2 . My career as a chef started at the age of 25, but my ______ for cooking started at an early age, when I was about 5 years old — by watching my grandmother and my mom in the kitchen ______ daily meals for the family. I was also ______by going with my grandfather to markets to ______ the freshest ingredients. My grandfather taught me the art of picking and recognizing “the ______.”

From my youth, I have had this passion for food. Growing up in Morocco, I witnessed the most amazing hospitality and ______ through my grandparents. They opened their ______ to everybody, and fed and sheltered the poor, travelers, family and friends.

I remember as a young kid coming home from school to the ______ of fragrant (芳香的) fresh bread coming out of the oven. Those smells stimulated (刺激) my senses at a young age. The ______were fresh and seasonal — they were very simple dishes but delightfully ______.

Food is almost as ______ as it is necessary. Food makes people feel things. I really think that food tastes its best when there is a ______ behind it. It shapes cultures, religion, politics and health. Food brings people together, and goes straight to the ______.

In my kitchen, I try to duplicate (复制) smells and flavors that make me think about more than what I’m actually smelling or ______ — it makes me think of life, my family, and my history. I love to cook food that ______ people’s emotions and memories; my philosophy is to “keep food real and simple.”

3 . Mapo tofu is my favorite dish in the world.    1    , especially in Sichuan. I’m happy to say that the best version I’ve had in the States, made by Zhang Wenxue, a Sichuan chef at Fuloon, in Malden, Massachusetts , is a near-perfect taste-alike to the one in Chengdu. I’m even happier to report that    2    , and I’ve altered it very little over the years:

●Prepare some ingredients.

Prepare some garlic, ginger, scallions (葱花) and chile bean paste (豆瓣酱).

Combine the cornstarch (玉米淀粉) and cold water in a small bowl and mix with a fork until homogenous. Set aside.

Heat half of the Sichuan peppercorns in a large pot over high heat until lightly smoking. Transfer to a container and smash it until finely ground and set aside.

Add the remaining Sichuan peppercorns and the oil to the pot. Heat over medium-high heat about 11/2 minutes.    3    .

●    4    .

Heat the oil left in the pot over high heat until smoking. Add the ground beef or pork and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger and cook about 15 seconds. Add the chile bean paste and cook until the oil starts to turn red, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, soy sauce, and chicken soup and bring to a boil.    5    . Add the tofu and carefully fold it in, being careful not to break it up too much. Fold in the chile oil and half of the scallions and simmer for 30 seconds longer. Transfer immediately to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the remaining scallions and the toasted ground Sichuan pepper. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

5 . Four Best Cooking Apps

Wolfram Culinary Mathematics Reference

Requirement: iOS 9. 3+

Price: $ 1. 99

This app will help streamline our tasks of cooking by providing you with quick access to a set of tools specially designed for kitchen efficiency.

*Get nutritional(营养物的) information for individual foods or whole meals.

"Convert ingredient measurements (转换配料用量) to serve larger or smaller groups.

*Locate nearby grocery stores by place or store name.

Gordon Ramsay: Cook With Me

Requirement: iOS 4. 3+

Price: $ 5. 99

There are 56 recipe videos included in the app, showing the famous British professional cook Gordon Ramsay cooking the dish to give you the confidence to cook it yourself. And now there are 8 free text recipes plus 40 paid text recipes in the app.

MealBoard

Requirement: iOS 9.0+

Price: $ 3. 99

Store your recipes, create meal plans and grocery lists, keep track of your pantry inventory(储藏室的库存). All in one app!

*Import recipes from popular recipe websites, or add your own recipes.

*Make your grocery list based on the meal plan you created and check off grocery items as you shop.

*Keep track of what you have in your pantry, and record best-before dates and inventory locations.

*Email recipes, meal plans and shopping lists, and import recipes sent by other MealBoard users.

Fit Men Cook-Healthy Recipes

Requirement; i0S 10. 3+

Price: $ 2. 99

The winner of Apple App Store Best of 2015

Kevin Curry shares his journey to fitness with the Fit Men Cook community on social media and inside this app where you'll find the best way to prepare 273 of his most popular recipes.