Celebrities would give an arm and a leg to appear on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” All 12–year–old Tai–Tien Chan had to do was promise to make Leno a delicious slice of pizza. Chan, a cooking wiz kid from Albany, Calif., was invited on the show after he won a national cooking contest.
“I was pretty excited but also a little nervous,” Chan said about making his now–famous Asian Pizza in front of millions of viewers. But it didn’t throw him off. “Leno told me it was some of the best pizza he’s ever had.”
The 7th grader didn’t become a gourmet chef overnight. “I starting helping my mom cook when I was 2 or 3,” Chan said. “She would put me on her shoulders to reach the counter.” Since then, he has developed about a dozen recipes for what he calls “fun” food. “I make my recipes by experimenting with foods that I like to eat, like pizza and cookies, stuff kids like.”
Adults seem to like Chan’s food too. Judges of cooking contests have awarded him generous prizes. He won $3,000 worth of sporting equipment from Woman’s Day for his Power Popsicles and $100 from trail–mix maker Flanigan Farms for his Fruit ‘N Nut Cookie Pizza. In 1998, Chan also got to travel to Birmingham, Ala., to participate in the Piggly Wiggly/Southern Living kids’ cook–off (he made the finals with his Western Wraps recipe).
But no award tops his appearance on “The Tonight Show.”
“That was the best honor,”Chan said. “I got to go to Los Angeles and meet Jay Leno. He was so nice. During the (commercial) break, we passed some pizza to the audience, and Santana (a guest on the show) tried it too.”
Now that he has satisfied celebrity taste buds, Chan has decided to stay out of the kitchen for a while. Right now, he’d rather play tennis or hang with his friends, even though they tease him about his cooking. “They make jokes about it, especially when they’re hungry and want me to make them something.”
Chan doesn’t want to be a chef when he grows up. “Having it as a job would take all the fun out of it. I want to be a lawyer.”
Chan’s favorite recipe: his Asian Pizza. “It makes a great afternoon snack!”
ASIAN PIZZA
2 packages (3 ounces each) Top Ramen Oriental Noodles, cooked, drained
2 eggs
1 package seasoning from the noodles
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 package (16 ounces) frozen oriental-style vegetables, cooked, drained
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup slivered cooked ham
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Combine the noodles, eggs, seasoning and oil till well mixed. Put into a greased 12–inch pizza pan. Sprinkle on the veggies and ham. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the cheese. Let stand 5 minutes then cut into wedges. Serves 4–6.
TOP THIS JOB: TWO SCOOP TROOPERS MAKE PLEASIN’ PIZZA
I had never heard of this kind of pizza. If you were to read the recipe, you might think it was gross. But it’s really good. It takes about 10 minutes to make, and then you put it in the oven for 15 minutes. The aroma of the pizza was delicious.
Vegetarians would like this kind of pizza — just leave out the meat. I definitely will make this pizza again.
— Courtney B., 12
This was an easy recipe with great oriental flavor. Asian Pizza has a spicy ramen–noodle crust topped with vegetables, ham and cheese. It is not your typical pizza because it doesn’t have any sauce. Because the ramen doesn’t have broth, the seasoning packets intensify the flavor.
I have food allergies, and when I got this recipe I noticed three ingredients that I couldn’t eat: eggs, sesame oil and beans (in the frozen vegetables). So I used substitutes: For the egg in the crust, I substituted Egg Replacer, which is a powder that you mix with water. I used three “eggs” instead of two because I thought it would hold the crust together better. I used canola oil instead of sesame oil and chopped and steamed the vegetables instead of buying them frozen.
The results were delicious. The only drawback to using Egg Replacer is that the crust is not as firm as normal pizza crust. A little extra cooking time helps, but it won’t really be finger food without the real eggs.
— Joe Z., 13
