Center: Mozzarella cilantro garlic bread in Aug 2020
Right: Summer salad with char siu chicken in Aug 2021. The highlight is the char siu chicken, not the veggies, haha!
As I started my PhD study, I have to cook for myself so that I could stay within my budget and enjoy good food at the same time. My cooking in 2019 was fairly acceptable as I just combined any ingredients available to me at that time without considering how suitable they were and did not really pay attention to presenting my dish. Just like any skills, cooking requires practice and basic knowledge, too! The more I cook, the more creative (but proper) I am and the better it becomes. Most of the credits go to all the reference recipes and tutorials that I have learnt from Youtube channels, such as Maangchi (for Korean recipes), Joshua Weissman (I like his style and how he challenges himself with variety of recipes), Nino’s Home (for simple recipes with savage styles) and my family’s special recipes. Also, credits go to Arizona state where nearly all of the necessary ingredients are available to me. By 2021, I’m proud of myself that I could recreate my favorite dishes with simple and easy-to-get ingredients that stay within budget of a student.
Many thanks to all the friends who have been the “guinea pig” to my dishes. Special thanks to my dear boyfriend, who is always willing to try all of my new recipes and has given me honest but encouraging comments.
As my cooking skill improves, I’m indeed happy but also feeling sorry at the same time as I couldn’t cook any proper meals for my family. Back to when I was still in Vietnam – my home country, I did cook sometimes but mostly night meals for myself only. I hope I could really cook for them all the healthy and delicious recipes in the near future.