How SARS Taught Me to Cook

By GUAVA LEE

The author buying vegetable at the supermarket.

During the week-long May Day holiday I usually hold a party, or enjoy the good weather on outings with friends, but thanks to the SARS epidemic in Beijing this year, I stayed at home the entire May Day holidayr. It was no problem finding something to do with my ample spare time, as I can surf the Internet for hours on end. My biggest headache was eating. Having dined in cafeterias and restaurants for the previous ten years or so, I had never learned to cook, but as SARS had begun to spread in Beijing in late April, the cafeteria in my work unit and most restaurants were closed for the holiday.

How could I feed myself? I couldn't survive just by eating instant noodles, biscuits and bread every day. I needed nutritious foods to build up my immunity. So I decided to learn to cook. First, I went to the supermarket, where I could smell the disinfectant even through the mask I was wearing), to buy the necessary cooking utensils.

After equipping my kitchen, I began looking at recipes. They listed the ingredients and exact amounts to be used, all of which seemed excessively scientific to a beginner like me. I telephoned my friends and colleagues for some easier instructions and then headed again for the supermarket to buy vegetables and seasonings.

Finally the moment came to stir-fry the vegetables. I was unsure about how much seasoning to put in. My friends had told me that adding salt is most important, so I sprinkled in a little at the start of cooking. When I thought it was about ready, I switched off the heat and tasted it. It was a bit bland, so I added a little more. In half an hour, I cooked two dishes, and they tasted much better than the cafeteria food I had become used to eating. I felt very excited and rang a friend to come over. When I came back to the kitchen I noticed a strong smell of food -- I had forgotten to turn on the range hood.

On the third day of the holiday, I suddenly thought of the shredded eggplant my mother used to cook for me when I was a child. So I called Jiangxi Province, thousands of miles away, to consult her. After telling me the cooking process, my mother urged me to be careful, anxious after seeing reports on TV about what had been happening in Beijing. She told me that the restaurants in our village had also been closed as a case of SARS had occurred in Jiangxi. It was then my turn to caution her.

The five-day holiday over, I was now capable of cooking a few dishes. SARS thus added special significance to my 2003 May Day holiday.

GUAVA LEE is an editor with Potala.