I've never felt closer to my paternal grandmother than these few months. All that I've been cooking, is a result of knowing her food. You know I don't actually cook with recipes. I literally close my eyes, and if I can taste the foods, I can likely re-create them in the kitchen. I simply remember what she did in the kitchen, and I followed, and it wouldn't be too bad. A pity I can't ask her about her more complicated dishes anymore.
No better meal than oden (おでん) for a light meal this festive season. Oden doesn't require much effort to do. That's because I don't make all the items from scratch. Unlike my grandmother who'd painstakingly make all these things rolled from flour and cook it for our New Year Day's meal. To be honest, our osechi ryori (おせち料理) was the biggest meal of the year in which everything was lovingly made from scratch by my grandmother. I'll never get that again or taste those flavors, unless I re-create it. I might be able to. We'll see.
This is the first time I've done oden in more than a decade. While many items can be store-bought, I will do the dashi from ground up. Tonight, all it took was 35 minutes to prep the dashi, and another 15 minutes for the food items to be all boiled. A newly opened packet of steamed koshihikari rice went winningly with the meal. #ImpieCooks2018
The man was suitably impressed by the soup. He had three bowls of it. That was very nice. I thanked him for the compliment, but it isn't as if his affirmation encourages more cooking or experimentation. Unfortunately, I cook to my tastebuds. I can't just produce a food item even if it's something the man or the friends favor. Mind you, I don't enjoy cooking. I do it out of necessity.
Upon tasting that dashi, tears welled up. I literally paused over the bubbling pot and sniffled for 30 seconds. (Still hygienic lah! No exit droplets!) Somehow, I'd boiled up the exact flavors of my childhood. I've missed this so much. This isn't similar to the Cantonese soups I usually do. Dashi is light and clear, and my grandmother's version skips the dried shiitake and uses loads of shellfish and vegetables' stems and roots. If there's any leftover soup, clear it of all ingredients. Keep it in the fridge plain, and it could be used as a superb base for fish congee. 😄
No better meal than oden (おでん) for a light meal this festive season. Oden doesn't require much effort to do. That's because I don't make all the items from scratch. Unlike my grandmother who'd painstakingly make all these things rolled from flour and cook it for our New Year Day's meal. To be honest, our osechi ryori (おせち料理) was the biggest meal of the year in which everything was lovingly made from scratch by my grandmother. I'll never get that again or taste those flavors, unless I re-create it. I might be able to. We'll see.
This is the first time I've done oden in more than a decade. While many items can be store-bought, I will do the dashi from ground up. Tonight, all it took was 35 minutes to prep the dashi, and another 15 minutes for the food items to be all boiled. A newly opened packet of steamed koshihikari rice went winningly with the meal. #ImpieCooks2018The man was suitably impressed by the soup. He had three bowls of it. That was very nice. I thanked him for the compliment, but it isn't as if his affirmation encourages more cooking or experimentation. Unfortunately, I cook to my tastebuds. I can't just produce a food item even if it's something the man or the friends favor. Mind you, I don't enjoy cooking. I do it out of necessity.
Upon tasting that dashi, tears welled up. I literally paused over the bubbling pot and sniffled for 30 seconds. (Still hygienic lah! No exit droplets!) Somehow, I'd boiled up the exact flavors of my childhood. I've missed this so much. This isn't similar to the Cantonese soups I usually do. Dashi is light and clear, and my grandmother's version skips the dried shiitake and uses loads of shellfish and vegetables' stems and roots. If there's any leftover soup, clear it of all ingredients. Keep it in the fridge plain, and it could be used as a superb base for fish congee. 😄
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