i read somewhere that of the senses we have, smells can jolt our memories the best. when a familiar scent, odour or aroma wafts by, our olfactory ability triggers the mind, which traverses time and brings us back to the moment in the past when we first (or most vividly) sensed that smell.

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naturally, it is a combination of stimuli that result in us forming an impression of the moment, and not just the smell or sight or sound alone. but as i was standing in the kitchen de-veining the prawns for dinner and the rich scents of braised sea-cucumber, steamed ginger sauce and chicken soup stewing on the stove kept wafting by, many flashbacks of my childhood flooded my mind. i recalled the times when grandma would be pounding dried shrimp in the mortar pestle, when grandpa piled my plate high with succulent prawns, when ma first brought me out to try "samsui chicken" at the soup restaurant.

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then as pa stood at the stove swirling the garlic in the wok (and i was still stuck with the prawns) , the pungent garlicky aroma reminded me of previous new year dinners when my parents and grandparents would be labouring in the kitchen, and temperaments would be as high as the heat from the stoves. plates of tantalising sweet and sour prawns, pots of braised mushrooms and stewed chicken, trays of stir-fried kway tiao would emerge from the kitchen, making all the little children crowded near the kitchen door salivate with hunger.

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"cut it this way" "no, cut it that way" "pass the plate!" "where's my ladle? hurry up!"

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it felt like deja vu, the smells and sounds that was swirling around me were so familiar even though times have changed. I had graduated from a little eager face pressed against the kitchen window to the kitchen helper under the command of the fierce chef also known as pa. hainanese men are reputed to be able to whip up gastronomic delights, and pa certainly lives up to that reputation. he can conjure up magic with the wok and even traditional dishes get creative spin-offs under his hand. so much for watching cooking shows and marvelling at jamie oliver. i ought to have just looked in my own kitchen.

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it was just the previous night when he decided that i should start learning a dish or two from him and so off to the kitchen i went, starting with my favourite dish of prawns. as i snipped away at the prawns' whiskers and legs, i marvelled at their tough shells and numerous sharp tips to poke enemies with. this was soon followed by a tinge of sadness that those protective mechanisms could never protect them from their greatest enemy that was the human appetite, and then a slight tinge of guilt that i was actually thinking of how delicious they would taste as i stood there mutilating them.

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i got it easy this time, for the preparation for most of the cny dishes was kept simple and there wasnt much chopper-wielding or fanciful knifework required. but obviously when it came to actually frying the prawns, there was some gap between theoretical knowledge on how hot the oil should be and practical skills on how to gauge how hot the oil is. hahaaa so much for silly theoretical cooking knowledge. thankfully the dish turned out quite fine without my dad having to do any rescue work or my mum having a heart-attack.

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it's certainly easier to bake cookies :) but oh well.. not as exciting as cooking.