The Wonton Don | Donnie Does
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00:00 Hey, how are you? Welcome back to Gooned Up. Today we have our first reoccurring guest, Chef Donnie.
00:06 Yo, yo, yo!
00:07 What's up, dude?
00:08 So, as I'm sure some of you know, Donnie got his start at Barstool, interning for me out in China.
00:19 How are you guys doing?
00:26 And he wasn't only my intern, he was Hawaii's intern too.
00:30 You're the first person on this show that can actually say they have met Hawaii.
00:35 Yeah, that was crazy. I mean, I was just thinking back to that, I don't know, was that four or five years ago?
00:40 Something like that. It's a while back, but yeah, she's the GOAT.
00:43 I miss her, and I think in 2024 I will be getting back to China, but for now I gotta make do with what I have.
00:50 And what I have is Chef Donnie.
00:52 Are you a classically trained chef?
00:55 No, I'm completely self-taught. I started working at restaurants when I was 15.
00:59 My uncle owned places out in New York City, so in the summers I'd go out and visit him,
01:03 and just gravitate towards the kitchen, and then got my first job as a prep cook/dishwasher.
01:08 Then in college I was working at a restaurant and at a bar, did my own menu, did a catering,
01:13 and just slowly in and out of restaurants since 15.
01:16 When you were working as an intern here, trying to go full-time, I felt like they were hiring everyone else full-time,
01:23 but not you yet. And I was like, "Look, this guy started his own business in college. He's got the drive to succeed."
01:30 Also, you pretty much taught yourself how to edit while you were with me out in China.
01:34 Yeah, I remember you asking when we met in Korea at the Olympics, "You want to film and edit?"
01:38 I was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, completely." And I was like, "Oh, fuck. I gotta learn how to do all this."
01:43 But it worked out, and we had a great time.
01:45 Never would have imagined I'd be standing here and doing this six years later, but it's been a while. It's been fun.
01:52 Check out What's for Lunch. That's Chef Donnie's cooking show.
01:55 Now, while Donnie was out in China, he appeared on an episode of Gooned Up, where I believe you made a jalapeno turkey ragoon?
02:02 Yeah, it was a turkey burger. That's when I was coming off that summer, that business riding, doing the slider menu,
02:07 and turkey burger was the biggest seller, so I went with what I knew back then.
02:10 Well, now you're coming off summer working at a kitchen in France.
02:15 And so I wanted him to do something French-themed. I threw out the idea, "What about French onion soup?"
02:21 And Donnie thought that would work well.
02:24 Yeah, I thought that would be easy. Not that many ingredients, and who doesn't love a French onion soup?
02:27 So I got some onions. I've been going... The thing with throwing French onion soup and caramelizing onions, though, it takes a while.
02:32 So I started those onions, I don't know, like 45 minutes ago.
02:35 Yeah, every time I want to make caramelized onions for myself, I never have the patience to do it right.
02:40 It's definitely a time thing, and there's no real shortcuts around it.
02:44 If you go too high a heat, you're just gonna burn the sugars in there. Like, we're getting there now with that color.
02:49 Holy shit, yeah. Anytime I make them at home, they do not look like this.
02:53 Yeah, it's just butter and thyme. That's beautiful. It's a beautiful thing right there.
02:58 This could even go longer, but for our purposes of what we need, this is looking good.
03:01 Now, how much butter do you put in?
03:03 Just stick a stick of butter in there.
03:05 That smells so good.
03:06 It's smelling great.
03:07 Yeah, so if someone wanted to make a French onion soup at home, you caramelize a ton of onions, and then you get, like, beef stock?
03:15 Beef stock and onions, and that's it. And then you get Gruyere cheese, cheese on top, crostini, cheese, and then bake that away under the broiler until the cheese is melted, and that's it. You're good.
03:23 Let's go.
03:24 All right, do you want to grate away all the chopped up chives?
03:26 Now, you're fluent in French?
03:28 Fluent, yes.
03:29 Holy shit.
03:30 Went to all-French school growing up.
03:32 So, like, how do you say au bon pain?
03:35 Au bon pain.
03:36 Au bon pain.
03:37 Au bon pain.
03:38 Au bon pain.
03:39 It's good bread.
03:42 I had some good times in China. At one point, I talked Donnie into trying to stay overnight in an Ikea, because I read about some people doing that online, and the nighttime security guard brought him after, like, an hour.
03:56 No, I made it to, like, 3 in the morning. It was brutal, but it was, like, the store was definitely closed. The security guard was more scared than I was, though, when he opened the door.
04:04 Dude, I would have been terrified.
04:06 That's true. He wasn't expecting just a white kid to pop out of the...
04:09 Yeah. He was hiding in a cupboard, and the nighttime security guard was just going through, like, I guess part of his job was just opening up all of the cupboards, and Chef Donnie popped out.
04:19 You were just kind of like, "Oh, I'm sorry."
04:21 I said, "No, I don't speak any Chinese Mandarin. Sorry." And then I said, "I thought I could stay here, like, sleep, sleep." And then I just saw an opportunity and sprinted past him out the front door.
04:31 Thank God it was unlocked.
04:32 It was worth the shot.
04:33 We did that on my last night in China, too, because you said if things go wrong, you might just get kicked out of the country. So, like, at least you have a flight out already.
04:40 Yeah. Now, I think since COVID, they have gotten a little more strict. Probably wouldn't want to try that now.
04:45 No, it was kind of the wild west when we were out there. At least, I mean, you've been there for way longer, but even when I was there, it was still like you kind of do whatever you want.
04:52 Didn't me and you teach at, like, a school?
04:54 Yeah, dude, we were smog mask pollution experts at a school. I gave a whole speech in our auditorium. Yeah, that was one of your things. Like, you have to pass the white face job checklist to be a true white guy living in China.
05:07 I was like, "All right, I'll do it." And gave a whole speech to, like, kindergartners about it in a full auditorium of people. It was ridiculous.
05:12 Yeah, there must have been like 400 people there.
05:14 That was insane. And we did a song. You came on at the end. We did a song and dance, a little routine together at the end of that.
05:20 Was our song about smog?
05:22 Yeah.
05:23 [Singing]
05:32 China was a good time. My other favorite memories when I cooked with Gao Ai, your other maid in her alley with all, like, the old Chinese women. That was a great video. That was a fun time.
05:41 Give me your biggest Gai Fieri bite.
05:44 [Laughter]
05:46 Yeah, there you go. That was perfect.
05:48 Gao Ai is the GOAT. Most people don't know about her because Huaiyi just loved being on camera. Gao Ai was more kind of like, she wasn't as Hollywood as Hollywood Who.
05:58 Hollywood Who, always on our phone. Probably taking calls from her agent.
06:02 So she wasn't as comfortable being in the spotlight. But yeah, I still have a very close relationship with her as well.
06:08 All right, are we ready?
06:09 Yeah, let's do it. Let's make these in the goons.
06:12 These look great. We'll go in with all the onions first.
06:16 And now, should we go all the cheese, you think?
06:18 I think, yeah, why not? We want all the onions, so.
06:22 Yeah, no, this looks like a solid consistency for a Rangoon filling.
06:26 Oh yeah. Some chives.
06:28 Oh yeah.
06:29 Chives, maybe a little salt and pepper, why not?
06:32 Yeah, me and Chef Donnie have done a bunch of cooking content together. We did the chopped spinoff in China where I would just name a random Chinese ingredient and he had to make something out of it.
06:43 Chicken feet.
06:44 I actually have the perfect idea for these chicken feet here.
06:47 Yeah, okay.
06:48 What?
06:49 I can't f***ing cook those. How good do you think I am?
06:50 Disqualified!
06:51 Fine, keep the prize money. I don't want it.
06:53 There was no f***ing prize money!
06:54 And then we had a cooking show called Top Don where we competed to see who could make the best wing.
07:00 That's right, I forgot about that one. That was at the old office.
07:02 Chef Donnie won.
07:03 Well, I did say my brother was in a wheelchair, which he was not, so I might have gotten some sympathy votes for that.
07:09 Yep, you said that. I tried telling people my dad was gay to see if that would help, but nope, it didn't help and it just pissed off my dad.
07:18 Why are you saying that? I'm kidding.
07:20 So something I make all of my guests do is I time their GPM, goons per minute.
07:27 Sing it with me.
07:28 There's no wrong way to wrap a wonton. There's no wrong way to fry a goon.
07:34 Boom, boom, boom. You are ready.
07:36 Okay.
07:37 One, two, three, go.
07:42 Alright, that's a chunky goon.
07:45 See, the size might f*** me on that.
07:51 Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
07:54 I mean, if you just want to use your hands, it's fine.
07:56 Yeah, that's going to be mostly hands on that.
08:04 But you're probably going to want to start wrapping soon.
08:07 Hey, I think I only got four.
08:09 Oh no, this is going to cost him right here.
08:12 He just went to wash his hands off.
08:14 I guess that does help seal.
08:17 Alright, you're at 40 seconds.
08:19 F***, I'm only going to get one.
08:20 Only 20 more to go.
08:22 Oh, s***.
08:23 Oh my god.
08:24 I'm falling apart.
08:25 And you're used to working on your breakfast.
08:27 I know, but not like this.
08:28 This guy worked in a professional kitchen all summer.
08:31 Alright, you're done. You're done.
08:33 F*** man, I got three.
08:34 Oh man, yep.
08:35 That's terrible.
08:36 That's such a shame.
08:37 One casualty?
08:39 Well, I spilled half the, I spilled my bowl.
08:41 Hey, well the three wrapped look good.
08:44 Well, thank you.
08:45 Although, yeah, this one like this one's not even sealed.
08:48 Alright, well.
08:49 We might have to give him 2.5.
08:51 That's alright, these are going to taste good.
08:53 That's all that matters.
08:54 When you go back to China though, what's your plan?
09:01 Are you planning on going to like a Sharks game?
09:03 That's got to be on the list, right?
09:05 I got to get to a Sharks game.
09:06 I got to see Gauwaii.
09:07 I got to see Hawaii.
09:09 Almost all of my favorite bars and restaurants have since like closed down, I feel like.
09:14 But I think there's a few that are still there.
09:16 What about that massive spot that we watched the Super Bowl at?
09:19 Like I flew in and like that night was Super Bowl Sunday.
09:22 We got there at like 7am and they had the cages.
09:25 Cages? That is still there.
09:27 I played some bow and arrow game.
09:29 Donnie and I were in a competitive combat archery league.
09:33 Yeah, that's what it was. Combat archery.
09:35 I really like the energy here. You can hear?
09:37 The sound, boom, on the wall.
09:41 And we're shouting, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, it's a game, you know it's a game. It's a game."
09:45 When I first met Chef Donnie, I was at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
09:54 And he was just traveling around Asia. Instead of doing a semester abroad,
09:59 he was like, "Oh, I just made some money on crypto. I'm just going to take the semester off and travel Asia."
10:06 Turned out he got scammed.
10:07 Scammed.
10:08 Lost a lot of that money, so was looking for some income.
10:10 And I was like, "Well, I could use an intern."
10:12 And most other people that could be my intern are in school right now.
10:15 So if you want to come to China, the job is yours.
10:19 Yeah, it worked out.
10:20 And I didn't think I was going to make it.
10:22 I still was like, "All right, whatever."
10:24 And then I was in India, and I was really out of money living in a hovel in India with an estranged uncle.
10:29 And then I hit you up, I DM'd you, I'm like, "Is that an internship? Is that pleased? Is that still available?"
10:34 And you're like, "I can tell you're kind of like, 'Ah, shit, I told him yes, but I don't know.'"
10:38 And then it worked out.
10:39 I think you were concerned that, because I remember one of the messages was like,
10:42 "Yeah, China's a little hard. I don't want it to be me having to help you get around.
10:46 It'd be more work for me than you're benefiting me."
10:49 I was like, "No, I'll be fine."
10:51 Yeah, that was my concern.
10:52 And I was like, "Am I going to spend my entire time telling him how to get a taxi, where to eat?"
10:58 But no, Chef Donnie was very self-sufficient.
11:01 We filmed a lot of good vlog series videos, I feel like.
11:04 Rick the Razor, Rick the Razor.
11:05 Yeah, we did.
11:06 Fuck.
11:07 There was an intern exit interview that you put me through.
11:09 Yes.
11:10 We'll throw some clips of that video in, too.
11:12 That was hilarious.
11:13 Have you gotten hooked on hoons yet?
11:15 Yeah, unfortunately.
11:16 I don't know if that was the best task to have, but yeah.
11:20 Hooked on hoons.
11:21 And now, would you say, how many hoons do you crank per day?
11:25 I think I'm on like seven.
11:27 Wow, you really knocked that one out of the park. Great job.
11:30 How long have you been cranking them?
11:31 Well, a few more.
11:32 Yeah, when you were working for me, I was putting out like three vids a week.
11:36 We had the Wands World vlogs.
11:38 I think our travel series still is one of my most favorite.
11:42 We did Cambodia, Laos.
11:44 Tajikistan, then Hong Kong for Hong Kong 7.
11:46 That's it.
11:47 Then Cambodia, and then home.
11:49 That was insane.
11:51 Yeah, that was quite a marathon.
11:53 But some of the best, some of the craziest stuff I've filmed.
11:55 Was that the PFT Hong Kong 7, too?
11:57 Yeah.
11:58 Favorite thing I've ever filmed.
11:59 Yeah, that was something.
12:00 Holy shit.
12:01 If you've seen PFT tripping balls at Hong Kong 7, Donnie was the guy behind the camera.
12:06 Worrying about filming and also worrying like,
12:08 "This guy can't just go walk into a crowd alone right now. He's losing his mind."
12:12 So it was like half babysitting, half filming.
12:15 And you were like, "Am I going to have to break up a fight between me and an entire New Zealand rugby team?"
12:20 You punched a guy in the face that day, dude.
12:22 That was crazy.
12:24 Also, you didn't have a phone because you dove off a boat the day before.
12:28 Oh, your glasses.
12:29 We were on that yacht filming and your sunglasses fell.
12:31 And I was like, "Fuck, dude. Donnie Shades. He can't lose these."
12:34 I dive in thinking I'm a hero, which I got the glasses.
12:37 But I sacrificed my phone.
12:39 And you're like, "Dude, they're like $2 glasses. I appreciate the effort."
12:42 But you didn't have to ruin your phone for that.
12:44 Yeah, so I had no phone.
12:45 That was a wild few days.
12:48 I was a shell of a human come Monday.
12:51 Oh, yeah.
12:52 Okay. The goons have been wrapped.
12:55 Now it's time to fry them up.
12:57 By the way, Donnie, how's your hearing these days?
13:00 It's like, I don't know, standard.
13:03 Did I fuck my ears up that I don't know about something?
13:05 Do you remember when I shot a rocket launcher in Cambodia?
13:10 Yes, dude.
13:11 And then Donnie forgot to put his earplugs in.
13:13 I literally launched a bazooka like four feet from him.
13:16 I did.
13:17 My ears are ringing.
13:21 Fuck, I forgot to wear these.
13:23 It was so close to me and just the most painful ear sound I've ever had in my life.
13:29 All I had was just pieces of paper.
13:31 Yeah, there were no rules at that gun range at all.
13:34 No.
13:35 I mean, we could have blown up a cow if we wanted to for like an extra $100.
13:38 Yeah, those are frying up fast.
13:40 They're already looking pretty good.
13:43 A new technique that Henry's been doing, he's been dusting goons when they first come out.
13:48 So if you have like another flavor you want to add to it, it fucking works very well.
13:54 It's a huge advancement in Rangoonology.
13:57 I like that.
13:58 And I got this little sauce to finish it off.
14:00 Oh yeah, so to add the soup to the French onion soup, Donnie made a demi-glaze.
14:07 Yeah, so you take beef stock and you reduce it, reduce it, reduce it very, very slowly.
14:12 And you get like this very thick sauce.
14:15 And I add a little bit of soy sauce in here just to give it a little more of a glaze.
14:19 Talk about coming full circle from turkey burger goons to nice French onion goons.
14:25 I like the drizzle technique.
14:27 Yeah, it looks good.
14:28 Should we go in for one?
14:29 Yeah, I mean, do we still think they're too hot?
14:32 Don't want to be dealing with third degree tongue burns.
14:34 I don't know.
14:35 There's only one way to find out, Donnie.
14:36 I think we go.
14:37 Cheers.
14:38 Yo.
14:42 Wow.
14:43 Damn.
14:44 Oh yeah.
14:45 That's fucking good.
14:46 Wow.
14:47 Wow.
14:48 These are incredible.
14:50 All right, where's these, where, you got to rank these now.
14:53 I know you eat a lot of goons.
14:54 Where are you putting these?
14:55 My goon scale isn't fully calibrated, but these are in the H, I'd say.
15:01 I think if you serve these at a restaurant, you maybe want to do orders of five or six.
15:07 I think you don't want to sit down and eat 12 of these.
15:10 Best in like-
15:12 They're rich.
15:13 They're rich, but they're so flavorful.
15:15 Wow.
15:16 I think if we wanted to bump these up to a nine, what you could do is then grate some
15:19 cheese on top and hit it with a torch.
15:22 So it kind of looks like French onion soup.
15:24 Dude, no, it'd be cool.
15:25 With the torch cheese.
15:27 You could even replace the baguette bread and put this in like a French onion soup.
15:31 So you have a cross between a wonton soup and a French onion.
15:33 You don't put the onions in, you just have the broth.
15:35 So these on top of the broth and then you're eating that like a cross between a Chinese
15:39 wonton and a French onion like this.
15:41 Oh, that'd be so good.
15:42 There's an idea.
15:43 Man, yeah.
15:44 These are, I'd like, if I had to give an official score, like 9.4, 9.5.
15:49 Actually, no, no, no.
15:50 8.
15:51 Come on.
15:52 I'm not trying to get you pumped.
15:54 No, but it's-
15:55 Jesus Christ.
15:56 This is going to be like an 8.8, maybe 8.9.
15:59 All right.
16:00 That's a great score.
16:01 Because I mean, if I start giving like every goon in the nines, it leaves me no room.
16:04 I know, that's fair.
16:05 Because I don't want to steal Dave's pizza scale.
16:07 That's fair too.
16:08 So I don't have my own scale.
16:10 All I'm going to say is that these are damn good.
16:12 We'll take that.
16:13 Well, hey, you're officially no longer my intern.
16:17 That is true.
16:18 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:19 Actually, he was my intern up until this very video.
16:22 I forgot to ever tell him that he was no longer my intern.
16:25 Damn, I just made it.
16:26 Let's go.
16:27 I'm my own man now.
16:28 Let's go, finally.
16:29 No longer intern Donnie, he is Chef Donnie.
16:31 Wow, it's official.
16:32 There you go.
16:33 French Onion Goons, Chef Donnie.
16:35 It's been a pleasure.
16:36 It's been awesome, man.
16:37 From Shanghai to Chi-Town, we made it.
16:39 It's been fun.
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