An Interview with MingTsai, chef and host of Simply Ming

Chef Ming Tsai shares his thoughts about his new cooking series, Simply Ming, and companion book...

Q: What is the idea behind the new cooking series Simply Ming and how does this differ from the other series East Meets West With Ming Tsai?

A: I've received tons of e-mails about my shows and a common response was "the food looks great, but I wish it was a little bit simpler to make." I took that to heart. Plus, I really want people to cook East/West style. I think that East/West style is a very healthy, tasty way to cook. My book called "Simply Ming" comes out in November. This book is based on 36 "master" recipes or "master sauces." The master recipe may take longer than the other recipes to make, but once you make it there are three or four other recipes that you can make from this base recipe. For instance, on a Saturday you can make mango salsa and then that night you can make a dish of "pan-crusted cod with mango salsa." Two days later, you would mix mango salsa with ground pork to make "mango pork potstickers." Or maybe a week after that you could take the mangos (even though the color may have gotten a bit darker, but the flavor is actually a little better) and puree it with oil to make "mango syrup." The idea is that you can get more tha n one dish out of a master recipe and you get very tasty food.

Q: Will the recipes be accessible to audiences?

A: The recipes, absolutely. There isn't a recipe that contains over ten ingredients. Other than the braised dishes, which you have to braise for two or three hours, the actual preparation will be around a half hour at most. We are focusing on getting people to cook East/West food in their own homes without having to go to New York City, Boston, or Los Angeles.

Q: What is the format for each show?

A: Each one of the 26 shows features a "master recipe." For example, today we did a ganache show with ganache as the master recipe. First, we made the ganache, then we went to see the truffles being made at my restaurant Blue Ginger, then we made the recipe for pots de crème, chocolate soufflé cake and finally a banana split. We then sat down at the table with all of these desserts and matched wine with them all. We also travel offsite for a part of the show. For instance, if we were doing an apple show, we may go to an apple orchard and sometimes people may be guests on my show — such as Todd English (Olives, Kingfish Hall, Figs, Bonfire), Ken Oringer (Clio), Jody Adams (Rialto) and others.

Q: In Miami, Florida at the PTPA meeting for programming, people responded to you like you were an old friend, and welcomed you back even though you've never really been with public television before. Is that right?

A: I had a great time in Miami and this had been my first introduction to public television. It was great to be welcomed. I've always wanted to be in public television because I grew up watching public television; I was one year old when Julia did her first show. I also really wanted to teach. I want people to say, "Hey, this is something that is easy to do, and it's tasty."

Q: Where can the audience follow-up for the recipe?

A: Eventually, there will be a simplyming.com which WGBH is producing, but for now just ming.com.

Q: What are your promotion plans for the book "Simply Ming" and how will that help promotion for the TV show?

A: Both the book and show share the goals of simplifying life and demystifying Asian ingredients and recipes. "Simply Ming," the book, has compiled all of the East-West flavors that I am known for and has presented them in recipes that are more accessible to the home cook. And so, when I travel in November and December to promote the book, the show will naturally be promoted as they share not only the same name, but recipes too. Various events have been planned that include cooking demonstrations and book signings in a variety of venues including COPIA in Napa Valley, the Washington Post Dinner in D.C. and the annual Northhampton Book & Cook Festival in Northhampton, Massachusetts.