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‘fusion’ cooking, although in my country we call it nonya cooking. This is
where you take foods from two or more countries, combine them and then
add local ingredients to give it a local flavour. One of these dishes, and one
that is especially popular in my country, is called nasi lemak. In fact, you
could say it’s one of our national dishes. Basically it’s rice and coconut to
which a spicy fish sauce is added. To make it, you steam rice with coconut
milk. At the same time, you make the sauce, which is called sambal, by frying
shrimps with onions, garlic, chillies and other spices. You then put the rice
on a plate, cover it with the sauce and then add eggs, small crispy fried fish
called ikan bilis, cucumber slices, peanuts and other things. In my country,
it’s a popular breakfast dish, and most people eat it at open-air-cooked food
markets on their way to work, or they get a takeaway and bring it to the
office. I think it’s popular because it’s not only delicious and nutritious, but
it’s also very cheap. It’s also quite easy to make. You can make a large pot of
the rice and another of the sambal and keep it in the fridge. Then if you get
hungry during the day, you simply put a portion of each on a plate and heat
it up in the microwave. And of course, like national dishes around the world,
everyone’s mother or grandmother makes the best nasi lemak!
Practice tasks 5: Sample answers
PART 3
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How would you encourage people to have a more healthy diet?
I would probably do two things here. The first would be to point out the
importance of eating healthily. To be more precise, I would point out the
dangers of having an unhealthy diet and the benefits of eating more
healthily. A poor diet can lead to things like malnutrition, obesity and
related health issues like diabetes, while a healthy diet makes you look
and feel good. After all, as they say, you are what you eat. I would then
show people how easy it can be to have a well-balanced diet, and also
how tasty healthy food can be. For example, a lot of people complain that
it takes time to prepare fresh vegetables, but you can buy these in the
frozen food section of a supermarket, washed, cut and ready to cook. And
for people who say that healthy food is boring, I would show them some
delicious recipes that would make them change their opinion.
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Do you think that schools should teach young people how to cook?
In my opinion, cooking is an essential life skill, but it amazes me how few
people can actually do it. Some of my friends have never even cooked an
egg or prepared a simple meal from fresh ingredients, and most of them
seem to live on fast food or something they can heat up in the microwave.
They often look ill or tired, and this could be a result of their diet. So yes,
I think schools have a duty to teach their students how to cook. I believe
that this is an important first step on the road to a healthy lifestyle. And
they should also show their students that cooking can be interesting and
fun, and not a chore like housework.
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What effects have fast-food restaurants had on people’s health?
Fast food has become extremely popular in my country in the last few
years, and because so many fast-food places have opened, it’s now
becoming more difficult to find traditional foods. And this has definitely
had an impact on people’s health. Twenty years ago or so, people were
not only eating healthier food, but they were also leading a more active
lifestyle. However, the combination of fast food and a more sedentary
lifestyle means that more people are overweight or even obese, and our
health service is having to deal with a lot of related illnesses and
diseases. It’s become so serious that our government is even talking
about putting special taxes on fast food like burgers and fried chicken so
that people eat less of it, but I think this probably wouldn’t be enough.
WRITING
My parents’ kitchen was fairly simple. There were only a few appliances
which included an oven, a microwave, a toaster and an electric kettle, but we
ate most of our meals at home. A meal out was an occasional treat for
birthdays, anniversaries and so on. In my kitchen, I still have the same
appliances that my parents had, but I also have a food processor, a fruit juicer,
a coffee machine, a sandwich toaster and a huge variety of implements
designed to make cooking easier. Yet despite this, I now eat most of my meals
in restaurants and cafés.
I know am not alone. On most nights, restaurants in my city are packed. New
restaurants open every week, and the variety of food on offer is astonishing. On
just one street in my city, for example, you can eat Italian, French, Spanish,
Lebanese, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, North African and Thai food,
not to mention a huge variety of fast-food options like burgers, sandwiches and
pizzas. Eating out in my country is now considered the number two pastime
after watching television.
I believe there are three main reasons why this is the case. The first is that
people have more disposable income, so they can afford to eat out more. And
as restaurants have to compete with one another for customers, they keep their
prices comparatively low, so eating out has become relatively cheap. The
second is the time factor. Preparing a meal is time-consuming, and people
either don’t have enough time or want to use it in other ways. The third is that
television cookery programmes have become very popular in my country, and
while they are supposed to encourage people to cook more, the effect is often
the opposite. People see the wonderful dishes that our celebrity chefs prepare,
and instead of cooking these dishes themselves, they go out to a restaurant
where someone else does all the hard work.
The result is that many modern kitchen appliances are rarely used. They have
become something you decorate your kitchen with, or use as a status symbol.
The kitchen is no longer a place where you work hard to prepare a meal. It has
become a place to relax while you admire your shiny appliances and think
about your next meal out.
Answers
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