Cooking a western meal for Chinese grandmother

[Dejah]

Congratultions, Kent! What a wonderful gift from you to your family!

Not only did you provide them with special new foods, but you also shared the cooking experience with your Mom and aunt.

WELL DONE!

I'm sure your Grandmother was very proud of her grandson.

Edited May 4, 2006 by Dejah (log)

[Shaya]

Well done, Kent. This was not an easy task for so many reasons. The unfamiliar kitchen, the limited grocery supplies, and least of all the need to bridge the gap between the cooking style of the new generation with that of the established family cooking tradition.

I can relate to this challange. When I am visiting with my family I am anxious to share with them my new culinary favorites but am mindful of what flavors and textures will appeal to their well-established palettes.

Bravo, you should be very proud of yourself!

ps Despite your warning about the labor-intensiveness, I think I'm going to have to try to make those shrimp!

[Lori in PA]

I'm happy for your success! Were you as exhausted, physically and mentally, as I imagine you must have been at the end of that day?

[I_call_the_duck]

Congrats, Kent. You did a great job!

[MissAmy]

Congragulations! That was most impressive!

[Pan]

Thanks for getting back to us, and I, too, am glad your meal was a success!

I'm a little surprised at your relatives' acceptance of a salad of raw, unpickled vegetables. I tried to avoid all raw unpickled vegetables when I was in China. What was your source for the raw vegetables?

[Hest88]

Wow! That sounds great! Thanks for the report back.

[hzrt8w]

Congratulations Kent. Well done!

It's interesting to see your family/relatives use chopsticks to eat penne pasta, crab cakes and deviled eggs... in bowls.

[Kent Wang]

ps Despite your warning about the labor-intensiveness, I think I'm going to have to try to make those shrimp!

←

I think it's a better alternative to the more popular -- at least in America -- bacon-wrapped shrimp as the prosciutto is much thinner and will shrink and bind to the shrimp. Bacon-wrapped shrimp, in my experience, often results in undercooked bacon with overcooked shrimp.

Were you as exhausted, physically and mentally, as I imagine you must have been at the end of that day?

←

I took a nap afterwards.

I'm a little surprised at your relatives' acceptance of a salad of raw, unpickled vegetables. I tried to avoid all raw unpickled vegetables when I was in China. What was your source for the raw vegetables?

←

I bought the pre-mixed salad greens from Carrefour. We went to several other dinners at restaurants that served raw vegetable salads and no one seemed to have any compunctions about eating them. Perhaps this is less of a problem in the big cities?

[Makan King]

Congratulations and well done! That was a wonderful thing that you did - it was a true labor of love. You should be very proud of having pulled off such a great meal so well, but I think no one will be more proud than your grandmother and your mother. You have certainly given them a lot of face.

[miladyinsanity]

Congratulations on surviving the whole thing, Kent! And without falling facedown into your dinner too!

Great pictures.

[jo-mel]

You did it! And like a pro!

Imagine -- Italian pasta and chopsticks! The twain has met!

I was surprised at the yellow cherry tomatoes. What would the Chinese use them for? (eating, of course, but how -- what kind of dishes?)

[Kent Wang]

Imagine -- Italian pasta and chopsticks!  The twain has met!

I was surprised at the yellow cherry tomatoes. What would the Chinese use them for? (eating, of course, but how -- what kind of dishes?)

←

I always eat my pasta and salads with chopsticks. I find that they're more efficient.

I think the cherry tomatoes are eaten like fruit. My aunt one day bought home a bunch and laid it out on our fruit counter -- it's just a counter on which we always leave some fruit as a snack.

[sheetz]

Very impressive Kent!

P.S. I also eat most pastas with chopsticks. It's so much easier!

[ludja]

Congrats on wonderful dinner; I'm glad they enjoyed it. One of my fondest memories is of my sister and I cooking a few dinners for my grandparents from Austria when they visited the US. Food in Austria is/was always cooked by her and over here it was usually my Mom or Aunt cooking for them. It was very nice to "give back" in this way which wasn't easy to do on a regular basis with all of us spread out geographically. The food differences aren't as great, but we also had fun in coming up with a menu that would be special and different but not *too* different for them.

How did the stuffed eggs go over?

Edited May 9, 2006 by ludja (log)

[jo-mel]

Kent -- would you mind explaining the actual cooking routine? Having just a two-burner stove, a microwave and a rice cooker is a little scary. I've cooked meals in a boat galley -- but not for 15!

[Kent Wang]

How did the stuffed eggs go over?

←

I think they were well liked, as far as I could tell. The Kewpie mayo adds a lot of sweetness and lightness to the yolks.

Kent -- would you mind explaining the actual cooking routine?  Having just a two-burner stove, a microwave and a rice cooker is a little scary.  I've cooked meals in a boat galley -- but not for 15!

←

The burners were the bottleneck so their use had to be well planned for. The order went something like this:

cook miso soup

bring stock to boil and hold for the risotto

cook risotto

make roux

cook mushroom sauce, add roux

cook penne, combine with sauce

steam fish

fry crabcakes

fry shrimp

The dishes that kept well, temperature-wise, were done first. Of course I enjoy risotto and penne hot off the stove but I had to hold them for a while while I finished the rest of the dishes.

All the chopping I did as early as I could, before I started up any of the burners. You can never have too much mis-en-place.

[Kent Wang]

The bread pudding. Not too exciting to look at, though.