food fit for the empress

may 10 is designated mother's day worldwide. i readily agree* to take over the kitchen for the day so my better half can have a little `take it easy' day with her.

i have no problem cooking. in fact, someone once told me that real man cooks. i couldn't agree more. early in our married life, i was the one who ruled the kitchen (besides being the breadwinner; and taking charge of laundry, ironing, general house cleaning and fixing the light bulb) i am pretty adeptable since i have lived out from my family at an early age. whipping up 3 meals a day is at the tip of my finger. in fact, when i was an undergrad, i temp at the university club house as a kitchen helper. in 2 months, i learnt how to debone a cooked chicken cleanly, down to the wings. when i showed off that skill to my mother at home, she was very impressed with me. the chef there even let me handle the kitchen knives once in a while, which is a big deal. i could go on but i better stop here, less i am accused of boasting.

it was not until about 3 years ago, when my wife first laid hand on the game,`クッキング ママ, kukkingu mama' (cooking mama) on her nds lite that she started cultivating an interest in cooking. when she mastered and outcooked everyone in`cooking mama: world kitchen', she decided to try her hand in cooking for real. her interests in cooking grew from there. and there is no looking back since that day. i too hung up my apron soon after to concentrate on my day job.

i realized that 3 years can unlearn many things that you thought were 2nd nature to you. i found out the hard way on mother's day yesterday. for a start, i nearly sliced off my own finger as i attempted to `speed chop' the onions. i blamed the tool. the knife wasn't sharp enough. then i chickened out trying to chop the chicken wings in pieces. i feared parts of my hand will be amongst the pieces of meat in the simmering chicken curry pot. i resorted to using a scissor to cut the chicken to parts. i learnt this from the singapore hawker stalls. it worked to my relief even if though the chicken is raw.

critically, things turns out well. my reputation within the family remain intact. i won by a split decision** when i ask my family members to vote if the food were top notch.

for the curious soul, this is what i prepared (clockwise in the enclosed picture):

1. golden crisp salmon strips (commonly known as salmon battered in tapioca flour and deepfried)

2. special sauce sauteed leafy green with scampi champignon (layman calls it stirred fried kailan with leftover mushroom/prawn from the fridge)

3. golden l'oignon oeuf (you are probably more familiar with fried omelette with onion)

4. lechon udang kering (or `hay bee hiam' with pork. poor man's dish found mainly in malaysia/singapore)

5. golden authentic kari ayam pedas malaysia*** (most just called it chicken curry)

better not drool....

* no choice

** my youngest 4.5 year old girl splits the votes to my favor. this after i agree to include her disney's princess food mat in the picture

***thanks, prima deli!