I fell in love with Perth, Western Australia, the moment I set foot on it. It was 1983 during the heydays of the America's Cup, when an iconic yacht race was won by the Royal Perth Yacht Club's Australia II in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, snatching the precious Cup from the Americans who had held it for the previous 132 years. The victory put Perth and its port Fremantle on the map. There was much jubilance, celebrations and optimism. Located along the banks of the Swan River running into the Indian Ocean, Perth has the Mediterranean type of climate similar to southern California. Summer is hot and dry, and it never gets too cold in winter. The river sparkles on sunny days and sunsets along the coast are spectacular. The city is modern and progressive. Thanks to the rich mineral resources and the mining industries in the state, the city was booming in the 80's. I went back to university to study for a degree in early childhood education, and then set up my own business - a child care centre. During its ten years of operation, I cooked many meals for many children, though I did employ a cook at times when enrolments were high. As a small business owner with just a handful of staff, I had to multitask often - speaking to a parent on the phone one minute and checking on the pasta in the pot the next, whilst most importantly, making sure all the children were happy and supervised. To master the art of feeding many, I developed a collection of recipes over time that could be put together quickly, catering to children's food preferences and their dietary requirements. These recipes were later published in a little cookbook to share with all the families. Meal times at the child care centre were happy, bustling occasions. Staff and children sat together to eat and it gave me great pleasure to see everyone enjoying their food which I had carefully planned, prepared and presented. From spaghetti bolognaise, chicken curry and fried noodles for lunch to cheese scones, apple muffins and French crepes for afternoon teas, my child care centre was getting quite a reputation for providing not only good care but good food.
My career took a few more turns after my stint of operating the child care business, first in the area of training and development, then later on with Western Australia's Department of Communities. At the end of a working day, I look forward to coming home and preparing a meal. I find it relaxing, especially after a demanding day in the office or on the road. Getting my hands into the ingredients - rubbing butter into flour with your fingertips until they become like breadcrumbs, slicing up a cucumber thinly for an Asian salad, watching garlic sizzle in hot oil, taking in the aroma wafting from a pot of curry, sprinkling in spices and herbs and let them transform a dish - these are pleasurable sensory experiences. Cooking makes you focus on the present moment and the task at hand. It's mindfulness. It takes you away from the stresses and tediousness of life. After all, you get to sit down and have a satisfying meal in the end, prepared exactly the way you want it, nourishing your body and your soul.
Western Australia is home to people from a diverse ethnic background. Over the years, visitors, migrants and refugees have arrived from the United Kingdom, various parts of Europe, South East Asia, the Middle East and more recently, from South Asia and Africa, bringing with them their culture, language and their food, changing the way we eat. There would be food trucks offering an array of international cuisines at the city centre on a Friday afternoon during the summer months, where I lingered after work before heading home. I would taste some of the dishes, and try to work out how I could recreate them at home, be it a Moroccan vegetable tangine, a Spanish paella, a Korean seafood pancake, or a Massaman beef curry. There are now many such venues around town where a diversity of good food can be had. I enjoy researching recipes, browsing through cookery books, having conversations with people about food, checking out ethnic grocery stores and watching cooking programs. I like the Australian celebrity chefs such as veteran Kylie Kwong and her fusion style of cooking, the good humour of Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant in their classic The Cook and the Chef series, good-looking Justine Schofield who explains things so well, the unflappable Luke Nguyen and the beguiling Adam Liaw who makes cooking anything seems so effortless. I also like the British celebrity chefs, in particular, Nigella Lawson the original 'domestic goddess', the flamboyant Jamie Oliver and his theatrics, and Cornish seafood chef turned world gourmet traveller Rick Stein. And then there is Irish chef Donal Skehan who in my opinion is giving Jamie Oliver a run for their money. They are all very entertaining, and give me lots of ideas and inspirations. I often consult Hong Kong YouTuber Mama Cheung's videos about cooking Cantonese dishes, and popular recipe website RecipeTin Eats by Japanese Australian Nagi Maehashi.
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