Here’s a little self-exposé. Despite having an interest in cooking and tasting, and being the food and drink section editor, I had yet to attend an actual Cooking and Tasting society event. I know, blasphemous. 

So, I attended my first Cooking and Tasting social on 4 March that was in collaboration with the ABACUS society. And quite frankly, it was a lot of fun! 

In small groups of four, we made tangyuan, which is a traditional Chinese dessert made out of glutinous rice flour, filled with black sesame or peanut filling, and served in a hot brown sugar syrup infused with ginger. Though, we made it with black sesame and red bean filling instead. 

It’s pretty similar to Vietnamese chè trôi nước, which has a savoury mung bean filling and are topped with coconut milk and sesame seeds instead. I’ve made chè trôi nước many times before, so I approached tangyuan with confidence money couldn’t buy. Until we got to the filling portion. 

Truth be told, I never make my chè trôi nước with filling just because one, I could never be bothered enough, and two, I never liked mung bean filling. I will (proudly) say that I successfully filled my first ball. The end result was perfectly squidgy (is this a word?) with the perfect amount of sweetness, though my group agreed we could’ve done with more ginger (this was on us!). 

Upon reflection, I found what ultimately made the experience so memorable was the focus on communal cooking. It was much easier to get to know people by cooking, and eating as a group, and to feel a sense of belonging. Even though it was my first ever social with the Cooking and Tasting society, I felt an immediate sense of comfort, and we shared plenty of laughs. 

I spoke to the Vice President of ABACUS society, Cherrine Hui. 

“How did you come to collaborate with Cooking and Tasting, and why choose tangyuan?” 

“We collaborated with Cooking and Tasting to spread the culture of Chinese New Year, and have people enjoy food. We wanted to share the culture. Since ABACUS didn’t have the experience setting up cooking stations, it made sense to collaborate with Cooking and Tasting. We chose tangyuan because after 15 days of Chinese New Year, you gather around with family and friends to eat food together.” 

I also spoke to the President of the Cooking and Tasting society, Fred Rodgers. 

“What are the main goals of the society, and what have been some challenges? What are you guys doing differently this year to increase outreach?” 

“Our main goal is to keep the society alive and incorporate more events, since last year, the society only hosted one event. [Vice President] George and I always liked cooking, and we decided to take over the society. We find it’s good for people to cook together and learn. We’ve found that getting people into a room has been a learning curve, and we’re still learning along the way. We’ve invested in new equipment to make cooking safer, and are hosting more social events and paid cooking lessons to increase outreach.” 

The social embodied the very essence of what both societies strive to promote: bringing people together through food. Whether it was learning a new recipe, embracing a different culinary tradition, or simply enjoying the company of others, this collaboration proved that cooking is as much about connection as it is about taste. If this event was any indication, I’ll certainly be attending more Cooking and Tasting socials in the future, maybe with a newfound appreciation for filling my chè trôi nước. And you should, too. 

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons