I'm no professional chef or feel that I have any exceptional cooking skill. I stumbled upon cooking because as a youth, I became tired of the Cambodian and Teo Chew food my mother prepared. Western food was seldom cooked in our household and the only time I experienced it was at the school cafeteria or at a friend's house. Inspiration often came from dining at friend's homes. I was always too shy to ask for recipes or how the dish was prepared, so I became observant of what I was eating. I picked the meal apart with my eyes, identified the ingredients visually and identified the ingredients with the taste in my mouth. I would return home to try to replicate the meal for my brother and sister. To my surprise, it always came out pretty good and sometimes even better than what I had originally.
It is ironic that my start in cooking came from the need to experience something different from Cambodian and Teo Chew food. Now, I enjoy eating and cooking Cambodian and Teo Chew food more than ever. Having filled that yearning of having all sorts of Western food since my ability to drive, I have come to appreciate the bold and exotic flavors of Cambodian cuisine and the simplicity of Teo Chew dishes. I'm so thankful for my cultural background because it has helped me gain such a large flavor pallet and a true appreciation for every kind of food. My goal is to create a few signature dishes from every region in the world. Although most of the recipes found in this journal will be from South East Asia, I'll occasionally dabble into other parts of the world through inspiration from friends, family, restaurants and the infinite food programs I watch.
I hope friends and family will cook a few dishes from this blog, but most of all it is a way for me to document and preserve a lot of the Cambodian cooking my mother has taught me. Storing it in my head won't do me any good, so this is a great opportunity to have it down in writing and share it with anyone who is interested.
Enjoy and happy cooking!
0 comments:
Post a Comment