Author: Not Written
I enjoy staying in the kitchen to cook. From chopping ingredients to seasoning, turning raw food step by step into a delicious meal, the fragrant aroma rising from the pot always reminds me of the love my grandpa and grandma expressed through food. It was a deep, warm kind of love that I felt profoundly when I was young.
Whenever I went back to my grandparents’ home, the kitchen would start filling with the smell of food at around six in the evening. The aroma alone was enough to make my stomach growl. I would always impatiently sneak into the kitchen to see what dishes were being prepared for dinner. By around seven o’clock, it would be time to eat. When it came to Grandma’s cooking, I could always eat more than usual. When I was little, I could even finish two bowls of rice. My favourite dish was Grandma’s stir-fried flat rice noodles. It was never too salty or too oily. The cabbage was crisp and sweet, and the aroma of shredded pork filled the pan, making it impossible for me not to eat several bowls.
What touched me most was realizing that Grandma wasn’t just cooking meals for us. She was cooking with love. She had to cook for seven people, yet she still clearly remembered my preferences. When I was young, I disliked the taste of chicken. So, whenever I was coming back for dinner, she would replace chicken bones with pork ribs for soup, or change the usual poached chicken on the table to pan-fried fish or braised pork. While eating, Grandma would always say to me, “Grandma knows you don’t dare to eat chicken, so I cooked this today.” As a child, I didn’t truly understand what genuine care and love from family meant. I simply thought Grandma treated me very well and that the food tasted great. It was only after I grew up that, looking back, I felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and gratitude.
My grandpa didn’t have exceptional cooking skills, but he always bought snacks and creative little treats for me. He would buy Uni pudding and then shave ice himself, adding condensed milk on top for us to eat. That was a summer-only “creative dish.” Every time I went back, I would always order corn soup. Even though it was just made from powdered mix, I loved it. It became one of my most vivid memories of happiness. Grandpa also knew that I liked a particular green-tea-flavoured mochi, so he would specially go out to buy it for me. Because I was always reluctant to leave whenever I went back, that green-tea mochi became a “reward” for behaving well and going home obediently.
What Grandpa was best at was making tea. Every time I visited, I could drink the tea he brewed. He would always ask me, “Do you want to drink pu’er tea?” Every time I think of that question, I find it incredibly endearing. Grandpa also knew that I didn’t really like black tea, so he went out of his way to buy fruit-flavoured black tea for me to try. Writing this now, my heart feels truly warm and deeply moved.
Now my grandparents are older. Grandma no longer cooks as much, and it has been a long time since I last ate her delicious dishes. I’ve also grown up, and Grandpa no longer buys small snacks for me. I don’t go back as often as before. When I do return, I can still drink the tea Grandpa makes, but it feels like some of the joy from childhood is missing. Perhaps it’s because I’ve grown up. Still, when I think back on those childhood memories, I can clearly see what love looks like through my grandparents. They used food to convey love and warmth, allowing that love to remain in my heart even as I grow older.
Because of them, I know what genuine love looks like. One day in the future, I hope to use cooking to convey love and warmth to my family and friends, and also to use cooking to pass that love on to myself.
我喜歡待在廚房裡做菜，從切菜到調味，把食材一步一步烹飪成美味的料
理，鍋裡香噴噴的氣味，讓我想起外公外婆用食物向我傳達的愛，那是在我小
時候體會到深刻溫暖的愛。
有時回外公外婆家，每到晚上六點廚房就開始飄出食物的香味，香氣都讓我
肚子咕嚕咕嚕的叫，我都會迫不及待的去廚房偷看今天晚餐的菜色是什麼，到
了晚上七點左右就可以開飯了，外婆做的飯我可以比平常吃的還要多，小時候
的我甚至可以吃到兩碗飯，我最喜歡的是外婆做的炒板條，不會太鹹也不會太
油，高麗菜又脆又甜，肉絲香氣充斥在鍋中，讓我忍不住多吃好幾碗，而令我
感受到外婆不只是為我們烹飪料理而已，而是有愛的在料理，是因為外婆要為
七個人煮飯，但還是清楚的記住了我的喜好，我小時候不喜歡雞肉的味道，所
以在我要回去吃晚餐的時候，會把原來的雞骨頭改用排骨燉湯，或者之前常出
現在餐桌的白斬雞改成煎魚或滷肉，吃飯時外婆都會跟我說：『阿嬤知道你不敢
吃雞肉，所以我今天煮這個。』小時候的我聽到這句話其實沒有很深刻的體會
到什麼叫做家人真切的關心與愛，只是單純的覺得阿嬤對我很好跟食物很好
吃，長大之後想起來，內心感到非常溫暖及感謝。
我的外公沒有精湛的廚藝，但他總是會買一些零食跟創意料理給我吃，阿公
會買統一布丁然後自己用剉冰加煉乳給我們吃 ，那是夏天限定的創意料理，我
每次回去都會點餐的是玉米濃湯，雖然那碗玉米濃湯是粉泡的，但我很喜歡，
也是我很深刻的幸福回憶，阿公還知道我很喜歡一個綠茶口味的麻糬，他都會
特地去買給我，因為每次回去我都捨不得回家，這個綠茶麻糬就是當作我乖乖
回家的禮物，阿公最厲害的就是泡茶，每次回去都可以喝到阿公泡的茶，阿公
每次都會問我：『要不要喝普洱茶？』每次想到這句話都覺得很可愛，而且阿公
知道我不太喜歡紅茶，還去買了有水果味的紅茶給我嚐嚐，寫到這裡心中真的
覺得很暖、很感動。
現在外公外婆年紀大了，阿嬤比較沒有再煮飯了，已經很久沒吃到阿嬤煮的
美味佳餚了，而我也長大了，阿公也不會買小零食了，現在也沒那麼常回去，
有回去的時候還是可以喝到阿公泡的茶，但感覺少了一些小時候的那種快樂，
有可能是因為我長大了吧，但想起小時候的那些回憶，我可以在外公外婆身上
看到愛的樣子，他們用美食傳達愛與溫暖，讓長大的我心裡依然存著這份愛，
知道如何是真切的愛，在未來的某一天，我也想運用料理傳達愛與溫暖給我的
家人、朋友，也用料理把愛傳達給自己。