Cooking Lesson

MS in action cooking 'nasi lemak' or coconut rice.

Cooked nasi lemak or coconut rice.

Cooked sambal bilis, or chilli anchovies by MS.

Chicken tom yam also by MS.

Fried kewteow / noodles by PS

Alhamdulillah, everything that happen had a hikmah and benefit behind as usual. After my burn incident, kids who are pretty much independent had to be 99% independent, work as a team and took over almost every task in the house that I used to do.

For the first week, especially as it happen and I was admitted to the hospital on the second day after the incident, kids still in a bit of confusing situation of how to handle things, so do hubby. Alhamdulillah we had friend who send some food over without our request on the day I was admitted as hubby also had to settle me down before back home around 10.30 pm. This is because when we went out at around 3pm the second day of the incident, the intention is to change my wet bandage at nearby Sunderland City Hospital which is 15-20 minutes away, but I had been send to Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary straight away and hubby drive me there with Plastic and Burn Consultant on call is waiting as Sunderland City Hospital in charge nurse realise my burn is serious and should be refer to specialise Burn Centre.

It wasn't bad for the kids to be independent, but PS at the time was so busy with her study and nobody expect that I will have to be admitted, not even me myself although I do suspect and feel that my burn is actually serious according to the painful experience I had to go through when it's happen.

After 3 days in the hospital, and another two days in a row for a visit for bandage change, hubby took in charge of the house and of course he did not have much clue of how to handle. Nevertheless , my kids Alhamdulillah is not a fussy kids. They can live with smoke salmon and croissant! Toast, cheese and bean! Hubby was cooking until the weekend, and expected to take over the job from me for quiet sometimes. But as he had a week off because of the incident and need to work long hours to cover up 36.5 hours he lost, so he don't have to take it as unpaid leave, he was working from 6am to 6-7 pm start from a week after the incident. He also had to leave early from work twice a week to bring me to outpatient clinic. Therefore it can be too much on plate and I think this is the good time to actually get the kids for some real cooking lesson.

PS and MS do some cooking such as cook rice, scramble egg, pasta and etc. But more into what they want to make for themselves or share among them. Not actually cook main meal especially for fussy mum and of course I'm always want the best taste food serve for hub and of course kids. Therefore, this time it has to be main meal and serious cooking lesson from scratch which mean wash and cut fish, chicken or lamb! Something neither PS or MS really done yet. PS did some meat chopping before but only like actually a chunk or piece of meat. Never a fish actually unless boneless salmon. So, it was an exciting and interesting cooking lesson which really benefit them and truly a skill that I want to pass it on!!

As on the second and third week of my incident, PS is still on her online school, morning job is usually MS. So MS lesson usually for lunch and PS for dinner. It required some patient for me actually to have to teach them everything from scratch and stood there until they finish from cut, wash, cook, taste and tidy.

Until now MS had cook nasi tomato, nasi lemak, sambal bilis, ayam goreng, stir fry vege and tom yam. PS had manage to cook masak asam / pindang ikan haruan, mee hailam, kewteow goreng, ayam masak kicap, sayur masak lemak and stir fry vege. Plus ikan goreng and ayam goreng. I am truly very happy actually.

The next step now as I still will be a long way of recovery to be able to use my hand, is to teach them more recipe, more technique especially cooking main meal including for guest. Also other mainmeal such as lontong, mee kari, bihun goreng and all this sort of thing. Also to repeat the recipe, and cooking on their own of repeating food they already maid without me on the background. For me, cooking is important skill indeed and cooking actually teach us to be alert, multitask and multiskill. To learn to organise, focus and concentrate. Because for me it's not about able to cook, but to be able to deliver the best taste, to be able to cook for others such as guest, to know what good food taste like and make it up to the standard and to know how to organise to not stay in the kitchen for too long. I be able to cook for 200 people on my own or cook for 20-30 people main course meal under 2 hours only because of the correct technique. This also required us to concentrate and focus which mean our hand, feet, eyes and almost every things and every sense in our body need to move to enable us to reach the target of high standard taste, nice presentation of the food in short time including tidy up. I believe kids will learn many skill when they reach the standard.

S who love making dessert will start to work with me for trying to make kuih raya or eid cookies, and more of other skills including buns and other malay dessert. I remember that I start making real cookies to sell at the age of 12 and start taking around 3000 order at the age of 13. So S , with her interest should be able to learn the skill that I be able to pass on. For me, cooking is my family whole family especially on my mum side satisfaction. We love to cook good food to satisfied people taste and it the skill is so much important for me to pass on especially looking at lots of young people nowadays who lost this skill in our own big extended family.

This burn incident is really help me to force myself to transfer the skill I dream off to pass on to my kids. The benefit of cooking skill cannot actually compare even to 10 PhD certificate. This is the real life skill and even if we decide to make money with this, food business is about delivering the high standard of the taste, nice presentation and of course also in limited time making process. With this three skill reach the target, they should be able to live on and survive either for their own family, guests, others or even to help them financially in the future!