🍛 Impromptu Curry Party Leads To Spicy Smiles 😋 & I Try To Stay Manly While Surrounded By Ladies 💪
With a lot of hungry kids hanging around the house today, I knew today's lunch would have to be a big one to satisfy everyone.
A Bittersweet Lunch 😋
Because we are vegans most Cambodian guests don't show any interest in our food, and I've learned not to offer my Indian style food because it sometimes puts people in an awkward position of feeling obliged to eat something they think they won't like. I've found children to be less dogmatic in this regard, and if something smells good and looks visually appealing, they'll usually give it a try.
With a few neighbors coming and going, and also my daughters' two friends spending the day with us, I decided to make a double-sized batch of my wax pepper curry. While I fried the tofu and roasted the okra, tomatoes, and wax peppers, my wife cracked open a coconut to scrape some meat for my recipe.
Although this is not a recipe post, just to explain the flavors a bit, this curry starts by frying a sesame seed/peanut/coconut paste with cumin, kalonji, and mustard seeds, then adding a tamarind/ginger paste with turmeric, chili, garam masala, and enough water to make a slightly soupy curry.
My inner chef sensed we'd need a big curry, and I was right. Just as I placed the steaming wok on the table, one of the neighbor girls entered our house sobbing. I asked her what was wrong, and she said her Grandma left on a roadtrip without providing her breakfast or lunch. This was very upsetting to me, especially because this woman is not poor, and spends her days covered in gold chains and bracelets, playing cards and chain smoking cigarettes.
She's already with her grandma because her mother abandoned her, and unfortunately the grandma doesn't seem to show any pride in raising this intelligent young girl. I felt bad that all I had was a vegan curry, especially knowing she's used to simple foods like grilled meats with white rice. I told her she can stay with us as long as she needs to, and she can eat as much as she wants if she likes my curry. Luckily it was a hit with all Cambodian diners, tears quickly became spicy smiles, and we had a really nice curry party.
💪 Time To Be Manly 🪨
After so much time with so many ladies, I needed to feel manly, so I went down to the river to cut the logs that speared the first hammock hut during the flood. After cutting the logs, I began piling rocks to shore up the corner of the hut that is now extremely eroded.
I had spent a month piling rocks before the flood on this very corner, and it was probably this project that saved the hut, although I didn't have time to do this for the second hut which is now basically destroyed. What was once a difficult but doable descent to the river is now a leap of faith. Restoring easy access to the river is now a priority, and more so now that the monsoon is starting to fade.
Monkey-B Got Jealous 🏸
When I returned from the river, I was told by Srey-Yuu that the girl's uncle had came and hit her with an electric wire and told her to return home. Upon hearing this I felt rage, so I asked Srey-Yuu if had done this on our property, but it hadn't, so I wasn't in much of a position to do anything. 95% of the men in this tiny village are employed by the military outpost, and it's a tight loyal club. Pissing off one of the guys is like opening a can of worms, and doing this as a non-military resident and foreigner could cause more problems than I can solve.
I had to take some deep breaths and wait a while for the feeling to pass, but I can sense a confrontation with this family is looming on the horizon. In other non-happy news, I played badminton with Srey-Yuu after returning from the river, and this angered Monkey-B who said....
"You never do anything fun with me ever!"
I then gave myself to Monkey-B for a solid hour, playing mostly CandyLand, and in the process emasculated the macho-ness I had brought back with me from the river after lifting manly rocks and cutting manly trees. Hive posts get created and published at 2am after everyone is sound asleep, the time when I try to earn some income so that I can continue cooking and chilling in the daytime with all these lovely ladies.
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That food looks delicious though I can't still imagine it's taste coz I haven't tried those spices that you share. But this still look soooo appealing to me. A must try I think 🤤
It is one of my favorite dishes to to prepare, although it does take a lot of time. The recipe in the video below is very similar, especially the steps on how to make the soup part. I prefer to use roast tomatoes, okra, and peppers, then add some fried tofu instead of just only peppers as in this video recipe.
Hahaha. Aw, c'mon, Candyland is manly. Just look at King Candy; he's a man's man!
There's no guilt quite like the guilt of a child telling you that you don't spend time with them. That really tugs at the heartstrings, for sure. It's nice that you were able to get some time with the game (incidentally, I have found it very challenging, but still possible, to cheat at Candyland so you lose - it requires a great deal of sneakiness).
I didn't even know about King Candy, gonna have to pull this gameboard back out and explore, but I know enough to know this modern version is not like the one my sisters had when I was a kid. Real manly boys played Chutes N' Ladders as you already know 🤔. You can lose at Candyland, haha, that does take skill, it's basically a corruption free game.
My kid often said too.. if he does not get what he wants or begs for playing with me he will say "you are not my friend" that the world of kids "playing"
It is very tough to hear as a father, I usually give in. I play with Monkey-B every day, but she's easily jealous of any time big sister spends with me, so I'm always performing a balancing act.
That's very sweet of your to look after that girl like that. I feel so bad for her... poor thing.
Today I was trying to coach her on how to bring up "wanting to study" in conversation with Grandma. She's scared, but I'm trying to set it up so that she could just ride in the tuk-tuk with us each day, and I don't expect a penny for gas despite her mom owning a car and two motorbikes, as well as several pieces of land. The lady's redneck rich, but I know the only reason her granddaughter isn't studying is because she doesn't want to lose any time or money on that precious little girl.
Wow.. it must have been a very lively "Lunch with Curry Menu" party, my friend, and what's special is that the invited guests are cute neighbor kids 😅
SreyPov is so manly when he can split coconuts with his hands, it's a tough job for a woman. In the past I also often split coconuts like that in the village 😄
It saddens me when I read that a child of your neighbor came, and she said she had been left alone at home by her grandmother without any food supplies. While her grandmother had a lot of treasure, gold chains and bracelets but was engrossed in playing cards. Thank you my friend, you are a very kind friend 🙏
I have learned to always make too much food now, the neighbor kids' parents are often too lazy to cook special food or too busy playing cards and drinking. Every time I cook I have to apologize to our little friends because the food is vegan and it's now what they're used to eating. So far they have surprised us, and seem to have a better palate than many people who have traveled the world.
You're right, coconuts are tough work, the brown ones at least. I can make quick work of green coconuts for drinking, but the brown ones, yes, takes a lot of peeling the fibers back, etc. Well, the good news is we know this woman is a careless guardian, so we always keep an eye on our little friend and make sure she's taken care of and provided for.
Well, I guess it's a sign now that she's a family friend, she wasn't overly ashamed to come in crying and tell us what's bothering her. She used to be a bit reserved, but now she'll admit when she's hungry and how she's feeling.
hitting cute kids is a very ugly act
It is very upsetting, and even more upsetting that within the local culture it's almost impossible to solve problems like this. She knows she has a safe space with us, and she's always here within 30 seconds after I arrive back home from picking my daughters up at school.
This should be propagated by the government and condemned them for not doing it
Lol, Monkey B is was really jealous hahaha..a couple of years more and she will not feel the same because she will start to think that it's childish and that she's grown up..
Today I also cooked veggies with curry,,but just simple one, I think you cooked it so good, I can see it by the consistency of the liquid. Hmmm!
Those days are coming soon, I hug her all the time knowing she's our youngest and soon they will both be allergic to me. Good eye, this particular curry is full of flavor, but it does take a long time to prepare. Usually my impatient diners drop the hostilities after the first bite.
Hi hi Justin.. You are a great chef.. your curry looks deeeeelicious.. I love vegan curry. Sometimes, I go to eat at a vegetarian restaurant and the first thing I go for is definitely the currry... I just love the taste of meatless curry. Less oily too.
It's sad to hear that that an electric wire has to be used . If that guy was in Malaysia, he would be spending time in jail eating Malaysian food.
Haha, it is one of my favorite sour curries, I shared a similar recipe from YouTube in one of my replies in this thread in case you wan to try it. Domestic abuse and violence are one of the biggest problems still haunting Cambodia, obviously some unhealed trauma from the genocide, and it seems the older folks are still hooked on inflicting pain and suffering on others.
first stage comments.... surrounded by women,, of course the small ones hehehe,,,, surely the feeling of the father was very happy and happy and touched maybe so,, especially if there was a beloved wife who accompanied the meal at that time ..
the second is about bitter cooking,, sounds a little strange to me, but the way you cook seems quite professional when you hold the cauldron and spoon to shake in the cauldron. ...??? I don't even know....!!!
the one sitting on the table looks like the little girl doesn't have enough chairs hehehe... maybe or is she a little girl who has a thug nature who dares to sit on the table hahaha...
when I heard there was a story about that girl again being abused by her grandmother,, my blood rose again,, about a month ago you told me about this girl, if her life was very tormented with the attached grandmother ... but what to say it was her fate or destiny from the almighty God that his life will be tormented with that lecherous old woman...
Usually what we often hear is that a grandmother really loves her granddaughter, moreover she is a little girl who is still underage, but the attached grandmother is the opposite, a beautiful and beautiful granddaughter is just wasted,, only cares about smoking playing cards and playing cards. concerned with her own life,, really a grandmother who does not know herself,,
actually a grandmother's job is only to take care of the grandchildren of her children, but the grandmother you are talking about is really heartless, sorry if this is my comment a little harsh because my blood is rising to hear a story of a little girl who was abused by her own grandmother ,
I can't stop thinking that there are still people like this who are not in their own grandchildren,, which makes me even more angry when you tell the story, he tearfully came to your house and said that no food was prepared at home, while his grandmother had already left for having fun without thinking about a grandson left at home....
but the path you took towards the child in my opinion is correct,, because with a child to entertain the little girl maybe the stress she feels given by the attached grandmother can be lost a little,, with the entertainment you show the little girl that,, once again I apologize if my words are a little harsh in this comment,, because I am really a little angry to hear a story like this,,
usually we only hear stories like this in a fairy tale or in children's films,, why was the film made of course to be an inspiration for all of us in real life,,
No worries bro, no words can be harsh enough for the way that woman treats her granddaughter. We are going to try and coerce the grandmother into riding with us to school one day so that we can register her granddaughter in the school system near the Thai border where our girls study. I would gladly take her to school free of charge in our tuk-tuk so that that her guardian can save all the money for gambling and drinking.
My blood boils as well when I think about that woman, and I usually try to hide when she comes by because I am afraid I will let my mouth run to freely with what I think of her 🙊.
Cooking will always be my number one passion, and I miss our restaurant very much. Once we are ready for guests here, I hope to offer my cooking services as a bed and breakfast.
Looks like you are very good at cooking @justinparke, because it looks like the dishes you make look very tasty and Delicious. 😁👍
Thank you, this is one of our household favorites. My daughters don't eat the peppers, but they love the taste of the soup, and eat everything else like the okra and tomatoes.
Great, I hope you and your family are always healthy there @justinparke.
my dear friend, @justinparke, I really hope that one day I will be a husband and father like you, a husband and a father who is humorous, familiar with his wife and children.
I don't mean to compliment you too much, because I know you don't need that, but at least that's how I feel.
every time I read your posts, I always find new things that have never existed in me, and my conscience holds that I want to be like you And hopefully one day I will turn into a romantic and humorous husband, and become a warm and caring father. familiar with children.
and you know, something funny has changed about me and I'm embarrassed to show it to you, since joining ASEAN HIVE, I'm always adventurous to your blog and always reading your posts, made up of having a beard like you, this seems a bit of a joke, but it's true happened, at this time I started to grow my beard and maintain my beard, but the strange thing is that for 2 months I used the beard growth medicine my beard grew only a few strands and it looks curly and scattered.
my wife was surprised to see the change in me, he was a little bit too why suddenly I want to grow my beard, I was just joking with him, and teasing him By saying don't I look more handsome with a beard, even if only with a few strands.
I hope one day if my beard has grown as much as you, I will show it to you and it can be proof that I really admire you.
and I hope that if you have any tips or ways to grow a beard, you'll share them with me and I'd love to learn them.
I also hope, if you don't mind, you can share with us in your post someday about how to be a good dad version of you, and we can learn a lot from you and exchange opinions about it.
my wife once mocked me with her soft words, she said that a man who can cook is a very romantic man, and I know it's an insult to myself because I can't cook, and again I remember that you is a husband figure who is very clever and expert in cooking, and I think that also makes you a romantic husband by your wife.
greetings from me to you and your family, may you always be in the protection of God and always be blessed with a lot of sustenance and happiness.
What a lovely comment, I am honored by your admiration of my beard. Of course that is not strange to admire beards in a country with Muslim heritage 🧔, but here in Cambodia it's the opposite. Often times when I meet Khmer people for the first time, the woman always let me know I'd be more handsome if I shaved my beard. If I want to be cheeky, sometimes I respond by saying "Where I'm from the men look like men and the women look like women 😄."
I am thinking when your beard is lush and full the cooking creativity will flow from your fingertips 👨🍳. I told my wife many women find a man that can cook very romantic.....she shook her head and laughed, she doesn't like to admit she's lucky to know me 🤦♀️.
The only reason I can cook well is because my parents were not good cooks when I was young, and also I lived for many years alone in the mountains, and cooking new dishes was one of the ways I stayed entertained.
After I read all your daily stories, it's a shame to see this is an interesting story to simulate and some points become a good lesson for us because humans are social creatures who interact and help each other, so I see your generous spirit is very high even though you are a human . stranger to the place and this is one of the rare things that two generous people from around us have done very positive things and taught valuable lessons.
One day the people around you may one day miss your kindness because you are very social in shaping other people, especially children who were abandoned by their grandmothers if your sedimentation might do the same for people who are struggling and doing good it will have a better impact on you because the social system in countries may be different in Southeast Asia, you can see that even though we previously shared a social system, it is slightly different from ours.
And I understand your anger when you hear that the child was beaten by a player because it was an inappropriate thing or act to do to a child, if that person doesn't want to fight it, maybe he can do it for you too. report it to the authorities so that the child can be entrusted to an orphanage and do not regret things that give bad things to children because children how to deal with bad things like what happened to the child.
Curry dishes like the one you cook may not be suitable for some people as they are not familiar with curry food and if we eat curry it may be unfamiliar it will lead to boredom in foods like curry and as a Vegan you may already be used to it. by eating curry food and most people in Southeast Asia it's very rare to find vegans who don't want to eat meat.
There are quite a lot of problems that you have faced after the recent flood, especially the cottages on the riverbanks because as I know after every flash flood, large river water causes erosion on the riverbanks and along the river. flow and cause the ground to collapse. if there is a building it will be very risky especially if there are frequent big floods and you need to find a way out so that the worst thing doesn't happen to your cottage.
I think you really need to refrain from rubbing up on things that are not good in the surrounding community because of different views on how to respond to things that are not good in your opinion because they may be used to being a little violent but I think everyone has a heart conscience and it is impossible to hurt humans, especially small children, maybe there are other things that happen in the child's family, only the child's friends treat things that are not good for the child.
Looks like you found comfort in your place of residence even though it's not your country because I see Cambodia better than any country that Suriname has ever lived in and you've done a great place as a new hometown for you and I hope it continues well for you and also your future family.
It is very regretful, but because of the genocide and the violent history the older generation has lived through, many of the perpetrators and are still alive and still addicted to torture and cruel treatment of their fellow human beings. Domestic abuse and violence are among the biggest problems that the government does little to hinder, and justice is rarely found in cases like this because the court system here is for sell to highest bidder.
You are right about the way of life here, there are many problems, but overall we are so much happier and healthier than we were in Suriname. Today the sun is shining, and it looks like the monsoon has passed, so the rebuilding and repairing can now begin.
I am not going to give up with our neighbor lady, I just have to coerce to join us or drive her care one time to the town and register her granddaughter at the school. If she would take this step, I would gladly take the little girl to school when I take our kids.
That was one manly day you have. Am glad you able to start sorting the huts, and the girls enjoy your curry. Sad that the girl had to live with such family, try not to put yourself into the situation that you can't save her and yet you still cause trouble to yourself.
I am surprised that these girls will tolerate vegan food, and it makes me happy to know the flavors are good enough to please carnivorous kids. We managed to get Mey-Yii registered at school, and I hope this will be a nice escape from home for her. I already make the roundtrip journey twice a day, so it's no problem to add another passenger.