Cooking with Lani

said no one ever...

"The most powerful social media... it is not the internet, it is not Facebook - it is food. This connects all human beings." ~ Alex Atala

Dear friend,

How are you? I feel like I haven’t been as good about writing these letters as I was in the past. I’ve been throwing my energies into essays and my new life in Siem Reap. And so far, 2024 has been mercurial, if I’m honest, swinging and dancing between extremes. And one of the ways I’ve been coping has been with good ‘ol fashion gardening and cooking.

Both of these activities are my mother’s strengths. On a recent video chat, she showed me her amazing orchids (she has 20+) and other rare gems that I’ve never seen even though I’m an avid houseplant and Apartment Therapy video consumer. She’s always been good with them. I don’t think she’s ever killed one before—unlike her daughter…

But she’s mostly known for her cooking, and so is my brother for that matter, which is why I HESITATE to ever cook in their presence. So, for years, they assumed I didn’t know how.

Eating at Little Kroma ~ fried spring rolls, pumpkin and tofu and yellow noodles, Siem Reap, 2017.

Fair enough, but slightly amusing. Unlike my mom who learned through watching, I’ve learned through both observing her, trial and error, and recipes. But what I’ve noticed over the years is I don’t follow recipes, so much as gain inspiration from them.

I think this is because I’ve never seen my mom measure anything. So, I feel like— well, a banana in a tailpipe when I have to do it, so I don’t. [Unless, it’s baking, I’ve learned the hard way that baking is a science.] My brother, on the other hand, sprinkles his spices like he’s on a TV show and handles his food with the tenderness of a lover’s caress.

Meanwhile Chef Boyardee over here is trying to slice a tomato with a dull knife.

Actually, I just go out and buy a new knife.

In our old kitchen in Lamphun, Thailand, 2007

Ramen, ramen, ramen

If you ask Asians, rice or noodles, they’re going to overwhelmingly say, noodles. Rice is life, but noodles brings out that twinkle in the eyes.

🍜 You can make instant noodles a thousand different ways, just look at the cookbooks out there, and I grew up with the best, my mom. But I’m always searching for the perfect bowl to make at home. Enter Budget Bytes 15-Minute Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen. It’s sooo good, easy to make, and just talking about it makes me want to cook it for lunch again.

When I want to make something specific, like attempt to make vegan pad Thai (because the last time I tried it was inedible), I do a search and look at a few different recipes. For example at Hot Thai Kitchen, I’ll see that she used mushrooms, good idea, I like that. Some recipes used just julienned carrots and tofu, mushrooms gave it that extra kick and flavor.

🍜 The sauce was also something that I had to make from scratch (oh, the woes of being vegan), and I couldn’t find tamarind, the key ingredient. But Brave’s AI search engine threw down the suggestion of using peanut butter for the sauce. Brilliant. My pad Thai sauce stuck to the noodles and the whole dish was wonderful. It turned out so well that I’m afraid to make it again.

Garlic noodles with a side of kimchee and soup at Vitking Vegetarian, Siem Reap, 2017

Cooking with the internet

In another lifetime, I’d have a nice collection of cookbooks, but since I’m semi-nomadic, the internet will have to do.

🥦Now, I’m not one of those people with a fancy kitchen (hello, SE Asia) with my expensive Apple product on display while I cook. No. I leave my laptop in my bedroom (and my phone is on airplane mode). I do my search, memorize the recipe, and return to the kitchen. If I forget, then I return to my laptop. Sometimes this whole process requires a few trips.

You might be tempted to call me a moron or a dimwit, and that’s your prerogative, but I’m burning at least two calories walking back and forth, and I’ve never spilled anything on my devices, thank you very much.

🍆Another habit I’ve acquired is using the ALMIGHTY for recipes; for example, when I don’t know what I want to cook, but I have eggplant and lentils, so I do a search for those ingredients and depending on mood, I’ll be making either a Lentil Bolognese (with eggplant), a One-Pot Eggplant Lentil Curry or a Stewed Eggplant Tomato Lentils.

What this does, is allow me to try new dishes without leaving my home. It keeps food interesting and creative, which is one of the big perks of veganism. But I should mention, that I almost always never follow a recipe to the T. Usually, I don’t have all the ingredients, or I forget (see above), but I like to put my own spin on things anyway. It’s good to be flexible.

My favorites

The recipes I recommend have to be easy to make or adaptable. There are plenty of foodie sites that require ingredients that are WAYYY too expensive for SE Asia, or it’s just complicated. I have a basic set up and limited space, but unlike our last apt, we actually have a kitchen (not something we cobbled together). Don’t you worry, we eat very well.

🤩 Nisha at Rainbow Plant Life is my favorite vegan YouTuber. She funny, and I’ve been a fan for years. Recently, I tried her unique way to cook fried tofu from this video. And it’s a keeper.

🤩 I feel like I regularly recommend Budget Bytes, but that’s because Beth’s recipes are simple. She has vegan and non-vegan offerings, and as the name implies, there’s a cost breakdown of the recipes.

🤩 It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken from Sam is another go-to resource. I’ve bookmarked her 50 Easy Vegan Recipes for Beginners and like her breakfast scramble and lemony chickpeas recipes.

How do you cook? What have you learned in the kitchen? Care to share any go-to recipes?