My mother is exceptional at cooking food. Most people are cooks; she is a chef.
I didn't fully realize or perhaps internalize this until I went out into the real world and discovered that everyone else tries to cook, because they have to, in the same way that everyone knows how to drive because they have to. But they aren't actually good at it. They're ass at it. My mom is amazing at it.
My mom is skilled in a tremendous number of different cuisines, and she can basically whip up any Eastern or Western dish. I've noticed that my mom has such a deep well of intuition built from experience that she just "does the thing" when she cooks, and often can't articulate why her sense is correct.
I've also been reluctant to learn how to cook for a long time, much longer than my other friends, particularly because my mom is so good at cooking that there was never an incentive to learn how to cook. Turns out everyone else started learning how to cook in ~high school because their parents' cooking sucks.
Neither of my sisters seem particularly eager to become as world-class in cooking as my mom. I think that's why a life goal of mine is to become as great of a chef as my mom, even though the only thing I know how to cook today is eggs (that dry or break), oatmeal, and tofu (fun fact the tofu is already cooked). Derr. But I think someone should preserve the recipes and traditions of my mom. And my grandma, whose Asian dishes are really quite remarkable. It would be weird if my mom's experience failed to pass to the next generation.
The reason I know my mom is good and I'm not just biased or imprinted to what I ate growing up is because 1) the flavor profile, texture, and presentation that my mom does is objectively superior to others; 2) outsiders to the house (friends) will often remark how amazing my mom is at cooking.
Every year during Asian New Year (lol) my mom leaves out an offering to "the Kitchen God," to say thanks for nourishing our home. Yeah, honestly, thanks Kitchen God, for making my mom badass. But also hopefully this speaks to the extent to which we take cooking seriously in my childhood home.
I'm starting out as a runt of the litter in terms of learning how to cook, but because of my underdog status I intend to overcompensate and become exceptional at cooking. So I'm going to start blogging my progress here. The only way to surpass all of the median home cookers is through deliberate practice, so hopefully this blog will keep me accountable. I have so much to learn.
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