680: From NBA Dancer to Bad B*tch in the Kitch with Cassie Yeung

0:00This episode is brought to you by Resi and American Express. Resi is a digital platform that connects restaurants to restaurant lovers by elevating dining experiences, providing original industry content, and helping to fill some of the country's most exciting dining rooms. Because restaurants have always been more than just places to eat. The amazing world of restaurants is just a few taps away in the Resi app and at resi.com.

0:31I always say like even when I was writing the book and my aunt in Singapore was teaching me how to make some of these recipes we don't even speak the same dialect so she's teaching me and she's showing me and my of course I have my mom and my other aunt translating for me but it's really just like I'm watching her make this and I understand because it's food. This is Taste. I'm your host, Matt Rodbard. Cassie Young is a food content creator known for her authentic voice and delicious, approachable recipes. Formerly a professional dancer, Cassie decided to share her love for Asian cuisine on social media, and her cooking videos quickly went viral.

1:13She was a contestant on season two of the reality cooking show Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay and just released a terrific cookbook, Bad Bitch in the Kitch. I hope you enjoy this conversation.

1:29Cassie Young, welcome to This Is Taste. So cool to meet you. Thank you so much, Matt. I'm so excited to be here. I love this conversation. I am like a fan of your book, first off. It's terrific. You were a Brooklynette. I was. In my glory days, I was a Brooklynette. Oh, my gosh. We will get to that. But before we get to all that, I want to know, you live in Philly. You're in New York a lot. Where have you been dining out recently? Honestly, I've been kind of lazy. I haven't been cooking as much. I just have fallen in love with Kalia in Philly. Oh, my God. It is so amazing. And I've heard amazing things about the chef.

2:10I believe it's pronounced Yenok. Yeah. She seems like such a character. But the food there was, like, life-changing. Absolutely. Same. Yes. I got to dine there last year. And it is incredible. For regional Thai cooking and just the beautiful dumplings alone. Yes. Oh, my God. The, like, artwork. Really artwork. I was like, oh, my God, I don't even want to eat it. It's so cute. It's a great spot. Yeah. And when you're in New York, are there any spots that you like to go to? Honestly, any spot that has a really nice glass of wine. I've really been, I just went through 75 hard, which I wasn't drinking for three months.

2:46Yeah. And, you know, I did ease my way back in. But with my friends now, we've been, aside from today, the weather has been truly amazing in New York. So there's been a lot of bar hopping. So anywhere that has a really nice glass of wine. What was 75 hard about? I like this is interesting. Yes. Was it something that you just want to do a couple times a year? What's that all about? This was my first time. Yeah. I've never really committed myself to something like 75 hard. And I haven't taken a break from drinking since I was like, say, less than 21. Less than 21. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just felt like it was kind of time.

3:25I actually just came back from a trip from Miami, and I was really feeling the effects of Miami. Yeah. Traveling a lot, drinking a lot, getting invited to so many amazing events. And I was like, you know what? I think this would be really great for me, have some structure and just create really healthy habits. So it was two workouts a day, reading 10 pages a day, no drinking and sticking to like a healthy diet. And it was honestly really great for me. I love to hear that. I think it's a wonderful tradition to take up or challenge. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Well, let's talk Brooklyn Nets. You were on the dance squad.

4:01You were Brooklyn Nets for a couple seasons. I was. You were there. I was a season ticket holder. I went to many games during your era. first off the team they weren't as good as they were later but they were so cool you got Rondé Hollett Jefferson Joe Harris D 'Lo I mean they were so scrappy yes and also just the vibe of the game like at Barclays Center there's something about the energy and I think that the entire entertainment team makes the game so fun like I'm not sure if you were there when they were like Dunk Squad was there the entire team hype Like the games are just so interactive and fun.

4:39Yeah, team hype. I got to become friendly with a couple of hype members over the years. And it was there's something about New York. Like the Knicks obviously steal the show. They got the swagger. Most annoying fans in the world. Sorry, Knicks fans. I ride or die with the Nets always. And you were dancing with Allie Love from Peloton too. I was. She's amazing. It's such so sweet. Such a good. So tell me about that role as a professional dancer for an NBA team. I know it's I've like have so much respect for you. I know it's incredibly physically demanding job. I'm not sure if compensation was where you wanted to be, but I've heard things about not being awesome and just real dedication to amazing routines.

5:22And for this being a food show, you're doing all this work. Are they are they feeding you OK at least? Let me start with things are very different now. And I believe that they're very well fed. Like they cater outside of the arena. Back when I was on the team, we were given food vouchers. For the stadium? For the stadium. Oh, shit. And I don't know if you're familiar, but like Buffalo Boss was like my thing. Oh. It was always Buffalo Boss for me. Because back then, I was on the team 2016 through 2018. Yeah. There really weren't a lot of options within Barclays Center. Now it is completely different.

6:01The food is actually amazing. But at the time, we were only given food vouchers. We would have time to run up and grab something. And it was so funny because the food voucher, I think, was like for like, I want to say like$15. Oh, no. So it would cover one meal. And it was always so funny because we would all have to bring spare change just to cover a beverage for ourselves. Oh, my gosh. Well, I mean, you never showed it on the court that you were, you know, Buffalo Boss or whatever those other. Yeah, the first few years of Barclays were rough with the food, but it's gotten better. You're right.

6:34But you also, this is amazing, you sang the national anthem. I did. I think I was there because I remember seeing a Brooklynette singing the national anthem. I was so impressed. So you're dancing and then you're doing the halftime, I started the pregame anthem. What was that like? That was probably still to this day one of my most proud moments just because that is not my wheelhouse whatsoever. it all started I was in the locker room and I'm like the type of person who just breaks out into song like my life is like a musical in my mind um so I was singing and like impersonating Britney Spears yeah and my director was like wait you can actually like sing and I was like I can like I was in the choir like I can get by she's like what do you want to sing the national anthem and it was um I think it was uh Chinese culture night or something for Lunar New Year Lunar New Year yeah Um, and I was like, I don't like to pass up on a challenge.

7:31Yeah. And I think this was a week away. So I had a week to really practice. Um, but I did it and it was truly like so exhilarating when you go out on the court and you're dancing, which is something that I've done my entire life being on stage. It's very easy to fake. I feel like if you make a mistake or if you're, you know, not truly on your A game, like it's still okay to kind of like pull it out. But with singing, I have so much respect for singers because it is truly like all eyes are on you. You cannot make a mistake. Well, especially with that song. Yes. Everyone knows that song. Yeah. Everyone is kind of looking for the cringe moment, too.

8:10It's like our culture, our nature. They want to like, can she hit the note? Can she know it? And you only had a week or 10 days to prep for it? Yeah. It was very last minute. it. I remember I just like rented a studio out one day and sang it there. But other than that, it was just car and shower and house all the time. How many times did you sing it before you did it? A million times. That's amazing. A million times. And now you have a new respect for those folks singing that. Yeah, absolutely. Well, that's amazing. I think your career just before you started doing food was already amazing. Thank you.

8:46But here we are. Tell me about just for those who don't know your style of cooking and the way the book kind of represents your online cooking. Tell us a little bit about that. So I go by Bad Bitch and the Kitsch. I truly emulate that energy where I feel like clearly I am not like the average chef. I still don't even consider myself a chef. I do understand that that title, you know, holds a lot of value. I mean, I never want to discredit people who have gone to culinary school. I personally did not go to culinary school. I have long nails. I cook kind of like very casually in the kitchen. And this all started because my mom was just a really big home cook.

9:28She comes from a really big family of nine siblings. And when her and my dad moved over to the States, that's how I grew up was just cooking casually in the kitchen. So also just being immigrant parents, it's like mismatch this, mismatch that. And like, we don't really have the right tools, but we're just going to do it this way. so I started creating content cooking very casually in the kitchen and it still is that way I prop my phone up on a water bottle I have like a single ring light and that's how I make my videos but I really just my I feel like my cooking style is just fun low pressure and that is what I try to that's my goal with my cookbook is to show people that you can have fun in the kitchen I mean there's a realness to it all, which I really appreciate that you come out and say, I'm not a chef.

10:19I never went to school. I have this kind of minimal setup. It clearly works. You've got millions of fans. Thank you. And about the heritage, it's Chinese and Singaporean, correct? Yes. And that's a really unique blend. The book covers, you know, Vietnam and Thailand and all sorts of Asia, Asian cuisine, and then, of course, America. But what's it like? What's this blended culture like in the kitchen? Where are some dishes you're growing up with? um i started out cooking a little bit of everything obviously more asian heavy just because those are the flavors that i'm always craving um but i do love to like step out of my comfort zone and cook things that i've kind of while i've been traveling um and like let's say like i go to jamaica and i've like fallen in love with all the cuisine there um i love to go home and be able to kind of recreate those dishes.

11:10So I like to, you know, dip my toes in to other cultures as well. It's a cool book because I think for a beginner who is trying to, you know, find their way around the Asian pantry and just like these flavors that we may dine out a lot with but maybe don't know, it's really terrific. And one of the recipes that I just went right to was your Din Tai Fung copycat green beans. I love that. Oh, my gosh. I mean, I have not been to the Din Tai Fung here yet, but it seems amazing. But I fell in love with Din Tai Fung when I was living in California, South Coast Plaza. I was there all the time. And I feel like everyone there is there for the Shaolin Pao.

11:50Like, obviously, the soup dumplings are such a hit. But I'm like, the green beans are so good, you know? And it's so easy to make. Just quick flash fry of the green beans, whole lot of garlic, a little chicken bouillon powder, and like, that's it. and it's like the best. It just makes vegetables seem so much fun. So no soy sauce. It's just a little bit of bouillon. Yeah, yeah. That's smart. I mean, that's like obviously something that we have around and you're co-signing on cooking with it and it's high heat on the wok, I imagine. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, a nice blistered skin on the green bean.

12:19It makes it like just an extra little razzle-dazzle, if you will. Definitely. And I think bringing in the bouillon is something that is a smart move. You got to have that boost there. Yes. With the high heat and that charring and that wakay happening in the pan. I love that. This episode is brought to you by Aura Frames. If you're one of those last-minute shoppers, you might know the feeling. Ideas are running low and the clock is ticking. Here's a fun idea. Aura Frames. Aura Frames is the solution with a gift that feels personal, a little curated, and sent with love. And a gift that can be purchased in no time with a few clicks of the mouse.

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13:33That is pretty cool. For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get$35 off Aura's best-selling Carver Matte Frames, named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code TASTE at checkout. That's A-U-R-A frames dot com promo code TASTE. The deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, So order yours now to get in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Hi there, it's Matt, co-host of the show. We are currently running a This Is Taste listener survey, and we'd love to hear from you. Do you have a guest request?

14:14A restaurant you wish we'd visit to talk about on three things? What about a lesser-known cookbook author who deserves a spot in our studio chair? You can let us know by clicking the link in our show notes to complete the survey. It will only take a couple minutes, I swear, and will help us continue to make the best show possible. That's the This Is Taste listener survey, link in our show notes. From February 20th to March 7th, dive into Canada's biggest culinary festival, Montreal en Lumière, an exclusive partnership with the McCord Stewart Museum and its exhibition, On the Menu Montreal, a restaurant story.

14:52the 2026 festival invites food lovers on a flavorful journey through time. Montreal's top restaurateurs will reimagine 65 years of the city's iconic astronomy, crafting inventive, nostalgia-inspired dishes with a modern twist. Prepare your palate. World-renowned chefs, including several Michelin-starred talents, will team up with over 80 of Montreal's finest local chefs to create unforgettable, one-of-a-kind menus. The full program is available at MontrealOnLumiere.com, presented by Lotto Quebec in collaboration with National Bank. Tell me what makes a great scallion oil noodle. For me, I think it's important what actual noodle you go with.

15:37Of course, the sauce is magic. You know, you have a slow simmer of the scallions. First, the scallion whites in the oil. Let those kind of wilt a little bit and then adding in the greens. Then you add in the soy sauce. um and but for me it really is the noodle so i kind of switch it up sometimes i usually go for like a shanghai thin white noodle but it's also really good with like an udon you know i mean just depending on what you're in the mood for i love a nice doughy chewy noodle something that really like soaks up all the sauce that to me is what makes the scallion oil noodle let's talk about the actual the photography well i mean you're having fun in the in the photos yes uh tell me about setting up those shoots your photographer and all that my photography team was absolutely amazing i had jenny huang my photographer love jenny jenny is oh my god when i first had my meeting with her it was so funny because she has a very like her personality is one of a kind i mean at first i was like i can't tell if she likes me like you know what i mean you nailed jenny right there yes she's very cerebral very very like um i think i'm gonna articulate try to articulate jenny wong right sorry jenny if you're listening i feel like she is like extremely intuitive about the moment and she is a master of her craft like everyone as you could tell like the book is truly a work of art and i can't take full credit for that like my team was amazing i had tina my food food stylist who also was so amazing.

17:09Then Maggie DeMarco, who was my prop stylist, also amazing. It's just so crazy to see all of them work. I mean, we made everything in this tiny little space. But when you're looking at the photos, it looks like we're in a restaurant, we're at home, we're in Singapore. The way that they used this tiny space to create a new set and a new feeling, a new emotion with every photo was so amazing. Plus, we had so much fun. Like it's so nice to be with one for me like a team of women who just are so easy to get along with. But it was just like nice to be able to learn each other's personalities and also the way that they kind of asked about me and my story just so that they could really add that into the photography.

17:57I think really just that's what makes the book. And I'm so happy with the way everything turned out. And you got Robert Diaz with the design, too. You got to shut Robert. Yes, Robert designed the cover of the book, everything, the pages. Even down to the text, every little thing in the book just creates the exact vibe that I was trying to give off. Completely. And they just took what was in my brain and put it on paper. And I think that is just so amazing. Clarkson Potter doing it. Yes, I have the best team. Yeah, Robert designed Career World, and I loved working with him on that. And I was chatting with your editor, Susan Roxborough, last night, and she was telling me how she can't keep her fridge stocked with the soy marinated eggs.

18:41She can't keep the stuff. Oh, my God. Every time I make a batch, I'm like, yeah, this will last me the week. Last me like one day if that. But they are so good. And so easy to make. Literally, it's so simple. Like soft, medium boil and egg. For me, sweet spot is like seven minutes. Okay. A jammy egg, not too runny, but not too solid. Then you literally just make a nice bath for them. Soy sauce, mirin, chicken broth, or whatever broth you want to use. Submerge them in. Maybe use a little paper towel to keep them in and no rings around the eggs. That's it. Top them with a little sesame seed, and you can use them however you want.

19:17Yeah. I just like to honestly just eat them. Yes. No, me. I'm like, take them right out of the jar, eat them. But it's like also the easiest way to spice up just over rice, over an instant ramen, whatever you want. It's like soy marinated egg on anything. I love it. Yeah. Tell me about the wet, wet sauce. Oh my gosh. This became my signature sauce. I remember back when I, I think I hit 500 ,000 on TikTok. Me and my friends, we ended up doing a live, I did a live on TikTok where I asked everyone to grab certain ingredients. We made my pork dumplings and a side of wet, wet sauce. And so I had everyone grab the ingredients and then we cooked it together on live.

20:02And everyone was like, you have to name the sauce. You have to name the sauce. I was with all my friends. Drinks were flowing. And I was like, I don't know what to name it. Like, it is kind of like an amazing chili sauce. And one of my friends, one of my best friends, Deja, she was like, I feel like it's like a wet, wet sauce. And I was like, I kind of like that. And the name literally just stuck from there on out. So it's a good, it's a sweet chili sauce and yeah what's it what are some components in it garlic green onions sesame seeds sesame oil soy sauce um rice vinegar yeah uh gochugaru which is korean chili flakes i'm probably forgetting something off the top of my head but it is so easy you just add all those ingredients in light it up with a little neutral flavor neutral flavored oil add in your sauces um and that's it i love it use it in or on anything.

20:54I love this going live. Do you do some lives on TikTok? Is that? Yeah, I do. Oh, cool. That at the time I did things a little bit more planned where it was like, hey guys, I'm going to go live at this time, like grab these ingredients. Yeah. Now for me, sometimes honestly, like I love doing things in person. I love doing things in real time. To me, it is just like the best and closest thing to being in person. So now it's just for me, I'm like, I'm making dinner. I don't necessarily feel like filming and editing this, but I want to still be with like my followers. So now I'll just randomly go live when I'm cooking something.

21:29And it's really nice because it does feel like either a FaceTime call or we are cooking in person together. Cooking in person together. Yeah. What's it like right now, you know, with your audience and having millions, you know, following your lives or just following your posts? Like what's in your head right now? I have gone through every single emotion where it starts with like I'm not – I feel like undeserving of this, like this love, this support. But then also, of course, like overjoyed and so overwhelmed with just the way that my followers have stepped in and really supported me to this point.

22:11Like I would be nowhere without them and I never want to take the credit away from them. And someone actually even asked me a really amazing question last night at my first tour stop. They were like, how do you know when you're like developing a recipe when it's ready? And I was like, that's a great question because I never really thought about when a recipe is ready. But what I do is I just I post a video and then people recreate the dishes. And that feedback is really what tells me that that recipe is ready. So this cookbook, I feel like in a way, all of my followers have really been a part of.

22:48And I'm just so grateful because I have such an amazing following. And I was saying this the other day too was I have like everyone is positive. Yeah. With today's climate and like the internet these days. Oh, yeah. Some people like follow to hate, which is so odd. but I'm really lucky to say that my entire following they are genuinely like just there to support me through every stage of my career and for that I'm forever grateful I think you have a real talent for being real and honest and you know I think the haters come when they like sniff out someone who's like a little corny and maybe a little off-brand or just like maybe not doing And I think you, when I watch your video recipes, you're cool and you're relatable and it's hard to do that.

23:40Thank you. And I think that's probably why you have this overwhelming positive support. Thanks. Let's talk about Vietnamese coffee. Susan was telling me you're a real fan. This show can become a coffee podcast once in a while. Oh, my God. So let's talk. I mean, it is like, it is the strongest, purest form of coffee. That sweetened condensed milk. It's just so good. Like, I don't want to say I'm a coffee snob because there are definitely people who are more of a coffee snob than I am. We love coffee snob. You know what I mean? But I'm like, when it comes down to Vietnamese coffee, like, I've never had a bad cup.

24:14You know, I've had my fair share of bad cups of coffee. Yeah, yeah. Not once has it been a Vietnamese coffee. Like, it's good no matter where you go. If you make it yourself. Yeah. It's just like the perfect, perfect flavor profile and perfect boost of energy. it's exactly it's utility but then it's it's could be dessert it has it's the form of it is so real like it's this high utility to it yes coffee i love that yeah i can't let you go about we got one more dance question did you watch the dallas cowboys show oh my god yes i watched the first season i didn't watch the second season because i think it was like a little bit more i think drama focused when it came to some of the girls i think i was kind of reading reviews on it well Also, these days when you're on TikTok, you see a full show on TikTok anyways.

25:01It's like you scroll and I'm like, all right, great. I got the gist of the show. But the first season was really amazing to watch. There's also one of the dancers went to Rutgers University. We didn't get to dance together. But it was cool to see, obviously, like a familiar face, familiar name. And I have so much respect, obviously, just having that dance background for people who take on these jobs purely from passion. Like kind of how you said pay wasn't really where it needed to be, but you, I think it really just goes to show how many people within this space take on, like I always say, they expect you to do it full time for part time pay.

25:41And they are like the magic of the football game, you know, and I would feel that way, especially as a dancer with the Nets, like we are kind of, we're the entertainment, you know what I mean? And so it's really nice to see, even though it wasn't my team, just the behind the scenes of something so similar and something I can resonate with. And I'll just add just the physicality of it and just like your pure athletic talent to be a professional. Unbelievable. Yeah. I mean, those girls work so hard. Yeah. And it does. It takes a lot just to keep up with yourself, your body, energy. And you have to have another job on top of it to support yourself.

26:21Yeah. So it is a lot. Yeah. What were you doing when you were Brooklynette? Oh, my gosh. What wasn't I doing? I think I was babysitting. I think I was I was working at a home improvement store doing marketing for them and also admin work. It was like at the time, a lot of contract work. I think I was also working doing bat mitzvahs where I would be like a kind of like a party. Yeah. Not a host. But I was like hype girl that would like go and dance with the kids. Oh, there's like such a common. There are a lot of common jobs when it comes to dancing. Professionals, yeah. Yeah. I also was a sign dancer in the city, so I was booking jobs in the city.

26:59But with those, it's kind of like you never really know when you're going to get a check. So you have to have all these little things here and there just to keep it close. What was the big bar mitzvah song of 2018? Oh, my gosh. I mean, it's probably— I think it's Sweet Caroline still. Sweet Caroline is big. It's always. And I'm like— Black Eyed Peas too, I'm sure. Yeah. Oh, my God. It probably still is. You know what I mean? It still is. 13 year olds love. Absolutely. It gets the people going. What about your work just dancing professionally in New York when you book gigs? What kind of stuff are you up to?