This week’s highlight is making cultural dishes with anything I can find. It is not something I expected myself to be doing, but it stood out to me.
My internship did not require me to go in for work on Friday, so I went to the mall with Stella and stopped by Tesco for some groceries. I was craving Cheung fun then, but because it was impossible to find the ingredients for the actual thing, I decided to substitute everything for what I had. It was a bold decision because it could have turned out to be disgusting or fantastic. After a few trials and errors, I was able to make a tremendous substitute for Cheung fun; it was not the same thing, but it was good enough that I was able to satisfy my craving.
Another dish I made this week was wontons! I was thinking about what I wanted to make for dinner while walking around Asia Market where I saw wonton wrappers. I’ve never made wontons, but I grew up seeing my mom make them, so I thought I could try to make them for myself, too! I called my mom regarding ingredients and steps while scrambling around Asia Market and Lidl for everything I needed for the wontons. After getting all my ingredients, I took the bus back to UCD to start filling.
When I walked into my apartment kitchen, we had an unexpected encounter with a carton of eggs on the floor where a bird had clearly bitten through and tried to eat the eggs. It was our reminder to close the windows after we leave the standard room because these birds sure are bold and not afraid to come in for a feast. Besides the bird incident, I started making my wonton filling by adding all the ingredients I remember my mom adding when I was a kid, hoping it would taste okay. After a few trial and error, I made a plate of wontons! I also made a few meatballs with the extra filling, which both tasted amazing! I am so glad I could share it with people in my apartment who also enjoyed it! My most prominent love language is making food and sharing it with others because it’s my way of bonding. Another reason why I decided to make these dishes was because of family.
Choosing to study abroad in the summer also means not having time to spend with my family, but I appreciate that I can make food that reminds me of them. Making these childhood dishes helps me feed myself, but more importantly, I understand how much my mom has done for me growing up. When I return to the States, I aim to cook for my mom because most of my cooking comes from what I learned from her.