HOW I STARTED?

Agak Agak Chef - How did it all start?

It all started during covid 19. Yes, no surprise right. So many of my friends speak of doing something they never had time doing and if only they had some more time ………… Ok yes I was bored. So one fine day, I was talking to a good friend and the idea came about. I had mentioned to her on several occasions in the past that I would somehow find something in my fridge or leftovers that I would make something of it. Guess what, it even tastes great!

And so, I decided to write down some recipes that I think might be helpful to anyone who just needs help in cooking something simple within a short time or just wanting to try something new to impress your other half or friends. Simple recipes that tastes great and easy to work with, that’s the aim! My motto : Don’t be too hard on yourself when cooking. Explore, taste and try and if it doesn’t work it is just FINE.

My journey as a cook

I never had to cook for myself when I was young because MOM does everything. She is the best cook ever in my eyes. I started my journey by cooking simple things like scrambled eggs for a start and when I moved to Singapore to work I had no choice but to try and cook some more. Calling mum often and then try and try (we didn’t have youtube at the time). Wanting to make my other half happy, I started to really cook more interesting stuff at home. But to be honest, I never found it hard because each time I realized the foundation of Malaysian/Singaporean cooking for almost everything revolves around these items you MUST HAVE in your kitchen :

GARLIC, ONIONS (red and yellow), SALT (ok ok be fancy sea salt), GINGER, LIGHT & DARK SOYA SAUCE, SESAME OIL, CHINESE RICE WINE & PRESERVED SOYA BEAN PASTE……………

And then HERBS/GARNISH ….. (SPRING ONION, CORIANDER, LONG RED CHILLIES, BASIL). That’s usually all you need if you are not being fancy. Ok, some people would say English Parsley too.

Back to the story of when I was young. My first introduction to cooking was watching this Chinese guy with a funny accent teach people how to cook - “Yan can cook”. He forgot to add in “So can you” in title of his cooking show. He was right! It is simple and yes - YOU CAN COOK TOO.

I will try in my own way to share with you all my recipes and some short cuts that would be easy for you to start. Some of these recipes are simple, some a little more work and I will also share some recipes for you to show off to your friends and family with steps to cheat! Yes, if you can cut some steps why not if it still tastes good. And when you enjoy cooking, nothing is difficult anymore and it is time for you to experiment your own way and style.

I hope you will enjoy the journey as much as I am going through my recipes with you. When you do, please pay it forward by sharing the fun of cooking with another person.

Yours truly,

Agak Agak Chef.