A Taste — and Glimpse– of the Past on Mother’s Day
A sentimental taste.
My Mom unknowingly left me a gift this Mother’s Day.
Although she passed away six years ago, I still think about her often, especially on this day.
So, it was with great pleasure that I recently re-discovered a manila envelope on my bookshelf — one that used to be tucked into my mother’s own bookshelf. I pulled out the contents to find old-school plastic sleeves and cardboard folders stuffed with pages that had been photocopied or torn out of magazines. All were of recipes. A few were mine — baking recipes that had caught my eye when I was a teenager in the throes of my addiction to baking, which I’d do every chance I could on weekends after racing to finish my homework.
Most of the recipes, though, were her keepsakes. I started to leaf through them, one by one. There were mimeographed pages from a Chinese cookbook, with the Chinese characters for things like lotus seeds, salted duck eggs, and “longan pulp.” Although my Mom was fluent in Cantonese, I remember hearing her lament on more than one occasion that she could no longer distinguish the written Chinese characters like she once could.
There was a 1985 recipe for “Perfect Pot Roast.” Yet I don’t ever remember her making that homespun Americana dish. Was it a dish she meant to get to one day?
There was a yellowed booklet of “55 Cake Recipes” of “tested recipes from Ann Pillsbury’s Famous Kitchen Especially Created for Sno Sheen Cake Flour.” Published in 1952. Its pages held such wonders as “Wishing Ring Cake” and “White Magic Cake.” It made me remember the times I’d look on in awe whenever my Mom baked an angel food cake, and balanced the lighter-than-air creation on the neck of a soda bottle to cool.
There was a hand-written recipe on binder paper in my Mom’s recognizably neat penmanship for “Bacardi Rum Cake. That find made made me chuckle, since my Mom was a total teetotaler and I can’t even remember a bottle of rum ever being in our house. Or maybe she just had it hidden away?
There also were a couple iterations of the Chinese dim sum dessert, almond gelatin. One version made with Knox gelatin; another made with agar agar (a seaweed gelatin used in Japanese and Chinese cooking). I remember the unmistakable fragrance of the almond extract as my Mom stirred it into the steaming hot, milky mixture, which then got poured into a glass pan to cool and set up the the fridge. As a kid, it seemed like forever before it was ready to eat. When it finally was, my Mom would use a paring knife to slice through the white, dense Jell-O-like mass to create cubes or diamond shapes that she’d ladle into Chinese soup bowls. Then, she’d open up a can of fruit cocktail or mandarin oranges to top it with. Other times, I’d just sneak into the fridge and pull out a cube of the almond gelatin with my fingers to enjoy its cold, wiggly sweetness just like that.
And on it went, until I spied it: one of her own recipes for something she’d make often when I was growing up. I can’t even remember the last time I had her “Tofu with Ground Pork.” It’s been that long. Too long.
So, of course, I had to make it. I piled the other recipes back into their folders, save for the “Tofu with Ground Pork One.” Then, I pulled out my wok and got to work.
I can see why my Mom made this regularly on weekdays. It comes together in a flash. And it’s economical to boot. A smidge of ground pork goes a long way in this dish. With garlic, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and chicken broth, it serves to flavor custardy cubes of soft tofu. Green peas — most likely frozen ones in my Mom’s day, but fresh is even better at this time of year — add a delicacy and sweetness to this soulful, savory dish.
I spooned it over fluffy steamed rice, enjoying the familiar flavors that made me feel as if I were back in my parents’ home again.
I said a silent thank-you to my Mom, too, for turning the tables by giving me an unconventional Mother’s Day gift — a cherished taste of days long past that still resonates profoundly.
My Mom’s Tofu with Ground Pork
(Serves 2-3)
1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil
1/4 pound ground pork
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
About 5 ounces of peas, fresh or frozen ones allowed to defrost
1 box of soft tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
In a wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add oil. Stir-fry pork, garlic, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and peas until pork is cooked through. Add tofu, chicken broth and cornstarch mixture. Stir gently until sauce thickens. Serve with steamed rice, if you like.
From Carolyn Jung
More: My Mom’s Chicken Rice
And: My Mom’s Prawns with Pork and Black Bean Sauce
That dish sounds fabulous! A very tasty combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a lovely post! I have my mom’s and my grandma’s collections of recipe clippings and handwritten recipes. I love having them and feeling connected to them through food memories.
My mom balanced the angel food cake on a soda bottle too. Thanks for that memory.
OMG that dish looks soooo comforting! Definitely the kind of dish that comes from a mother’s heart! Such a sweet post. So nice you found that packet of recipes and memories!
Thanks for posting this, Carolyn! My mom has dementia and arthritis, so she can’t cook anymore – and she used to be the best cook I knew. I’ll make this for her soon.
How cool is that? You must transcribe those recipes and share with other family members and friends. 🙂
Wonderful post! Great recipe too, but so nice to hear about the recipes your mom tucked away. Thank you.
I love this post. My Paw Paw wasn’t much of a cook, but she always made almond jello (with fruit cocktail!) in the summer as a refreshing treat after dinner. My Chinese relatives recently told me this is viewed as a very “Americanized” dessert, but that perfectly describes my grandma. Chinese-American through and through, proud of her heritage and her country. The pork and tofu dish sounds amazing and so comforting. Thanks for sharing a bit of your mom with us.
Emily: It’s true — almond jello is probably not traditional Chinese fare. But it’s so refreshing and wonderful, you almost don’t care what its origins are, as long as you get to enjoy it, spoonful after spoonful.
Thank you for sharing your family memories and recipes. My parents’ families were Cantonese and our food memories are so similar to your family’s. I even loved to bake as a teenager. I am going to try the pork dish soon.
thank you for sharing. my aunt recently passed and i found a recipe she had given me years ago. it is a treasure!
This recipe looks delicious and how wonderful that you have those special recipes that your mom had kept all these years.
I am all warm and fuzzy inside, Carolyn. Such a beautiful post. During my last visit, I got my mom’s old recipe book and clippings. I keep them in my black box like a precious gift.
Your mom’s dish is so homey… being familiar with all the flavors, I could imagine the wonderful taste and the warmth of HOME.
What a lovely post, filled with beautiful memories of your mom. Thank you. 🙂
what a delightful find! to this day, i still haven’t tasted tofu, but i’m sure i would love it prepared like this!
I’ve always enjoyed your family recipes. All are delicious. Please share the rest of your Mom’s recipes when you are ready. Thank you!
This is such a beautiful post. This post brought back memories of my grandmother. Certain foods – just the aroma of them – bring back so many fond memories of her, who was the “head” cook in the family. This dish looks so comforting and tasty. I will have to try this soon. Thank you. 🙂
What’s dark soy sauce? Is there a brand you can recommend?
Jan: Dark soy sauce is kind of like it sounds. Darker, a little more viscous than regular soy sauce. It has a deeper, richer flavor. Adds a lot of color to dishes you use it in. I use Lee Kum Kee brand, which is easily found in Asian markets. A bottle keeps a long time in the fridge, too. You’ll find lots of uses for it.