Before the summer of 2015, in my 30 years of life, I had almost never been in the kitchen. It’s not that our family is well-off and pampered, but that my parents are very typical Chinese parents. As an only child, they taught me since I was a child that “you just need to study hard and don’t worry about other things.” So I naturally developed the habit of eating ready-made meals. (But now they think I am too lazy, hey)

I have lived on campus since junior high school and can only go home on weekends. The university is thousands of miles away from home, and I have been eating in the cafeteria for decades. . Every time when I go back, my parents quickly prepare delicious food and drinks, and they don’t have to do it themselves.

In the second half of the year, my own child was born, and my previous lifestyle was gone forever. From then on, I started learning to cook. Mom and the App have become my kitchen mentors.

In the beginning, I was not even good at chopping vegetables. Now I can independently prepare a sumptuous reunion dinner during the Chinese New Year. During this process, I suddenly discovered that reading and cooking are actually very similar things.

1. Reading recipes is like making a book list

Before starting to learn a dish, I usually search for other people’s recipes, what ingredients and ingredients are used, and then based on these The ingredients are prepared in advance. For example, when making steamed pork ribs, the following side dish is sweet potato. If there is no sweet potato, you can use existing alternatives, such as potatoes and taro.

The same is true when we are reading about a new topic. We can read some relevant information in advance and get reference from other people’s experiences, such as which books should be started from, and make our own book list according to the plan. , carry out targeted knowledge reserves in a general direction.

2. Preparing ingredients is a process of self-increasing and subtracting

Looking at other people’s recipes helps us know what ingredients are needed, but each family has different tastes. Maybe your taste is stronger, so you need to add more Make the mada more spicy and have a lighter taste. You can add some sugar to temper it. You can try to rearrange some side dishes.

The same goes for learning. What others do is always the most suitable for her. You have to make some small changes on this basis to find a path that suits you. This is the most important thing.

3. Cutting vegetables is the processing of materials

Cutting vegetables is a job that tests your knife skills. A skilled person cuts, slices, and shreds with the knife in hand and completes it in minutes. It takes a long time for a novice to make even a shredded potato, and it may be as thick as the head of a chopstick. Some people read quickly while others read slowly, and the same is true. The more you read, the faster you will improve.

Of course we can also use tools, such as a grater, or a faster knife. Good tools save time and effort and can help us greatly improve efficiency. Reading can also be done with the help of appropriate methods, such as the index method. As long as it can help us effectively remember the content of the book, internalize the knowledge, and speed up the reading speed, we can try it.

For the same ingredients, different dishes have different processing methods. For example, the potatoes in braised beef and potatoes need to be cut into pieces, while the potatoes in the stir-fried shrimps may be more suitable to be cut into strips. The method of reading also depends on what we want to achieve. If you want to apply what you have learned quickly, split calligraphy is a good choice.

4. Stir-frying is a presentation of the results

Putting it in the pot seems to be the most important step, but in fact, once the previous preparations are done, the taste of the stir-fried vegetables will come naturally. It will be good, and generally not too bad. The heat, the temperature of the oil, the speed and intensity of stir-frying, many factors will affect the final taste of a dish. However, except for some special dishes, believe me, these factors will not have enough influence on most dishes. Eat the difference in taste.

It’s the same as reading. As long as you read, think and record honestly in front of you, it’s not too difficult to write a note and present it. Of course there are good and bad looks, but there will always be some gains.

There are some tools and practical books that can be used immediately after reading them, which are very similar to so-called quick dishes. Some books may not be immediately known where they can be used or what their uses are after reading them. Just leave it to time to test, just like cooking a very time-consuming dish over low heat, slowly cooking it. You wait patiently next to me. Such dishes tend to have higher nutritional value.

5. From following pictures to doing whatever you want

My mother often says: Cooking is a process of doing whatever you want. After you have cooked a certain amount of dishes, you don’t need to look at the recipe before making new dishes, you will know how to make them. After making potato-roasted beef once, the next time you cook potato-roasted pork ribs or potato-roasted chicken, the methods will be similar. You can do a skill transfer based on your existing experience.

This is especially true for reading. After reading a little bit of almost all types of books, you will quickly know what method you should use to read this book and what kind of knowledge you can acquire. At this time, I began to truly cultivate knowledge into my own internal strength.

6. Do you really love the kitchen?

Some people cook all their lives just to satisfy themselves, as long as they can eat enough and not be hungry. Some people regard cooking as a wonderful and passionate thing. They cook and eat every meal with heart.

I don't cook much at the moment, but when I do, I'm always thinking about whether I can try new tricks that I haven't done before, or use methods that are different from before. Every time a new dish is prepared, it is a surprise, and it is the kind of satisfaction that comes from the heart.

"Only food and love can't be let down." This small and fresh saying is widely circulated, and I agree with it. Three meals a day, a lot of food every day. Since this is something that cannot be avoided in life, what reason is there not to treat it well?

Eating food is a task and food is enjoyment. The two completely different attitudes are the difference in the quality of our lives. If you read just for the sake of reading and achieve the amount of reading, such reading will become a burden and not a very pleasant experience. Only when I really want to read, I want to read, and I can't restrain my enthusiasm, will I be fully immersed in it, and my reading ability will be truly improved.