As the rising sun peeked up on the horizon, the simmering chicken aroma trailed its way to my room. The smell was strong enough to wake me up from my deep slumber. As the aroma of the chicken broth mixed with a hint of red curry wrapped around my nose, my eyes opened wide quickly and I knew there was going to be a party today.
I threw back my warm sheets that comforted me all night to make my way to the bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth and got dressed, too ecstatic to speak. The wooden floor creaked as I slowly try to descend down the stairs gracefully and trying my hardest not to make a loud noise (a.k.a - trip and fall flat on my face). As I suspected, my mom was there cooking over the steaming hot stove. The fresh cut long bean, mint, purple and green cabbage stood out on the table. The kitchen was flooded with huge used pots piled in the sink and 3 enormous ones on top of the stove my mom was hovering over. It was just how she liked it (unorganized).
Aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, grandparents and siblings already crowded the living room waiting as anxiously as I was. As eager as I was, I was disappointed because I knew that the soup wouldn’t be done til 4PM. This would mean I would have to wait nine long dreadful hours. The large group of chattering people distracted me from going into the kitchen. My mouth watered as I was headed to the living room. Out of no where, the tangy curry and fish sauce aroma hit me like a crashing wave. I was lured into the kitchen instead of the living room. I now remembered why I was up so early, it was to help my mom cook. I watched in amazement as everything in the kitchen came to life. I made my way to ask my mom if she needed any help, and of course I was in charge of shredding the chicken.
I peeled the chicken slowly watching the steam came from the tender white meat. Every once and a while I sneaked a little bit for myself... I think I got that habit from my mom. I remember she telling me " When I was little I always helped MY mom shred the chicken just so I can have a little with white rice and soy sauce". So instead of getting of being furious whenever I would try and take some chicken, when I was suppose to be shredding, I would hear a giggle escape her mouth. I kept peeling until there was nothing but a naked bone.
The nine hours slowly leaked by as the kaopuhn mocked me with its spicy and tangy smell. It made me want to eat the entire pot while it still boiled fiercely. Luckily I didn't try to, or the party would have ended with me in the hospital with a bright red, 360 degree tongue burn.
The sound coming from the television blasted through the speakers as family members continue to chatter the time away and talked about funny memories or random things. Only some people payed attention to the voices coming from the television speakers. Others knew that the T.V was only on for display. Everyone who waited patiently since early morning began to hear a loud rumble echo in there stomach. A ripple effect of rumbling from this one area could be heard from miles away. Even the blasting surrond stereo couldn’t be heard compared to the sounds escaping from all the stomachs in the living room. This was a sign that lunch was done and I watched as a smile spread on everyones faces.
My entire family helped set up the table as the once scattered kitchen suddenly became tidy and organized. Everyone gathered around the table and viciously took a bowl for their soup. As I looked around the living room, I saw my family slurping and scarfing down the kaopuhn with eager and satisfied faces. Not one person was not smiling and having a good time. When I finally got my bowl, I took what I could before the 35 gallon pot was no more.
When I sat down, I only focused on the food. I love the tremendous feeling of the hot soup trickling down my throat. It was like drinking hot coco on a cold day or slurping homemade chicken noodle soup when your sick as can be and all you could think about was the sweet chocolate warmth that comforted you when the weather wasn’t or the happiness you felt when the chicken soup made you feel like the world was finally at ease. That is exactly how comfortable, and at ease I felt once I began to consume the soup once more. But instead of a sweet or mild taste, there hint of spice and tang that was still on my taste buds as an explosion of flavor erupted in my stomach. The soup was so spicy that just by looking at it, it made my eyes water. One word echoed through my mind “PERFECT”. The fresh cabbage and long bean gave the soup an extra boost of crunch and texture. Too irresistible to not have seconds... if I had to only choose one food to eat forever it would definitely be ka poon. When my stomach got bloated and I felt as though I'm going to explode in a million pieces, I still couldn't resist the provocative new steaming bowl waiting in the kitchen.
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