"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> It's been a few weeks since I started making some
> meals for my mom, and I think I'm seeing some
> improvement. The week before I started she made
> some comment about her body is breaking down, but
> last week she said she thought she was in pretty
> good health. I'm hoping to see some improvement
> in her problems with memory and equilibrium, but
> it's way too early for that.
>
> I switched to Kikkoman to make the food closer
> to what she had back in Hawaii. I've settled into
> sort of a routine, alternating chicken and pork
> with the occasional shrimp. I begin the day before,
> by peeling and slicing a piece of ginger about
> 6 inches long and adding that along with about
> a dozen star anise heads to about 10 oz. of soy
> sauce. I soak them overnight in the fridge.
>
> Then, I fish out the ginger and anise and use that
> as a marinade for about 2 pounds of meat. For
> chicken, I get boneless thighs, trim off the fat,
> and marinate for 2 hours. I used to marinate
> chicken for 1 hour, but 2 seems better. For pork,
> I get boneless pork leg, remove any silverskin
> and tendon, and marinate at least 2 hours, but
> I've been lengthening this time.
>
> After trimming the pork, I have variable sized
> pieces. I think that's okay -- some small pieces
> will get over-marinated while there's usually one
> big piece that will be under-marinated in the
> center. In the future, I'll cut the big piece
> in half to reduce the thickness. I think having
> a variety of levels of marination is better than
> everything marinated to the same degree.
>
> I've tried other ingrediants in the marinade,
> like a sliced onion, but I don't find their flavor
> detectable in the final product. I have tried
> sesame oil, and that seems to work, but if I add
> it at all, it usually goes in the pot right at the
> end of cooking everything.
>
> As I recall, mom would always cut the meat into
> strips before marination and only marinate for
> an hour. I don't do that, again because I want
> a variety of levels. When I cut up the big piece
> I get that variety in each strip.
>
> I stir-fry in the big cast iron pot I use for most
> of my cooking. Two pounds of chicken or pork is
> too much for one batch, but about right for three.
> I don't want the meat strips to completely cover
> the bottom of the pot or overlap each other. They
> have to fry separately to become properly fried,
> otherwise it's more like steaming them.
>
> I fry the meat with a few whole dried chili peppers.
> Mom knows not to eat those. I can't say I really
> notice much difference when I forget them.
>
> I haven't timed it, but it only seems to take a
> few minutes to fry a batch. I use high heat the
> whole time. I do allow the pot to recover a little
> between batches, but the first batch gets the best
> fry, because if I let the pot get as hot for the
> second and third batches the fond would burn and
> smoke.
>
> When the third batch is done frying, I dump the
> vegetables in and heat them up, stirring constantly.
> When they're hot, I return the first two batches
> of meat to the pot and keep stirring until I think
> the whole thing is done.
>
> I use two or three vegetables, always at least one
> for texture -- bamboo shoot, water chestnuts, or
> gobo -- and one for nutrition -- Napa cabbage, baby
> choy sum, gai-lan, or long beans. Everything is cut
> small, matchstick strips for bamboo shoots and gobo,
> 1/4-inch thick stem slices for baby choy sum and
> gai-lan, and inch-long segments for long beans. I
> only use the midribs of the Napa cabbage, which I
> cut crosswise into narrow strips.
>
> When the vegetables seem properly cooked, I turn off
> the heat and sometimes cover the pot to let it steam
> for a few minutes, but usually I immediately scoop
> the food into the Glasslock container I bought for
> the purpose. A 1000 ml container holds nearly a
> whole pot of food. I'm surprised mom eats the whole
> thing in about 2 days -- I weigh about twice what
> she does and I don't eat that much meat. But that's
> good. The whole point is that I was afraid she was
> eating too little and that might be related to some
> of her problems. I surmised that might be because
> her food just wasn't that attractive anymore, and
> the way to reverse that is to make food better than
> what she was eating. I was a bit shocked to discover
> she way frying up Spam and eating that over rice. No
> wonder she lost so much weight in the last 9 years.
> I think I may have solved that problem -- she keeps
> telling me the food I make is really good.

Your success warms my heart. I'm so glad that you honor your Moma by trying
and succeeding is even grander. A gold star to you and a special 15 points
to your score. Good, good for you and congratulations. You do us proud.
Now. I notice that your mom was frying Spam. I'll risk the ire of the
uppity here but there are ways to cook Spam that are pretty good. Really.
We've done lots of disaster survival and cramped budget when Spam was simply
what there was.
Tomorrow morning before I put the biscuits in the oven, I'll thinly
slice Spam (paper thin, less than 1/8") and let it bake for about 10
minutes. Then I'll turn it and let it bake with the biscuits. Certainly it
is not as wonderful as a pricey ham or fine bacon but it is good stuff.
When I clear the table, the Spam platter is always empty. Polly