Aunty Can Cook

It’s tricky to work in unfamiliar kitchen. You open the wrong drawers, bumbling around to get everything sorted and to be worse, are forced to use some dull blunt knives. It’s a challenge to cook meals for the masses, providing some ten twenty different dishes options to several hundreds of guest. The tools and cooking apparatus are different, the container that will hold up to buffet-style service are different, the time and space required are definitely different.

For the above reasons, I respect the neighbourhood ad-hoc aunty catering team. These aunties, mostly housewives, renowned for their cooking skills, will get together when a catering service is required, usually for events like house warming, festive season open house, birthday parties. Regular food on the menu includes: fried meehoon/noodle/rice, curry chicken, assorted deep-fried items like prawns, chicken wings and fish balls, stir-fry mix vegetables, fruits and jellies.

The aunty catering team certainly has experience cooking for crowds. They arrive at the preparation kitchen (usually an outdoor space extended from the kitchen of the host) early in the morning with their own pots, tools, ready to get started. Like a professional kitchen, there will be a head cook that determines “who do what at what time”. Just as soon as the washing, peeling, chopping, boiling begins, the gossips begins (and seems like it will never going to end).

“You are sooooo lucky, your daughter-in-law helps you clean the house,” says Aunty Envy.

“Not as lucky as you lah, your son brought you traveling to China,” echoes Aunty Never-Enough.

Aunty Curious joins in the conversation, “This prawn is very fresh, where do you get it?”

“I’m friend with Fishmonger-Ah-Sang, he gave me discount,” replies Aunty Who-Knows-Everything, proudly.

Even in someone else kitchen, these aunties sit comfortably on a stool or on the floor. With both hands and mouth working simultaneously, they even manage to cook for their own lunch and have coffee break in between preparation time. They don’t use a scale, they measure with shovel, bowl, or just by the ‘feel of weight’ in their hand. Watching them cooking with wok is like enjoying a martial arts performance. Roaring flames, clanging metals, aromatic vegetable dancing around the wok, these aunties demonstrate an abundance of “Wok hei” (in Cantonese) or “Wok qi” (in Mandarin), the distinct flavour and taste achieved through quickly tossing or stir-frying in a hot wok.

Hours of peeling and chopping can be tedious and monotonous. However, to aunty caterer, this is just another cooking session. The level of organization involved in aunty catering, from sourcing for suppliers to kitchen management, is impressive. Guests are satisfied with the food and aunty caterers happily bag home some side income and lots of gossip. Aunty Broadcast grandson’s birthday is around the corner. Next outing secured.