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Cabbage and Friends
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 25m
G
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 25m
G
The Australian-Chinese comedian, , is a talented star of the international comedy circuit but also a self-proclaimed “terrible cook”.
As Tian tells SBS, she intentionally only ever cooks simple meals. That's because the comforting appeal of a home-cooked dish resides in its ease.
“I have terrible cooking skills,” Tian says. “So I always look for the easiest thing to make.”
Tian features as a guest on on SBS and whips up a quick stir-fry, made in 15 minutes, using
“It’s super simple – that why I chose to make it. In general, I'm such a bad cook that I eat out a lot. So I find this simple home-cooked stir-fry that contains a little bit of saltiness to be really comforting. It’s also got some greens in there and just tastes really good.”
This Chinese stir-fry was a practical dish that Tian grew up eating. The inclusion of bacon is not traditional but, she says, it is an easy protein to source in Aussie supermarkets.
“My cabbage and bacon stir-fry is a dish that my mum used to quickly throw together. It goes really well with rice.”
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Getting to know Jenny Tian through food
Today, Tian is a household name in Australian comedy and a regular on Taskmaster Australia on Network 10. At the time of our interview, she had just wound up performing in Edinburgh, Scotland and was spending some downtime in London.
Tian’s roots, however, are far from the stage. As she tells SBS, she migrated to Australia at age three-and-a-half from Finland. Growing up, her parents (who were both born in China) placed different focuses on food.
It’s super simple – that why I chose to make it.
“Dad grew up with Chinese food," she tells SBS. "So you could just imagine that, when he came to Australia, he wanted to explore Australian culture. He wanted to learn how to use an oven and used to cook a lot of fish dishes. He thought it was very exciting. Going to the pub to eat steak and chips was an adventure for him.
“Now, he lives on a farm and still loves using the oven. He even makes potato salad.”
Meanwhile, Tian’s mother stuck to Chinese cuisine. “Mum was big on food because she grew up in a famine [in China] and didn’t have that much to eat."
Even though Tian's mother worked during her childhood and had to juggle work and family life, she managed to always put tasty food on the table with great skill.
“Mum had her own business, operating a medical clinic in Sydney. At the same time, she used to go out of her way to make us really good Chinese food.
“[Because she worked], she wasn’t able to cook every night. So some nights, she would cook more than what was needed and we would have leftovers the next day. That meant we learned about the power of cling wrap.”
Tian remembers eating her mother’s egg and tomato rice when a quick feed was needed. It's an easy dish that Tian now makes as an adult when she craves comfort food and a dose of nostalgia.
"Tomato and egg stir fry with rice is really easy to make. You literally just cut up some tomatoes and then scramble the eggs in a pan. Separate the eggs into little chunks in the pan. Add the tomato and toss it around a bit before adding the cooked egg and tomato mixture to rice. It’s so delicious and flavoursome."
Tian also recalls how her mum would produce an epic spread of Chinese dishes when there was a special occasion, like her birthday. One of her favourite dishes was braised chicken and mushrooms with noodles.
Mum always says ‘you have to eat’. Food is her way of showing love.
Since those days, Tian's appreciation for her mother’s cooking and Chinese cuisine has increased.
“When I was younger, I took good Chinese food for granted because I got to eat it all the time. It was just always there on the table and it was what I ate. I thought it was ordinary. But now, I realise how special it is.
“When my mum sees me eating a lot of food today, she'll still say ‘eat more’. Mum always says ‘you have to eat’. Food is her way of showing love.”
