Most people assume that since my parents run a restaurant, I naturally would inherit their skills of being a cook. Yet, those assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Oh, no – I actually can only cook the basics,” I admit embarrassingly. “My parents usually just cook everything themselves.”
With my parents around, I’ve never had to worry about making my own meals. Whatever I craved, they cooked. I didn’t have to learn, I just ate. With one simple request, my two private chefs would fire the woks, start the oil fryers, and fill the kitchen up with rich, multidimensional aromas in a pace that even Gordon Ramsay would be impressed by.
But then, I left for college. And then I moved out of the dorms. Without my parents or dining hall food to sustain me, I no longer had anything to rely on. Staring at my big empty fridge and untouched kitchen, I realized I was utterly unprepared. Soon enough, I couldn’t bear to eat any more takeout or packs of instant ramen. In the midst of my hunger, I noticed something else creeping in: homesickness. Not only did I miss my family, I almost missed their home-cooked meals and the tastes of Fuzhou that I couldn’t find anywhere in Seattle.
That’s when I decided I was going to teach myself how to cook. Not only was I going to cook to sustain myself, but also to always have a piece of my family with me. I wanted to be able to produce something from the heart, that I could call my own.
Of course, I started off calling my parents and first learning my favorite recipes – tomato egg stir fry, jellyfish salad, Fuzhounese Bian Rou (wonton soup), and Fujianese Ban Mian (peanut noodles). I must admit, I experienced a crazy reality check when I found myself googling how to cut a tomato. I will never forget how proud I was of myself when I learned the “hack” to how to dice an onion.
Despite all of these dishes, today I will be sharing a recipe more suited for the cold weather. One that my mom always made when I was sick, and when I went away for college. This recipe is simple, yet delicious, and warms your heart with the thought of home.
Serving Size: 4 servings
• 1 pack of beef short ribs (or pork ribs if preferred)
• 2 carrots
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Seasonings: salt, sugar, MSG, and soy sauce
• Optional: any other of your favorite soup ingredients
1. Boil a large pot of water.
2. (If uncut) Cut beef short ribs into individual ribs.
3. Slice carrots into bite-sized pieces.
4. Add short ribs into the water to boil until scum appears.
5. Remove beef short ribs from the pot, leaving scum.
6. Clean the pot or use a new pot.
7. Re-add beef short ribs and add the chopped carrots.
8. Add fresh water (fill until over ingredients) and boil once more.
9. Cook on medium heat 30min-1hr until the beef is fully cooked and the carrots are soft and easy to pierce through.
10. Season to taste with salt, sugar, and MSG, and soy sauce.
OPTIONAL (but highly highly recommended): Turn the soup into noodle soup!
• Fuzhou flour vermicelli
• Fuzhounese cooking wine
1. Reheat the soup.
2. Boil a small pot of water.
3. Once the water is boiling, add Fuzhou flour vermicelli and stir. Remove after 30 seconds to 1 minute when noodles are cooked.
4. Add noodles into the soup.
5. Add Fuzhounese cooking wine to taste (recommended: half a cap).
6. Eat as soon as possible for best taste as the flour vermicelli will clump fast!
Although I started cooking out of necessity, each recipe I write down is a love letter to my family and to myself. It holds my most cherished memories that would have been lost if unspoken or unwritten.
I hope you all can try making this too, and maybe it’ll also inspire you to explore an area of your heart and home.
