Goreng Only

Back when I just entered secondary school, someone answered "GORENG only larh!" to a question posed on the eve of a test. Since then, the phrase has been scarce but consistent throughout my life, providing that ever-encouraging voice for the students who'd left it til last minute AND those who'd over-studied (that they've become as tense as the spandex on our friendly neighbourhood Kungfu Panda) alike. Goreng- a Malay word for FRY- seems simple enough, but even when GORENG is used as a last resort, it must work in tandem with simple common sense to have a more than 10% chance of success. As you must have guessed by now (even if you're not familiar with this term), it is basically a suggestion to someone to just try their luck in attempting something despite the fact that they have no idea what they're doing.

Similar term: "Tembak saja!" (shoot only)

You see, here in Leeds, I've been giving myself short term goals not just in the wonderful world of academia, but also in terms of achievements in the kitchen. Sometimes when you're lazy, you tend to take a mental note of all the foodstuff you have, followed by attempts to combine and turn them into a dish (making sure that it would be edible). This particular process is similar to solving a jigsaw puzzle, trying to fit the pieces together...only in this case, you might get pieces from a variety of different puzzles, deeming them unfit to be pieced together. This is when your GORENG-ing skills come into play. You put those that are compatible with each other and GORENG ONLY. :P Of course, rudimentary culinary ken (such as how you shouldn't mix soy sauce and Lau Gan Ma together) is expected to be known by any who wants to tempt fate in this context. The extra ingredient of course, is wholly dependant on the cook's instincts. This final push is the difference between an utterly inedible platter and a savory heaven. 

After 6 months here, I am (excuse my small moment of narcissism if you please) proud to say that I have come a long way since the days when I couldn't even cook a decent pot of rice. The overall heightening of standards involving ovens, pots and pans is nothing short of amazing, and I attribute this to the willingness of yours truly in being a miser when it comes to take out. (OKOK, I admit that I have been succumbing to Mahmoods and Punjab of late, but that hasn't stopped me from more experimenting in the kitchen).

Spurred on by the satisfaction of some of my "labrats" (Special thanks to Jerm, Zy, Jy, zhong and everyone else who have sampled my dishes), I am emboldened to continue my endeavor into this relatively new field as a novice, despite knowing that I am but at the beginning of a long hike up the path to culinary enlightenment. I'm still mistake-prone, but hey, this is how we improve- through our blunders, lessons are learnt. 

In the meantime, I'll be taking a short break from everything (not that I hadn't already started). If you haven't heard, I'm going to London, then Venice, ITALY!