I’ve been thinking about my Mom a lot lately. This year marks the tenth anniversary since she passed away and it continues to be difficult for me to grasp that she’s no longer with us. Among the many things that she taught me, some essential cooking skills serve me in very practical ways. I often say that I am better at following recipes than cooking intuitively. I’m referring to food that we encounter often in mainstream North America food media. The majority of these food are of French, American, Latin, or Italian background. What I neglect to acknowledge even to myself is that the food I grow up with, I can cook without thinking. The understanding of these Cantonese home cook dishes and the skills to make them are so much a part of me, a part that my Mom instilled in me, that I do not give them enough recognition.
In Cantonese cooking, there are a few key techniques including steaming, stir frying, braising, and deep frying. I learned these skills the old fashioned way, by watching and helping my Mom preparing dinner day in and day out. When she returned from grocery shopping, there would be much slicing and marinating of various meats. A bit of oil, a bit of cornstarch, pinch of salt, sprinkle of sugar, splash of soy sauce, and some cooking wine form the basis of much of her cooking. She would pack everything in single meal portions to streamline meal time preparation. A typical dinner at our home would involve a soup (slow cooked or quick boil), a steamed dish cooked in the electric rice cooker, and a stir fried dish. Not only does the meal offered variety, it was a good strategy to ensure all dishes would cook simultaneously and were served piping hot. I haven’t learned to appreciate these little practical details until I become the chef of my own home kitchen.
When it comes to stir frying, I cannot imagine why anyone would cook the meat before the vegetable. You see, meat would leave behind burnt brown bits on the wok surface but not so for vegetable. Deglazing is not part of stir frying and a clean wok surface is important to the success of the final dish. I learned early on from my Mom that if I par cook the vegetable first, a quick wipe of the wok is all that is necessary before I move on to stir frying the meat. Some vegetable cook quickly and a few stirs in the wok is enough to take the raw edge off. Hardier vegetable such as broccoli or gailan, she taught me to steam fry with a bit of water and the lid on. If I want a sauce, don’t let all the water evaporate. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry and a bit of oyster sauce for a savoury sauce that just glaze the meat and vegetable. These tips and tricks are so ingrained in my mind that she taught me the why behind the how. If anyone ask me for a recipe of the Stir Fried Broccoli Mushroom & Chicken dish pictured above, all I can do is shrug apologetically and say “well….it’s just a bit of this and a bit of that….”.
I was reading Chinese recipes the other day and most of them read like shorthand notes. The ingredients for most dishes are the same and the technique is not all that varying. What amazes me is that despite all the similarities, the end results are vastly different. Cantonese cuisine is truly driven by ingredients. It makes a lot of sense once you consider the geographic environment. This branch of Chinese cooking originates from the southern region of the country with mild climate, long growing season, and proximity to the ocean. Does it not sound similar to other ingredient-driven food culture such as the Italians?
I am thankful that I had the opportunity to learn to cook by my Mom’s side. It’s true that I do not cook Chinese food too often anymore because it is hard to customize meals for one. However, the lack of practice does not mean I forget. When I cook these dishes from my childhood, I feel a connection to her. I suppose that’s why some say parts of our parents live on in us. Had she been alive, there would be much more memories of us spending time together. I feel sad when I think that my memories of her cease to grow ten years ago. This connection through cooking is one way for me to cherish our time spent together.
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I lament often that I do not resemble my Mom in appearance. Here is a photo of me at age 22 and a photo of her at the same age. Luckily, similarities run more than skin deep. Her creativity and organizational skills in the kitchen are traits that I share. And I wouldn’t trade those for the world.
