I Am Really Fond Of Cooking Like I Learn From My Mother And Cooking Meals For My Family. And I

Do you cook with handed down family recipes or modern day cookbooks?

Modern cookbooks. My mother grew up in a wealthy family in Hong Kong. They had servants and she had nothing to do with the kitchen.She had to learn in a hurry when she came to the U.S. to study and ended up marrying another student. My father was from mainland China so it had to be Chinese food.People are always surprised that I don’t like Chinese food because “I’ve had it all my life.”My mother occasionally cooked other cuisines. Paella, tempura, French onion soup—whatever inspired her from television. She once saw a sitcom in which a old man dressed like a Mandarin reminisced about having eating blueberry blintzes. She set out to learn how to make blueberry blintzes from a cookbook.I grew up thinking that blueberry blintzes were a Chinese dish.

How do I tell my parents their cooking isn't good?

If your paents are approachable and can occasionally take criticism then you tell them gently, with love and respect.I actually did this some years back. “Mom, Dad, I love you very much, but I make a better roast chicken than you.” They didn’t yell or get visibly angry. Mom’s been surprised by my cooking method because her experience never went there, but she’s acknowledged my skill with birds.My parents weren’t bad cooks—I still think very fondly of Dad’s garden red sauce and Mom’s cheese lasagna—but some of their food was meh. I remember them regularly getting a decent piece of fresh fish from the store, putting it in a hot oven with way too many peppercorns and practically nothing else, and hoping I could find a moist, non-peppery piece when it came to the table (sorry Mom). The roast chickens more often than not had flabby skin and dry meat.Over the past couple of decades I had plenty of chances to show them my cooking, generally successfully. A couple of months before my father passed away, I had the chance to cook fish for my parents—cod, I believe. I steamed it with some white wine until it was just cooked through, and made a light lemon wine sauce to go with the fish. Dad ended up putting a little of the sauce on pretty much every dish that night, and asked me how I made it. I offered to show him when there was a proper whisk in the house—I got them one for a Hanukkah gift—but his health went downhill too quickly for me to have the chance.Break it to them gently. Be prepared to offer suggestions for improvement. And let them know that while the food is important, they are more important in your life than any given dish.

What is it like to have parents that are good at cooking?

I have two points to make here.First, my own parents are both wonderful cooks. My dad knows a lot about the science of it and my mom has cooked enough that she rarely makes anything bad. My brother and I were always expected to either eat what was provided or make our own. Very fair. Anyhow, this means my brother and I can't stand picky eaters.Interesringly, my mom's theory is that picky eating based on origin (“I don't like Chinese food”, etc) is a subtly veiled form of racism. This is because Chinese food, for example, is incredibly varied and has a lot of history behind it. Chinese food is certainly not homogeneous in any sense. Now, it would be different if someone said “Oh, I'm not really fond of wonton soup”. Wonton soup is certainly not as varied as Chinese food in its entirety. But to say you don't like an entire culture's worth of food is to say that said culture has made no worthwhile culinary contribution to the world, and that's not fair.Second, my best friend lives a block away from me and her father is an excellent, excellent cook. I'm pretty sure he dreams of owning his own bakery. Her whole family is overweight because he cooks so much (her mom died when we were 13) and they always finish the food because it's so good. They barely waste a thing. The only problem is that her dad will sometimes cook a certain recipe about 25 times to get it exactly right.How does this relate to me? I used to go to their house a couple times a week before school to get breakfast when I got sick of the Hot Pockets I always got shoved out the door with at my place. It was never a problem at their house to make an extra pancake or an extra cup of coffee so I wasn't nauseated all day by the combination of my Adderall and the strange tomato sauce in my breakfast. To this day, whenever I go over to my best friend's house, her dad and sister (amateur baker extraordinare) will always make something amazing together and I'll always go home stuffed. It's a wonder they haven't all exploded from doing this every day. \U0001f61eP.s. Sammy, Scott, and Chandler, if you're reading this, you are truly a second family to me and I wish I didn't have to move away.

Is true that mothers cook the most delicious food?

Yes, assuming your mom actually cooked food. If not, the best food is the one you grew up eating with your mom or your family. If you didn't have a family… let's not go there.The food your mom made you is the best because it's the food you grew accustomed to eating. It becomes your “favorite food.” You compare everything else to this.Contrary to what world class chefs may tell you, taste in food is subjective. World class cuisine may have a very high technical aspect to it, but that doesn't mean it's innately superior to simple home-cooked meals. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is the taste and appreciation of food.Mood is a huge influencer of taste, and food simply tastes better to a person while in good company or in a great atmosphere.Mom's home cooking has a taste that brings back memories of good times with family, and there is no better spice than that, except maybe hunger.That's the reason why moms cooking is the best.