By Jennifer Trend
You open up Snapchat, and click on the first story, not paying much attention to see whose it is or what it could be from the tiny preview. But all of a sudden a photo of the final dish that you’ve progressively seen prepared through small clips all day pops up. For a lack of better words, you’re surprised. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that this was something out of a Michelin star restaurant. But it’s not; rather, it’s something from a 17-year-old’s kitchen.
The mastermind behind all this is none other than senior Vinh Lai, who has had a passion for cooking since he was a child. His love for food (and by extension, cooking) started off as a simmer, and slowly built its way up to a full boil over the years.
When Lai was younger, his family, especially his mother, would frequently watch cooking shows. At the core of it, his mother was the one who has inspired him the most throughout his food journey, having taught him a lot of what he knows. The first thing that he remembers making by himself is a grilled cheese– all because he didn’t want to bother his mom to make him something.
From Japanese food to Italian food, Lai has whipped up a multitude of dishes. But when it comes to pasta, one of his favorites, there’s only one way to go: scratch.
“Pasta tastes better when it’s from scratch I feel,” said Lai. “Scratch is a whole process of getting the flour, mixing it, with the eggs, kneading the dough, letting it rest, then shaping it, cutting it. That really relieves stress, and takes my mind off of my other stuff.”
For Lai, cooking is a way to relieve stress and distract himself when there are too many uncontrollable variables in his life. Especially during these times with COVID-19 and quarantine, cooking, especially from scratch, helps to give Lai something that he is able to control and give a sense of stability in his life.
“We can’t really control whether we want to go out and hang out with friends or family or whatnot, but when I make pasta, I can control that. I can control how much I want to make, or what I want to make. That goes for all cooking.”
As of now, his favorite dish is his vodka sauce pasta (that contains no actual alcohol), and is most proud of his fresh agnolotti, which requires that the dough not be too moist or too dry– but somewhere in between, and then molded properly. Having gotten the complicated dish correctly on the first try and everyone liking it has made the hard work worth it.
But Lai isn’t perfect; we’re all human, and even if the final products that he’s made are immaculate, there are times when he’s screwed up. From forgetting to turn off the stove to accidentally cutting himself, to almost grating his hand with the cheese, there are mistakes that are made in the kitchen. But it is, as always, an opportunity for a new learning experience.
Career wise, it’s not something he’s actively pursuing, but definitely is something that he will continue as a hobby.
For those that want to start cooking, but don’t know where or how to, Lai has some advice, simple, but powerful (like black pepper, if I may?):
“If you want to start cooking, then that’s great. Even though something might not turn out well the first time you make it, you should always try and research the dish that you want to make,” said Lai. “Because if you keep trying and trying eventually you’ll get it. And if not, there’s a whole bunch of people online or maybe people you even know that are good at cooking. You can always ask them for help and ask questions.”
Even if it doesn’t turn out as exquisite as Lai’s dishes turn out to be on the first try, that’s okay! Keep trying, and who knows? Maybe one day you can create something as mouth watering and delicious as his dishes.
This story was originally published in the 2020 RED Magazine.
