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Welcome to Kitchen Essentials, a video series showcasing the favorite tools of renowned chefs. In this episode, we visit Top Chef finalist Shirley Chung at her restaurant Ms. Chi Cafe in Culver City, California. Shirley specializes in Chinese-American cuisine and shares the five kitchen tools that are essential in her kitchen: a cast iron pan, medical-grade tweezers, her favorite spoon, a rolling pin, and an immersion circulator. Shop Shirley Chung's Kitchen Essential Picks

Chef Jansen Chan's pumpkin pie hack lets you make one from scratch in less then 30 minutes. Who wants to spend time making pie crust, when you can be enjoying Friendsgiving? With The International Culinary Center

When you're cooking turkey, but also doing Friendsgiving - it's worth learning a butchering technique that will save you hours of work in the kitchen. Jocelyn Guest (whole animal butcher) teaches us how to perfectly spatchcock (or butterfly) the bird. Special thanks to The International Culinary Center

At her NYC chocolate shop Stick With Me Sweets, Susanna Yoon (formerly of Per Se) makes edible miniature works of art. These colorful, marbleized, portable chocolate domes are packed with the flavors and textures of some of Susanna’s favorite desserts, which include a kalamansi meringue pie, and the vero, a silver blue bonbon that houses a mix of sea salt caramel and crunchy pecan bits. In the words of the chef, handcrafted chocolate is the sweetest way to tell somebody “stick with me”.

Kimchi has conquered the world! Most people know this popular Korean side dish as fermented cabbage, but the truth is you can kimchi pretty much any vegetable and fruit. Food explorers seek it at restaurants and/or specialty stores. This fermented delicacy is an immune-system boosting probiotic food, that includes "healthy bacteria". In the season finale of CHOW-TO, Atoboy's chef de cuisine YeongSoo Lee teaches Guillermo the basics on how to make the Korean staple. There is not one right recipe, here we learn the principles, and the idea is to make it your own. Kimchi is so customizable, that traditional Napa cabbage is just the start. YeongSoo shows us a couple of other variations for inspiration. Move over pickles, time to do some fermenting at home.

Breaded, deep-fried meat doesn’t need much more other than seasoning. Add to that, using one of the most expensive cuts of meat in the world. Wrap some crustless white bread around it, and you’ve got yourself a perfect snack known as Katsu Sando. A popular Japanese convenience store staple that has become an Instagram darling, and the new avocado toast at restaurants around the country. To learn more about the sandwich, Wagyu beef, and how to make this treat at home (don't worry, you can use any protein, this is not reserved for the super rich) Guillermo visits chef Corwin Kave at Don Wagyu in NYC, to learn all the secrets behind America’s most expensive beef sandwich.

Offal is having a big moment in the food world, which prompted Guillermo (a self proclaimed offal lover) to visit chef Jeremy Salamon (one of NYC's youngest LGBTQ+ rising star chefs) at The Eddy, right on time to celebrate Pride month. Jeremy's critically-appraised, mostly Hungarian menu, was inspired by his grandmother’s recipes. Offal is a staple of Eastern European cuisines, so it made sense to make delicious pastrami beef tongue. Let's tongue for Pride! PS: The Eddy will be closing its doors this Monday 6/17 after dinner service - New Yorkers: the restaurant will be offering all guests a 25% discount on their check (no minimums, no maximums, no questions asked).

Café Gratitude, a small vegan chain from California, has an interesting concept to improve the future of our planet. Meatless Monday deals and offerings across the country show no signs of slowing down. Growing concern over both the quality of mass-processed meats along with climate change and the humane treatment of animals, is inspiring folks to adopt vegan habits, at least part-time anyways. The café took a step ahead by offering 50% off on their most popular dishes every Monday for a limited time, as an incentive for diners, while trying to motivate other restaurants to follow the model. Café Gratitude’s motto “Be plant rich” means they want you to live a rich life mostly on plants.