Live to Eat
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As far as I can remember, from my childhood days to adulthood, good, abundant food is most important. We were never short of wanting.
I remembered as a child that cooking curry was a tedious affair.
Under the supervision of my grandmother, my father had to grind bowls of chilli, onions and spices with a stone grinder (called batu giling in malay, it has a lesung - which is a solid granite stone rolling pin and a stone platform to serve as a chopping board). My grandmother would slaughter a life chicken in our backyard and soak it in boiling water to enable easier removal of the feathers. That's the part where I run to hide as you hear the panic squaking of the chicken and the "Plomp", silence. My mom had to pluck every feather from the chicken. My dad once said he had a wild goose chase after a chicken which was beheaded already.
Mom and dad sighed at those bygone days, thanks to modernization and the electric blender.
Food brought our family together especially during Chinese New Year. My mom learned how to cook chinese dishes and curries from my grandmother. We are chinese nyonya, therefore our food is influenced by the Malays. As a child, I enjoyed having my cousins, friends visit during special occasions. Little did I realize back then, what united us and created this sense of warmth, friendship and family love - it was and always had been my mother's cooking. Her generosity extended to aunties packing meat stews and curries home. After the party, mom would quietly clear and wash the dishes. Occasionally our aunties would help.
If I would say what is my mom's legacy, it would certainly be, live life abundantly and eat well.
I am dedicating this site to some of my mother's recipes, especially curries.
Feel free to try out the recipes yourself.
I remembered as a child that cooking curry was a tedious affair.
Under the supervision of my grandmother, my father had to grind bowls of chilli, onions and spices with a stone grinder (called batu giling in malay, it has a lesung - which is a solid granite stone rolling pin and a stone platform to serve as a chopping board). My grandmother would slaughter a life chicken in our backyard and soak it in boiling water to enable easier removal of the feathers. That's the part where I run to hide as you hear the panic squaking of the chicken and the "Plomp", silence. My mom had to pluck every feather from the chicken. My dad once said he had a wild goose chase after a chicken which was beheaded already. Mom and dad sighed at those bygone days, thanks to modernization and the electric blender.
Food brought our family together especially during Chinese New Year. My mom learned how to cook chinese dishes and curries from my grandmother. We are chinese nyonya, therefore our food is influenced by the Malays. As a child, I enjoyed having my cousins, friends visit during special occasions. Little did I realize back then, what united us and created this sense of warmth, friendship and family love - it was and always had been my mother's cooking. Her generosity extended to aunties packing meat stews and curries home. After the party, mom would quietly clear and wash the dishes. Occasionally our aunties would help.
If I would say what is my mom's legacy, it would certainly be, live life abundantly and eat well.
I am dedicating this site to some of my mother's recipes, especially curries.
Feel free to try out the recipes yourself.
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