Cooking

I learned to cook when I moved abroad.

When I was in Malaysia, my few attempts at cooking were pathetic in comparison to my mom's delicious meals. That was why I didn't cook at home. But living abroad in the United States has spruced the inner chef in me :P (Well, I'm still a horrible amateur, but heyyy, I'm getting there!)

I don't bake much because frankly, baking stresses me out. I know most people bake to relieve stress, but it's always the opposite for me. Therefore, I find more joy in making miracles on the frying pan than on a baking tray.

Here are some of the dishes I've made throughout my stay in the States. Some were tasteful, and some just lacked a pinch of salt or something. But I've enjoyed making each one of them, and it brings me great satisfaction when someone tells me I've done a good job on the curry chicken, or with the creamy bow-tie pasta. It's just nice to know your effort's appreciated. And that people actually like eating your food.

Chinese fried rice. Threw in some ground beef and luncheon meat in there. It was salty.

Fried Maggi noodles. I think one of my favorite things to cook is fried instant noodles. 

They're easy and delicious! I added jalepeno cheddar sausages to this one for the flavor...and also

because I was out of meat =D

By the way, I don't usually take a picture of every single thing I eat or cook, although it may seem like that. :) 

Hmmm. I... don't recall what this was. Maybe I was just serving it as a dish with white rice.

But it's healthy! Shrimps, carrots and broccoli. 

I LOVE pasta with a passion. Did I mention I had pasta every day for a week?

My fair attempt at frying spaghetti. I smeared olive oil on the pan, sprinkled some minced garlic and

poured in the rest of the ingredients, including garlic potatoes, chicken and mushrooms. Yummy!

This was my dinner last night.

Fried Maruchan instant noodles with bacon, vegetables and eggs.

Do you see a pattern in those pictures? Notice how most of them are fried.

I've made a few soup meals but I'd rather pay for a good bowl of soup than attempt one in my kitchen. Haha. You may be wondering, "But soup is easy! How can you mess up soup?!" YOU CAN. 

You need creativity in soup, especially if you're making one from scratch. You need to know what ingredients to throw in so your soup doesn't taste bland. I used to put chicken cubes all the time, but they're so unhealthy. So I stopped.

Anyway, I'm trying to expand my limited knowledge of cooking here... and I'm gonna attempt cooking Malaysian meals! Like, legit Malaysian meals. Fried rice and fried instant noodles don't count.

I'm talking chow kuey teow... pan mee... asam laksa... butter chicken... yeah, that type of stuff.

Wish me luck! ;)