We grew up poor, which was great because my mother grew up poor and was all set for it. Being from Guam, we had a lot of common Chamorro eats, but most of it was stir fry because that shit is so cheap and feeds a million people. We ate rice instead of potatoes, added soy sauce to everything, and either had scrambled eggs (with soy sauce mixed in) or fried rice for breakfast. Other foods we had were things like octopus, lumpia, pancit, pickle daigoh*, pickle cucumber*, and various BBQ items, only we used our BBQ sauce, which is finnedeni. We also had red rice and mom's potato salad during our Chamorro fiestas.

I learned to cook at a very young age, about 4, and helped mom in the kitchen, especially when we'd have parties. Everyone brings a dish or two, or they go to the host's house and make the food there. This way, you get the women and some of the kids in the kitchen making the food and having a few beers (no beers for the kids) while the men are outside tending to the barbecue and having a few beers. This stuff is all second nature to me.

We used sauces and marinades all the damn time, and it took me a while to realize that wasn't normal in the States. People just bought chicken and cooked it. We marinated it in finnedeni for 24-48 hours. Everything grilled was served with steak sauce or ketchup, but we served it with finnedeni or tabasco. Our rice was seasoned and cooked with things like meat, onions, and peas...the rice of the dirty round eye is cooked on its own and usually comes from a box of parboiled "Minute Rice."

My mom is a pretty great cook when not being stuck to a recipe. My dad doesn't cook very often, but he has a couple dishes that he's really, really good at making.

I learned how to cook from helping my parents, reading a lot of recipe books, and occasionally watching cooking shows. If you become familiar with classic recipes, you start to understand how certain ingredients are best prepared, how to substitute things, what flavors work well together.

>>1013493
Oh, I forgot. The asterisks next to the daigoh and cucumber...we refer to it as "pickle" but there's nothing actually pickled. You slice the daigoh (aka Japanese yellow radish, aka daikon radish) and cucumber, then put it in a container. Cover it in vinegar, add red pepper flakes, then put a lid on it and let it chill for at least 10 minutes. It's really good. Great, healthy, flavorful snack...especially in the hot months.

My parents are fucking terrible cook. I refused any offer to cook the same shit they cook.

Their food is extremely fattening and greasy. I was forced to eat out before I actually decided to learn to cook. I stopped eating out when I had a heart attack three years ago, at 19.

I probably survived because three years ago I was constantly thinking about existence after death, so I think that motivated me to not want to find out.

>>1013495
>>1013495

Daikon is good and this sounds good.

>>1013510

Cool story bro.

No they can't cook to save a life.

I have a lot of Asian friends, coincidentally, and they've helped me and pretty much taught me to cook. I cook a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese because of them

>>1013476
My mom is an ok cook, by dad is good and m grand-ma is awesome. I started helping her around the kitchen when I was 5-6 years old. Then I used to cook a lot with my dad. Both me and my brother are well rounded cook as a result. Our parents wanted us to be able to fend for ourselves as adults.

I don't get parents that can't be bothered to learn while their kids are young or can't be bothered to teach their kids how to make their own food.

My parents would generally buy instant microwave meals or just throw porkchops on a cookie sheet with salt and pepper into the over until it was as dry and horrible as it could be.

That's how I learned how to cook for myself.

>>1013493
My mother was a horrible cook. She used nothing but canned vegetables, cream of mushroom soup, overcooked her pasta, and always forced barbeque to be well done.

I served pasta al dente, and she said my pasta was undercooked.

>>1013513
It certainly is. The daikon you get can't be the white stuff, it has to be the yellow, preserved kind. This is sweeter, then the tartness of the vinegar, the crunchiness of the daigoh, the heat of the red pepper, the refrigerated chill...it's SO good and so easy to make.

God damnit you people must have shitty lives.

My parents are excellent cooks because they knew "parent != automatic cook". I had one of those grandmothers who baked delicious pies and food with love.

I have NO DOUBT 90% OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD ARE AMERICAN.

>>1013528

I'll have to try this.

>>1013543
Please do, and take pictures. I always like to show my mother pictures of people eating foods that she taught me how to cook. That's why I try to spread the love of her lumpia. Pic related.

LUMPIA
1lb ground beef, cooked
1/2lb cooks shrimp, diced (or use the smaller shrimp)
1-2lbs shredded cabbage + carrot (I use the bags of shredded cabbage/carrot that say something like "coleslaw mix" on it so I don't have to spend time doing it myself)
Oyster sauce
Flour + water (make a paste out of it)
1-2 packages lumpia (aka spring roll) wrapper, frozen
Oil for frying
Sweet chili sauce for dipping


Step 1: Combine beef, shrimp, and vegetables. Add oyster sauce until the mixture is coated, but not drenched. It'll take about 4-6 tablespoons, but could be more or less to your liking.

Step 2: See pic.

Step 3: Sneer at egg rolls for the rest of your life.

>>1013573
THIS IS HOW ALL RECIPES SHOULD BE. PICTURES, STEPS AND WORDS.

>>1013573
I should note a couple things.

1. You won't always be able to find lumpia wrappers, so you can use egg roll wrappers. They are typically refrigerated.

2. If you are lucky and have frozen lumpia wrappers, then remove them from the freezer about 2-4 minutes before you're going to start making lumpia. They otherwise will dry out.

3. Wrap extra lumpia wrappers well and place them back in the freezer, and put excess filling in a container and store in the fridge. Do NOT pre-make the lumpia and leave it for more than a couple hours. The sauce and some of the oil from the beef will soak through the wrapper, causing the lumpia to burst when you cook it.

4. I recently made this and had to vegan it up (FYI: egg roll wrappers aren't vegan, but lumpia/spring roll wrappers are). I crumbled tofu into a pan and heated it through, seasoning with salt, pepper, sriracha, potsticker sauce, and garlic powder. I mixed it with the cabbage/carrots, as well as added bean sprouts. Wrapped and cooked as normal after that.

>>1013577
That's what I try to do. I have some posted somewhere else, maybe I should make more of these series'.