>> male announcer: Funding for Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking was provided by: >> Prudhomme: ♪ Fry me ♪ ♪ to the Moon.

♪ Hi, I'm Chef Paul Prudhomme, and I'm always cooking, and I'm doing it today.

The menu today is fried chicken fingers, sesame-crusted fish, and beef and peanut wraps.

We got it all.

Come on back, and let's play.

[lively Cajun music] ♪ ♪ [sighs] Fried chicken fingers, I just love them.

Ooh, they're good stuff.

And that's what we're going to cook for you, the first thing today, yeah!

Fried chicken fingers.

So we're going to start right away with--I got the oil hot, and the oil is actually at, like, 360, and I like to do that because when you drop cold things in it, it's going to drop it, and the chicken and the batter and stuff is kind of cold.

So the first thing we're going to do is, we're going to make the batter, and we're going to put this--put the eggs in and whisk them.

I think it's really important to get a good whisk on the eggs before you put the milk in, and so I'm going to do that.

In the meantime, we're going to talk about the rest of it.

Now, the seasoning is going to go in the--on the chicken and also in the last of--in the last stage of the battering.

Now, you--you know, there are times we'll do anything to get seasoning on in Louisiana, so we'll put it everywheres.

But, you know, as a normal rule of things, if you put it right on the chicken and then you put it in the--then you put it in the flour at the end, you're going to get a great--you're going to get a great seasoning.

So we got the eggs and milk in good shape, ready to go, and so we're going to start the seasoning process, and we're going to sprinkle right on the chicken.

Now, I could turn it over and do both sides, but it won't be necessary, because I'm going to do this and put the seasoning right in there, and so one side is going to be okay.

And you mix that up together with the seasoning, and you're ready to go.

And the oil is hot.

I'm going to put a little more in.

I need just another tab of it.

I don't like measuring, because after cooking for a little bit over 50 years, you know, it's sort of like your mind says, "Do that," and you do it, and it works, so that's good.

So we're going to put the flour in, and we're going to just drop a whole bunch of the chicken fingers in, and then we're going to flour them.

And there's all kind of ways to do this.

You can't do it without being messy.

But you could do this.

See, just use one hand for the dry and one hand for the wet, and if you do that, then your hands won't get real gummy.

They won't get real, real sticky, and so--and that's what causes the buildup of stuff on your hand, is when you do that.

So I'm going to take this one and just get a good wet on it and then drop it right into the seasoned-- I have cornmeal, flour, and baking powder in this.

And the baking powder kind of gives it a really nice little puff.

And I don't like to leave this on--in the dry batter very long, so as soon as I get it coated, I want to go right to the oil.

You need to make sure the oil is hot.

The longer it stays in this, the less it's going to be a flaky batter or a batter that's nice and crispy and that the batter is--the biggest mistake I see people making with battering is that once they put the liquid to it, they'll put it in the flour again, like putting it here, and when you do that and you leave it there, what happens is that the flour absorbs the milk and the eggs, and when it does that, it becomes a gum.

I mean, you can take flour and eggs and--you know, the family did that when I was a kid.

You take flour and eggs and mix them together with a little bit of milk, and you can make-- you can actually make a glue with it.

And that's exactly what would happen, is, it would make a glue with it.

So, now, when I put it in the fire--it's at 350--and it's always going to bring the heat down a little bit, and so-- and I love fried chicken.

Ooh, I love it, and I love it crispy.

So I want to make sure that the heat doesn't go down very much, so I'll turn the fire all the way back up to--all the way back up to full blast, and so--and it's really neat, because the baking powder is in there.

It's going to give it a nice fluffy, very, very crunchy, crunchy flavor.

You know, the Scottish brought frying to America, to the south, at least, of America, and so we thank them for that.

And what happened is that the culture here, over years, started doing the--adding the spices to it, and it was probably all the Cajuns did that, you know?

But they put spices in it, and the wet-dry context of doing stuff is developed over the years, and, you know, I think that my family really understood frying, and it was always crispy and never sticky and, you know, never real thick.

And so that's where I learned from.

And 350 degrees is essential.

You know, you can get a little bit--if you don't have a high fire, you can get it maybe to 360 or 365, because when you drop the whatever you're frying in, when you drop it in, it's going to drop the temperature down, and you don't want it to drop down a whole lot.

I mean, it's just--it's not a really good thing.

And, I mean, look at it.

Look what's happening.

I mean, you can tell this is fluffy frying.

And I love fluffy frying.

It's just--you know, it's just absolutely wonderful.

And those chicken strips were real thin, so this is going to really cook very, very quickly, and so I'm going to take and start taking them out, because it's got this beautiful color to it.

Look at that.

I love that, when it's right in here.

The seasoning did that.

They gave it that little strip of color, you know?

The seasoning, it's just so wonderful with the battering, and--oh--and the smell.

I wish you could smell it.

I mean, it's--deep-frying is just one of my favorite things there is, and I probably eat too much of it.

Yeah, I probably do.

But we got some all ready to go here for tasting, because these are really hot, and I ain't about to put them in my mouth.

But you take--look at that.

Isn't that beautiful?

Oh!

C'est bon, mon cher.

That means, in Louisiana, "Baby, it's really good."

Ooh, yes.

Next is the sesame-crusted fish.

[chuckles] Sesame crusted fish, ooh, that's a good one.

I love fried fish, but sesame crusted... And this is going to be a little bit different than the last one, but... With the sesame in it, it's going to make a lot of difference.

But the process is going to be a little bit different also.

We got some fish, and it's-- we got fresh fish.

You know, it's really important to have fresh fish, and the reasoning behind me saying that is very simple, because when fish is out of the water for any length of time, the oil starts coming out of the flesh, and it's the process of spoiling, and it doesn't--I mean, it doesn't spoil it totally, but it's the process of spoiling.

And what's going to happen is that when that oil gets on the surface of the fish and it hits the oxygen, it rancids, and it smells real strong.

So if you get a piece of fish that smells real strong, that means it's not as fresh as it should be.

And it's going to make a difference because as you go through doing the dish or as you go through cooking it, it's going to be a bad smell, and when you taste it, it's going to still be a strong, strong odor to it.

So we got sesame seed, and we got some cornmeal, and we got some seasoning, and we're going to put that together and make a batter with that, or make a dry batter with it.

We have eggs and milk over here to put the fish in.

The fish is seasoned, but this is going to really finish it.

We got the oil at 350, so we're ready to go, because we're going to make a sauce also.

And so we put this in, and, now, notice, again, I'm using one hand wet and one hand dry, and so we're going to let it run out.

This is the milk and the egg.

Going to let it run out and put this in here and just turn it one time.

Turn it another.

If it's not well coated, I'm going to do that again.

And--but the batter-- I forgot to use--I forgot to use the right--the correct hand.

But look at the--I mean, it's beautiful batter on there.

And we're going to put it in and let it start cooking.

And we're going to use the wet hand again this time, and we're going to put it in the batter.

And now this eggs and milk really, really holds the batter on, and it's just really great.

I mean, it just has a wonderful flavor to it, and I love the sesames, because they start toasting in there.

And so I'm going to turn the fire back on, because I had to turn it off, because it was getting--it was literally getting too hot, and so I'm going to get the thermometer out, and I'm going to put this in and--ooh, look at that.

When the fish is going to start cooking seriously, it's going to start floating, and that's when I'm going to work at turning around.

You need the oil to be at 360, and don't discard the batter, because we're going to make a sauce with that, dude.

So we're going to take--after this is cooked, we're going to take the oil out and leave a little bit in, and then we'll show you how to do a sauce for this.

But it's starting to-- it's starting to have some texture to it.

That's the first thing I look for.

Colors are very important, but texture is very important also, because I want it to be very, very crisp.

Anytime you do frying, you want it to be crisp.

Now, I'll tell you something.

I would never--personally, I would never take oil and cook in it--especially fish, but anything--and then save it.

I'd prefer using less oil and doing your deep-frying.

When it's done, get rid of it, because oil is very economical.

It's not very expensive.

And once you heat it, it'll rancid pretty easy.

And so--I mean, think about that, and next time you've got some oil and you think you can-- "Well, I'll just use it for a little bit."

I got one turned over, and the sesame's starting to give a little bit of color to it.

I can feel it's going to be really crispy, and so that's very important to me, because this particular frying I want to be just super crispy, because it just makes a difference when you crunch it in your mouth.

I mean, it's really neat, because when you start eating on the fish, putting the fish in your mouth, you know, a fork of it, the sesame seeds and everything start crumbling, and it's just really great.

I mean, it's just really wonderful.

So we're going to check it out to see how it's doing, and I'm going to use this so I don't bring too much oil with me.

And see how it's starting to get a nice color to it?

It's really--and don't hesitate to turn it over, you know?

If you feel like--if you feel like you need to turn it over, I mean, absolutely don't hesitate.

Turn it over and get your colors and get your-- And be careful, because it's very hard to do frying if you don't splash it a little bit, like you've seen me do, just splash a little bit.

Once this is done--and it's right at it now--we're going to start making the sauce.

And I love sauces.

I really do.

And this sauce is really wonderful.

And so let's see what the fish looks like again.

It's ready.

All right.

We're going to--I like to take it and turn it over, just put it on a paper towel and then turn it over.

And I really don't like oil in my batter at all, and so I like to take it and--I'm going to turn turn this one over one more time, and I'm going to turn this one over, and I'll probably turn it over again.

Now, I've got the oil.

It's very hot, so you got to be super careful with this.

And I'm going to turn the fire off for a second.

Now, I want to save the bottom part, and I only want to save, like, a tablespoon of oil.

But all the sesame seeds that's in there and the cornmeal and, you know, the stuff that's in there, I want to save that.

And so I really just have a small--very small amount of oil left in there.

But you see all the goodies that are brown?

Ooh, that's wonderful.

I'm going to add a little seasoning to it, and I'm going to add a little flour to it.

All we got to do now is just figure out--you know, you see the color changes really fast, you know?

But I want the flour not to be too much, not to be enough.

I don't like it to be pasty.

It's starting to be pasty now, so--and then I'm going to start adding the rest of my ingredients.

I'm going to add... Ah, this smells good.

[sauce sizzling] All right.

The white grape juice is in.

It's starting to thicken, as you can see, so I'm going to add the soy sauce to it.

I'm going to add the-- I'll add the lime and then the lemon.

Ah, the texture's great.

I'm going to add a little bit of sugar to it, and I'm not going to put it all in, because I want to taste it first to make sure that it's where it's supposed to be.

And then I'm going to add some of this to it.

Oh, that egg is just going to be wonderful in this.

And we got to watch the fire.

We don't want it to be too hot, so I'm going to turn the fire down, and... Oh, it's like a custard.

Aw.

Got to whisk it fast.

Ooh, we don't want the eggs to curdle.

All right.

Well, they're going to curdle a little bit, but I'm going to taste it and see how it tastes.

Mmm.

Boy, the smell is really great.

Oh.

No changes.

This is wonderful.

Oh, this is really wonderful.

Going to add a little bit of our cornmeal to it with the sesame seeds just to give it a little more thickness, and we've got to have a little pepper sauce, yes.

Pepper sauce is very important.

All right.

Now, the--all I got to do now is just--to finish the dish--is just combine the sauce with the fish, and we got it.

I'm going to put the--and the fish is not really hot, but it's got this great crispiness to it.

I don't want to put the sauce all over the fish, because I don't want it to be too--I don't want it to be--I don't want to soften the fish too quickly, so just a little strip of it and some underneath.

And, of course, we're going to-- the recipe is for four, so you've got some left over.

And so that's the sesame-crusted fish, and it's just going to be wonderful.

I can't wait to taste it.

Matter of fact, I will right now.

See, it's my fish, isn't it?

Yeah, it is.

Mmm.

Oh, the juices--the fruit juices make such a wonderful--mmm.

Beef and peanut wrap.

Boy, we're going to wrap it up.

There's no doubt about that.

[chuckles] Hey, y'all.

Beef and peanut wraps.

Yeah, that's what we're doing.

Man, it's going to be deep-frying too, and it's good stuff.

Now, I got this pan really hot.

Now, I'm going to put some oil and onions in it to give the onions a little bit of flavor.

I'm going to--this is the amount of oil we would normally use, which is probably 2 tablespoons.

But what I'm going to do is, I'm going to put it in the onions and just kind of stir it up so the oil will be on the onions instead of in the pan, and that always saves oil, and it makes things cook real quick, and so that's a good lesson to you all at home.

I love to preheat the pan.

I mean, it's one of the things that really works well, is to preheat the pan.

And--I mean, look--it's already starting to get some--I mean, it's just--isn't that a wonderful sound?

I mean, it's just great.

Those onions are just frying away, and it's starting to get just a little bit of color on them that quickly.

And so I want the onion--oh, the smell, it's just wonderful.

I mean, it's just--there's a sweetness to the smell when the pan is really hot and you put onions in it, because what it does, the acid in the onions starts turning into sugar really quick when you apply heat to it, and so it really--I mean, it just--you can get that smell.

It's just spectacular.

And so we've got our dish going.

We've got--this is a complex dish.

It's got lots of elements to it, so we're going to try to get through it where it's really easy for everybody, so I'm not going to explain this part just quite yet.

I've got bell peppers.

I've got garlic.

I've got capers.

I've got seasoning and, of course, the oil and then a stock, and that's the first step to getting that done.

And so I'm going to cook the onions a little bit, and then the next step is, I'm going to put the bell peppers in, and I got the fire all the way up, and it's just moving right along with it.

And I don't need to put the oil in.

Look at the sheen on the bell peppers already, just from associating with the onions and that little bit of oil that's on the onions.

And so the next step is--and this really, to me, accelerates cooking-- is the herbs and spices.

And this a really good blend of herbs and spices for Asian cooking, and we're going to put some of the seasoning in there.

And--I mean, you see the smoke already starting to come up?

What's happening is that the oil that's in the spices, they're starting--oh, the smell is just awesome, I mean, just really wonderful.

And it's coming from the fact that the spices are being roasted.

Got some capers I'm going to put in, and I got some garlic, and I think the fire's cooled down enough that I can add the garlic to it.

I don't like to burn garlic, because garlic has a tendency to really get bitter, and I don't like to--I don't like to overcook garlic, and I certainly don't like to brown it.

Now, all the garlic doesn't get bitter when you brown it but too much of it that you'd want to take a chance.

And so the last thing I'm going to do is, I'm going to add some stock to this, and we're going to let it simmer.

Now, there's a step that's going to sort of make us take a pause, and the step is, we're going to take this and puree it, and then we're going to refrigerate it and get it cold, and so we're going to do that right now.

I'm ready.

Yes!

Because I know this is going to taste good, so I'm really ready.

Now, we got the puree.

Remember the stuff I just cooked, all that yummy stuff in there?

It's pureed, and that's what it looks like, okay?

Now I'm going to put it with some ground beef, and we're going to put that in, and then we're going to add to that, and, oh, it's one of the things that really, really stretches the flavors.

We're going to put that many-- that many--raisins in it.

I mean, those raisins are going to just drive you nuts when you start eating this.

And, of course, we got to have some jalapeños to really get it going.

Now, what you do is, you mix this up with the meat, and you just really stir it, stir it until it becomes like this, like a paste, okay?

Now, that's what we're going to put into our wraps, is, we're going to put this in it, okay?

So I'm going to put this back down for a second.

I'm going to deal with the wraps.

Now, we got the wraps going, and once they sit out for a while, they sort of get kind of stiff, and they're not stiff in the pouch.

But I'm going to just take and just put a little bit of water on it, and warm water would be the best thing.

And I'm going to do it here so I got better control of it.

And this is going to soften it up, and it'll allow me to make a wrap, or to wrap things with it.

And now I've got all of my ingredients that goes with this.

Now, I've got what I showed you before, and this is the meat-- everything is here, okay?

The meat, the raisins, the jalapeños, and what I cooked earlier, this is all mixed up together, okay?

And so that's going to be the filling.

We got the wrap, and we're going to add some more water to it.

I want it to be really pliable, and so what happens if you leave it out very long, it really gets--this is better.

It really gets to be-- started getting stiff.

This one's only stiff on the sides, so I'm going to get that going.

Now, I'm going to take the pastry bag.

Now, the pastry bag is absolutely wonderful.

You want to take it and twist it so--you know, so you get control of it, and it makes it very easy to handle, and it starts coming out, because we're going to put this right along in here and just--don't need to be too much, because we got to make a wrap with it, or we got to wrap it up.

But I'm going to put just a little bit more.

So we've got that going.

Now, the next step is, this is all the ingredients that goes with it.

And we're going to put some-- this is the daikon.

It's nice and crunchy, and it just keeps things crunchy.

We got onions, and we're going to put the onions on.

We got a little bit of carrots.

We're going to put the carrots on.

And we got peanuts, and you can just--you know, you can put the peanuts in first and put them into the mixture, or you can just put them like I am now.

And then we're going to put some cilantro on it.

And, you know, just a few leaves of cilantro, except when I'm doing it, because I like cilantro.

And so we're going to put just a little bit extra in there and make it really, really good.

And so now I got to do the wrap.

And we're going to start the roll.

We got a wrap going.

We're going to tighten it.

We're going to fold it over.

And then we're going to tighten it again and fold it over and then just keep the wrapping going, and we got it.

And we got a bunch of them, so now what we're going to do is, we're going to deep-fry them.

And so we got the fryer at 350 degrees, and we're just going to take them and lay them right in there.

Oh, we got to put the rack down.

I think I want to drop them in.

Be careful when you do this, but I don't like to put them in all together, because I don't want them to stick, and so if you just take them one at a time and drop them in, and hopefully, they won't stick and they won't unwrap, because that's important, not to unwrap.

And then I've got--let's see, that's going to be five of them in; that's probably enough-- into the oil.

And you want to cook it until it has, I mean, a really crispy outside.

I tell you, this is a great-- this is a great party thing, and you can do it ahead.

You can put them in the fridge.

Done it many, many times.

You know, just roll the wrap.

Make sure you cover it with a damp towel and put it in the fridge, and then when you're ready to cook it, just take it and drop in a deep fryer, 350 degrees.

It works really good.

And kids love this.

They really do.

[chuckles] We got them cooked, yeah.

They're ready to go.

I mean, look at this.

Isn't this beautiful?

Oh, look at that.

Mmm, yum, yum.

You can fry them in the skillet, or you can fry them in a deep fryer like we just did.

A skillet works fine.

If you--you know, I mean, you can use a saucepan.

You can use whatever you want.

It works really good, and...

I mean, those are beautiful.

They--you know, make a great dip for them, whatever you want.

And they're just wonderful.

So--and that's a wrap.

And that's good cooking, good eating, good loving, along with the wrap, yes.

And we love you guys out there.

>> announcer: A cookbook featuring all the recipes from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking is available for $15.95 plus $7.95 shipping and handling.

The cookbook features 97 recipes, color photos, and cooking tips from Chef Paul.

To order a copy of the companion cookbook, call: And pay by credit card.

Or send a check or money order to: >> Prudhomme: I'll tell you, I'm downwind of this thing, and I'm smelling it.

Oh, I knew something was going to go wrong.

>> Okay, look here.

Don't look at me; look at the camera.

>> Prudhomme: I didn't look at you.

Why would I want... [laughs] Captioning by CaptionMax www.captionmax.com But I don't know what it is.

>> Soy sauce.

>> Prudhomme: [laughs] Oh, this is wonderful soy sauce.

I got to put them on there, and then they... [noisy clatter] [laughs] And then the crash.

We're going to put the-- we're going to put the plantains in, and I'm going to start-- hey, did you see that?

Oh, I bet I never thought I could do that.

There it goes; all right.

Put your best ugly face on.

[pressure cooker hissing] >> announcer: Funding for Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking was provided by: