Mission accomplished! I have conquered the "steam egg" dish!

Finally rolled my sleeves up to attempt my mother's version of home cook steam egg with minced pork.

Didnt know why I put it off for so long despite having seen my mum done it like a million times. Maybe I just was too lazy to mince the pork myself. So came today, I finally set my heart onto the task.

Not knowing if it will turn out good or bad in terms of flavor, had to cook a second dish Caramelised Chicken cutlet as backup in case steam egg fall flat. The proudest moment was when I lifted the wok cover and saw the perfect mimic of mum's egg custard.

The next verdict was the taste.

I was utterly relieved that it tasted perfectly like what mum's cooked though a little saltier would have been great. Still I was so pleased with myself. I so deserve that little pat on my back! I was so happy that the first thing I did was to send my "accomplishment" pictures to my brother declaring my triumphant moment! Another checklist crossed out!

Guess Mum's recipe will not be lost after all! Awesome! It will be a waste not to learn anything off her!

One of the secret joy in cooking, apart from feeding the people you love and them enjoying it, is the discovery that you could replicate the home-cook food you grew up with and identify with fondly.

I do sympathise with kids nowadays with parents too busy to cook as they may be missing out on this seemingly "unimportant" yet really significant family bonding moments. It will be something that will be a part of you, of who you are, and memories you will associate with in many years down the roll. People who grow up without home-cook food or a signature dish by either parent may find it hard to understand this strong affiliation and emotional attachment some of us have with food, our strong affection for "familiar tasting" food. Just like in my family, within my siblings, we each have our special mum's dishes.

For many of us, no matter how old we are, it is unsurprising that we still crave for our mum's cooking. However in modern society, nuclear families that cook which I know of have shrunk significantly. Alot of friends choose to "go back mum's place to eat". That is all great and jolly but the question I wanted to pose is, if you dont cook, whose house will your children return to in future? What sort of memories will your kids share when they grow up if all they eat is maid's food or too busy chalking up scores on those iphone/ ipad games at every single meal?

For me, food and memories come hand in hand. Just take the steam custard, I would remember how my delighted elder brother will go "wow wow wow" as he dig into mum's cook, as we all sat round the table to share the meal. All these will be priceless memories that are irreplaceable by those hawker or food court or even at grandparent meals.

So dont just have one day of "Cook a curry day" out of the 365 days... If you can, cook once a week for your love ones. The intangible return far outweighs the "convenience" of any takeaway food.