The Woks of Life

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Home Life Episode 3 of Our Food Network Digital Series

Episode 3 of Our Food Network Digital Series

25 Comments
Filming Kaitlin and Judy making mooncakes

Episode 3 of our Family Meal digital series with the Food Network is here! Check it out on Foodnetwork.com, or watch on Facebook if you’re outside the United States.

Read more about ep 1 and ep 2

Read more about the show and Episode 1 here, and read more about Episode 2 here!

This third and final episode is about preparing a Mid-Autumn Festival meal. After Lunar New Year/Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn festival (back in September) is the second-biggest Chinese holiday of the year. (We took this episode as the chance to put together our guide on How to Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival!)

Kaitlin and Judy make mooncakes together, and we all pitch in to craft a big family meal to serve al fresco—under the moon!

woks of life mid-autumn festival al fresco dining set-up

The real focus of the episode is the theme at the heart of The Woks of Life: preserving traditions, memories, and stories through food.

Watch Now:

Behind the Scenes Photos from the Episode

Filming Judy and Kaitlin making mooncakes
Kaitlin and Judy were tasked with making mooncakes, with Judy showing Kaitlin the ropes. It was a little nerve-wracking to get each mooncake looking perfect on camera!
Preparing a big family meal in the Woks of Life kitchen
We cooked ten dishes for a big meal with extended family. The kitchen was in a state of organized chaos all day.
Setting up outdoor dining in the backyard
The Mid-Autumn Festival dinner is traditionally enjoyed outdoors. The production crew rented chairs and a table, as well as beautiful string lights and lanterns for our outdoor meal. We supplied the flowers!
Filming beauty shots of a roast duck
Taking beauty shots of the Cantonese Roast Duck—a recipe my dad really nailed for our upcoming cookbook.
Woks of Life family enjoying mid-autumn festival meal
Family selfie!
woks of life family meal cast and crew photo
A class photo of the “cast” (including Barley) and crew after filming wrapped.

Recipes from the Episode

Here are some of the recipes that we featured in this episode. If you’re looking for the recipe for that roast duck—you’ll have to wait just a little longer until the cookbook comes out next fall!

Lotus Paste & Salted Egg Yolk Mooncakes

Lotus Mooncakes with Salted Egg Yolks, by thewoksoflife.com

Crispy Stuffed Lotus Root

Crispy Stuffed Lotus Root with Pork (2017 Chinese New Year Recipes), by thewoksoflife.com

Ketchup Shrimp

Ketchup Shrimp Stir-fry, by thewoksoflife.com

Enjoy! Also check out our episode of Family Dinner with Andrew Zimmern, available on Discovery+ and coming soon to Magnolia Network (January 2022!).

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About Everyone

This post includes contributions from two or more of us. So rather than deciding who gets a byline, we're just posting under the general moniker, "Everyone." Very diplomatic, wouldn't you say?

Reader Interactions

25 Comments

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  1. Mark says

    Love the routine emails I receive, your blog and the recent videos. Search as I may however, I’m unable to locate the recipe for the Cantonese Duck you show at the end of your third episode on your web page. Is it available and if not, maybe soon? Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  2. Liezle Arevalo says

    Congratulations and Job Well Done! Have been following your blog & family for years. Thank you for the many excellent recipes and inspiration! Looking forward to the cookbook–Keep up the great work!

    Reply

  3. Sharon Scott says

    Wonderful episode; although there are many cooks in your kitchen the atmosphere seems so calming in spite of all the activity. I hope to see more of these beautifully curated meals!

    Reply

  4. George Gale says

    Great job kids! What a sweet family you have, plus all the good food. Your mom and grandmom are so Hěn piàoliang!! I can’t figure out the accent–definitely NOT Wuhan region: I’d recognize that! Is that a goldendoodle doggie I saw?! Our family dog is a doodle.

    Reply

  5. Pamela Poon says

    Our whole family (2 parents, 2 daughters, one fiance, two more aunties and their spouses) so love your blog. We are of mixed ancestries and immigrant status (Chinese American, Mexican American, northern European, some native-born and first-gen, etc.) and have so much fun cooking and talking about your recipes. Preparing and eating your recipes is both nostalgic (back to great-grandparents and grandparents’ time) and forward-looking, to the next blended generations. We so need to come and be together as we face ongoing and future challenges. Thank you for showing hope and positivity in difficult times.

    Reply

  7. Nick says

    I have thoroughly enjoyed these shorts. It has been fun to watch and listen to you all in action. I would definitely watch this as a regular show if you and the powers that be were ever interested!

    Reply