I have taught thousands to stir-fry but here’s my favorite student: meet 9-year old Mariam. Her family took my Craftsy online stir-fry class and the following is what her mom Christina posted on the site at the end of March:
“Grace Young’s stir-fry class has been a family event in our home. My children 11 & 9, watched the class and did it with their father and me. We all made the dishes together the first time, and then the children would make the dishes themselves. Young shows the right way, and demonstrates while explaining why the wrong way doesn’t work. Several dishes are explained, making us feel adventurous to make our own stir-fry recipes. This is a MUST for any family wanting to learn how to make quick, easy, delicious stir-fry!
Mariam had no previous experience stir frying before we got the class. We signed up for the class March 12, 2015. So she only has a few weeks under her belt. I give all the credit to you, you made it so simple to follow and easy to memorize. Mariam watched all the lessons and memorized them. She loves your class and has been working through it. She even made us stir fry for lunch today! I just love how easy the class is to follow and understand. At first she didn’t have a step stool and we soon realized that she wasn’t able to really see and mix the food well enough, so now she has a small step stool to help her. Her dad and I, helped/watched the first several dishes with her. Her brother who is 11, also has been taking the class and making some dishes, but he is not into cooking as much as Mariam is. We are eating so well with her practicing almost every day, sometimes twice a day. :-)”
The photos of Mariam stir-frying give me the biggest smile. She’s so sweet and I’m stunned that she memorized the lessons!?!!!?! To tell you truth, I hadn’t heard of Craftsy when they invited me to teach. At first, I was skeptical but I have to admit it’s an amazing way to reach students. Over 5000 students from all around the world have taken the class. Wok newbies send me their questions, photos of their newly seasoned wok, stir-fries, and Mariam’s mom even sent me a youtube of Mariam stir-frying. It’s the first time I’ve ever watched a student stir-frying in her home kitchen, and I, in turn could send a few suggestions to improve Mariam’s technique. It’s wild.
Christina wrote me “I hope (Miriam) will inspire people to bring their kids into the kitchen.” I believe Mariam will inspire young and old to stir-fry. After three weeks of stir-frying, it’s so cool that Mariam feels confident enough to improvise and isn’t following my recipes. Here she is with her improvised fried rice. Dear Mariam, I’m impressed, gratified, and you give me hope… Thank you!
PS If someone special in your life has a hankering to stir-fry here’s a link to my Craftsy class The Art of Stir-Frying with a $25 discount.
