Can you make a foreign dinner for your family?

March 30, 2015 — by Ami Nachiappan

Reporter takes on a dare from the Falcon's Lifestyles editors to prepare a foreign dinner for her family.

“This is going to turn out horrible.”

Those were my 14-year-old sister’s, Kaviya, words after I told her that the Falcon’s Lifestyle editors had dared me to prepare a foreign dinner for my family.

I have baked assorted desserts that my family has thoroughly enjoyed, yet they didn’t seem to think I was able to cook well. I’ve prepared a few simple meals here and there, but never a full-fledged dinner.

It’s true, I got off to a rocky start. Due to my lack of planning, I had forgotten that I had three tests and a history trial the same week I was supposed to complete my cooking challenge. Before busy weeks, I usually spend most of my weekend studying, but living by my motto “food before school,” I plunged headfirst into the challenge of creating a delightful Thai meal that would delight my family’s taste buds.

On Friday evening, I sat down in front of my computer and started brainstorming possible dishes to cook. Since my family loves Thai food, I had some experienced critics to impress. After browsing various recipes, I came across a website called thai.food.com that had relatively easy recipes (or so I thought).

For an appetizer, I decided to put together a spicy Thai Cucumber Salad, a refreshing platter of sliced cucumbers topped with a pepper vinegar mixture. The pictures looked very appealing with their beautiful garnishes of cilantro and peppers, and sauce poured perfectly across the dish.

The second dish I decided to prepare was Thai peanut, a noodle dish with chopped broccoli, topped with a peanut vinegar sauce. The recipe said the dish took a mere 25 minutes to make, so I was sure that it would be a piece of cake.

Saturday evening came, and I began to dig through the pantry to find all the ingredients. After rereading the recipe three times, I started chopping up vegetables and heating up a saucepan for the cucumber salad. As I started to slice the cucumbers, I turned to my side to see my mom laughing at me. I pleaded with her to help me, but her threats to email the newspaper adviser Mr. Tyler about me “cheating on an assignment” shut me up, so I continued working.  

The lack of trust from my family also did not help my nervous disposition.

My mom, though excited to have the day off from cooking dinner, decided early in the afternoon that she would make some back-up dinner in case mine didn’t work out.  So much for a boost of confidence.

After pouring the last of the sauce over the cucumbers, I added some cilantro and onions. Eager to know how it tasted, I called my dad and sister over to try. My dad seemed to enjoy it, and I was flooded with the feeling of relief. Sadly, that relief didn’t last as my sister started running and screaming around the house with her face beet-red. The rest of us were puzzled as to what was wrong with her.

It turns out that I had put a bit too much chili pepper in certain parts the cucumber salad, and my sister had tasted a particularly spicy spoonful.

While the cucumber salad turned out surprisingly well (disregarding the spice incident), the Thai Peanut didn’t bring as many smiles.

The recipe involved cooking pasta while simultaneously concocting a vinegar sauce. The whole kitchen was in chaos as I managed two stoves at once, struggling to cook the pasta without burning it, while keeping my eye on the sauce that was slowly beginning to bubble. The thought that I may burn the house down definitely had me nervous next to the boiling pot of water on the stove.

After cooking only two dishes, my arms were aching from all the stirring, and my energy had drained. The total preparation time for both dishes was supposed to be only 35 minutes, but in reality, it  took three times as long. Cooking dinner was an enjoyable experience for the most part, but I decided that for at least the rest of high school, I would leave that job to my parents.

If you ever decide to cook (with not much prior experience) for your family, I’m warning you: The food you make might not  be so appe-thai-zing.

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