Tribulations of a Timid Taiwanese Trainee-Chef - Episode 10

If this was a Netflix TV show, this episode would be the one with an epic cliffhanger at the end for the buildup for the denouement. Or if this was the Great British Bake-Off, it would be the final episode with the top three contestants and I would probably almost cry when the winner is announced. (I don’t know why this makes me cry, when few things in TV shows and movies do) In any case, an early thank you to everyone who still reads this and follows along with me on this journey! We’re nearing the finish line!

I have been eating a lot of rice lately, partly because I made a ginormous batch of Japanese curry as “meal prep” and also because I made 麻婆豆腐, ma po tofu for this month. Thanks again to The Woks of Life blog for the recipe – although it seems like there are a lot of different variations, levels of spice, etc.

For some reason, although I’ve made this multiple times since I first tried it, I can never remember the order I’m supposed to add things. I have to keep checking whether or not the cornstarch goes before the chicken stock, or after the tofu, or after the chili oil – although maybe it doesn’t matter? Either way, every time I’ve made this something has seemed a little off, but still yummy enough for me. It doesn’t thicken as much as I’d like, but maybe that’s because I’m not patient enough for things to simmer and thicken. This last time I even measured out the amount of oil and cornstarch and ground pork (I weighed it!!) to add and it still didn’t thicken. Oh well…

Chinese food is not that photogenic when still in the pan. I’m getting a lot of vomit vibes from this photo and I apologize if I have now put that image into your head as well.