the techniques, is my favorite kind of lessons. Well done.

Sassy Steph is best kind of Steph

I hear the "better than take-out" line a lot in my family and I disagree with your position that it comes from disrespect or negative stereotypes. I'm Malaysian-Chinese and someone whose parents and grandparents grew up in traditional settings and experienced poverty and/or village life before subsequently elevating to relative affluence (not super-rich, just middle-class). The first thing to note is that yes, it really _is_ that easy to make a lot of what take-outs do. It's not a disrespect to them to say that, certainly not coming from people like my grandmother who's been making that exact sort of dishes all her life. The second thing is, when you're someone who's been in our positions, eaten up and down the ladder, in back-streets and Michelins and everything in between, across all regions _and_ learn how to make it at home because that's our standard cuisine, you really do see the difference in quality, the make and the effort. Maybe it's become self-fulfilling prophecy but Western people almost _expect_ Chinese take-out to be a certain way; we have eaten that in many places (my parents studied for years in the UK and USA; I have lived in Australia half my life) including Malaysia and it is _not good_ . But even in Asia where you'd think the bar is higher, it is not difficult to find a take-out whom you'd try and go "I can do better". They use too much starch, for one; there should be some unctuousness to the sauce for sure, but not swimming in a sea of gloop so thick that if you flung it to the ceiling it'd stay there. Very often way too much salt. Too much MSG as well; again, I'm not anti-MSG but when the food tastes _fluorescently_ enhanced it's just bad and always will be. And the quality of the ingredients- the cheap cuts of meat, the cheaper brands of sauce, frozen rather than fresh ingredients, plus general hygiene- cannot be vouched for, but you can readily detect when it's low. And then (obviously our Asian calculativeness comes out) they charge x amount for y amount of food, when you realise you're getting cheap meat, not fresh vegetables, noodles not homemade, when if you bought good quality equivalents and did it yourself you could make it so much better, more cost-effectively. THAT is what they mean by "better than take-out" and, bear in mind, when you actually live in Asia, the bar for what is good take-out is WAY higher. My family, when they cook, they use less salt, less sugar, less starch, less oil and no MSG. This isn't a health kick thing or a recent phenomenon; my Grandma grew up illiterate in a village, she cooks mostly the same way and has never used MSG. We steam, stir- or light-fry most things and we have soup every dinner. They go to the wet market 2-3 times a week so everything is as fresh as can be. My Mom's catchphrase is always "qing qing tian tian", literally "light and sweet". You don't need to nuke everything with salt, starch and enhancers to make flavour bombs when the _natural_ flavours of _fresh_ ingredients cooked cleanly and with respect will be just as richly flavoured, still traditional and arguably healthier. Obviously we have our indulgent dishes like three-layer belly pork or black vinegar trotters (we're Hakkas from the south so have a lot of long-braise dishes) but those're more feast dishes for special occasions; we don't eat like that on the day-to-day. We're not prejudiced against take-out and will readily eat out, esp as both my parents and my grandma (the only one of my four grandparents remaining) are getting old now and cooking has become harder. We just know it's simply not difficult to be just as good or better.

Love you guys. Very well put, Steph. I'm a chef of over 15 years and I can confidently say that cooking at a restaurant and at home are two very different things and similar results shouldn't be expected. Unless you've got a massively kitted out kitchen and a fleet of cooks to do your mise en place for every single meal. Haha.

Man I've been on discord for 12 years and I remember you guys coming onto the subreddit cooking scene. I hope you guys are so proud about how far you've come. You guys were an amazing resource back then and continue to be.

I have to say, ive massive respect for you and your wife. You both have taught meany recipes over the last 3 years of watching your channel, as well as introducing me to a cooking culture i would've never been exposed to otherwise. Im limited by language and my phone haha but again i want to give a genuine thank you. Go raibh maith agat, James from Ireland

i'm with you 100% on that whole "better than takeout". I think people do mainly say that because, its so fast and cheap that they can only assume that a lot of shortcuts were taken to make it. So if you make everything from scratch, its instantly "better". Plus you know, the casual social media clickbait. Side note, when i order take out, i always watch the kitchen because you could just see the amount of multitasking and skill that goes on there.

I like the sassieness! The rant on "Better Than Takeout" is a deserved kick in the butt of TV & Internet, for its thoughtlessly and massively cloned slogans, which don't hold any water. You *can* get it better by cooking at home. But only subjectively: by adding less or more of something you like/dislike, by adding or omitting an ingredient or by using more quality meat/veg/brands. What you *can't* get better is availability, taste, speed, stability, cost to quality ratio, etc., etc., etc. - all those things which restaurants and trained chefs can and do.

Steph - i completely appreciate your point, but would note that perhaps - just perhaps - in many places the U.S. the “better than takeout” moniker reflects the quality of American chinese food. The quality is a reflection of the local demand for inexpensive, and often sweeter foods,, much like the fast food flavor profile. So is my beef and broccoli better than Panda Express? Yes. But it’s certainly not better than take-out from an authentic chinese restaurant. We need to support and celebrate high quality restaurants.

Take out is fantastic! The fact I can get so much variety of great food cooked consistently well in such a short amount of time is amazing! I could never hope to cook the same amount of food that quickly, and I certainly couldn't do it for the same price. All these KZfaq chefs saying they're making a certain dish with better ingredients for less money are lying - you can't buy $1 worth of beef, $0.15 worth of green beans, $0.25 worth of rice at the store. Maybe you can make *a serving* cost a little less, but the actual amount of money you need to invest in ingredients and the amount of time in prep work isn't necessarily worth the extra you pay to get some great take out. I love cooking, I love learning new techniques, and I love sharing all of that with my family and friends, but sometimes I also just want good food without the effort of cooking and cleaning. Take out is fantastic.

I think there's 2 different thought processes behind this. 1. The idea that Chinese takeout is 'cheap' and poor quality, so you can make it better at home. 2. People in the west who grew up and admire the takeaway style food and want to replicate that flavor at home. Remember for a lot of us, this is the only way we experience Chinese food. At least for me, the more I try and replicate that restaurant style flavor, the exact flavors, ingredient balances and methods to create this taste, the more respect I have for all of the work that goes into making it. You also appreciate more when you have great takeaway style cooking! A final thing is that, like mentioned here, there's home style cooking and restaurant cooking and no distinguishing which one tastes 'better'. We do appreciate info on replicating restaurant style cooking as this type of food is what a lot of us grew up with and have a taste for. As well it great learning of Chinese home cooking!

Just the fact that this channel really knows its audience and where out hurdles lay warms my heart

I love this channel so much, so many great tips and real techniques! You convey real respect for both other chefs and the history of these dishes. I've learned so much and I think you've certainly helped unlearn some western biases. Thank you both so much!

You mentioned 'passing through' and how most of us would'nt do it. As the cook of our household I have dabbled it deep/shallow frying but mostly avoid doing it soley as I just am not sure how to store it/clean the oil/how long to use it etc. It would be highly useful to have a video dedicated to understanding what oils to use/storeage etc. Thanks if you take this on board... or not :)

Asian foods of many different countries are my absolute favorite. My cooking has greatly improved in some of the dishes thanks to you guys as well as some other channels that I have watched many hours of, I can come somewhat close to some of my favorite restaurants but only a time or two have I ever been close enough to enjoy it as much as a good restaurant. I respect you and Asian cuisines greatly.

TBF to the "better than takeout" crew. A lot of takeout places are not great. Just because someone works hard (and they do, restaurant work is very hard) doesn't mean they are a particularly great chef. I only have experience with respect to Indian style food and the reaction to takeout curry from the indians that I know is that often it just isn't very good, and they are usually capable of making something better themselves. In fact I would argue this is true of most "cheap" style restaurants, a dedicated and careful amateur can make a "better" meal at home because they are not working under the same constraints as someone in a commercial kitchen with a full restaurant and limited time to deliver. And now fully reading your comment i realise you have expressed the above far more eloquently yourselves. You guys are great! :-)

Hey, I'm here for the rant..😀 I don't think many creators thought about it that much... FWIW I can cook pasta better than most Italian restaurants because, among other reasons, my grandfather was an Italian chef and taught me to cook....

I've been following you guys for a number of years, and I loved every video I've watched. I think this one is my favourite so far. The way you two weave together the history, culture, etymology, culinary technique, food science, and commentary all within an approachable (and fantastically produced!) recipe video is brilliant. Keep the 'rants' and 'novellas' coming. I know that any mention of cultural appropriation in the world of food raises some feathers. But to me, it's at its worst when, on top of due credit not being given to the cultures and origins of certain dishes, the creators also disparage the traditions, techniques, and quality of them. This air of superiority is unnecessary and damaging. Like you hinted at: when people try to make recipes for a something like a Neapolitan Pizza for example, the aim is rarely to make a 'healthier'/'better' version. Instead, they appreciate it for what it is, and attempt to make something similarly delicious at home. Thanks for the thought provoking video and post, once again! I loved your nuanced thoughts, and I LOVE Beef and Broccoli. I'll be making it tonight ;)

I agree with your take on this issue and thank you for using an annoying, click-baity phrase to start a deeper discussion on Asian cuisine. You're right, Asian cuisines don't tend to be respected the way other cuisines are. Thank you for pointing out that "better than takeout" often translates to "without a bunch of traditional ingredients and techniques that the food police deem unhealthy!" I hadn't really thought about the condescending and subtley racist undercurrent there. However, I will add that because many of us don't have any decent Chinese takeout restaurants in our areas, it may not be unreasonable for us to say we can make Chinese food that's genuinely better than takeout. Our local takeout is just that lackluster 😂

You tell them steph!!! In the early days of the internet and food TV I tried many "better" than take out stir fry recipes, only to be disappointed in the terrible textures, flavors and aromas of these recipes. It took lots of independent reading and experimentation before I discovered the secrets to and realized how nuanced/ technically challenging the recipes and their developments have been to deliver this great cuisine. Love your videos!

I love this video. I’ve always felt the same way seeing recipe videos claim you can make it “better than takeout.” Like honey no, I don’t have a jet engine stove, surgical knife skills, and 30 years of wok cooking experience. The one channel I’ve never seen make this claim (besides yours) is Made With Lau and that’s cause he WAS the takeout guy. The add on to this conversation: you want authentic unapologetic Sichuan flavors imported directly from Chengdu? Stop asking these restaurants to make orange chicken. You want them to elevate the cuisine to something date worthy? Stop refusing to pay only dirt cheap prices. You want a chance to make it better than takeout? Well get used to the idea that MSG isn’t actually that bad for you. Lastly when it comes to pasta, it’s amazing to me how Americans don’t distinguish Italian American to Italian food. I like spaghetti and meatballs but it simply is not on the same level as a good pasta alla gricia and yet the restaurants that produce these two different cuisines are held in the same regard.

I think it's worth questioning the phrase "better than takeout" in another way. To me, homemade is commonly and easily better than take out. Homemade is made with love for people you love. Typically, recipes have their origins from some Mama cooking at home, meaning that homemade brings it back to the spirit of a mom just trying to feed her family after a long day. That's beautiful, too. Thank you so much for bending over backwards to help me, in my home kitchen, learn about new ways to feed my own family after a long day.

Wow! This was not the video I expected. I can not admire you both enough, not just for your incredibly down to earth and empathetic delivery of recipes that have changed my life, but of this incredibly preceptive response to exactly WHY the coverage of East and Southeat Asian food is the way it is.

Outstanding presentation ! Thank you for this educational presentation !

I always thought of "passing through oil" to "blanching" as deep frying is to boiling. Please feel free to tell me if / how I'm wrong

Having family who ran a Chinese resturant when I cook at home I am trying for almost as good as I remember there food to have been. Thank you for bringing this up.

Thank you so much for your effort showing us how the fantastic dishes we all love are made. And thank you for your honest words! I am a biiiig fan of the Chinese culinary world. I have only been to Hongkong but last year I spent 6 month in New York City and people ask me what I miss the most and my immediate answer is: the food in china town. Because it was the best tasting food for a reasonable price. I had it almost every day. My all time favorite: steamed rice rolls with dried shrimps. But I literally love everything!! A lot of people think I am joking mentioning the Chinese food in New York City, but I am dead serious. I love all sorts of Chinese food and admire the dedication and techniques chefs using doing those dishes. ❤

as an italian person, i've never understood the lack of reverence people have towards certain food cultures. i grew up learning that all of my food has history to be respected, lessons to be learned about its people. it told stories of the checks and balances in place to maintain nutrition, consume enough calories, and make use of the available sources of food in order to live. so many wonderful flavour combinations created out of necessity. fried rice, butter chicken, pasta aglio e olio, irish root vegetable stew, tacos... all of these foods used to be what was eaten to stay alive. the commodification of them, to turn them into a challenge... just misses the point i think. we should respect the followings of tradition by making simple, healthy foods, in regular, unassuming ways. making tasty food that is good enough/enjoyable, as opposed to Better, Cheaper, Faster, etc. Thanks for the video.

I'll say this: I've cooked a lot of Souped Up Recipes dishes and to be honest, Mandy's recipes often *are* better than takeout! At least where I live...

I will say as an ethnic person that's grown up in the tri-state area, the term better than take-out was popularized because of a not so small proportion of Chinese restaurants essentially mass producing Chinese cuisine (as other cultures also do in America). As a middle eastern man I can't even stomach half these quick and dirty kebab/falafel platter restaurants, and I know my own cooking is better than takeout. In many places American Chinese food is to authentic Chinese cooking as McDonald's is to freshly minced homemade burger. I've been to higher end Cantonese and szechuan restaurants and the difference is night and day. Everybody has their favorite takeout spots that are vastly better than the others, and in my opinion those tend to be the places that choose not to get swept away by the American food culture. Heck, just traveling from state to state the differing levels of quality are apparent. IMO you can even predict the outcome if no one of that culture eats there. I've had authentic Chinese food in Chinatown that I still crave to this day, meanwhile in all of Virginia I have had maybe a single good experience and not for a lack of trying as many places as possible. If I had to guess why I'd say the average Chinese store in NOVA is appealing to people that are not familiar with real Chinese cuisine. I'm not sure if it stems from racism imo. This happens with all food in America, even American food a la golden coral or McDonald's. You have to cut corners when producing a cost friendly meal that needs to be ready in less than 20 minutes. Love you guys

I used to be that person that my cooking has to be "better than take out" all the time. It's like I have this rivalry with restaurants. But when I started working in a restaurant, I just realized that I have a preference that doesn't need to be shoved down on other people and actively put up against a restaurant. I understood why restaurant food is the way that it is, and although it could definitely improve, consumers and culture play a big role on standards and practices. Right now, I just cook what I like and what I'm comfortable with within the range of what my kitchen can take and with the time I have to cook. A lot of influencers often cook well and with such detail because it's their living and of course trying to standout because it is a saturated field of entertainment. People like myself just need to be aware of why things are presented or made the way it is and think if that actually fits in their life rather than just following a new food trend or opinion without considering the reasoning behind it.

This is why I love you guys, spitting truth while staying respectful to the masters. This is a really respectful, insightful video, much appreciated.

Apropos of takeout standards: note how it’s all western chefs who try to do better than takeout, but who then rave about street food in Asia. In North America, there are plenty of bad Chinese takeout restaurants, especially chains. But in the end it’s just a bad restaurant/chain, not a bad cuisine. I can make pizza that’s better than takeout because most takeout pizza is crap. But I have also had good, tasty takeout that I still cherish, and could never top, and that deserves respect. Sure, I’ve had amazing sushi in NY that cost me a month of rent, but never at the price of takeout, unlike real good Chinese takeout which is affordable.

I had never thought of that before. I did the search myself and 99% of the results were for Chinese food. No pizza, no souvlaki, no Indian cuisine at all, no döner kebab, no fish & chips...

This is the BEST and most useful video about Chinese Beef available to human kind. So many many many useful information. Especially the marinade. Can't believe this took 6years to publish. When I'm making any Chinese dish I come to this channel to see how it's been done traditionally. Thank you guys for your existence, that's all I can say.

Thank you for pointing out the better than take out thing. As a white guy who absolutely loves all Asian food, even I failed to notice the implication of people saying theirs is better than take out. You made an excellent point that nobody claims a pasta you can make at home is better than a restaurant. It's especially annoying when people say theirs is better than take out because theirs doesn't have msg. It's unfortunate we still live in a world where msg is seen as a bad thing that's only linked to Chinese food.

God damn right!!! The rant at the end had me pumping my fist and shouting "yeah!!! Hell yeah!!!" at the screen. The disrespect in the US for extremely talented, hard working asian american chefs is just sad. There is exactly as much, if not more blood sweat and tears in every little chinese takeout place as fancy italian joints and shiny pizza places. Good on you guys for speaking up about it!

there's something very funny to me about how this video points out some specific western chefs that helped me with western cooking and how their advice doesn't apply at all to chinese cooking. and there's something even funnier about the 'better than takeout' folks talking about health... chinese takeaway was a staple of my childhood because it was far healthier than any fast food option, but you never see people saying they want to make a healthier burger better than fast food, just a tastier one.

Beef and Broccoli was my first. When my parents made dinner growing up, it'd often be pasta, hotdishes, chili - and beef and broccoli. My dad had watched Martin Yan's cooking show when he was younger and picked up his cookbook The Joy of Wokking (I have a copy and would recommend it), and that was the recipe he learned. He had an old steel wok just for it, and when he showed me how to make it I learned a lot of basic techniques. Marinating meat, stir frying itself, the corn starch slurry, properly cleaning and storing the wok. Learning it let me experiment in the future - how can I change the marinade, the sauce? If I swap different ingredients, how does it change the outcome? It was simple to transform beef and broccoli into a spicy-sweet pork mishmash. That was the place where I approached Asian cuisine from - something that made vegetables tasty even if I had only department store ingredients, enthusiasm, and a very difficult time learning chopsticks. And now here we are again, full circle, learning things my younger self would have been awed to know and the reasons why we never thought to consider. Martin Yan included cornstarch in his marinade, we didn't. But when you know why you should, you get a tool in your toolbox to use to make something better. Love your channel and the culture and history it shares along with the food.

I've usually thought that "better than takeaway" referred to home cooking being cheaper and 'healthier' rather than tastier. I do agree with what Steph says though. One of the big reasons takeaway can be 'better' than home cooking is that someone else cooked it for you, someone who has a lot of practice cooking those dishes, and someone else is chopping and prepping all the ingredients and washing up all the pots and pans afterwards. The likes of Jamie Oliver don't seem to include that as a consideration. I will say that my local Chinese takeaway's mapo tofu is not as tasty as the one that I make. But it's very much not a Sichuan takeaway, and what they make as mapo tofu might be exactly what most people expect from Anglo-Chinese (generally Cantonese influenced, quite possibly using some Lee Kum Lee premade sauce maybe?) - it's just not spicy enough for my taste. And based on ma la food from the Chinese supermarket my mapo tofu is closer to Sichuan level ma la flavour.

Love the rant at the end. Total mic drop.

I am going to say that the best broccoli and beef I've had was in México and was made with carne asada. Flank steak seasoned and cooked on a charcoal grill. Then they combined it with the steamed/blanched broccoli and added the sauce. Traditional? No. Crazy tasty? Oh, yes!

I've noticed that as well but it's not just with Asian cuisine. So called "chefs" or vloggers that label their creations as "better than takeout", don't even know the reason why something is done the way it's done or quite simply the basic techniques of why something is done because they fail to explain it and hence execute it properly. If someone wants to literally make something "better than" the restaurant quality or version, they need to really do some in depth research and stop using catch phrases because it really is disrespectful to the culture and the history of the food. Rock on. Not sassy or snobby at all, just truthful and down to earth. Thank you for your insights and spreading of knowledge. Food is love!

I love you guys so much for doing what you do. I love the comparison between restaurant and home cooking techniques and results. I've learned so much here that it's almost like I'm "stir frying" so much of what I eat because I love the result of meat and veggies in my wok!

Steph is 100% correct, and the rant is warranted. I feel like there are a lot of dishes from Asian, and Mexican, and other cultures that get looped into the same category as drive through American fast food chains, and I think that's ridiculously condescending and dismissive. Thanks to this channel, and others like Kenji's, I can make some pretty darn tasty stir fry's, and other Asian dishes at home. I've never been able to even duplicate let alone improve upon my favorite dishes from my favorite local Chinese places, and that's ok. I still can, and do go and get their food when I want it. And the same is true about A LOT of the food I cook. I'm not a professional. I can make a decent burger, or steak, or mashed potatoes or whatever, but it's never as good as the best restaurants can do, but you don't see that "better than" label being thrown around about good steakhouses. Everyone aspires to that level, but pretty much no recipes claim to be "better" than those places. I think Asian and Mexican chefs and restaurants deserve the same level of respect. I aspire to that level, but know that getting there took them years of training, and practice to perfect and I don't realistically expect to be able to make a "better than takeout" version of their food at home without similar training, and practice... Not to mention the understanding of the ingredients, culture, and the methods that I do not have. Thank you for the work you guys do. You've greatly improved my home cooking, and my appreciation and knowledge of the culture that brings about these wonderful foods.

You know I'd never really been able to put a finger on why all the 'better than takeout' recipes sat with me weird, but I really appreciate Steph's take on it. I'm not sure if it's everything I'd wanted to get out about it, but it's definitely one of if not THE core of why I feel uneasy about those. It's always had, like, middle manager who just arrived to the factory and wants to whinge about every little delay to process when those delays exist because if they didn't, X machine would back up or Y safety hazard would occur or Z product would be more likely to fail quality check. Like, yeah buddy you sure did just get here and also know better than everyone who's been here ages how it all works.

Loving both parts of this video 🔥 Thank you so much! Me personally, I would have understood the phrase „better than take-out“ as: „freshly made rather than carried home in a container, in which it cooled down, so I had to reheat it again in the microwave until it all looked a bit sad“ (just like I prefer fresh pizza at the restaurant over delivery pizza etc.) - but I absolutely get your point and appreciate you talking about these things.

I really enjoy your videos, this one too, ranting and being "sassy" like that is important, I heard "better than takeout" a thousand times and never questionned it but now I see it through a new lens and understand something I didn't before

No bullying Souped Up Recipes! haha you're not wrong about the rant though

I appreciate your guys’ discussion of the topic. I don’t think that “rants” are such a bad thing when what’s being outlined is a criticism of discrimination and racism

YES!!!! This is easily one of your best videos, for so many reasons! And that's no small feat considering basically every single one of your videos is pure gold!! Don't apologize for shining a light on the undeserved negativity and condescending attitude towards Chinese take-out.

Thank you, thank you for the rant at the end. My father's side of the family is from Hong Kong and my mother's side is from northern Mexico. Growing up in California, it has always irked me that people have seen both Mexican and Chinese cuisines as cheap, unhealthy, and just a single type of cuisine, disrespecting the complexity of techniques and layering of flavors in dishes along with large diversity of flavors across both countries. I have the upmost respect for the chef at the taqueria who can churn out hundreds of delicious tacos an hour or the chefs at our favorite Cantonese restaurants who are able to prepare such a wide variety of dishes at a moments notice , and I wish the Western world would treat them with the same respect they have for European chefs. Additionally, I just wanted to thank you for so much of your videos over the years. Growing up, my Chinese father never cooked, and considering the rest of my family on that side is still in Hong Kong, the only memories I have of Cantonese cuisine were through our visits to SF's Chinatown and my father sharing with us his favorite dishes there. Several of your videos focusing on Cantonese dishes have allowed for me to connect, understand, and appreciate aspects of my culture that have been quite literally lost in translation. Thank you so much for what you do.

I started laughing during Steph's critique because it so immediately appeared to me as true and I'd never thought of it before

Agree 100% with Steph on this. I have the same complaint about people looking down their noses at suburban, Anglosized Chinese restaurants for not being "Authentic", despite the ones that have been around for a long time always make incredible dishes that I'll never tire of.

Always love your culinary perspective; very no bullshit. I've always seen restaurant vs. home cooked just different styles. You're dealing with entirely different equipment and capabilities. And the point at the end of the day is to make food you enjoy eating. This basic concept doesn't get harped on enough, and that's why I love your channel and Adam Ragusea.

I guess it depends on the ability of the cook. You can give two people, one a chef and one an ordinary person, the same exact ingredients and end up with different quality food. So, yes, if you're an iron chef with complete mastery of the wok, then there's a probability that your dish will be better than takeout. Great video, and I share your sentiment. But for me personally: Better=which I can get for cheaper lol.

Bon Appetit has a series where they call in a take out order, then try to cook their version of the dish before the takeout arrives. Is the Bon Appetit version better from a taste perspective? I think most would agree so. But, to Steph's point, Bon Appetit had all of their ingredients on hand, a trained chef prepared the food as fast as possible, sometimes "ideal" technique shortcuts were made, and there was always a messy kitchen to deal with after. So, that should be taken into account when messaging "better than takeout" of any ethnic variety.

I think there's a less *directly* racist reason (emphasis is deliberate, read to the end) for Chinese recipes being offered up as "better than takeout." Takeout is often eaten without the trappings of a nice meal. You dump it out of a box onto, often, a disposable plate. That primes your brain not to respect the food as much. But many takeout places also let you sit down, plate your food with at least a little care, and better yet serve it piping hot rather than getting cold in the back of your air-conditioned car on the way there. That's a vibe much more like what you'll have if you make the same dish at home. You made an approximation of a restaurant preparation, and it's better than eating something from that restaurant that's halfway to being leftovers - but they'll be happy to serve you their version the way it was actually meant to be eaten. More of your American viewers should give dining in at their local inexpensive Chinese place a try sometime. You compare it to home cooks trying to match restaurant pasta. The pasta that has in mind is made by places where you'll eat it under romantic lighting, plated with extreme care - conditions you probably only approximate at home if you're throwing a fancy dinner party, which prime you to enjoy the meal to the fullest. Even if you made their recipes flawlessly, you won't ever end up taking it in just right like you do there. And I'll note that if you go to one of the Japanese steakhouses that perform as they cook, you'll get basically the same food as your local Japanese takeout, but you'll enjoy the atmosphere enough to pay several times more money. That atmosphere is often only on the level of an Applebee's, but for a lot of us outside a few very big cities it's the fanciest Asian dining experience available to us - whereas non-pizza Italian probably has Olive Garden as the floor. But why is it that European cuisines, with the exception of pizza (plenty of people claim their home pizza recipe is better than delivery; if you don't have a specialized pizza oven, it's not - same as "better than takeout" Chinese) get that treatment, while Chinese food in the US gets served in cheap brightly-lit with takeout as most of their business? *That* part is where our lack of respect for Asian culinary traditions and the cultures that made them really comes into play. America mostly isn't willing to support a fine-dining Chinese regional cuisine place, mostly because far too few of us are willing to accept that China has fine dining on offer. That's insulting, and it's keeping us away from some amazing food.

Honestly guys, I have enjoyed your videos for a few years. This one totally destroys everything that has come before it. It's simple to understand not just the process, but WHY xxxxx is / should be done.

I really think (american) classic chinese takeout needs some serious love and appreciation, which I think is finally starting to get. It's down right delicious, and a testament to thousands of hardworking immigrants trying to make it in a foreign country. The history behind chinese takeout is super interesting, and really worth some reading. The mix of cantonese, fuijanese, taiwanese, and american has become super interesting for me.

Thank you so much for this video, Steph's "rant" at the end was incredible. Enough of white people dismissing takeout food!

I'll file this dish under "leave it to the professional production process" then. Unlike mayonnaise but like ketchup. Support your local restaurants!

I watched the entire video all the way through for the dude who broke everything down so well, but then subscribed at the end for the extremely wise lady making us think about what we’re truly saying. Well done! You both have made us better in unexpected ways

Very true. Technique depends on the heat. Right now I do all my cooking on a home gas range that has no input. Trying to stir fry anything on it is a lost cause. So I just adapt. When I was last working as a cook in a restaurant though, I was stir frying over basically a jet engine. The way I learned it there are four ways of mixing food around. There is very little anyone can do to replicate those conditions in the home. The BTU limits on home stoves just won't allow exact replication. And thank you for the props! I knew then I wasn't in some Michelin star restaurant, but I cooked well. I was given a simple pay to cook simple dishes with simple preparations. Those "better than..." recipes might be right, as I'm concerned. But there is a huge difference between sitting down to a recipe and having days to prep, versus getting a ticket handed in you and having minutes to get it done.

I think it is because chinese food and techniques are still mysterious to most people in the west, and also because chinese food is so incredibly flavourful to the western palate, which is why people are baffled about how to recreate those flavours at home. The creators use better than take out not with racist intent, but to "demystify" Chinese cuisine for the average joe or jane.

Your comments about "better than take-out" are exactly right. Disrespect of not only Chinese cooking, but disrespect of Chinese people. You never hear such comments about Japanese or Italian cooking. French cooking is always placed at the top of the list. It is the same slavish deference to the Michelin authorisation to define the quality of a Chinese restaurant. There is so much snobbery in what defines good food: unless a rich Western gourmand says a cuisine is good, then it is not good. It is the same when one talks about "fast food": food which does not cost an arm or a leg, food consumed by the poor is regarded as disgusting. I might add that many takeaways, chinese restaurants in western countries are deficient, and out of expediency tailor Chinese food to suit local tastes: the ubiquitous "sweet and sour pork", over msg'd stir-fries in thick starchy gravies are what is served.

I grew up on Cantonese cooking. Beef broccoli was never my favorite, but that message at the end was worth it. Fiiiiiiiirre!!! Based. Even Chinese American I could never hear it, but “better than takeout” does sound awfully racist out that way. Also respect! Beef Broccoli is a dish I’d grown up making with my Popo and would NEVER give it the respect to try to imitate the deep fry once before stir fry at home. Your guys effort to thorough investigation and de-mystifying steps is amazing. Even for foods I know, I’d often just do steps “because Popo did it that way.” But even when doing the same thing, your guys’ ability to dig into the “why” is brilliant and enlightening.

I gotta say, I love the focus you have on the audience, and it shows in multiple different ways in your videos. Firstly, here, the obvious one is the focus on cooking methods that are more home friendly than "passing through oil" but there are smaller things like posting marinade recipes for a second that people can pause on instead of hearing them listed every time. It's what makes this channel great, honestly, I feel like I'm actually being taught from someone who understands my perspective instead of just presented awesome Chinese food that isn't totally attainable (or comfortable to attain as a westerner). thank you.

Woo! Steph standing up for the workers!

Suggestion: it would help if ingredient lists and other text stayed on the screen for more than just one second before disappearing.

The chefs, techniques and traditions do deserve to be respected. Thank you both for all your years of very informative and fun videos. You have definitely have made me a better home cook!

I really liked the rant. I can't stand disrespecting and stomping on food culture. That's why I'm a fan of your channel- you're not only keeping things authentic but also help us westerners mimic or replace stuff we can't get, making all that wonderful food more accessible. Thank you for your hard wok, I mean work!