Simple Recipes

The narrator begins the story discussing the simple way to make rice, taught to her by her father when she was a child. Back then, she would sit on the counter watching his meticulous, almost ritualistic way of cleaning and sorting the rice. There are many instructions to follow and even now that she is older, she still dreams about her father in his bare feet, making rice in the kitchen. When she tries to make it herself, she lacks her father’s artistic, almost balletic technique, messing the kitchen, spilling water. One day he brings a near-dying fish home and puts it in the sink under the water. He plugs the sink so it doesn’t drain, and the fish can stay alive.

While her mother and her brother, who were born in Malaysia, play outside, she and her father watch cooking shows. Her father is also native to Malaysia. Though her brother is born in Malaysia, he soon forgets the language. As he nears puberty, he stays away from the house, kicking his soccer ball around.

The central action of the story takes place the evening of the fish. The narrator’s father keeps the fish in the sink and then drains the water.