Continuing with the series I started here, I thought I’d also talk about my first experiences in cooking for myself (which unfortunately aren’t too different from today actually).
Never having lifted so much as a spatula til the ripe old age of 25 (I kid, I’ve at least made spaghetti before), cooking was a science I had not figured out yet. Especially when it came to satisfying my craving for food from home.
I tried in vain to replicate some of the simpler dishes that mostly consisted of chucking rice and toppings or noodles and toppings together in a frying pan. I think eventually I just got used to my extremely watered down versions of food from home. It didn’t taste that bad and kept my belly full but I wouldn’t have offered it to anyone else.
My skills haven’t progressed very far. But I recently realised that my problem is not so much my natural inability to put together something that’s actually appetizing to anyone other than myself, rather, it’s that I’ve unwittingly adopted what I will call the “pasta mentality.” And that is, that an all-in-one sauce is all you need for a good dish.
It works when you’re making a quick pasta dish — boil the pasta, pour your store-bought tomato basil, marinara or alfresco sauce over it. If you want something a little fancier, just cook your toppings in the sauce for a bit first.
But there are no shortcuts to cooking a chinese meal with gravy. There is no all-in-one sauce. In fact the barest minimum of sauces is 3 — light and dark soya sauce and oyster sauce. I learnt that the hard way when I poured this “stir fry sauce” from Lee Kum Kee all over my chicken and broccoli. It tasted sooo bad, I had to rinse it out and drown it with regular soya sauce to save it.
Ah well, at least I’m learning!
-Photo credit: Petr Kratochvil
I rediscovered your other blog! Its great! Have to remember to come here more often.
Cooking for oneself is a great new skill! But growing in my household (where food rules). even my first attempts while away at Uni were fairly ambitious. Nowadays cooking is one of my favourite hobbies.
Although I avoid ready made sauces, I do love Lee Kum Kee’s garlic black bean sauce – add a little into your stir fry (its very salty), and it tastes great instantly!
Thanks bren! I’ll try that out next time I get to drive to the remote asian grocery store! I didn’t grow up in a household of cooks so my skills are sorely lacking!