(http://bourdainmediumraw.com/essays/view/1555)
About my essay: There's an encyclopedia of variables on why we want-love-should cook food well. There will always be a connection between food and family and all its bittersweet aftertaste. And everything will be glued into one concoction.
When I came home from school, I would just go straight to my room & wait until someone yells, "Dinner's ready!" It was a daily routine which I got accustomed to and I had no worries back then up until I got older & got curious as to what goes behind the kitchen scene. I would observe Inday, our caretaker, prepare our supper.
One day I finally had the guts and asked her if I could help. She gave me a stern look like I was up to no good but she obliged and gave me a couple of things to do. I was thrilled and felt honored to get involved in the cooking. I started cutting onions, tomatoes, snapping long beans into 3-4 pieces, crushing garlic. Later on she asked me to pour out some cooking oil into our big wok. I held my spatula up as if it was a sword & I was about to engage in a duel.
The sizzling hot oil was getting impatient as I added the crushed garlic. It was my first time to saute and I enjoyed the sight, smell and sound of what I was doing. The grease & sweat gets on my skin & clothes but I didn't care, after all, it's still part of the cooking process. We had a few shows about cooking back in the 80s such as "Wok with Yan." I would scribble some recipes in my notebook as I attentively watched his 30 minute show.
Our stove wasn't the top of the line and most of the time was not working at its best. At times we had to resort and transfer our cooking outside using three huge rocks strategically balancing the big wok underneath the flaming wood and bits of charcoal. Since it took longer, we usually started preparing as early as 5pm and by 7:30pm dinner will be served. There were three batches of families being served in our modest dining table for 6. Everyone had to take turns and by 10:30pm the last servings of pinakbet, escabeche and sinigang have been neatly scraped from the pots. A whirlwind of cleaning takes place and an hour later, everything is neatly organized and in place. This was our daily ritual, just like being a line cook at a busy restaurant!
There's an encyclopedia of variables on why we want-love-should cook food well. It's a reminder that life is precious and everything evolves around family gatherings and food. It's a rennaissance of conceptual agreements, dysfunctions, stress, consolations and nourishment all mixed together. Memories about love, happiness, sorrow, life and death are all glued into one concoction. There will always be a connection between food and family and all its bittersweet aftertaste.
When you close your eyes and think real hard, you can actually taste that first bite you had of dinuguan. How it was cooked and prepared all becomes a flashback. It clings to your heart and will always be embedded in your mind forever.
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