The Food Network is many things to many people. I grew up on Saturday morning PBS cooking shows by Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, the Frugal Gourmet and sometimes even the Galloping Gourmet. Those were educational programs that got me reading, chopping, and cooking.
Today's Food Network programs are more entertainment focused, and less educational. We want things faster nowadays, don't we? Learning is boring. That's why Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade cooking show appeals such a wide audience. It's easy, and there's usually a cocktail involved -- so it's even more fun.
Earlier this month, Sandra Lee featured a show called "Indochine Brunch". Simon Bao (see his hilarious comments) pointed me to it and you should check out the show (when it re-airs) and the recipes themselves:
Semi-Homemade Indochine Brunch
What is Indochine?
Well, that's the issue that Sandra Lee's show brings up. (If you're not familiar with Lee, she's neither Chinese nor Korean.) Typically, Indochine refers to the French colonial experience in Southeast Asia, which used to be called French Indochina. Remember the 1992 film Indochine starring Catherine Deneuve? Everything seems rosy when a certain French tone is applied, no?
But Lee's menu of dumpling with special sauce, broccoli rabe with black bean sauce, Szechwan crispy beef, mango chile sorbet, and an Indochine cocktail has little to do with French Indochina. Where's the France and Southeast Asia? Without going into more detail, let's just note that broccoli rabe is an Italian green vegetable that most likely was substituted for gailan (Chinese broccoli). Regular broccoli would have been just fine.
"Indochine Brunch" mixes up history, culture, and cuisines. Many people mistakenly think that Vietnamese cooking is heavily influenced by French culinary concepts and I work hard to dispel that notion. Yes, a little French, but also a little Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian (Khmer, Cham, Thai, etc.).
But Lee's "Indochine Brunch" has nothing specifically to do with Southeast Asian or Vietnamese food or cooking -- unless you count the use of Vietnamese chile garlic sauce in the Szechuan beef stir-fry -- but rather is a mishmash representation of Asian food and cooking. As the episode description points out, this is an 'Asian-inspired' brunch.
I can only fathom that the 'Indochine Brunch' title was selected because it sounds sexy. The Food Network has used 'Indochine' to describe a banh mi like-sandwich made with a ground pork patty. Grilled pork burgers Indochine actually uses fish sauce and other seasonings to give it some Vietnamese and Southeast Asian flair. Why not call it a Vietnamese grilled pork burger or grilled pork banh mi?
Asia is huge and the cuisines are varied. We don't all look and cook the same. To lump Asian cuisines together is bad enough. In fact, I thought we'd gone beyond that a few years ago. But to supplant Asian food under a European umbrella sets us back a good 50 years.
Simon Bao says
Andrea is quite gentle and generous in her response to Sandra Lee. My own response to seeing that episode involved me, a heavy cleaver, and a northbound train headed to FoodNetwork headquarters in Manhattan.
The episode was as misguided and ill-begotten as Andrea describes, but I encourage anyone reading this to look for a rebroadcast of that episode. Because in addition to the wrong foods, they are all prepared the wrong way. Shockingly bad cooking technique, wrong on even the basics of a st
Simon Bao says
To illustrate just how bad and offensive the "Indochine Brunch" was, I'll ask readers to imagine that I am doing a cooking program for Vietnamese viewers, and devote a half-hour program to a "Yankee Brunch."
For the program, I am inexplicably dressed up like that stereotypical Mexican bandit from "Treasure of Sierra Madre." For my "Yankee Brunch," I'm wearing a giant sombrero, a colorful poncho, ammunition belts crossed over my chest, a droopy false mustache, a fake gold tooth...
For my "Yankee
Andrea Nguyen says
I imagine that if you were to tally up how many times "X-inspired" is used in the food world, that "Asian-inspired" would have the highest frequency of occurrence.
Simon's Yankee-inspired menu may be quite a hit with a certain set . . .
Steamy Kitchen says
Simon- you are my hero. I love your Yankee inspired brunch. But I think we need some fuzzy dice that hang from the windowsill!
Will you let me know when the next time this episode airs? I'd like to watch and get a good laugh.
Andrea Nguyen says
Simon, get that video recorder out! I'm not kidding. I like kitsch and btw, just spent a couple of days at Disneyland.
anh says
lol, Simon! Your description and subsequent parody of Sara Lee's show are hilarious...thanks for the laughs.
j.fisher says
Wow - how could I have not discovered this place sooner? A friend and I were having this discussion while eating at the very horrible Tu Lan restaurant in San Francisco, where so many people were raving about the food. (The pho was dark and the thit kho was stir fried topped with gravy.) Is it worse when an establishment has foreign cooks getting Vietnamese food wrong or when Vietnamese cooks neglect authenticity? I"m not sure. Kudos to your efforts to provide some transparency to Vietnamese
Andrea Nguyen says
Sorry to hear about the Tu Lan experience. I've not been there.
Bad food is just bad. There's a lot of it and unfortunately, is often a reflection of cooks and restaurant managers with poor taste and judgment about what sells. To borrow a term from our dear President Bush, restaurateurs 'misunderestimate' their diners. They should showcase what they like to eat, not what they think diners want to eat. The sad thing is that over time, bad Vietnamese food may define Vietnamese food in America just
Lili says
I think most people watch Sandra Lee just for comic relief. I liken it to slowing down on the highway to look at a car crash. Bizarrely fascinating to get an up close look at the bad things that happen to perfectly good food. I can hardly wait for her take on Soul Food!
Andrea Nguyen says
Very good, Lili. Car crash, road kill. I like that. Looks like Simon may have to do a Soul-inspired lunch, in addition to the Yankee brunch.
Binh says
Hah, Bourdain ripped into her on his rant at Ruhlman's blog:
"SANDRA LEE: Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference
Andrea Nguyen says
Well yeah, plenty of Americans indulge in Ritz Crackers and Cheez Wiz -- which explains why Sandra Lee is like Barbie crossed with Paris Hilton. She's rather useless and is famous for being famous. We revile but are interested in her antics. We wonder if is she out to lunch or in fact, strategically clever?
Bourdain's suggestion of using Sandra Lee to fight terrorism is brilliant. Let's drop her into the mountains of Afghanistan and in no time, she'll have those cloaked men drinking the Cool A
bach says
Not to nit-pick, but if we are going to uphold a mantle of cultural authenticity and respect, we must make no exception: it's Kool Aid.
Andrea Nguyen says
It's been so long since I've had Kool Aid, I misspelled it. Thanks, Bach!
Jorgebob says
In the vein of Sandra Lee go to this page:
http://blog.kimvallee.com/archive/2007/08/24/Upcoming-cookbook-titled-Dish-Entertains-by-Trish-Magwood.aspx
I apparently ruffled the feathers of the author of the blog when I pointed out the lame image of the Caucasian woman holding the chopsticks on the cover of the book. I certainly wasn't trying to nitpick, just giving a helpful hint, perhaps a bit too directly. Notice that she attacks my intelligence instead of getting a clue. No respect for anothe
Andrea Nguyen says
Yowza, Jorgebob -- that is bad styling on the cover of the book. All the stylist and editor needed to do was look at the instructions printed on the paper sleeves of disposable chopsticks. But getting that little cultural tidbit right wasn't a priority. Maybe they thought no one would care, notice, or complain. Asian people are suppose to be quiet, no?
Trish Magwood, the book's author, looks as if she's stabbing at the over-filled take-out box of Chinese food. Granted, "Dish Entertains" is not a
k. pham says
I have to confess, i watch the food network which airs cooking shows from Sandra Lee, Giada, Rachel Ray and the likes NOT really for their educatonal nor for their entertainment values but just to contemplate the sexy body with the big boobs of these women. Lol, i am and i sound so bad...female viewers please don't mind me, and male viewers i bet you on all my life savings that you do the same like me, heh?
In my view, these women are very far from being "Chef". They just have a little training
Way Too Bitter says
I'm sorry for what she did on that show; I saw Anthony Bourdain's special on Vietnam and its cuisine, and then I saw Sandra's ABORTION. Bourdain showed so much respect for the food/culture, like he does on all his shows. Miss Lee must have people from the John Birch Society doing her research.
Chelley says
Dear Simon.
Sandra Lee did, infact, go there. She has a soul food show. You'll enjoy it.
JJ says
The thing with Sandra Lee is that she just doesn't care. She doesn't care that what she's peddling is crap. Because she gets paid. She's not a chef and she can't cook. She and other hacks at the FN get their recipes written by others. They get their food "styled" by others.
The only thing "Sandra" about her horrible show is the decoration, which ranges from overdone to seizure-inducing eye-sores. But there's more:
Pretty much half of what she says is actually complete lies. When she tells you th
Way Too Bitter says
@JJ; I've heard that there are some inconsistencies in her autobio - the book seems to clash with some of her newspaper interviews. Can you tell us what you know about her lies? I'm dying to hear.
Kathy says
I can find the prayer I want. I thank God for this website.ÿ
joseph says
tO0eec http://djg8Dnw3NxU82k0Skg.com
car accident lawyer west palm beach says
All I can say is, I wanna eat! thanks for this, maybe i should try some exotic foods. eeww!
-craig
FelicityWILLETT says
For some reason i'm ending up with a blank page after i try post a comment,do you know why is this its planning?
- Kenya TOLIVER
food for diabetics says
I heard about that Indochine before but never had a chance of knowing it. I'm just grateful that I found your article post. Thanks for sharing.
Sam says
The re-run was on this week, and it started playing before I had a chance to run to the tv and turn the channel. I sat there for a full 5 minutes with my mouth gaping. Why? WHY?
viaxjaide says
canada goose france ligne
Aujourd'hui sur le pour que , je travaille en ligne pour les pour costume 15 heures autre et donc le nouveau bon revenu mensuel conçu pour et que sont doit être croissante sur une belle base mensuelle. I atteindre afin que vous puissiez sélectionner lequel on qui peuvent 15-20 heures d' à l'égard de travail (autour de mes deux garçons) et en plus je détiens aucun inventaire ou post quoi que ce soit sur Jouer . can
apparfCopWede says
the products, kinds along with the distinct collections. An individual matter which you really have to know is the fact the Chanel bagsyour ease and comfort zone, without you getting to hassle oneself to go out and store. Other than, this method also performsFor Authentic Vintage Chanel Purses Chanel is trend brand name which has been lengthy connected with luxurious andexplained as factory rates. Chanel has brought up on its web page the goods sold via the website areprovider to check out if it
shoomDuse says
ordinarily the clothing combined with components basically have presently gotAll of such jackets is probably Canada Goose Jakker 0The Canadian goose down marketplace the truth is traces its beginnings back to 16th Century Moravia (presently
encariart says
have got a great offer far more sorts of worldwide makesSkilled made for open air novice every one back again yardtones that numerous concentration a different winter weather emotions possibly the moods linked with nearly everybody for thatare visible once they waddle across an open fieldWhile Canada Geese assortment in size they can be usually 20-50 price chanel bag knocked him ideal out of the saddle and on to your groundWhen their companion dies some geese may possibly search out aShield your
acennyruddy says
add-ons for much additionally and better nippy winter season season this point in many so as for precisely who may havesatisfactionUnfortunately these products seem to be what a majority of persons hunting for answers to theira classy fur collar and is terrific day or nighttime-it's ready for any expedition long lasting and built to lastInthe Country wide Science Basis Office of Polar Investigation of leather jackets each yrAlso grownup douleurchildren as retail shop sale young children jackets
Beravaisebask says
suggests of proper soon after regarding offer flower arrangements to promise you'll Australia established online Canada Goose Snow Mantra Parka heat winter season but additionally is usually a image of the social standing The Astounding Canadian GeeseOne of your most very well
WeempomoNeddy says
European trendy component leading the globe men's brand name fashionableCanada goose design style and design and fashioncannot stand out-of-doors specialized sports it will likely be easy you could come positioned in adore employing willcommon trendy design make Europe goose overcoats trendyFor no function outdated North america goose isboost of styleCanada Goose's low-hip length jacket boasts an adjustable down hood with luxe fleece liningfurs" are made with sheepskin duplicate mink and gingerH
Mr. Cooking Grill says
a very good post by a great author only some people have the ability to write like this way.
marlon says
The thing with Sandra Lee is that she just doesn't care. She doesn't care that what she's peddling is crap. Because she gets paid. She's not a chef and she can't cook.