One of my goals last year was to learn cooking. After all, it felt odd to claim I’m a stay-at-home dad (SAHD) these past eight years, yet I don’t cook. As much as I dislike stereotypes, as far as the roles of a stay home parent goes (cleaning, grocery shopping, parenting, and all things domestic), lacking this trait felt almost unforgivable somehow.
Besides, I figured I could share the kitchen load with my wife, and further raise my approval ratings with her and our kids.
But I didn’t want to just learn from my wife, even though it would seem the most obvious thing to do.
I have two reasons.
First off, I didn’t want to become a second mom at home. Which clearly would be the case if I learned cooking from her, right? Second, I figured this way, I’ll be cooking different dishes, thus expanding the menu options for our family meals.
With those reasons in mind, I did what anyone in my virgin apron would do who shun self-help Youtube tutorials. I went in search of another living, breathing, stay home dad. One who could not only cook, but could cook up a storm!
Which was easy, since I help run a community of over 110 mostly stay home dads. Some of whom were clearly stay home in every possible sense of the term!
First Stop? The Supermarket
I was bless to find BK.
BK had been a stay home dad close to three years now. With two active kids, girl and boy, aged eight and six respectively, he’s one busy SAHD. He basically does it all, and then some! Plus he’s the quintessential foodie. He knows where to find the best local hawker food. Noodles, rice, you name it.
He also cooks regularly for his family.
To top it all off, an absolutely agreeable fella to boot. So who better to run a cooking class for yours truly, right?!
We originally wanted to begin my cooking class last year. Due to scheduling conflicts however, my first cooking lesson with him ended up happening only two days ago.
But it was quite a whirlwind.
Starting with a morning run at 930am to the supermarket. A place already packed with lots of housewives, domestic helpers, retirees and shopping baskets and trolleys. In short, a hive of activity.
BK was a fountain of knowledge. Navigating expertly from one busy aisle to the next with the skill of a modern day Indiana Jones, and picking everything like the masterchef he is (step aside Jaime O!).
With his expert eye, we picked up some really great white radishes, mushrooms, spring onions (Malaysian ones preferably, though I don’t recall why now), tomatoes, carrots, pork fillets and chicken breasts.
We left with, according to him, enough to cook two different dishes. Not to mention a potluck style soup du jour!
Of Cutting, Chopping, Cleaning, Cooking, Creating.
At this point, you’re probably expecting me to talk about what happened next, after the supermarket shopping.
Well, there’s both a lot to say, and nothing to say!
You see, the rest of the morning, that stretched well and good into the early afternoon (I left BK’s kitchen close to 2pm!), was spent cutting, chopping, cleaning and cooking. The pictures above pretty much say it all!
It was mundane to say the least, but then what was I really expecting? That I would relish holding tools to fashion meat and vegetables into desired shape before putting them into pots and woks to cook? That along the way I would get a kick out of adding rice wine, oyster sauce, soya sauce, pepper, fish sauce and whatnot into the mix and tasting the final outcome of my hard work (and BK’s too)? Or the inevitable olfactory onslaught that invariably follows each parry and thrust of the spatula on the wok?
Nah…
I think I was expecting to enjoy the process, and the new sensations. What I got? Mostly spade work, which essentially is what cooking is at the end of the day.
But all was not lost.
What I enjoyed far more was my friend BK’s company. He was clearly in his element: instructive, patient and thorough. His deft knowledge about the kitchen showed in buckets, and as a fellow creator (though, in my case, not in the culinary way) it was a delight for me to witness another creator clearly showing off (in a good way) all he knows and is skilled at.
To be honest, after the session when I brought all the food I cooked back home, all I could register was my relief and exhaustion. Yes, I used to scoff when I heard cooking likened to a sport.
After this experience, I’ll never scoff again!
The bigger question now is, will I cook again? Given the response I got from my family members that day, which ranged from nonchalant to politely complimentary, I’ll have to think about it!
Perhaps I will, if like that day with BK, I have more company and creativity baked into the process than mere culinary accomplishment.
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Thank you so much!
My appreciation for the culinary skills of my wife of 5 decades increased more as did my admiration for your adventuresome spirit.
I like how you put in “real” pictures to pepper the write up!
Thanks for dropping by and liking my post and pics!