of 'belacan' and life...

now...for those of you who are oblivious to what belacan is, it is actually a Malay word for shrimp paste - an admirable ingredient which is widely used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisine. there are also various names given to this shrimp paste and/or shrimp sauce according to the various types of shrimps used to concoct this ingredient. and how do i know all this? the wonders of the Internet *chuckles*.

anyhow, how does belacan apply to life other than making a dish more appetizing? well, for today...the term belacan has been spoken to me twice. first was in the morning and the second was a couple of minutes ago. on both occasions, ma mom uttered the word belacan for countless of times in her sentences.

and the sentence that stuck with me was from this morning actually...she told me one of her many life stories - involving food. it went something like this...

"y'know, the last time there was this man from Melaka who sold very nice belacan. so, i asked Ah Yee (ma mom's youngest sister) to buy it for me." ma mom said.

"but then...someone close to me wanted it so badly. so...i gave it to that person." she elaborated.

"after which, i told Ah Yee and got a scolding from her. 'cause now the man who sold the belacan is dead and it's hard to find another type of belacan with the same great quality and taste anymore." ma mom pointed out matter-of-factly.

"so, next time...don't give away good things. one should keep it to one's self and treasure it...'cause one might not get it again..." she concluded.

with reference to the context, i totally agree with her last statement - "one should keep it to one's self and treasure it...'cause one might not get it again..."

and currently, that is how it applies to ma life...

***

PS. portions of the conversation were altered for reasons pertaining to privacy issues.

Thank You.