Episode
Chinese Cooking Made Easy: TV Chef Ching-He Huang on Five Spice & the Secret to Healthy Chinese Food
- Podcast
- The Recipe
- Published
- Jan 9, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2266
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- https://episode.flightcast.com/01KE9QQVQKRN99RZKA1XZS9X6V.mp3
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Summary
In this episode, Theo is joined by the extraordinary Ching-He Huang MBE, one of the most influential voices in modern Asian cooking - a chef, food entrepreneur, best-selling author, and TV pioneer whose mission has always been to make Chinese cooking joyful, healthy, and accessible. From her groundbreaking series Chinese Food Made Easy to her 11 television shows and appearances on Saturday Kitchen and Iron Chef, Ching has transformed the way people think about Chinese cuisine in the UK and beyond. Ching prepares her beloved Mama Huang's Hot and Sour Soup, a traditional dish rooted in Sichuan cuisine that brings back childhood memories of her grandmother's farm in Taiwan. Using shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, soft tofu, chicken, and her signature blend of fresh ginger, chilies, ground white pepper, and black rice vinegar, Ching demonstrates how this warming, comforting soup embodies the perfect balance of hot, sour, sweet, aromatic, and pungent - the five essential tastes of Chinese cuisine. With variations that can be adapted for vegetarians or made lighter with prawns and fish, this recipe showcases the versatility and forgiving nature of authentic Chinese home cooking. Throughout the episode, Ching shares her remarkable journey from studying economics to setting up her own food production business supplying cold noodle salads to Pret and Benjy's, to becoming a television sensation who changed the conversation around Chinese food. She discusses the importance of cooking with intuition and love, the essential store cupboard ingredients every home cook needs (including Shaoxing rice wine, light and dark soy sauce, and Chinese five spice), and why Chinese home cooking is so much healthier and cleaner than restaurant versions. You can find Ching's f…