I am sure some of you can relate to this situation.
You go overseas for a holiday trip with your family. It has been a long day, exploring beaches and sightseeing tourist attractions. After washing up, your stomach starts growling.
In a foreign land, you start craving some food from home. Oh, it would be so great if you were able to have some hot, steamy baos just about right now.
You scour the hotel’s menu, and all it has are overpriced, mainstream burgers and pasta. You look at your mother, with eyes of sorrow and a wretched gut. “Mom, I really want to have those baos from home.”
Usually, most mothers would tell you to suck it up and go to sleep.
Oh, not to this one overpowered super Saiyan Asian mother. She will steam some bao for you, even if you are overseas without a steamer.
Defying The Odds
This Asian Mother shakes her head and sighs. “Fine.” She tromps over to her mysteriously heavy suitcase and opens it up.
She pulls out a string of cold and uncooked baos. “Why does she bring baos on a holiday trip?”, you wonder.
But more importantly, even if she had some cold baos, there weren’t any steamers to prepare them.
The Asian Mother looks at you, a glint in her eye.
She then starts steaming the baos, wrapping them up, placing them on an…
Iron. She is steaming the baos on an iron.
Oof.
I think seeing this would make you forget about an empty tummy, and be dumbfounded by this bao hack.
Who would have thought that you could eat baos this way?
Asian Hacks
It seems that there are way more quirky Asian hacks than the iron steaming bao technique. Here are some Asian hacks that may make your life just a little bit more convenient!
Soy Sauce for slight burns
If you cook, it is unavoidable to get scalded by oil once in a while. However, most of us do not necessarily have a first aid kit or aloe vera gel in our homes. So why not reach for something just on the kitchen shelf?
After putting the scalded area under running cold water, apply a little soy sauce onto the burned area. It should soothe the pain and redness.
This is of course hearsay and its benefits are not scientifically proven.
In the case that it doesn’t work, your hands may not heal but your hands will become tasty.
Checking the Temperature of Oil with Chopsticks
How can you if the oil is hot enough to fry those chicken wings to golden crispy goodness? Stick a pair of disposable chopsticks perpendicularly into the oil to find out!
If the oil bubbles around the chopsticks, that means the oil is at the right temperature and you can begin cooking!
Rice Glue
I know this sounds crazy, but you can turn your rice into glue if you are unable to find any lying around your house!
Boil sticky rice and water in a three to one ratio until it is of porridge consistency. Sieve out the larger grains, and use the liquid as glue! The Japanese use rice glue for their paper creations!
We hope you have enjoyed this article, and that perhaps one day, try ironing a bao when you’re craving for one!
I doubt my own Asian parents would take kindly to me doing that though…
