My Love of Baking

Hawaiian bread.

I have always loved to cook and feed people.  I believe it's one of the gift God has given me.  Food brings people together and I love the opportunities to chat and talk about God.  I don't mind cooking and cleaning up after large crowd.   That's why I always wanted a house with small bedrooms, but large living room, dining room, and kitchen so I can open up my house for God's purpose.  Although our house is not super huge, but large enough for all our needs so far.  No matter how big or small the house, I believe that if a person is willing to offer her resources to God, He will make good use of it.  I have hosted a 25+ people party in our first house, which is only 1100 square feet and the living room is smaller than my current bedroom.

I believe my love for cooking started in college.  When I was living at home, I didn't have any desire to cook and didn't have to cook.  My parents are great cooks, so I never had to make anything.  Not even rice.  In my second year in college, I moved out of the dorm and shared an apartment with some roommates.  I started to have to cook for myself.  And I was also active in the fellowship group.  I noticed that college students can't cook, but love to eat.  And every time my fellowship had an outreach, there are bigger turn out if there is food.  There are a few older college guys who can cook for the masses when I was a freshman.  I loved going to their places to eat.   When those guys graduated, I took it upon myself to cook for the masses.  So in my third year, I didn't have Friday classes, I spent the day prepping and cooking Friday dinner for the entire fellowship group (about 30 people).  I still have people telling me that they remember my dinners.  Back then, I didn't have recipes or cookbooks.  My cooking are mostly Chinese and done by trial by error.  But people loved it and that gave me major confidence to try cooking different ethnic food and also baking. 

Baking is so wonderful and yet different than cooking.  I don't use recipe when I cook because I use a little of this and a little of that and it some how works.  But baking is more of a science.  Certain things react together and if not enough yeast or baking powder things may not rise.  Making things like french bread, croissant, souffles, and Japanese cheesecake are hard to do.  I love the challenge though.  I love baking because I feel like a magician when I bake.  Taking tasteless simple things like flour, sugar, butter, and eggs and turn them into bread or sweet decadent desserts gives me great pride and joy.  Perhaps baking runs in my genes.  My parents used to own a donut shop so my dad is a baker.  My mom and my sister also love to bake.  So it's both a nature and nurture thing that I love to bake.  Although, I didn't learn to bake from my dad because I don't like donuts.

I have been making this sweet swirl bread that H and the kids love.  It started out to be the Cinnamon Swirl bread recipe using cinnamon, sugar, and raisins to make the swirl in the middle of the bread.  I have made it so many times that I have since modified the recipe.  So now I make custard, dried pork (yok shung), and Vietnamese kaya swirl bread.  The bread is super soft (even stays soft for a few days) with some sweetness.  My favorite is the Kaya filing.  I think it's better than the famous Chinese Sheng Kee bakery's custard bread.  Let me know if you would like to try my bread, I would love to make you some.  Or give it a try and make it yourself, I know you will love it.  I think warm, homemade bread is one of life's finest enjoyment.

Recently, I also want to learn to make more traditional Chinese things like bao, cheung fun, dim sum, daikon cake, and Chinese tamales (糭子 chongzi).  My parents can make both Chinese and Vietnamese food and I don't want my family's tradition in food to end with them.  So now I am determined to learn to make food that my parents and Chinese and Vietnamese people can make.