Chinese Cooking 101

One of my goals is to learn to cook Chinese food. There are many cooking classes, from which to choose, but Mrs. Jin (our ayi - see yesterday's post) is 48 and she has a husband and an 18 year old son. You know the woman can cook! So I found a menu from a local restaurant that delivers. Their menu is in English and Chinese. I pointed to the spring rolls and asked Mr. Jin if she would cook them and let me be her apprentice. Mrs. Jin loves to cook so I'm taking cooking lessons every Monday. Scott and the boys are thrilled!

Welcome to Chinese Cooking Class 101! Featuring the famous Mrs. Jin and her sidekick ( more like side show,.. more like freak show-Cintia, they don't pronounce the 'th' in my name.) So Mrs. Jin is whipping up a concoction of pork, cabbage, mushrooms and various spices, and sauces. She asks me if I have paper. After assessing the situation, I conclude she needs... paper towels. Now, paper towels in my world are expensive and wasteful. They are a bit of a treasure. However, I did tuck one glorious roll in our shipment and hid it from the boys. When I pulled it out, Mrs. Jin frowned, "No, not that paper."  Okay, okay....I've got other options...I know, maybe she wants post it notes! Ta-da! How about this paper?!.. "No, no....You have cooking paper? ...Ah, cooking paper!...Wait...Yes!.. Oh I'm so sure now! ... I run to my kitchen drawer, and pull out a plethora of cooking paper! I've got wax paper, I've got parchment paper, I've got cling wrap, and aluminum foil, (which are cousins' of cooking paper!) I'm so hopeful that my Chinese cooking teacher will be so pleased! She will smile and bow and praise me, "Oh Cyntia, you good student" Instead she shakes her head in total frustration. She picks up a small bowl of salt and says," Do you have salt and .......paper?!  I know, I know.... You think you'd hear the angels sing!....Come on...For crying out loud I packed wax paper.... Can you believe I forgot my salt and pepper grinder in America!

Mrs. Jin didn't need me in her way. Nor did she need my PEPPER. She danced around my kitchen with grace and finesse, and this Minnesota family ate Chinese spring rolls on an autumn night! I need to learn the Chinese word for delicious! For now "yum" seems to do the trick. Stay tuned for our second cooking lesson.