Dinner is the Meal I Eat for my Parents
Name: Ann Phung Bui
Age: 23
Occupation: Self-employed (unemployed)
Location: Bronx, NY
Number of Days in Quarantine: 23
Happy Hour Drink of Choice: Dalgona Coffee
Ideal Quarantine Partner: K.K. Slider
Most Ambitious Cooking Project: Kimchi
You might think that if your only obligation was to stay at home, you’d be able to finish five personal projects a week. After having been at home for the past three weeks, I must say it isn’t so. Making food, prepping food, enjoying food, researching food, cleaning up after food, can take up all of your days if you want it to, and I wanted it to. Not to mention that cooking and eating meals has been the primary method of interaction with my parents during quarantine. It’s always been a foolproof way to connect with and probe the minds of the two adults who raised me; in a way where they could be just as engaged in the conversation.
I typically have two meals a day and some snacks in between, starting at 1 pm and ending at 9pm or so. I hadn’t realized this before, but it turns out this lifestyle has a name and has become a trendy diet recently, Intermittent Fasting. The word fasting always sounded intimidating to me but perhaps, it’s just a word used to describe something normal. Makes you wonder how connotations develop. I digress.
What has become a staple in my fridge is oat milk. I never thought I could ever replace delicious whole milk, but oat milk is by far the best thing that’s entered my life in a while. This is not an exaggeration. Joy is in the simple things. This milk happened into my life during a time when all that could be heard throughout my home were the echoes of gas exiting lactose intolerant bodies. Just when my poor mother had gotten used to poop particles in the air, my father found Lactaid and I found Planet Oat Oat milk.
The day starts with a beverage, usually water, sometimes tea, but for the past couple of days I’ve been enjoying the Dalgona coffee recipe that has recently gotten very popular on Tik Tok. It’s probably one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever find on the internet, but I may have underestimated it because I messed it up on my first try. The beverage calls for equal parts sugar, instant coffee, and hot water being whipped up into a smooth fluff. Pour three ingredients into a bowl and mix, it couldn’t have been simpler. Two tablespoons of instant coffee sure. Two tablespoons of water ok. But two tablespoons of sugar?? That is a lot of sugar. Haughtily I added half a tablespoon of sugar and started mixing. If there’s one thing I’ve learned (for the fifteenth time) is that ratios in cooking are very important. The mixture started frothing and did almost reach a satisfying texture but sadly never to the prime and beautiful smooth peaks of fluff I saw under the Dalgona coffee hashtag on Instagram. but I have to say, it was still pretty yummy.
I make my first meal of the day, which could be anything ranging from leftovers from last night’s dinner to the meal I prepared in my mind the night prior. There’s rarely a night that goes by where I don’t ask myself what I’ll be eating the next day. Sometimes, your first meal can set the tone for the rest of your day. When I want to feel more energized, I’ll eat a vitamin gummy. I’m kidding of course, but hey placebo can be just as effective sometimes for the paranoid mind.
One thing I learned being stuck at home is that if you’re craving something, it’s very possible to try and make it yourself. Sometime the stars align and you just happen to have every ingredient you need for the dish you’re craving. For me, kimchi was the lovely result.
Finally, dinner is the meal I prep, cook, eat, attend, and clean up after for my parents. Maybe that’s an exaggeration because I do generally enjoy eating for my own sake. The difference here is that for this meal, I discuss the menu with my father, confirm the menu with my mother, prep and cook with my father, eat with both, and clean with my mother. Each step involves an engaged interaction with my parents, something I’ve come to cherish more as I get older.
