Cooking for My Mother

Last month, my mother was in town visiting for a little less than a month. Since she lives a 6-hour plane ride away from me in the beautiful island of Oahu, it's a once-a-year treat for me to get to see her here.

She came at the most perfect time as the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and we got to visit a couple of parks in Tokyo that are known for the beautiful sakura trees.

My mother never really cared much for cooking so when my sister and I were kids, we ate out a lot. So how I grew so fond of cooking and food is a total and utter mystery.

Whenever my mother visits me, one of the things I'm responsible for is to make sure she eats healthy all the time and the thing is, she is quite the picky eater. She was always quick to criticize my cooking, but I guess that's a good thing because on this visit, she didn't even bother to. Sure my cooking has improved over the years, but that much?

One evening, I made her this simple dish you see here and it's one of my go-to dishes that I can whip up at a last moment's notice. It's a simple dish made with just a few ingredients : eggs, tofu, veggies and some Japanese dashi ( soup stock ). Dashi is usually found in the Japanese section of your grocery store but if you can't find one, they sell them online for a reasonable cost. If you're into Japanese food, dashi is the one thing you want to have in your kitchen. Nothing could be easier to make and it's healthy too!

Scrambled Tofu with Egg and Vegetables

Ingredients:

2 eggs, lightly blended with a fork
1 block firm tofu ( drained well )
1/4 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/4 carrot, julienned
1/2 cup green beans
1 tablespoon instant dashi
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. Drain the tofu well before using on a few paper towels.
2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan
3. Crumble the tofu with your hands into the frying pan and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
4. Add the vegetables and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Make a well in the center and add the eggs.
6. Scramble the egg for 1 minute.
7. Combine the eggs into the tofu mixture.
8. Add dashi and soy sauce and cook for another minute.
9. Serve hot with a bowl of white rice and miso soup.

I was sad to see my mother leave but I know I'll see here again very soon. She looked healthy and happy and that's really all that matters.

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