Weekend Kitchen: An Accountant's Fireworks

Why write this

On my resume, "hobbies" includes cooking. It's not filler — I'd rather show you what I actually make.

Sweet-sour ribs: the glow of a signature dish

Ribs blanched, pan-seared, sugar caramelized to amber, vinegar reduced... every step must not be careless: too hot and it burns, too sweet and it cloys, too early with vinegar and it's flat. But when it lands on the table, the satisfaction is real.

A friend online "cried for it" and asked for the recipe. I sent the step photos one by one — cooks know this joy: not just eating well, but teaching someone else.

Garlic shrimp

That day I also made garlic shrimp noodles: fine garlic, just-right soaked vermicelli, cleanly split shrimp. Meat and vegetable, sweet and salt — cooking and accounting both chase a balance.

My home kitchen

Over time: sauce-topped tofu (the sauce must cling), stuffed chili (filling firm so it won't fall apart frying), braised eggplant (absorbs oil — heat and oil must be just so), tomato brisket (braised until tender, worth the wait), and mango pomelo sago to finish.

A thought

An accounting student's life shouldn't be only reports and Excel.

Spreadsheets count numbers; the kitchen counts heat and seasoning — both are "off by a little is wrong" crafts. I find balance between debit and credit, and between sugar and vinegar. Compared to cold data in Excel, the steam rising from the pot is what I'd rather show off.

"Not defined by a major" — that's not only "I can build websites and run research", it's also: after work, I cook pretty well.