It’s Easy: Making Curry
“It’s easy.”
This is a phrase that puts fear in me. I
see it everywhere. It’s in books, on TV, and on advertising signs. It’s
everywhere like air. It’s used to learn
a language, use a smartphone, and how to cook.
Here in Japan, I see it on TV for cooking.
For example, how to make curry rice.
Yes, as my wife points out all you do is open a box, stir fry, and pour this over the rice. Sounds simple. However, sounding
easy is not the same as easy.
I decided to cook curry rice along with a
TV cooking program. I watched as they began
by chopping the chicken, and I yell at
the person on TV: “Slow down! How big are the pieces? Are mine too big?”
But too late, they have moved on as that
was easy.
Now they dice the onions. I scream again,
“Wait! What size are they? What is the difference between chop and dice?”
Too late again.
I am sweating now, and my hand is shaking
as “this easy to make curry rice moves on to the carrots. The person is speed
slicing and I wonder, “How do they do that without losing fingers?”, but I
wasn’t paying attention, so I have no idea how to slice/dice/chop the carrots.
Now, I have to go to the bathroom just when
they are putting these ingredients in the fry pan and adding the curry roux.
That must have been really easy because when I come back, they are eating the
“easy to make” chicken curry rice.
The size of the carrots, chicken and onions
look perfect on TV. In front of me on the cutting board sit sliced, cut, chopped,
and diced pieces of carrots, chicken, and onions of different sizes. If I only
knew what to do with them.
You say I should just read the instructions
on the curry rice box.
一口大に切る。Or cut into bite-sized pieces.
Now that is helpful….not!
Keywords that continue to confuse me in English and Japanese.
Dice さいの目切り
Chop みじん切り
Cut 切り
Thin slice 薄切り
Comments
Post a Comment