My Eat And Drink Musts At Home
As a foodie couple, we take pleasure in discovering and experiencing the gastronomy scene in Montreal and abroad. We also share the joy of cooking together as we try to recreate the recipes of our favourite meals from restaurants at home.
Food and drinks are evidently part of everyone’s life. But as a lifestyle, some tools and ingredients have become so essential that we cannot live without.
Many of these ingredients and selected tools shape our daily routine, cooking practice, and eating habits. And a lot of it have been inherited, as usual, from my family’s culture and from my days abroad.
The mini bar
I love having a good set-up that serves multiple purposes. And I can’t think of anything that proves it better than our mini bar. It’s a trolley that serves coffee, tea, and alcohol.
On the right side, we have our Nespresso machine, the espresso cups and and the tea bags. Very well equipped, no doubt. But we always start our day by making an Italian espresso with our moka pot. I switched from coffee to espresso the day I got back from my first trip in Italy. It was a revelation. A double shot of espresso does the job in waking us up and getting ready for the day. And when we have guests, we’d pick one that is more suited for the group size. Oh yes, we have many of these pots!
On the left side, the alcohol bottles. You will very likely always find Gin, Campari and Vermouth there. Drink as is, or make cocktails, you choose!
At the centre of our mini bar, among all the bottles of hard liquor, stands the holy scotch decanter. It’s đẹp trai’s favourite drink. We love to share our little treasures with friends and family. Even if the scotch has its throne on the mini bar, my man always gets excited to bring it out and pour some scotch to our guests. The scotch also plays a holy role in our lives. One summer, đẹp trai tried durian ice cream. It was the first time he ever tasted durian. It was only an ice cream, which already buries the intense flavour and scent. He couldn’t handle it. In panic mode, he splashed water on himself to rinse off that durian stink, but alas, no success. He then shouted scotch, which did kill the durian taste on the tip of his tongue. There you go. Scotch spared his life. It’s like a preventive tool in our home.
And where’s the wine? They are on the section below, laid horizontally next to each other.
Cooking Practice
I remember I used to have a hard time learning how to eat with chopsticks when I was a child. I also didn’t understand the logic of using chopsticks to eat rice. And as I practiced, and growing older, I even learned how to cook with chopsticks too. Who needs tongs when chopsticks do the trick? So I’ve transmitted the wisdom to my đẹp trai as well. When we first dated, he didn’t know how to use them and now he’s familiar with it, and is doing pretty well with them!
After moving in together, it took us a little while until we discovered Our Place. I can’t remember if there were Selena Gomez ads on Instagram that piqued my curiosity. I was happy to learn about Our Place cookware as its products are built to cook more conveniently, and its design is simplistic yet beautiful. I’ve also grown fond of the brand’s mission and support them. Our first purchase was the Always Pan, and there’s a reason why it’s called that way. We use this pan all the time. It’s versatile, nonstick, and can be used on the stove, in the oven, and as a steamer. Everything happens in one pan. It heats up quickly and is induction-friendly. We use it for everything: fried eggs, sauteed meals, stews and curries, and steamed Vietnamese buns (bánh bao). We’re slowly building up a more extensive cookware set from Our Place to have a nice collection.
Master ingredients
There are key foods that are essential to our home. Condiments are meant to add flavour to the dish as an extra touch. In our case, some condiments are at the core. Meet the fish sauce (nước mắm)! As an authentic Vietnamese, fish sauce is everything. I regularly use it in broths, meat marinade, and sauteed dishes. It could be a salt substitute. I like to think of it as "fun salt" because it adds a unique flavour to the food, making it delicious. It's stronger than salt yet more subtle than soya sauce. It's become my secret ingredient. Whenever my friends and family compliment my recipes, they often involve fish sauce.
We don’t have a traditional table set where we organize different glasses, plates, utensils, and a centre piece at their designated place. Funnily, we always have something on our table because we use it often. It doesn’t even go back to the pantry. Its place is really at the centre of the table. I’m talking about fried onions. Another essential condiment! I sprinkle fried red onions on almost any dish: salads, rice or noodles, porridge or soup, and on top of a side dish. I love its crispy texture in every bite.
