Passion for cooking

I think I am a good cook. I am passionate about experimenting and exploring the magic of the outcome of the dishes afterwards. Throw in dashes of herbs, or mixing that fresh slice of meat or chicken in that fluid of wonderful colored paste, and the simmering of a beautiful broth, the feelings that just make my heart sing.

I am always at ease and find peace of mind when I hold the laddle. When I taste some new dishes, unknown to their ingredients, I would return to my kitchen and concocted the dishes that I have just tasted. Voila...I come close to the original taste.

Recently, my wife and I made lunch for relatives and neighbours. We decided to cook gulai pisang muda, masak lemak soun & tauhun, sambal tauhu, ayam goreng berempah KFC-styled, sambal belacan with a mixture of strong tamarind paste & lemon, sambal laksamana (a traditional family recipe of pounded fried green chillies, shrimp paste and Indian red onions) . We also had fresh ulams like daun pudina, pucuk tengek burung, daun selom, daun ulam raja and some other fresh leaves unknown to my vocabulary. We also had an assortment of ikan kering masin and ikan kering masam (salted fish) like tenggiri and gelama to accompany the mouth-watering dishes. As for deserts, we bought some delicacies from my wife's friend and my sister, donated her usual kueh Melayu.

It was a blast. Everyone liked the taste of every dish served. These dishes were prepared with love and passion. There was nothing like it; it had been a long time that we had these kind of food at our homes and sharing them with my dear relatives.

Although it was tiresome, we dished out every skills and knowledge we had about cooking traditional food. Although the food was not out of ordinary, the dishes were like fit for the kings.