#143: Cook Like a Chef: The Secrets to Restaurant-Level Vegan Cooking at Home
What separates restaurant-level cooking from everyday home meals and how can you recreate that magic in your own kitchen? From flavor layering and texture to chef mindset and simple techniques that elevate any dish, we’re diving into what truly makes food unforgettable.
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Hi friends,
If you’ve ever wondered why your vegan meals taste good but not wow, this episode will change the way you cook and the way you think in the kitchen!
Chef Ed Harris, winner of Food Network’s Chopped, teaches us how to cook restaurant-level plant-based meals at home, no fancy equipment required. Chef Ed has trained and worked in some of the most elite kitchens. He’s held just about every role you can imagine in a high-level kitchen which means he truly understands food from every angle.
Together we learn professional-level techniques that we can easily use at home, from prepping ingredients before hand, stir frying and sauteing effectively, cutting the best way, blanching vegetables (the how and why!), charring food, broiling, and even plating.
Further, this informative and inspiring conversation covers how expanding our knowledge of cultures and cuisines can broaden our flavor profiles. We also discuss how it’s so meaningful (and practical!) to involve kids, family, and friends in cooking. And Ed explains some of his driving forces that led him to such an influential role in the food world.
This is our favorite kind of episode, that gives super accessible and actionable steps we can walk away with and start practicing immediately. And as Chef Ed said, “There’s no wrong in cooking, just lessons!”
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
- Why restaurant food often tastes better than home cooked food
- How we can transfer that knowledge to techniques we can replicate at home
- The power of prepping your ingredients before you start cooking
- Why more in the pan isn’t always better when it comes to sauteing or stir-frying
- Why not to make a big deal of restriction when introducing new ways of eating
- The strength of involving kids, family, and friends in cooking
- Expanding knowledge of cultures and cuisines to broaden your flavor profiles
- Cooking techniques that can majorly impact taste, like cutting food
- An easy rule-of-thumb for what size or shape to cut veggies
- How blanching and shocking veggies can transform them
- A surprising secret to making a super flavorful salad
- Why you should char veggies and how to do so successfully
- The overlooked technique of broiling instead of roasting
- How to make an authentic stir fry, step-by-step
- Chef Ed’s inspiration and driving forces
- Spices and seasonings to bring new flavors into your cooking
- How to get potent and fresh bay leaves, and how many to use
- What massaging kale does
- Shortcuts to make things easier: from frozen veggies to spice mixes
- Ingredients to level up sauces and dressings
- Plating: how to make food look pretty on the plate, from the dish to the garnish
- Tricks to cutting garnishes
RESOURCES
- Chef Ed's websites: KnifeNSpoon & Flavor Bombe
**Use discount code PLANTPOWERED for 20% off across both websites.** - Private Community (Skool): The Chef and The Wigmaker Skool
- Chef Ed on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, & TikTok (@ChefEdHarris)
CHEF ED'S TIPS
- Recommend Seasonings: smoked paprika, liquid smoke, sesame oil, pimentos, Szechuan peppercorns, liquid aminos, mushroom oyster sauce, Thai chilis, sweet chilis.
- Spice Mixes
- Flavor Maker: celery salt, sea salt, turmeric, black pepper.
- Smoky Seasoning: mesquite powder, chipotle powder, sea salt, black pepper.
- Coconut Dressing: coconut milk, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, fresh garlic, ginger juice, sesame oil.
- Kale Salad Ingredients:
- Dressing: lime juice, liquid smoke, EVOO, liquid aminos, salt, pepper.
- Salad: kale (gently massaged), red peppers, onions, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, curry powder,
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR!
We wouldn’t wash our hands without soap, so why are we washing our fruits and veggies with just water? Produce at the grocery store has probably been handled by many people, and sprayed with pesticides, agricultural chemicals, and waxes to delay spoilage at stores. These are designed to be waterproof so they aren’t washed away by rain or irrigation, so they definitely aren’t washed away with water-only sink washes.
That’s why we love Veggie Wash. It’s the original produce wash that’s been around since 1998. It uses vegetable-derived ingredients from citrus, corn, and coconut to remove pesticides, wax, dirt, and even handling residue. It’s vegan and kosher, contains no harsh surfactants, leaves no aftertaste, just gives an easy way you can be sure your produce your family is eating is really clean.
You can find Veggie Wash at stores like WalMart, Whole Foods, Publix and more, or head to veggie-wash.com to find a store near you!
LET'S BE FRIENDS!
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