In the constellation of San Francisco star chefs, the competition can be fierce and the criticism ruthless. And for the Cooking Channel's new show "Easy Chinese: San Francisco", it's no exception.
Host Ching-He Huang (a "glamorous young food entrepreneur") is a self-taught Taiwanese cook raised in South Africa and England, who explores San Francisco for easy Chinese dishes and ingredients -- easy indeed with a shopping list including cornstarch and ketchup.
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But though the show has faced some criticism from local media outlets for not being "San Francisco" enough, it seems Chris Cosentino -- a Food Network favorite, founder of Offal Good and executive chef at Incanto -- gave it his seal of approval with an appearance in next week's episode.
In the episode, "Healthy Takeout Favorites," Cosentino took Huang to Far West Fungi in the San Francisco Ferry Building marketplace to source ingredients for fragrant chicken and mushroom stir-fry. Earlier in the show, Huang also taught a busy working mom to make sweet and sour fish filets and vegetable chow mein.
Refreshing departure from the SF norm or burnout flash-in-the-pan? You be the judge: