{"id":61,"date":"2007-11-28T17:50:01","date_gmt":"2007-11-29T00:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com\/2007\/11\/28\/from-scratch-black-bean-sauce-and-other-tips-and-tricks-from-a-loving-father\/"},"modified":"2007-11-28T17:50:01","modified_gmt":"2007-11-29T00:50:01","slug":"from-scratch-black-bean-sauce-and-other-tips-and-tricks-from-a-loving-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/from-scratch-black-bean-sauce-and-other-tips-and-tricks-from-a-loving-father\/","title":{"rendered":"In memory of a chef-dad, plus his from-scratch black bean sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cathy Chun\u00a0stir-frying vegetables to use with\u00a0her dad’s black bean sauce recipe <\/em><\/p>\n

Not everyone grew up on the tasty goodness of mom’s or grandma’s cooking.<\/p>\n

Cathy Chun is a valid case in point. Her late father, David Chun, reined in the kitchen. And everyone, including Cathy’s mom, was happy with that arrangement.<\/p>\n

Ironic as it was, Cathy’s dad was the first son in his family.\u00a0The antithesis to\u00a0the stereotypical, pampered, first-born son (FBS)\u00a0in a Chinese family (more often than not,\u00a0a FBS\u00a0is showered with attention,\u00a0isn’t expected to lift a finger, and lo and behold if he steps into the kitchen!), David spent a lot of time in the kitchen as a boy and learned to cook.<\/p>\n

Cathy and her siblings were the happy beneficiaries of their dad’s talents in the kitchen. Food was the medium he used to show his love, she explained. “He was not expressive emotionally but he made sure we ate good food.”<\/p>\n

On a surprisingly sunny day in autumnal Seattle, I was cooking at Cathy’s house with her sister Carol who was visiting from Hawaii. Cathy wanted to show me how to make her dad’s black bean sauce–from scratch!–and a couple of other dishes from their family cookbooks.<\/p>\n

Yes, they had not one, but three, family cookbooks! In 1988, Cathy’s family published a family cookbook entitled Potluck at Popo’s<\/em> followed by\u00a0the sequels\u00a0Just One More<\/em> in 1989 and\u00a0Once Again at Popo’s <\/em>in 2002. When Cathy was growing up in Hawaii, her grandmother, whom she called Popo, hosted numerous potluck parties to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions. Relatives stretching across five generations would gather at Popo’s house, each family bringing a favorite dish. Eventually, they decided to compile these dishes into several cookbook volumes for posterity.<\/p>\n

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As we chopped asparagus and peeled shrimp, Cathy and Carol bantered and reminisced about their dad and their childhood.<\/p>\n

Turns out that not only was\u00a0their dad a superb cook, he was a meticulous one too.<\/p>\n

Carol remembered how, wielding a pair of tweezers, he would pick the tiny hairs off pork destined for the pot, and pull the pin feathers off the chickens he was about to cook. And he could always be found on Thanksgiving morning cutting bread into cubes to roast in the oven for croutons and stuffing. Boxed versions never passed muster.<\/p>\n

The conversation meandered organically: we discussed all the different things you could do with spam and Vienna sausages–staples in Hawaii, of course–and whether rice is better cooked on the stove or in the rice cooker. Cathy explained it simply. “I grew up on rice made in a pot.” And that’s how she’s always liked it.<\/p>\n

In the end, it all boils down to what you’re used to. Yet another quirk–Cathy’s dad never used a wok and “his cast iron skillet was always on the stove,” she recalled. This might explain why her favorite kitchen accoutrement is the skillet.<\/p>\n

Through osmosis, Cathy\u00a0incorporated many of her dad’s tips and tricks into her culinary repertoire. And the ever-sentimental daughter still keeps his sharpening stone on her kitchen counter as a reminder of the loving father who nourished her both physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n

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Here are some tips and tricks Cathy’s dad used in the kitchen. Perhaps you’d find them useful too!<\/p>\n