We’re beside ourselves with some exciting news!
We have a 3-episode digital Food Network series releasing this month. It’s a show called Family Meal, about family food businesses. Ours was the first family to be featured! The three episodes document how we started The Woks of Life and how we continue to work on it together as a family.
Food Network! As in home of all the cooking shows we grew up watching (Sarah and Kaitlin, anyway). The home of Iron Chef (the Japanese original, then Iron Chef America), Emeril, Everyday Italian with Giada, and Barefoot Contessa with Ina.
WHAT!?
So, real talk—we’ve been super busy lately. Apologies if you have noticed! We’re elbows deep in edits for our cookbook, in addition to everything we normally do, like working on new recipes for the blog, plus some exciting other projects like this one! We’re so glad to finally be able to share it with you.
The first 10-minute episode, “Behind the Blog,” is available to watch now, and the other two will release later this month.
We had to do things like record voiceovers and track what outfits we were wearing for continuity, and give reality-show-style interviews, and make sure that we weren’t subconsciously making weird faces while we were on camera. It was crazy! And a super fun few days with the crew, but more on that in a minute.
Watch Below:
About OUR 3 EPISODES OF Family Meal
We woke up this morning, and saw this page at FoodNetwork.com:
It’s been hard keeping this under wraps, because it was so cool and so much fun, but back in mid-September, we filmed the three (~10 minute) episodes over the course of three whirlwind days—at our house and in Manhattan (more on that later, too).
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of The Woks of Life, whether or not our kitchen looks like a tornado when we blog (we’ll let you be the judge), how we plan which recipes to post, what it’s like when your coworkers are also your family, and whose idea the blog was anyway, you’ll finally get some of those questions answered!
All in all, it’s a look behind the curtain at our family, and our blog. See below for a breakdown of the series!
THE EPISODES!
Here’s how the episodes break down—and when you can watch them! You can find them at the Food Network website or on YouTube.
Episode 1: “Behind the Blog,” (December 9, 2021) follows a typical blogging day (you can see how we blogged recipes that are currently live!), and we reflect on how The Woks of Life got its start, our different personalities, and what it’s like to work with your family.
Episode 2: “Pulled Noodles” (December 14, 2021) This one focuses on how we’re all still constantly learning more about Chinese cooking. We won’t spoil it before the episode comes out, but hint: we head to a NYC institution for a lesson in dough. Check out our Episode 2 behind the scenes post too!
Episode 3: “Mid-Autumn Festival Cooking” (December 21, 2021) This is a celebration! We pull together as a family to put on a big meal that’s all about preserving traditions. Look behind the scenes of Episode 3 here!
Watch Family Meal Here if you’re in the US, or on YouTube!
It was so exciting to get to tell our story in a new way with the help of Food Network and the amazing crew we worked with, and we hope you have as much fun watching it as we did making it!
We will announce the new episodes as they premiere, and offer some behind the scenes photos from each episode here on the blog, and on Instagram.
Behind the Scenes of EPISODE 1
Some Behind the Scenes Clips!
Recipes from the Episode!
Let’s not forget the food. For each episode, we created some new favorites and cooked up some old ones too!
But for episode 1, we were each responsible for creating a new blog recipe! (Okay, so Kaitlin still hasn’t nailed that Hua Juan recipe, but it’s coming soon. We weren’t kidding when you said you were getting a behind-the-scenes look! :P)
Spicy Sichuan Okra Salad
Beef with String Beans
Homemade Hunan Salted Chilies
Enjoy the episode, and stay tuned for our next recipe. :)
I love watching you learn techniques from your mom and new dishes from your dad. Your trials and errors help build my confidence as well as I try to make some of these dishes. Thanks for keeping it real! Please let us know if Woks becomes a regular show on the Food Network, can’t wait for the book! I plan to buy one for all my family and friends. Hope it has lots of photos like your blog.
Thanks so much, Linda! Yes trial and error is a natural part of being in the kitchen :) Thanks so much for your kind words and support!
Thank you so much, Linda! We took so many photos for the cookbook—excited to share it with you!
Your three shows are wonderful!! It’s a beautiful thing what you have created for your family and inspired so many people/fans along the way. I’m so looking forward to try your recipes.
Thank you so much, Pamela!
Wow! Congratulations on a tv show! You were the ones who inspired me to cook my own Chinese food. Number one was the 红烧肉. I never would have learned about Shaoxing wine if it weren’t for you. Next month, I will be moving to Shaoxing. Love you guys, be safe and take care
Thank you so much Eric!