Cooking Videos — 2026-06-17#

Watch First#

Master Chef State Banquet: Shrimp Soup Wrapped in Tofu Skin from Lao Fan Gu is an absolute must-watch today for its brilliant demonstration of elevating humble ingredients into a five-star Shanghai classic. The chefs walk you through an exquisite technique of using leftover shrimp heads to create a luscious, umami-packed broth that transforms simple pork-stuffed tofu skin rolls into an elegant, flavor-packed dish.

Highlights by Theme#

Recipes & Tutorials#

Summer Appetizer: Mashed Eggplant with Peppers and Century Egg by 老东北美食 (Lao Dongbei Meishi) offers a fantastic, home-style cold dish that is absolutely perfect for hot days. The tutorial breaks down how to perfectly steam long eggplants and achieve a charred, smoky “tiger skin” on hot peppers using just a hot pan with minimal oil, cleverly mimicking traditional charcoal roasting. It’s a savory flavor bomb completed with a hot oil pour over chili flakes, soft century eggs, and pungent aromatics, making it an ultimate companion for a bowl of white rice.

In Master Chef State Banquet: Shrimp Soup Wrapped in Tofu Skin by 老饭骨 (Lao Fan Gu), the hosts dive deep into refined Jiangnan cooking techniques. The standout lesson here is the meat filling preparation: the chefs insist on a 7:3 fat-to-lean pork ratio mixed with winter bamboo shoots, and most importantly, using egg whites instead of cornstarch to bind the meat so the texture remains tender rather than overly dense. The rolls are pan-fried to a golden brown and then slowly braised in the homemade shrimp stock, allowing the rich seafood flavor to beautifully permeate the refreshing tofu skin.

Food Science & Tips#

A fantastic culinary insight from the Lao Fan Gu chefs highlights how frying shrimp heads over high heat to release their vibrant red oil and savory aroma is fundamentally identical to the classic Western technique of roasting seafood shells for a bisque. Meanwhile, the Lao Dongbei video demonstrates a clever, highly practical kitchen hack for home cooks who don’t own a mortar and pestle: simply place your pan-charred peppers into a clean plastic bag and crush them with a heavy glass bottle to thoroughly release their essential spicy oils and smoky flavor.