there is something that i definitely like about eating together the way my family did growing up. not so much that we ate "together", but just how the meal was really shared. i like this idea whether at a home or at a restaurant.
all the food is set out in front of you and each person just fetches what they want at the moment, set it in their rice bowl or on a small plate in front of them. there was even a few communal bowls for bones and other non-edible parts. rice was in the rice cooker but it was a single person's job to make sure that those bowls were filled and down before calling everyone to come eat. with my mom, there was usually some soup or other of some stated but dubious medicinal property. the family gets seated and eating ensues. i've long since realized my error in forgoing the soup on more occasions than not...
i still prefer this to eating at a fancy restaurant where my meal comes neatly put together on a plate and set in front of me. don't get me wrong, i enjoy this too! just there's is something more comforting and entertaining about really sharing in the community food bowl/plate.
ok...
i don't miss fighting my siblings for the choices of meat or vegetable? but that too was part of the experience. hoarding food is frowned upon. you take only what you can eat in say...i dunno...three, four mouthfuls? i don't know if this was the case for everyone, but i noticed nobody in my family nor at any other dinner i went to selected more than this. it's probably just part of really sharing and being respectful. to this day when we're at a restaurant, i will pour the tea for everyone else. i was told by my brothers that being the youngest it was my job too. not sure if this is really true of my culture or just my brothers getting over again on me. either way, it doesn't really matter because for me...it's a reminder that no matter who i am or am with...it is a privilege to be able to serve your family and friends.
which is probably why i like to cook for family and friends. it's my way of being able to say thank you or just letting them know i appreciate them. i'm not trained in cooking nor do i cook exceptionally well? but i can get by and feed myself and others. i can usually come up with something pretty fast and hey, kids like what i make for them...prolly because i still remember what i liked to eat at their age. mostly, i enjoy the community that surrounds the getting, making and eating the food...and i love...LOVE...being able to sit, eat, talk and laugh with the people that surround me.
so for Leung Family Chinese New Year dinner...for the first time ever...i made salmon. salmon (at least cooked, raw, smoked, cured i'm good) and i have a long history of distrust and dis-like which i have just recently overcome. not really knowing what to do...i went simple.
Salmon Fillets
Lemon
Fresh Dill
Butter
Dry White Wine
Salt and Pepper
i seasoned the salmon fillets with salt, pepper, dill and lemon juice about an hour before cooking. the fillets were then grilled in olive oil and butter skin side down for 3/4 of the cook time and then flipped for just the briefest of moments to finish. i added a bit of the white wine in the pan at the end..
i made a light sauce of butter, white wine, dill and lemon juice (my sister had no zester so i let the peels cook in the liquid a bit) and some supremed lemon sections for garnish...
next time? lemon zest, perhaps shallots and read thru a few recipes to figure out what i did right and wrong.
there you have it...now off to get some lunch...
update...
15yrs later... i pretty much still use the same ingredients but have found leeks and wrapping the fish in parchment paper to steam is a better application
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