Growing up, my father was not big on cooking. It was my mother who prepared all the meals for our family of four. However, when I was about five, one TV show inspired my father to try out a dish on his own. The show had a cooking section where a male amateur chef shared his original recipe with the audience. The one that grabbed my father’s attention was his tomato stew.
The key ingredients of this dish were chicken, lots of potatoes, lots of garlic along with some soy sauce, sake and a whole tomato can. One Sunday evening, my father volunteered to be in charge of supper and cooked the stew for everybody. When we sat at the table ready to eat, my mother officially announced that tonight’s dish was prepared by my father.
We all liked the stew very much. It was tasty and different. Both my little brother and I had a second helping.
“Nutritious and tasty,” said my father proudly. “That’s this stew is all about!”
Following the success, the dish was named “Daddy’s Stew.” In the years to come, Daddy’s Stew went through innovations and improvements, but it was always served at Sunday dinner table.