Selena + Chef

Hi. I'm Selena Gomez,

and I love to eat.

Selena and Candice, take one.

Really, really love to eat.

But I'm not the best cook.

I can't even fix eggs properly.

So while I've been stuck at home,

I thought, "What better time

to improve my skills in the kitchen?"

You've actually never been to set with me before.

So I've asked some of the best chefs to school me.

And this is what I'm burning today.

They're at home. I'm at home.

I gotta put my mic on, Daisy.

And we're gonna see if we

can make a meal together... apart.

You know you've gone crazy when you're talking to your dogs.

Two, three, four.

Whoo!

Candice?

Hi! - Hi, Selena!

How are you? - I'm so good!

How are you? - This is exciting.

- I'm not a great cook, so please bear with me,

but I am very honored that you came on the show,

and I can't wait to learn.

Thanks, Leenie.

- Today, I'm talking to Candice Kumai.

She has written six best-selling cookbooks

and has an awesome nickname:

The Golden Girl of Wellness.

What are we making?

- Okay, so today we're gonna make

spicy miso ramen.

My Japanese grandmother

is known for spicy miso ramen.

But I do a little bit of

California twist.

So stuff that'll be good for our skin,

like shiitake mushrooms or avocado.

- Great. - And then we're gonna do

matcha chocolate chip cookies.

Love that.

- This is the best date night meal ever.

Once you have a boy over and you master this...

- He will definitely call you back.

- Good. -

- I'm currently struggling in that department.

It's quarantine.

- No, you're not! That's what I'm here for.

Thank you.

So I got all the stuff here.

What are we gonna start with?

- The first thing we're gonna start with

is some toasted sesame oil.

And it's really fragrant.

- Isn't that amazing? - Wow.

So yummy.

Get a hot pan ready to go.

Okay, which pan should I use?

- I have one pot that's sort of like this

that I'm gonna start with.

And if you have something similar... that's perfect.

- Okay. - So what we're gonna do is

sauté our onion and our mushrooms.

Take our yellow onion,

and we're gonna slice it in half right now.

Start peeling back these layers of the onion.

Slice it thin. - Okay.

- You know, if you cry, it's okay,

because the onions can do that.

Yeah. So can boys.

- They were similar to boys. I was just gonna say that.

I love your knife, by the way! It's so cool!

- Thank you! I've been getting some compliments.

They look beautiful. Okay.

We're gonna grab this sesame oil.

Selena, I want you to start eyeballing while cooking.

I want you to just dump in

what you think is two tablespoons.

- Wow. - To be frank,

I don't like rules. I never have.

I think it's way more fun to just do your own thing.

- Okay. Yeah? - That looks perfect.

So you can take the onion and dump

as much or as little as you like into your pan.

- I might've done some of the pieces a bit too thick, but...

- That's okay! - My first time.

So this is like a speedy ramen

for date night or girls' night.

I've been quarantined

with two of my really good friends.

Liz and Raquelle.

Yay!

- Who have you been quarantining with?

I have a couple of girlfriends

where we all have been quarantined,

so they'll come over.

But, gosh, I never thought

this was gonna happen, Selena,

'cause I've single for a few years.

I met somebody during quarantine through a...

- No! - Yes.

It was through a Zoom call.

That is so crazy!

- It means that you could meet your person

anywhere at any time.

- Okay, well, I mean, I'm down for anything, I guess.

That smells incredible.

Come on in, Raquelle.

This is my friend, Raquelle.

- Hi! - Hi, Raquelle!

It already smells incredible.

I was smelling it from the living room.

I'm, like, "I have to see what's going on in there."

Yeah, and we're, like, talking

about boys and cooking.

We talk about boys a lot.

Oh, yeah. Big time.

I mean, the love life

is struggling a bit in quarantine,

but, you know, thank God for...

both: We have each other.

- - Sometimes I'm just, like,

Sel, can you give me a hug?

I totally get it.

Should I let this be?

Or should I start something else?

Okay, I'm gonna start

the mushrooms with you.

Okay, mushrooms.

You're gonna remove the stems.

Just give it a twist, firmly, off the bottom.

These are full of antioxidants,

which are gonna keep you glowing and gorgeous.

Love that.

- You're gonna start slicing your shiitakes.

Yeah, very good.

So you've obviously been

surrounded by cooking your whole life, I'm assuming.

- I was professionally trained in a French kitchen,

and then I cooked on the line for many years.

I also studied under a bunch of monks in Japan.

- Wow. - Wow!

And I really learned about

how they worked together as a unit.

Yeah, it's very selfless.

- That's my kind of people, you know?

Like, I can tell that you're the same way,

and you care for others.

You're not basic.

Yes!

- - Okay, BRB.

- Okay. - Bye, Raquelle!

- Thank you. - Yeah.

- So now we're gonna just throw 'em in.

Coat them in that same oil with the mushrooms.

Go ahead and add a little more oil.

Perfect.

Also, Selena, do you want to boil

two eggs in a pot of water?

- Okay. - But we're gonna put them

on top of the ramen.

The smell is so good.

- Nice. - Good work, girls.

I love this. Team single girl power.

- Yeah. - Oh, you're single, too?

- Oh, no! She's met someone during quarantine.

No! What are we doing wrong?

- I don't know. - Oh, my goodness.

- I just gotta go be with the monks, so...

Okay. Next.

You can take out of your goody bag

your miso paste and tahini.

It's a ground sesame paste,

typically used in Middle Eastern cooking.

- Okay. - So go ahead and measure out

roughly a 1/2 cup of sesame paste and your miso paste.

- Okay. - But like I said,

who cares if you're a little bit off?

Sometimes I'm a hit or miss.

- And that's life, though, right?

That's perfect.

You wanna get roughly

8 cups of purified water.

- The water goes into the miso, right?

This is really the soup base.

Let a little simmer come up. - Okay.

- Okay, this is a really cool sauce

that hails from Vietnam.

The original Sriracha.

Squeeze into your miso pot.

I love spice.

It should look beautiful

in color and texture now.

- Can you see this? - Yeah.

That's good!

And you guys can taste-test the soup.

Oh, yeah!

- Mmm... - That's really good.