I love how food tastes, looks and smells, but I also like how it feels in my mouth, especially under my teeth when I bite it – whatever goes into my mouth has got to be good and edible! If it’s not good food, I rather it goes to ‘waste and not to my waist’. As friends and foodies, we remind ourselves without feeling the guilt. Of course credits should be given to the ‘Amazing Grace’ another ex-pat living in Shanghai.
Texture plays an active, significant part in my enjoyment of food. Mushrooms are a texture thing; I love mushrooms, the nice slightly bouncy texture. The contrast on the other end with peanut butter like other texture food is creamy, while the nutty bits from the chopped peanuts give the flavour. When I feel like having a ‘mouthfeel’ of something creamy I’ll go for yogurts and dips.
Overcooked foods are the worst offenders. Pasta has to be “al dente” and anything less undercooked is gooey without the presence of any textural contrast. Using plenty of salt helps achieve the "al dente" texture. Cooking to the desired texture means "to the tooth". So the next time if you need pleasures from the mouth, as I am orally speaking, please remember to ask for “al dente” and forget about the rare and medium rare. I love crisp-tender broccoli; raw broccoli stems and raw cauliflowers are fine but I dislike anything slimy like Natto (Japanese fermented soya bean) and can you imagine Okra mixed in with Natto? It is sticky and slimy; it makes your skin crawl with the gluey, gooey but unappetizing lumpy texture.
Have you really ever thought about the relationship between food and love? We eat to enjoy till our hearts content. I love food and the reason I cook is because I love to eat. Since I moved to China, I have not been cooking for friends for a long while. My friends would know me for my creative food presentations and the fusion of food that complements the taste buds. I remember one evening when I cooked a Japanese meal which is one of my fortes; I whipped almost every dish with a dash of sake. Many people would not consider a Japanese meal complete without a bottle of sake, the fermented-rice spirit. Soon my guests were soaked with sake and plum wine till their unbelievable secrets were pouring out – the Sake Cruise which I could have rewritten the parts of Memoirs of a Geisha from the stories of these ex-geishas at my home. It is a long story and to cut it short, they were friends living lives with loads of sexual escapades, who think they are geishas. I can link them with the somewhat more romantic word 'courtesan'. This somehow reminds me of Annabel Chong when she was at the age of 22 who became famous by engaging in 251 sex acts with about 70 men over a ten-hour period, setting a world record. But none of my guest from the dinner could beat her world record… what a pain!
I cannot imagine if I were to slut and spend the day in bed with a stranger – limbs entangled, lips locked, and then later, slip under the covers with the real squeeze? How else could that squeeze banish thoughts of those hands groping another? It is weird for everyone. Actors do just that; act; if I were to break Annabel Chong’s record and play the role as an actor; do you think I can do it?
Part of my brain will be screaming: If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, am I going to be a duck? Or something that rhymes with duck. I better get back to food which is much better than a porn star - Food turns me on!
Foot note: Of course credits should be given to the ‘Amazing Grace’ another ex-pat living in Shanghai that inspired me to concoct this food for thought.
