Eat, Cook, Love

Cook

During summer 2018, my parents gave an intensive cooking training to be prepared for my new life abroad. Just some basics, stir-fry some vegetables, eggs and tomatoes, pork and green peppers, eggplants, fried shrimps, etc.

I was confident that I gonna cook my own meals for the whole college years, until the first weekend, I got the wrong pot and triggered the fire alarm. It has something to do with my “training” conditions, as back in our apartment in Beijing, we had to turn on the stove with the help of a lighter and I was told to get used to the startling blasts of heated oil and vapor.

That marked my long habit of eating in Mensa and by Just Eat. I had made limited amount of properly self cooked meals. Other than those, it was usually instant Shin-Ramyun noodle with egg, or Barilla with bottled Ragù sauce.

Afraid to set off the alarm again was one reason, the other one was laziness. It took too long to slice a carrota to the perfect thinness I desire.

The “habit” was carried on in Leuven, where I got takeout from a Hunanese shop whose owners were from 识字岭 80% of time, and in Ann Arbor during my first half there, where I explored FanTuan and then mocked in the group chat about alleged undergrads stealing takeouts in front of Munger.

Thing got changed in the second half of 2023.

First I have to say that eating takeouts/deliveries is a quite costly habit. My roommates in Leuven asked multiple times “How could you afford eating takeouts so frequently?”. I was under the illusion that the difference was not that great, and I was also being “comforted” that “it’s the pandemic, there’s nothing wrong eating something nice.” Upon reflection, a bunch of college roommates without much savings, living in shared small apartments on stipends, eating home-made meals from budget supermarkets, rotating old clothes, going everywhere on second-hand bikes, having a part time job as a delivery guy… that’s the kind of Utopian youthful life that I somehow admire.

Back to my reality. Being at the lowest point and spending time again in Beijing, I picked up my cooking skills and improved on it. Taste and efficiency are the two pillar stones, and I motivated myself to look for suitable ingredients. Mom helped a lot in this. She believes that picking up the pot and turning on the stove are key steps for me to get back to the game. And I did. Lots of things in my life are like cooking a simple meal for me: I know how to do it, yet I just need to motivate myself.

Therefore, the year 2024 was the year I had about 95% of meals at home. Ordering is now an option that is both expensive and time-consuming, as I would usually spend less than 30 minutes cooking my dinner and next day lunch (usually pork belly stir-fried with green pepper and cilantro, plus cabbage, or eggs and tomato). Stirring the spatula is now a swift adept yet enjoyable relaxing process.

Eat

I should have started enjoying cooking way much earlier, based on my changes in eating and weights.

Growing up, I was sometimes picky on certain food, and often described as “eating too little”. Things like seaweed soup were nightmares for me when we just moved to Beijing. I had a generally “passive” attitude towards delicacies, when asked about “what’s my favorite”, I had the standard answer of 米粉 and 四季豆.

After all, my parents are enthusiastic food lovers. I guess my appreciation have been growing since later high school. Partly thanks to the HNSDFZ alumni “eat, drink, play, fun” group, I enjoy all the times we explore the hidden gems of different cuisine, and took them as a part of awaking of self-identity, trying to appreciate all the details of my origin culture. One key moment I remember was during our graduation trip in ChengDU, where I realized that I could handle and genuinely enjoy the spicy hotpot and the Garlic Oil Dipping Sauce, which I never did in any occasion before. Also, in general, noticing what sauce and ingredient were used, pondering what were the techniques and tricks, those stuff become fun. I had not noticed that I was noticing those stuff until my dad pointed it out some point in 2019.

Diversity in eating and cooking habits is also a fun stuff to pay attention to. I remember a small quarrel between me and MS during a school trip on “is it ok to put vegetables in hotpot at an early stage of the meal”, and another interesting conversation about should we peel the tomatoes before cooking with YD.

Love

Why do I want to mention food and cooking at the dawn of 2025? Partially because of the background (a fantastic Bridge tournament despite our results, accompanied by lovely teammates and bridge players), the three dinners at The Sparrow were beyond enjoyable as I remember. I would describe the food there diverse, authentic, with reasonable price, and appealing to everyone whether you are from Chinese descent or not. Remember, I am now at a stage when I almost always prefer meals cooked by myself than restaurants.

To be fair, I probably cannot make a objective comment to that place, but hey, that’s the point, isn’t? Enjoy lovely meals with people of love and passion.