- [Beryl] I think we can all agree, everything is better when it's fried.

- Causing chaos in the kitchen.

- Chaos.

- [Beryl] Although it may seem indulgent, fried food plays an important role in many cultures.

- That's the beauty of cooking.

'Cause you always learn something new.

- [Beryl] Not only does it bring people together around the table... - Thank you.

- Thank you.

- [Beryl] But it can take a simple dish, and transform it into something extraordinary.

- Every time a mama uses it, you should slap her back out of appreciation.

- Good job, Rima.

My name is Beryl, and this show explores how our foods can bring our different cultures together.

And this is our fried foods episode.

Today I've paired up Michael and Reema to swap their favorite fried foods.

Michael will make Reema's Jordanian Kubbeh, and Reema will prepare Michael's classic Southern American fried catfish.

Get your oils hot, it's time to fry.

(gentle music) - I am Mike Thomas from Cleveland, Ohio.

The dish that you will be preparing is Southern Fried Catfish.

My family's all from Jackson, Mississippi.

The reason why I have this passion for cooking southern food is predominantly because the way in which my family shows love is by cooking.

So when you talk about southern cooking, it's low and slow.

It takes time, it takes dedication, it is love.

- Okay, so to make the fried catfish, we're gonna need one cup of flour and four cups of cornmeal, okay.

- [Beryl] We're gonna half it.

- Surprisingly, I used to be a math teacher so this should be a piece of cake.

- [Mike] When I was growing up, we would have fish fries on Fridays.

We'd use southern flavors and southern seasonings to make that fish pop and to make it delicious, to make it something that warms your body and warms your soul.

- [Beryl] Is that one or half?

- [Reema] That was one tablespoon of paprika.

- [Beryl] I think we needed to half it.

- [Reema] Oops, are we gonna like scoop this out?

- [Beryl] And Reema, this is a good start.

You said you were a math teacher.

(gentle music) How is this gonna stick with no egg?

- That's what I'm thinking.

- Oh, this also doesn't have... Yeah, it's dry.

- Huh?

- [Beryl And Reema] Hi, Mike.

- [Mike] Hey, hey.

How you doing?

- We just have a quick question about the catfish.

So the catfish filets are dry, and we put it in the cornmeal.

There's no egg?

- [Mike] All you need is is a little bit of water on the catfish.

- Okay.

- [Mike] So once you rinse the catfish off, you'll be able to put it in the cornmeal and it'll adhere just fine.

- So we're just gonna lightly wash our fish.

- All right, thanks Mike.

- Thanks.

- [Mike] No problem, have a good one.

Good luck.

- You too.

Thank you.

- Bye.

- Make sure that when you are frying the fish, that your grease is hot.

Take a little bit of your batter and just put a pinch in the actual grease.

If it starts to bubble up, then you know it's pretty hot.

I traditionally like to fry it a little bit hard so it's a little bit crispier and crunchier.

So when you bite into it, you get that wonderful mouth feel, you get that crispy crunch.

- Ooh, it's like, jumping.

- And when you eat something that's fried, you just get that warm happy feeling.

I know sometimes it's bad for you, but it's okay to indulge sometimes.

It has all of the pieces and parts that go into having something that's fried.

I hope you enjoy making my fried catfish and I cannot wait to taste your wonderful dish.

Talk to you soon.

Love you.

Bye-bye.

- All right, it's time to try our catfish.

I'm gonna get a big bite.

I'm hungry.

Mm.

Can you hear the crunch?

It's really good.

And it's really...

The fish itself is very tender, very delicious.

I am just loving the crunch.

I actually feel like the crunch on the catfish today is much better than any wet batter I've tried.

There's some kind of crispiness that goes all throughout.

I think in the future, going to try more dry batters.

Beryl, can I ask for your help, please?

I would like you to salt and pepper the fish so that once you do that, I can put it into the dredge.

- She has fish fingers.

- This is my first time frying fish on my own.

What you wanna do is lay it down gently away from you, and then just... - Nice.

- Wow, okay.

I didn't think that would work.

I wasn't extremely overwhelmed.

There were some parts where I was kind of doubting myself.

Talking to Mike did help.

- Reema's nervous, right?

- Just a little bit.

Hi, Mike.

- [Mike] Hey, how you doing?

Don't be nervous.

It's easy and simple.

- That worked out really well.

Middle Eastern cuisine is all about feeling warm and cozy in your meal.

And it's all about comfort.

We're not counting calories.

Everything is very hearty and very flavorful.

So I feel like in that way, southern food is kind of similar to Middle Eastern cuisine.

I know sometimes what we as humans try to do is look for the differences, but I think what we should try to focus on more is the similarities.

We come together and we eat in order to eat as a family, to eat as one, to share our stories together.

- Are you guys excited to try your food though?

- Yes.

- Yes.

- Ooh.

(hands clapping) - You might do it more often.

- Yes.

- Mama.

- [Mother] Really.

- Mike's dish, it just has that warmth and that comfort that a lot of Middle Eastern dishes also have to offer.

(bright upbeat music) - Hi Mike, it's Rima.

And today you're gonna be making one of my favorite fried foods, Kubbeh.

Kubbeh essentially is a fried meatball.

On the outside, it's golden crispy, crunchy, and on the inside it's filled with this delicious, savory meat filling.

I was born in the U.S. to Palestinian Jordanian parents and at the age of 13, my parents decided for us to move back to Jordan.

- Oh, wow.

- In order to connect better with our roots, our culture, and our religion.

But I moved back to the U.S. in order to pursue my master's.

I really love fried foods, and if I could, I would eat fried foods every day.

You should eat whatever makes you happy, right?

And Kubbeh makes me happy.

- So today we are going to be cooking Kubbeh.

I'm gonna start with the bulgur.

(bag thuds) (Beryl laughs) - There you go.

- [Beryl] Did you spell it?

- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I spilled it, yeah.

(laughs) I'm a messy cook.

(whimsical music) - [Beryl] Bulgar is famously known for, let's just say, making people quite gassy.

(Rima laughs) - This is the right texture.

We're getting there.

We have one... Oh, geez.

We have one cup of flour.

Anytime you're in the kitchen, you gotta get messy.

You can't be afraid to start moving it around and getting your hands in there.

- [Beryl] How's it feel?

Can I come finish it?

- No, no, you may not.

Yes, please.

Please come over and get your hands in there.

Get messy with me.

Yeah.

- Ooh.

- Yeah.

- It feels like kinetic sand.

- Yeah, that's right.

It's like play-doh or kinetic sand where it's like- - That's cool.

(Mike laughs) This is cool.

(whimsical music) - [Rima] And then in the inside it's like a meat filling.

And this is where people usually add finely chopped walnuts, pine nuts.

- So Rima, I'm sorry, I've gone a little rogue because she says cook the ground beef first but I put the pine nuts and the onions in with the oil.

Just a little off recipe.

I'm sorry, I apologize.

(meat sizzles) - Look at me, I'm Mike.

(Mike laughs) - [Mike] Gee, thanks.

- One of the hardest parts of making Kubbeh is the ratio of dough to meat.

You wanna have enough dough so that it encases the meat, but you don't wanna have too much so that it's like thick when you bite into it.

(whimsical music) - Whoa.

- It's actually forming like an actual little- - That's really good.

- That's pretty cool.

- So making Kubbeh really is a labor of love.

One of my fondest memories of making Kubbeh is me sitting with my grandma, my mom and my sisters and my cousins, all of us together working to make Kubbeh.

- All right, so today, guys, we're gonna be making something called Kubbeh, okay.

- Yay!

- You have stuff all on your face.

You eat jelly today?

Were you eating peanut butter and jelly?

- [Rima] There always has to be someone who makes a wonky one.

That person is usually me.

- Slowly put it in... And let it go.

- And the person who makes them very quickly and very perfectly is always my grandma.

She would make at least five while I'm still on my first Kubbeh.

It's gonna take some time but don't give up and don't get discouraged.

It's all well worth it in the end when it is finally frying.

- Good job, high fives.

Alright.

Can you smell that?

- It's working!

- Do you smell that though?

You can smell the mint and the pine nuts?

You can... - [Beryl] Mm.

(whimsical music) This is the perfect one.

- So Mike, when you make Kubbeh and you taste it for the first time, I hope you'll be transported to the Middle East and you can imagine all of those families that work and come together in order to make Kubbeh a reality.

I really loved cooking your recipe, Mike, and I hope that you enjoy cooking mine.

Love, Rima.

- I am so ready to give this a try.

Mm.

These are awesome.

It's almost like a hush puppy kind of texture, flavor to it.

But it has that like, Middle Eastern, with the lemon that's coming through.

It's a labor of love.

I mean, if you're gonna make something, especially something that's fried, something that has a lot of heritage, a lot of tradition to it, it's going to take time.

Even when you break it open, you can see that there's little tiny specks of pepper and mint that are there.

- [Beryl] Who made that one?

I think I did.

- Yeah, you probably did.

(Mike laughs) Oh man, that's really good.

I like that.

Mm.

Anything that's fried is gonna be really good.

I mean, we are looking for that golden brown deliciousness, that GBD.

And with the different herbs and spices that we put in here, you know it's going to be good.

- [Beryl] Washing hands, washing hands.

- Having the children involved, having them get their hands into the mix and make their own.

It's definitely a family type of dish where you're coming together, you are sharing the story.

There's that connection.

All those things go together to make this a wonderful dish.

This makes me want to go to some of the restaurants that are around town that specialized in Jordanian food.

This was a really, really fun experience.

It gave me the opportunity to be transported to a different part of the world, and I'm really, really happy that she gave me the opportunity to make the dish that is near and dear to her.

(gentle music)