Cooking Disaster #1

When the Swallow was young, she had always wondered if the kitchen was a magical place.  What did the adults do inside?  They go in with raw meat and fresh vegetables, stayed a long time inside, and then they would finally appear with food that looked and smelt delicious.  Magic!

The Swallow had tried on several occasions to sneak a peek at what her mother and her Popo (maternal grandmother) did in the kitchen, but would always be thwarted by Popo's sharp eyes.  She seemed to have eyes on her back because no matter how quietly the Swallow sneaked in, Popo would know and she would then shoo the Swallow out of the kitchen.

The day finally came when she was allowed into the magical place if only to be the one to bear the delicious food out of the kitchen.  Before her exit out of the kitchen, the Swallow would take the opportunity to breathe in the different aromas.  It was the beginning of her adventures in the kitchen...

Well, where there are adventures, there will always be misadventures too.  And that was true for the Swallow.  In her pursuit to do magic in the kitchen, the Swallow had to deal with mistakes, learn to cope with these mistakes and (hopefully) be wiser for the experience(s).

One such mistake happened early in her cooking experience.  When she stayed with her Ah Mah (paternal grandmother), she had bragged that she could cook.  Actually, all the cooking she had done then was helping her mother to stir the food around the wok (a large Chinese cooking pot) while her mother was busy with other cooking preparations.  The wise Ah Mah refrained from scolding the Swallow for her boastfulness.  Instead, she asked the Swallow to have a go at cooking a dish all by herself.

Stir-Fried Chinese Spinach with Garlic

The Swallow had no chance to eat her brash words.  With her heart in her mouth, she went ahead to do so.  After all, it was a golden opportunity...finally, a chance to do her very own kitchen magic!

The dish was Stir-Fried Chinese Spinach with Garlic.  She remembered all the preparation processes she had learnt from her mother and did them accordingly - pluck the spinach leaves, wash them, and drain them; and flatten the garlic with the back of the knife, peel the skin off, and chop the garlic.

Chinese Spinach Soup upgraded with pork balls

It was a defining moment.  The wok was on the stove.  The fire was turned on.  The oil was in the wok,  and heating up.  Then the garlic was in, and tossed around the wok with the wok chan (a metal Chinese spatula).  Next was the spinach leaves.  Again, the spinach was tossed around the wok.  So far, so good...

Gaining confidence, the Swallow then took some water and quickly poured it into the wok.  Too late, she realized she had poured in too much water!  She glanced at her Ah Mah, worried that she would be given a scolding.  To her surprise, she saw a smile on her Ah Mah's face.  When she was questioned by the Swallow, her Ah Mah just said, "Don't worry, at least now you know how to cook Chinese Spinach Soup."