Awkwafina Struggles to Cook in New Apple TV Docuseries

Los Angeles-based actor and comedian Nora Lum, known professionally as Awkwafina, has revealed her limited culinary skills in a new show where she attempts to cook simple dishes from scratch.

In one of the opening scenes, Lum is seen struggling with two burners on her stove, as ramen boils over on one and Spam sizzles violently on the other. Her nonagenarian grandmother, Powah, watches over FaceTime and playfully criticizes Lum's cooking technique, telling her that it looks like a mess.

The show, titled Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook, highlights the importance of food in Asian culture. Awkwafina explains to the camera that food is deeply ingrained in her family's heritage, but she has never been skilled in the kitchen herself.

Raised in Forest Hills, New York, Lum comes from a unique background where food and cooking have played a significant role in her life. Her great-grandfather Jimmy Lum opened a Chinese restaurant in Flushing in 1952, one of the first in the neighborhood at that time, which became a beloved local institution.

Lum's personal connection to her father's family restaurant is limited due to its closure before she was born. However, she has explored her mother's Korean heritage in a previous episode of No Taste Like Home With Antoni Porowski.

In the upcoming Apple TV docuseries, Lum embarks on a culinary journey where she meets and cooks with Asian American chefs and restaurateurs who share similar experiences. Many of these individuals are restaurant kids who left their family businesses to forge their own paths.

Their stories are marked by a desire to break free from traditional expectations, as many of their families discouraged them from pursuing careers in the industry. Instead, they found success on their own terms, subverting common stereotypes about Asian American chefs and restaurateurs.

Lum's journey is further fueled by her dream of becoming an intrepid restaurant worker, but her family's attitude toward cooking was more practical than romantic. They did not trust her with cooking tasks, viewing it as a serious responsibility rather than a creative outlet.

Traveling across the country had a profound impact on Awkwafina's culinary skills. She was exposed to diverse cooking techniques and ingredients, from San Francisco's Mister Jiu's where she learned about Chinese cuisine, to New York's Culinary Institute of America where she gained hands-on experience with wok-cooking.

Her journey also took her to Texas barbecue joints, where she visited Curry Boys BBQ in San Antonio. There, traditional Texas brisket was served atop a unique green Thai curry, highlighting the fusion of Asian and Texan flavors. She later stopped by Eaker Barbecue in Fredericksburg for bulgogi sausage, another example of cultural blending.

Awkwafina's experiences broadened her understanding of how chefs combine different influences without compromising their culinary vision. She noted that seeing Asian people cooking in a quintessentially Texas environment was particularly enlightening. This exposure allowed her to appreciate the creativity and adaptability of chefs who draw from various cultural traditions.

During an episode set in Hawaii, Awkwafina encountered an underground pit oven called an imu, used for slow-cooking whole hogs. Her reaction was immediate and enthusiastic, demonstrating how her newfound knowledge and confidence were growing with each new experience.

As Awkwafina continued her culinary journey on the show, she found herself facing challenges in the kitchen that would make even the most seasoned chef cringe. Her lack of experience and knowledge often led to mistakes and mishaps, with one particularly memorable moment involving a school-night nightmare come true.

Despite the chaos that ensued, Lum discovered an unexpected silver lining - cooking for chefs turned out to be a surprisingly gentle process. With her newfound confidence growing, she was now perfecting dishes like Bolognese sauce, being mindful not to oversell the show's resolution. Ultimately, this journey of food and cultural exploration became a transformative experience of self-discovery for Lum.