Cooking has officially become one of my major hobbies. It became a weekend routine for the last several months. I am adding cooking tools literally every month. An oven, cheese grater, blender, etc. I am also looking forward to buying a new refrigerator to replace my current small one.
Recently, I am watching a Youtube channel called Vincenzo’s Plate. Vincenzo is an Italian chef living in Australia. Not only does he introduce various authentic Italian cuisine, but speaks English at the same time, which is quite important. His stylized Italian accent makes his formula seem even more authentic to me. I won’t believe some random guy who speaks with a Brooklyn accent and then claims his recipe is authentic.
Vincenzo’s videos offer the needed ingredients in detail, and I am not able to find half of them in the local supermarket, especially cheeses. As far as I know, only department stores like Matsuya and Mitsukoshi offer those fancy import ingredients. By the way, now cheese is not just “cheese” for me any more. Mozzarella, provolone and pecorino. They all have unique names.
My next step is to make my own authentic Italian tomato sauce bottle. The sauces made by my local manufactory are not proper for making Italian foods because the taste is totally different. Fortunately, I found several stores that offer Italian sliced tomatoes.
When I first started to cook, I didn’t intend to aim only for Italian foods. Now Italian food culture, its traditions and philosophy, is aggressively taking charge of my kitchen.
So, back to the first question, why do I cook? It is because I am angry and exhausted. Cooking plays a role as a release mechanism for my frustrations.
However, despite cooking being extremely time consuming and complex, I don’t feel stressed. Like I said before, I have to go to the department store to gather specific ingredients I need. Italian cheese can be really costly. One time, I was charged more than 5,000 yen for just a small amount of cheese. If I forget to buy something rare like basil, I will end up going there multiple times.
None of those things really bothered me, I was actually quite enjoying finding ingredients all over the place. When I nail everything and finish cooking, there is pure satisfaction that comes to my mind. The pursuit of authenticity always makes me happy.
I have to say a part of the reason why I cook is a kind of rebellion against my roots. I mean I don’t cook Chinese foods at all. I don’t cook them and I don’t like to eat them. I refuse to inherit my family recipes and abandon the customs. By developing the skills of making other culture’s foods, I left no room for Chinese foods. This point gives me extra satisfaction.
