One of my treasured finds in the last decade is a cookbook by Bish Nga Burrill called Vietnam Memories. Warmly written, Bish calls this a memory cookbook. Each recipe has a memory that is woven into her very thought of creating it. These memories run deep and will give even more depth and love to the food. Quarantine has antagonized me to expand my cooking horizons. What I do, I have done many times and I feel I am well practiced and that leaves me wanting new adventures. I need another mountain to hike that I have not yet tried. I know that just below the smooth as glass surface of inactivity lies new favorite tastes and experiences.
I was particularly moved by the Pork and Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe, that told the story of Bish cooking this recipe for a dear friend who was going to take her to Hawaii, in exchange for her making this dish. She sat in the bus shelter on the side of the road for far too long holding the container of this recipe waiting for her friend. Finally another friend arrived and without saying a word, she knew that he wasn’t coming and that she would never see him again. Shaking so bad the container fell to the ground, spilling the rice all over the ground.
I want to make this recipe. I want to make a meal and dedicate it to the memory of Bish’s friend Billy. Food is an expression of life and the preciousness of it. Sometimes…it makes you cry too. It can be easy to forget, whether we fall into the same old routine, or we are re-actively food shopping blindfolded during a pandemic. No matter what it is, let us not forget to find the “real”.
