Week 1


This week I have completed the first four days of my journey to challenge my cooking ability. I want to cook because it is a skill I can develop and take with me for the rest of my life. I am going to leave for college in a few months and becoming a better chef seems really valuable for college.

To start this week off I have been exploring Asia. I wanted to make Asian food from a different country each week because I love all the Asian grocery stores and restaurants in the Portland area. I knew that this would be a good challenge because of the complex flavor profiles you get from all the Asian cuisines out there. I also figured doing one Asian country each day would provide some nice variety.

Pulling together this project has been pretty simple. I try and plan two days in advance and go to the store to get ingredients each day. In a perfect world I would be able to go every other day, but I also seem to forget something. My goals are to make a cookbook, develop my technical cooking skills and knowledge of flavor, and explore different culture’s foods.

I made Somlar kari saek mouan (Cambodian chicken curry), pad Thai, chicken tikka masala, and Ojingeo-bokkeum: 오징어볶음 (Spicy Korean squid rice bowl). I plan to make sushi and bubble tea from scratch in the next two days.





Comments

  1. Sue P.May 24, 2021 at 12:08 PM

    Hi, Lizzy. You have definitely selected recipes that are more challenging in terms of ingredients, prep, and sauces. Great job! I was delighted to get some samples of your cooking, and shared them with Kym Herbst. I know that when we met, you mentioned that you like spicy foods. This must have been a fun and adventurous cooking week for you.

    Tell us a little bit about the 3 goals you're setting for yourself! Thanks for the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MaureenMay 24, 2021 at 1:50 PM

    These are ambitious recipes, Lizzy! I agree with Sue--I would love to know more about how these fit into a larger picture and your overall goals for the project. Also, why did you choose these recipes? Which ones will you do next? Yum!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMay 28, 2021 at 2:09 PM

      Hi Maureen, I forgot to mention at first but my goals are to to make a cookbook, develop my technical cooking skills and knowledge of flavor, and explore different culture’s foods. I chose the recipes by looking up countries I was interested and then learning about dishes that are common in that country. After I found a dish I liked I researched more recipes and eventually settled on one that seemed good.

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