MING: This week on Simply Ming, I have Top Chef alum Fatima Ali in the house.

She's also the first Pakistani ever to win Chopped.

Fatima knows more than most that you are what you eat, and healthy eating is key, especially if you're battling a disease like cancer.

Food becomes a source of comfort.

It becomes a source of nutrition.

MING: I'm dealing with that as well at home, with my wife Polly, so we're going to show you how you can eat to help thrive.

Today we're cooking with chickpeas.

She's going to make a mustard seed shrimp with a chopped chickpea salad.

Red onion is the healthiest of all the onions.

Right?

Darker the vegetable the better, for the most part.

Exactly.

MING: I'm going to take those same chickpeas and do a stew with some tofu.

We're cooking healthy, right here at home, right now on Simply Ming.

♪ ♪ MING: Fatima, nice to have you here.

Thank you so much.

MING: A real pleasure.

I saw you on Top Chef, so it's so cool to have you.

We're going to start with a "cocktail."

Okay.

MING: Obviously no booze.

This is the energizing juice that my wife and I drink every morning to start our day off.

Cucumbers and celery; we love ginger.

Grapes, apples and pineapple to help sweeten.

Watercress, because I think it's one of the healthiest vegetables out there.

And then a little lemon juice.

So if you could just break down maybe one granny and one fuji.

Oh, absolutely.

MING: We'll just start this.

I don't know if you've ever seen this juicer.

This is one of my-- I haven't.

MING: It's just-- it's from Korea, and it just lightly grinds without speed.

So it never heats up the veg, right?

And look at it, it comes out perfectly clear.

And it's so delicious.

So, cucumbers, and celery, of course, have the most juice, right?

I mean, celery is, what, 95% water?

Water, exactly.

MING: You want some sweetness, so here, going to mix in some slices of fresh pineapple-- which I love, right.

And ginger for a little spice.

And the thing I love about this juicer is you just throw it all in.

Definitely peel and all, right.

Yeah.

MING: Like, like these apples.

And then watercress.

You can just pack it in, then just use the reamer.

And lemon juice I like as well.

So I can just juice some lemon in here.

All right, so, it's going to take, you know, take us about four minutes to get this all in.

MING: I think that looks pretty good.

It looks pretty good.

MING: All right?

I mean, you can tell that's going to be delicious and good for you.

Yes, please.

MING: Pour you a cocktail.

You're like a juice mixologist.

MING (laughing): Yeah, exactly.

And, you know, sometimes you can put an ice cube in, if you like it cold.

We tend not to do that.

I actually like just a little bit of foam.

It makes me think it's like a... cappuccino.

You know it's fresh, then.

MING: Yes, exactly.

Beautiful.

MING: Cheers.

Cheers to good health.

MING: To good health.

To good health.

Mm.

MING: What do you think?

Really delicious.

MING: Isn't that good?

Yeah, just the balance of the sweetness, the acidity.

MING: Right.

It's like green and fresh.

MING: And the little bitterness, which I love, the spiciness of the watercress.

Okay, well, we get to drink this while we cook.

Chickpeas, right?

Yeah, that's right.

MING: Let's go.

Let's go.

MING: All right, Fatima, what is your dish, please?

So, today we're going to make a mustard seed shrimp with a chickpea pomegranate chaat salad.

MING: Awesome.

Can I do some chopping and slicing?

Yes, please, I would love that.

MING: Mince?

Yes, please.

MING: Okay.

And how much garlic?

Let's do about four or five cloves of garlic.

And while you're doing that, what I'm going to do is that I'm going to grind up some of the spices that I have for the shrimp.

MING: Okay, what do you have there?

So I've got a little bit of black cumin and black mustard seeds.

MING: Okay.

And, you know, it's really-- I think it's important to kind of grind up your spices, because that's really when the aroma is released, when you put it into the pan.

MING: Yeah, agreed.

I mean, there's really no substitute for a mortar and pestle, right?

There's always these electronic machines, which are great, but a mortar and pestle... (scraping) ...it's like thunder.

Yeah, kind of.

So just a quick grind on the spices, then I'm going to pop it right into a nice, hot pan, with some olive oil.

MING: All right.

You want the garlic minced, you said, right?

Yes.

MING: So I can smash it.

So, I'll get the olive oil right into the pan.

And then... the cumin, mustard seeds-- and they're going to pop.

And that's when you know they're really doing their work.

So, I'm going to throw in a little bit of turmeric.

And this is actually really fantastic anti-inflammatory agent, as well.

MING: Oh, my gosh.

I take, I take turmeric pills and fresh turmeric for curry paste.

Nothing better.

There's nothing better, I agree.

You can throw that right in.

MING: All of it?

Yes, please.

MING: Okay, behind.

Garlic and ginger.

Ah, it smells good already.

Got all the aromatics ready to go, and I'm just stripping off some curry leaves.

Have a smell of this?

MING: I love curry leaves.

I love it.

I love the smell of this.

MING: It doesn't smell like curry, for the record.

It doesn't.

And I mean, actually, you know, like, curry powder is not a thing in Pakistan.

MING: Right.

It's just-- we don't really use it.

MING: But you make your own blend of spices.

Yes.

MING: Which, of course, in India, they call those curries, right?

That's right.

MING: So, curry leaves, just aromatic.

Exactly, so now we're going to hit it with a little bit of stock.

MING: Okay, is that chicken?

That is.

A little bit of chicken stock.

MING: It smells so good.

And then I'm going to cut up some tomatoes.

You can also help me.

MING: De-core and dice?

Yes, please.

Seeds and all, skin and all, because that's really where all the nutrition from the tomato comes from.

MING: Right.

I think that-- and by the way, that's so true for everything.

Apples... skin, I like, because of the flavor.

I like the tartness skin has, too.

Yes.

And, you know, in this preparation, it's going to kind of break down anyway, so.

MING: Right.

Has your diet changed at all, based on, you know, what you're going through?

I've always kind of tried to eat healthfully.

MING: Right.

But definitely, since my diagnosis, it's something that I've become so much more mindful of.

MING: Right.

You know, it just-- there's so many ups and downs with treatment, between getting your diagnosis, chemotherapy, all the different drugs that you're on, that it's just-- you know, food becomes so much more than just, you know, something that you eat to get by.

MING: Right.

Oh, yeah.

You know, it becomes a source of comfort, it becomes a source of nutrition.

It's obviously played a huge role in my life being a chef.

But then also, you know, getting through my really bad days of treatment, I had in my mind, it was always something to look forward to with food.

MING: And, by the way, and I know this-- I've never had chemo, but I know your taste buds get absolutely-- like Grant Achatz, one of my great buddies, said, everything starts tasting like metal.

My doctors warned me that my taste buds would change, and that's exactly what happened.

And then I found that, really, eating Pakistani food is the only thing I could stomach, because of all of the different spices, and the sour and the salty that's so predominant in that flavor profile.

MING: Which, ironically, is almost counterintuitive, because sometimes people think you should eat more gentle food.

Right, right.

MING: Eat raw carrots or something.

It didn't work really.

So, we've just got some beautiful shrimp over here.

I've seasoned it up with some salt and pepper.

And we're going to cook that down a little bit so the tomatoes break down, and then we'll throw the shrimp in.

MING: About three or four more minutes?

This is going to take about four minutes.

MING: Back in four, stick around.

MING: Wow, that looks good.

Yeah, it's getting there.

MING: So, like five minutes to just melt the tomatoes?

Exactly.

That's exactly what we need.

MING: And then what?

So, I'm going to toss in the shrimp.

MING: The shrimp, okay.

Yes, and if you could just hand me some spinach, that would be great.

Throw in a handful.

Perfect.

MING: Awesome.

Thank you so much.

MING: So, that's going to be pretty quick, right?

What, four or five minutes?

Exactly.

We just want to wilt down the spinach, cook our shrimp and then this is going to be ready to eat with our salad.

MING: Awesome.

I would love for you to dice up half of that red onion for me.

MING: Okay.

And while that's happening, I'm going to work on... kind of what I call the dressing for this.

MING: Okay.

And we've got a little bit of yogurt, and you can just-- it's just plain Greek yogurt.

MING: And do you use red onion for the flavor, or because its just the healthiest of all the onions?

A little bit of both.

Red onion-- I don't even think we have yellow onions in Pakistan, honestly.

MING: Oh, really?

So, you cook with red onions, you eat red onions, like, everything is just-- MING: And do you have white onions, too, or not?

Nope?

That's interesting.

Rick Bayless says they only have white onions in Mexico.

And I'm like, really?

Because in America we have... All the-- yeah.

MING: ...all colors.

We're the melting pot.

Right.

It's the rainbow room in America, which is really nice.

MING: Which is really nice.

Exactly.

That's the one really-- I mean, living in New York City, you get so many different kinds of cuisines.

That's like, my favorite thing about living over here.

MING: It's the best.

So, I've got some yogurt, salt, pepper, a little bit of orange and a little bit of lemon juice.

Very simple, mix it all up.

MING: So put all this, all of these onions?

Yes.

Perfect.

MING: I love it.

You're not afraid of onions.

I'm not.

MING: This serrano, mince it up?

Yes.

MING: Seeds and all?

Seeds and all.

I'm not afraid of spice.

MING: Love it.

So in Pakistan, which I've never been to, what's the closest cuisine?

Is Indian the closest style of cuisine for flavor profile?

I don't want to bastardize that, but-- There's definitely much more emphasis on meat in Pakistan.

Not a lot of vegetarians where I come from.

So, a lot of beef, a lot of chicken, a lot of seafood when you're on the coast.

MING: Dice?

Yes, please.

MING: Okay.

All the same.

And while that's happening-- MING: Here, I'll give you some of that.

Exactly, I'm going to grab potato.

This is just something that we've basically parboiled.

A little bit of saltwater.

MING: Right.

And this is kind of like my version of a street food snack.

A little bit healthier.

And you can make-- this can actually be a main meal as well.

MING: And thank God you're using the skin, right?

I mean, I just think it tastes better, and, of course, all the nutrients... Are in the skin, absolutely.

MING: All right, so we have avocado here.

So just a little dice on that.

Yes, please.

And, you know, I think it's... it's... the salad is really nice because it's got-- you've got your protein from the chickpeas, you've got the carbohydrates from the potatoes.

MING: Right.

You've got a rainbow of vegetables and spices, which is really nice.

So, you're kind of eating... eating a lot of, you know, different foods from the pyramid, which is great.

MING: Yep.

Love it.

Which has actually changed, I believe, right?

The food pyramid.

MING: The food pyramid is now a plate.

That's right.

MING: All these pomegranates?

You can do about half of them.

MING: Half of those.

Love pomegranates.

I mean, talk about natural, natural vitamin there.

Exactly.

And they're really, really high in antioxidants, which is great especially for things like cancer.

MING: All of these, right?

Yes, please.

MING: So these are canned chickpeas, right?

Mm-hmm.

MING: And you could buy chickpeas, you can rehydrate, you can cook them.

Soak them.

MING: Soak them.

The whole nine yards.

Yes.

MING: Takes a long time.

Canned are just as fine.

So, I think canned chickpeas are just as good.

MING: You have two more spices there.

Exactly.

So, this is chaat masala.

You want to taste it?

Just have a little bit.

MING: How is that different than regular masala?

It's pretty... it's-it's more sour.

MING: Yeah, oh, it is sour.

Because you've got dried mango in here, which makes it really interesting.

MING: Oh, that is so good.

So, it's this thing called amchur, which is dried mango powder.

MING: Okay.

And black salt.

It's from the Himalayas.

Really good for you.

MING: I love that.

And kind of... it kind of smells like farts, (laughing): but in a really good way.

It's a really pungent, but really delicious flavor profile.

MING (laughing): There is that, but I love it.

It tastes fantastic.

Yeah.

MING: And what is that, za'atar?

Exactly.

MING: Awesome.

So you've got za'atar seasoning as well.

MING: So, did you put some in, or not?

Nope.

MING: Shall we?

Yes, please.

MING: A little fart?

A little fart.

A little fart goes a long way.

(laughs) MING: That's hilarious.

Right?

MING: That's the first time that's ever been said on Simply Ming.

So, we can just stir that up.

MING: Give it a stir, all right.

Yes, please.

I think I'm just going to give it a squeeze of citrus.

Especially with that avocado, you don't want it to go brown.

MING: Oh, this looks so good.

Look how healthy that looks.

And delicious.

So, my curry is pretty much done.

Okay.

So... here, you want to try that for seasoning, chef?

That would be great.

MING: Make sure that's spot on for you.

Thank you.

MING: Mm, mm.

Oh, my God, it's good.

The serrano is good, huh?

MING (laughing): Holy moly!

Whoo!

It's got a kick.

(Fatima chuckles) MING: That's some serrano.

Dang!

Oh, it's so good, though.

The pomegranates make it.

Absolutely.

Plate it up, or are you putting mint in here, too?

Yes.

A nice... nice freshness from a sprinkle of mint.

All that herbaceousness, delicious.

MING: Good to go?

Yes, please.

Go ahead, that beauti... go ahead.

And then right on top.

MING: Fantastic.

And I'm sorry, remind me again what's all in?

So, it's got Greek yogurt, orange, lemon, a little bit of salt and pepper.

MING: So great.

And then a little finishing flourish.

MING: That looks awesome.

All right.

Our salad is ready.

MING: Okay, and then here, let me plate the curry shrimp here.

Yes, please.

And with the shrimp, we've got some rice that we cooked.

MING: Here, I'll do that for you.

Yes, please.

MING: Thank you.

Thank you.

This is just a simple basmati rice pilaf.

A little bit of onion, butter, season it really well, some stock.

Put the lid on it, cook it for 20 minutes until it's nice and fluffy.

MING: More?

Perfect.

MING: That looks awesome.

Love basmati.

And I like that you're not dairy-free either, right?

So you still use butter.

Because you want to cook with flavor.

Yeah, definitely.

MING: Awesome.

That looks so good.

Oh, my God, my mouth is watering!

Like, literally.

These are really, you know, delicious, and fairly pungent flavors.

The mustard, the cumin, the turmeric, the chili, garlic, ginger.

MING: And the shrimp got plump because it soaked up all that wonderful juice.

Exactly.

And then I've got some cilantro to garnish with.

MING: Look at this.

That's some good-looking food there, chef.

Thanks, chef.

I couldn't have done it without you.

MING: No, that's true.

Yes, you could have.

(laughs) All right, we get to eat this, but we've got to make one of my dishes using chickpeas and tofu.

I would like that.

That'll be great.

MING: All right.

Stick around.

MING: Fatima, I can't wait to try that dish.

It looks so good!

Thank you.

> MING: The textures, the colors, the flavors.

I can still feel the heat of that chili.

I can't wait.

That had a kick.

MING: So, you inspired me with chickpeas.

I love chickpeas.

Same thing, two cans.

Rinsed, right?

Yep.

MING: So, I'm doing kind of a chickpea tofu stew, if you would, but with Thai flavors.

My fat is going to be coconut milk, a lot of aromatics.

If you can just dice me the red onions, some minced ginger, and then, just thinly slice, seeds and all.

I want it spicy.

Sure.

MING: I'm going to actually steam some red cabbage leaves.

So, you know, with cruciferous vegetables, the less you cut them, the better, right?

Because if you chop them and shred them, you kind of, basically break down the nutrients of it, right?

So, I'm going to keep them whole leaves.

This is going to be a bed.

And by steaming it, as opposed to boiling it, you lose 70% of the nutrients when you boil.

Right.

MING: Right, so we're going to steam it.

And I'm going to actually take some tea, some lapsang souchong tea, which is a black tea, to put in the water, because where we're from, water has no flavor.

Right.

MING: Tea, however, has flavor.

That's such a good idea.

I've never thought of that.

MING: All right, so a tea steam.

Fantastic.

So now, that's our base.

Now we can go ahead and get some slicing and dicing.

I'm going to make a red onion fried rice.

And I'm sure, as you also know, red onion is the healthiest of all the onions.

Right?

The darker the vegetable, the better, for the most part, right?

The better, exactly.

MING: So, we're just going to do some really thin slices.

Get a little caramelization on these onions.

Anything red is good.

MING: Basically, and anything dark green is good.

Yep.

MING: All right.

Nice dice on that.

And you wanted the ginger minced?

MING: Please.

Okay, so we're going to do it two pots going at once.

Turn these both on high.

So, I'm going to use a little bit of that olive oil in both, and you just want to make sure your pans aren't screeching hot, because what you don't want is to smoke, right?

Because then it just gets bitter.

So, for the rice, we're going to put in the wok here.

Let's get a little caramelization on these onions.

There we go.

And then I will take these onions from you.

Yes, please.

MING: Thank you.

Into this one.

Perfect timing, it's making my eyes water.

MING: Yeah.

(both laugh) And some ginger.

Now, you can't really have a Thai-flavored dish without lemongrass.

I love lemongrass.

MING: Which is one of my favorites.

So I use the back of my knife to break it up, only because it's so brutal on your knife.

And that little nub pops out, right?

Mm-hmm.

MING: And then I like to break down the striations here, because it's so brutal to knife, right?

Soften it up a little bit.

And you get all those essential oils out.

MING: Right.

And I'm going to actually keep them large pieces, because you're not going to-- we're going to end up-- like in a good Thai soup, you actually pick it out.

You pick it out, exactly.

MING: So these are nice, large pieces that we're going to pick out.

So that goes in with my onions.

Awesome.

San Marzano tomatoes.

Best tomatoes, from Italy.

Lycopene, as you know.

Yes.

MING: So good for you.

Naturally antioxidant.

The San Marzano is the best, and if you cook it in this type of olive oil and get it to 180, 190 degrees, at least 30 minutes, it makes it super-tomato.

Oh.

MING: So, sauce and all, tomatoes in.

All right.

You're building on all that flavor.

MING: Building it.

I'm going to take your chilies and your ginger now.

Yes, please, go for it.

MING: We've got some flavors building here.

Can I start breaking up this cauliflower for you?

MING: Please, yes.

So, the tofu is going to be added at the very end, because tofu is so soft and it'll break up.

So we're going to let this cook and simmer.

Looks amazing.

MING: I need a couple, just a couple, of sliced garlic.

Just a little bit.

And we've got fish sauce here, too.

So, fish sauce, of course, is not vegetarian, but it has a wonderful flavor, wonderful saltiness.

If you want to keep it completely vegetarian, just use salt or use soy sauce.

Easy-peasy.

All right.

Have you ever cooked with coconut aminos as well?

Is that something you've done?

MING: I have, yeah.

I actually like it.

Yeah, me, too.

MING: It has really deep flavor.

Yes.

MING: All right, so a little bit of fish sauce.

A little fish sauce goes a long way.

Yes, it does.

MING: All right, these onions are getting a little bit of color.

Okay, so we're going to let this come to a simmer so all the aromatics get soft and meld together.

Then we're going to add the cauliflower, some celery, chickpeas and tofu.

And our dish will be basically done.

So stick around.

Give it about ten minutes to reduce this down.

MING: So, after about six to eight minutes, see it's reduced down to almost like a tomato jam.

Grab me your cauliflower, here, I'll give you this plate.

You got it.

MING: Here you go.

So, putting in celery and carrots, really small dice.

It's going to take about another eight minutes for all these flavors to build together.

We're going to add the chickpeas, which influence this whole dish.

And... MING: Yeah, dump that all in.

...and the cauliflower.

MING: I can't cook for two.

I can't even cook for four.

And then coconut milk please there, chef.

Yes, please.

There you go.

MING: Dump that all in.

All of it?

MING: Yep.

You got it.

Love coconut milk.

MING: There we go.

Fantastic.

Beautiful.

MING: All right, this has to come to a simmer, go about eight to ten minutes.

A little lime juice and Thai basil, done.

Okay.

Sounds like a good plan.

MING: Come on, baby.

MING: All right, so here's those great onions we did.

Just got good color on them.

Just add hot cooked rice.

So, that's our fried rice.

That's done.

Beautiful.

MING: Easy, easy, easy.

If you could go ahead and just dice that tofu for me.

I'd love to.

MING: All right.

And that's brown and white rice?

MING: That's brown and white, yeah.

You know, I took brown rice and soaked it for an hour by itself, and then added to the white rice.

Add just a little bit of salt and pepper.

I don't need a lot because this curry we made is completely full of flavor.

Right.

MING: And that's about eight, ten minutes total... Oh, yeah.

That's what we're talking about.

That's what we're talking about!

Oh, you can smell it from here.

MING: So, a couple more things we're going to add.

Juice-- a little acid here, bring out the flavor.

Acid, of course, is a great trick to using less sodium, right?

You use less soy sauce or salt by using acid.

And I love acid.

Absolutely.

MING: It just makes everything pop.

Just brightens it up.

MING: Yep.

And then some Thai basil leaves.

Beautiful.

MING: Just whole leaves.

You can dump the tofu in here.

All right.

And tofu is so quick to... to disintegrate, right?

So we just want to rough... Yep, that's good.

All right.

We're good to go here.

Looks awesome.

MING: Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it looks so good!

Turn that off.

So, step one, we'll take our steamed cabbage.

Kind of our base.

Again, by not boiling, look at all that color.

Gorgeous.

MING: All that color is the vitamins.

And we're keeping it.

And I love the idea.

It's almost like it's just going to contain the rice and the curry and everything, and then you're going to have something delicious to eat at the end.

MING: Exactly!

Fatima, you know what you're talking about.

All right.

So then, we will take our rice.

Beautiful.

You can actually really smell that tea.

It's fascinating.

MING: Isn't that amazing?

Yes.

MING: So here's our caramelized onion rice.

Gorgeous.

MING: Awesome.

And this little guy is also going to enjoy some food, too.

He's so cute!

MING: Oh, yeah, my-- that charity means so much to me, Family Reach.

We're the only national charity that financially helps families who have children with cancer.

Wow.

MING: Which is the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in this country today.

That's incredible.

Well, on behalf of everyone, I think that's a really incredible thing that you, that you've done.

MING: Can you imagine that if you can't pay for the meds?

I know.

MING: Or you couldn't pay for the car to get you back and forth, and all that?

It's horrific.

It shouldn't end your life.

It's horrible enough to get it, but the finances shouldn't be an issue.

Then last thing, some walnuts.

Beautiful.

MING: I think some of the tastiest, and certainly one of the healthiest nuts out there, right?

Yeah.

MING: This and almonds.

And that texture.

MING: Love it.

Gorgeous.

MING: Let's go chow.

It's time to eat.

MING: À table.

MING: Okay, Fatima, a little Bordeaux blend from California.

Beautiful.

MING: Cheers to you.

And to you, chef.

MING: It's so nice having you here.

All right.

Delicious.

MING: I'm going to try your shrimp right here.

And I will try yours.

MING: That looks so good.

Delicious.

MING: Girl, you can cook!

Not just on competitions-- for real.

You know what you're doing.

(laughs) I love-- MING: Please, you first.

The tofu and... the cauliflower and the cabbage, everything works so wonderfully together.

The crunch of the walnuts, delicious.

MING: This is like the best potato salad ever, right?

Because of the pomegranate seeds, the use of the onion, your yogurt dressing.

Great foil to cool off the shrimp.

The melted tomatoes?

Delicious.

Moving out West?

Mm-hmm.

MING: You're going to do your own Pakistani kind of influenced restaurant, maybe?

It's going to be influenced, right, and, you know, I'm moving to Los Angeles soon, and I'm going to take it from there.

MING: Let me know.

You got it, chef, you'll be the first to know.

MING: I would love to be your first investor.

Let me know.

Done and done.

MING: Thank you so much for watching.

Remember, you are definitely what you eat, so eat healthy.

And, as always, peace and good eating.

Cheers.