Picture above: The ingredients for this special "fried rice," a picture of me with my mother when I was around 5 years old, and a picture of me with my mother now on December 3rd (almost 14 years later).
This dish was the very first dish I learned how to cook this from my mom when I was 5 or 6 years old. It's not a secret recipe nor a family recipe. My mom came up with this dish because the recipe was simple enough for a kid to cook. When she taught me how to cook this, she did so because she wanted me to start “learning.” My mom always tried to teach her kids whenever we're with her so that we can learn as much as possible before something happens to her.
This dish reminds me of a very strong memory about the special bond that I had with my mother back when I was younger... back when I was always following her around and when she would always take me around with her, including to her workplaces. These times were times when I was happy and didn't really had to think about anything other than I had make sure that I can see her and watch her. Now that I'm older, I have a brain and this brain makes my relationship with my mother much more complicating.
This dish reminds me of a very strong memory about the special bond that I had with my mother back when I was younger... back when I was always following her around and when she would always take me around with her, including to her workplaces. These times were times when I was happy and didn't really had to think about anything other than I had make sure that I can see her and watch her. Now that I'm older, I have a brain and this brain makes my relationship with my mother much more complicating.
A Child's Dish
I learned how to cook before I learned how to "do math" so this dish doesn't really have measurements for the ingredients. This cooking is a "taste and add more" type of cooking.
- Make sure you have rice
Technically for rice, all you do is just wash some grain then place a pot of grain with water into the rice cooker... the "fried rice" would be better if the rice isn't too wet and soggy. In order to not have soggy rice, do experiments with different water measurements when cooking rice... or at least that's what I do.
- Make sure you have the other ingredients
The three ingredients needed to be associated with the rice are:
- "Cha lua" or "gio" otherwise known as "Vietnamese ham," "Vietnamese sausage," or "pork roll." This is normally wrapped in aluminum foil like the roll in the picture below.
- Butter or butter-like substances.
- Salt.
- Cut the pork
Remove the pork roll from the aluminum foil. If the pork is wrapped by plastic and/or banana leaves, cut the amount of pork that is intended to be used then store the rest away in a refrigerator Remove the banana leaves and/or plastic from the pork and beginning cutting the pork into semi-thin slices.
-Continue to cut the pork into "cubes"
This could take time and practice if you don't know how to chop food...
-Put rice into a pot, add butter, then mix
Again, there's no specific measurements being used... just add some butter than taste the rice and add more ingredients until it satisfies your taste.
-Add pork and you're done.
Well... sort of done. Mix the pork and the rice well. Continue to taste the flavor of the "fried rice" and enhance the flavor until you think it's done.
'Tis a child's dish.
A New Blog Page
After I completed this activity, I decided to attempt to keep a record of the foods and treats my family would make! This blog page can be found on my 2013 Living History Journal by clicking the button below: