Some of you may know that I am a vegetarian. As a vegetarian, to cook or not to cook, that’s always an annoying question basically having already become a part of my life. Because it tends to be inconvenient for a vegetarian to “prey” outside, I have to either cook by myself or eat at the same restaurant which I probably have gone to for million times. Therefore, I have been learning cooking lately in order to survive in this vegetarian desert.

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         The first dish I learned is “cabbage stew with sesame oil.” This dish is originated by my mom and is extraordinarily flavorful. The flavor of sesame oil deeply penetrates the cabbage, and it matches perfectly with a bowl of well-cooked rice. On top of that, it’s really super duper easy for a beginner of cooking. The ingredients you need are

cabbage, sesame oil,

olive oil(or whatever kind

of edible oil), salt, and a

bowl of water. Firstly, add

some oil, which can just

cover the bottom of the

pot and the same

amount of sesame oil.

Then, put the cabbage into the pot. Here’s a quick notice that the vegetable will shrink after cooked; so, you have to estimate the amount you need carefully. Thirdly, add a bowl of hot water into the pot and put the lid on the pot to simmer it in the middle heat. Until the liquor is completely soaked up, add two tea spoons of salt and stir the cabbage properly. As long as you follow all the steps above correctly, it’s difficult to have a tasteless dish. This simple and easy recipe cannot only avoid the beginners from scald but also make you a pleasant dish.

         

         The second dish I made is “stir fried vegetarian pork with basil and lemonade.” You must be wondering what a vegetarian pork is. Is it a processed meat made by mushrooms? Actually, the vegetarian pork in this dish is made by the louver bean curd. If you have eaten fried louver bean curd, you will notice that it will be swollen after fried. Although I don’t know why it will become swollen, I am fully obsessed with the taste of fried bean curd! Once you                                                                                                   take a bite, the                                                                                             juice will spurt                                                                                               out in your

                                                                                           mouth. Because                                                                                            the core of the                                                                                              fried louver                                                                                                    bean curd is

                                                                                           hollow, it                                                                                                        doesn’t taste greasy at all. In stead, it is succulent and tender. With the sweetness of tomato, some seasoning of basil, a little bit of pepper, and sips of fresh lemonade as the finishing touch, it is an awfully appetizing and delectable dish which I can eat everyday(of course I will become a fatty big then)! I learned this dish from a YouTube channel called Peace & Yummy which is a vegetarian cooking teaching channel. From the video, you can see the tidiness and efficiency of the chef; on the contrary, while I was cooking, the kitchen was totally a mess. Despite my strong lust for eating this dish again, the exhausting and complex process makes me feel so scared that I guess I won’t make this dish until my cooking skill matures. 

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         After a few time of “experiments,” I have tried various dishes from spaghetti bolognese to lemon pound cake, and, of course, they are all vegetarian. I found a lot of fun in kitchen and also realized how hard my mom is when she is cooking for the family. To thank for her hard work and tireless care, I firstly made a mocha mille crepe cake for my mom on her birthday. That was my first ever trial of such difficult dessert; obviously, as a result, it was a big failure. Nevertheless, my mom was very happy no matter how tough those thick crepes taste. At here, I want to say, “Sorry mom~, I promise I will make an at least edible cake for you on your next birthday. Love you~!”