Cooking with T: Hong Kong Tomato Beef

Posted byAbPosted inADHD, adoption, cooking, Fun, growth mindset, ParentingTags:, , , , ,

Our 10-year-old got a taste of being a cook when he helped me make dinner and filmed it for a reel.

Caregivers of neurodiverse children can attest that they can be very selective eaters, due to sensory sensitivities, such as smell or texture.

I’ve learned to let go of worrying about what T eats or doesn’t eat – and find humour when he tells me in his blunt way that my cooking “smells like shit.”😂

One of the few nutritious meals with meat or that’s not carbs that T will eat is Hong Kong Tomato Beef, a recipe from the wonderful Amy and Jacky at Pressure Cook Recipes.

I make this every other week for T with leftovers for his school lunch the next day.

I often get recipe ideas from Instagram and have always wanted to make my own cooking reel.

I asked T if he wanted to make it with me and was delighted when he said yes.

It became a fun activity on a rainy Sunday afternoon – and T did a great job. He was focused and engaged and wanted to practice his lines before we filmed each step of the recipe.

I prepped the instructional script with him but the charming delivery was all him. He is a natural.

I’ve shared the lovely comments we received with T and it made him smile.

Now he wants to do more reels but I told him he needs to expand his repertoire first, because boiling spaghetti is not compelling content! 🤣

Please enjoy our cooking reel!

41 thoughts on “Cooking with T: Hong Kong Tomato Beef”

  1. That is so fantastic. Way to go, T! And, yes, great inspiration for him trying new things. I wonder if I can convince my 7-y-o to do a cooking reel. I’ll tell him microwaving a corn dog doesn’t make for compelling viewing either. 🙂

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    1. Thanks Betsy! 😊 I would love to see a cooking reel for your 7 year old. Maybe you could work together to do a unique twist on the corn dog!

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    1. Thanks Diane. 😊 He did great and we’re gonna keep it up. I agree that it’s a good idea to teach kids practical skills such as cooking. The pride from seeing them shine and be confident is so gratifying.

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  5. It’s very cute how T got really into making a cooking reel with you and wonderful to hear that he did a great job. Agreed, he’s a natural and is very enthusiastic, especially with his stirring! Love the bloopers at the end too!

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  6. I love your reel — and T’s commentary. I’m still laughing about boiling spaghetti! Dang, it’s hard to feed these kids sometimes. I’m still working on letting go of my worry – thanks for the reminder.

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    1. Thanks Wynne. 😊 It was a lot of fun and yes, learning to let go of worry is half of the parenting trick. So so hard and a struggle for me every day too. I joke about it but I bet T could make boiling spaghetti a lot of fun too.

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  7. Oh sorry Ab . . .but now we see who the real social media star is in your family!!!! Ha, ha. “It smells great already.” Go T. Love the sounds he makes pouring everything in . . . weeeee. That must be the difference why my food never tastes all that great. Ha, ha. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Brian. 😊 We had so much fun doing this and T did such a great job. Love his natural charm! He does have quite the hang for this. I shared your comment with him and he had the biggest smile. 🥰

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    1. Thanks Vicki! 🥰 I’ll be sure to share your lovely comment. I don’t give him access to our IG as he’s too young to have that much control. 😆 But I do share the comments and he is always so appreciative of them. 💕

      You’ll have to let me know how you like the recipe!

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  9. A fun cooking video! I like T’s thumbs-up and his commentary during the various steps. And that wave of the knife in front of the onion and garlic was a neat idea. Now, if only I could wave a knife and an onion would be magically chopped, I’d be saved many teary-eyed moments!

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    1. Thanks Dave! 😊 As you know very well, making videos is a fun way to express ourselves and creativity and it was a joy to do this video with T.

      The knife editing something I’ve wanted to do ever since I see the editing magic other cooking reels have. If only it worked like that in real life vs reel life! 😂

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    1. Thanks Vickie. 😊 T and I had so much fun with this and I agree that his natural charm was an unexpected delight through making this video.

      I’m so sorry for my meat heavy dishes. Please don’t report me to PETA! If I come across a good veggie dish that T enjoys, we’ll be sure to make it and dedicate it to you! 🙏

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    1. Thanks Margie. 😊 I was pleasantly surprised by both his focused engagement and just how naturally engaging he was.

      I’m gonna try to use these cooking reel activities as motivation for him to try new foods. I’m gonna see if he wants to make a one pot soy sauce pork dish with me later. And if he does, maybe he’ll try if too! 🙏🙏🙏

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  12. Oh there are more than one reasons why this post made me smile. One thing I kind of regret now is the fact that I didn’t spend enough time helping my late mom cook all her delicious dishes. Now all I have is a handful of handwritten recipes I managed to salvage. It’s great that T gets to cook with you. Maybe he will eventually be challenged to make even more complicated dishes and share his cooking with his followers online.

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    1. Thanks Bama. 😊 You’ve mentioned your mom’s recipes before. Those are such valuable treasures and I hope you will find time one day and try to make them. And if you do, please do share them with us! 😊

      I found cooking this with T and then editing the video with him was a fun bonding moment. We’ll see if we can use it to motivate him to try other dishes! 🙏

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      1. I will definitely write about my mom’s recipes on my blog. I just need the time to recreate her dishes.

        I feel like any pasta dish would be interesting for kids at T’ age.

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  14. this is so precious! you’re right, t is a natural. his voice is so sweet and cute and I love his sounds effects as he adds ingredients and stirs things up. he’s clearly excited about the whole adventure. bravo, t!

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    1. Thanks Beth. 😊 Precious is a great word to describe how I felt about the entire activity with T. Went it with zero expectations and he exceeded them with how engaged and focused he was and his charming delivery was the cherry on top.

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  15. I love everything about this, Ab. T is a great speaker with his natural enthusiasm and charm. I have a lot of fond memories of cooking with my mom. I also liked cooking with my students 2-3 times a year. Not only was it a fun classroom event, but I often doubled a recipe so that they could get practice with fractions.

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      1. I’m sorry about that, Jane! 🙃 The whole point of me embedding the Instagram post was so that people could see it and it saves me from uploading a half GB video. 🤣 He did have fun though and the execution of the idea exceeded my expectations. 🙏

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    2. Thanks Pete. 😊 T is generally a strong verbal communicator, one of the common characteristics of individuals with FASD.

      I wish I had done more cooking with my mom, in the way you have, and so I’m grateful to have these memories with T and on video too to remember by one day.

      Cooking is another skill I wish they taught more in school – often one of the first “extra courses” that get cut as budget savings measures. Kids get so much out of it and as you said, also teaches them other skills such as math too!

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