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Firstly, if you are a Malaysian, I know what you were thinking when you saw this post. You would probably look at this and think about 'goreng' which is essentially the Malay word for stir-fry (funny why they don't call it goreng kacau..)or frying. That being said, 'goreng' is used in a negative sense. Often translates to 'winging it' or just go with the flow in a certain situation.
However, I was inspired to write this not because of how I am going to wing this but through me cooking everyday. When my first child was born, my wife was not able to cook for a good few weeks. I volunteer to cook the daily meals. She assured me that it was only temporary. It has been four years and I suppose 'temporary' is subjective. I am not a good chef and I do not try awesome recipes like @tadstrange or cook dishes like those displayed on @howtostartablog's page.
I am a pragmatist, I price efficiency above all else and as such, the most efficient and practical way is to stir fry. Why you may ask? Well, you can dump everything into the wok and cook it all in one go, no need for a 7 course meal. I have all 7 meals compacted into one dish. Ok, maybe not all 7 meals, maybe 7 ingredients? As both my wife and I are working, it's not possible to cook really elaborate meals. However, there are a few items that are necessary in all my dishes.
In terms of writing on Steemit, you may not have the luxury of time to write long posts. It is possible that you may not have any idea on what to write. After being on Steemit for a few months, you find that every single unique idea you have has been exhausted and so you spend more time staring at the computer screen than writing. When it comes to writing on Steemit, there are days where I do run out of ideas too, but there are a few key ingredients that I use to start writing. For this post, let me contextualize it into the ingredients that I use to cook as well.
Onions & Garlic
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I have never stir-fried a dish without garlic and onions. In my opinion, they are the two most important ingredients when it comes to cooking. I would normally dice the garlic and onions before stir-frying them with noodles or pasta. I see garlic and onions as an ingredient that enhances the flavor of my dish and also to eliminates certain odors. Certain ingredients such as fish, beef or mutton may have a very strong smell, stir fry it together with onions and garlic, that smell can be lessened.
In terms of writing on Steemit, my onion and garlic come in the form of my work experience and cultural background. I find writing on Steemit to be a form of exercise where you present one topic in varying perspectives. So an example would be the idea of free education for all. While it is generally easier to write about how good free education is for all, you can present a different perspective from your work experience. This consists of how free education was akin to a free ticket to a better life. Paint a scenario of how free education and further elaborate the topic into something that is unique to you.
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As you present a common concept in a perspective that is unique to your work experience and cultural background, you create a different flavor to an otherwise extremely common topic. Similarly, if you were to cook a steak, I'm sure you will agree that a steak seasoned in garlic and pepper tastes way better than a steak that is not seasoned at all. Thus, as you stare at your computer screen wondering what you are about to write, take a common topic, relate it to your personal experience and culture and season the topic with ideas that are uniquely yours!
Of course, just like how onions and garlic take away the odors found in certain ingredients, you may want to do the same on your Steemit post. This includes eliminating points that may be contradictory or just too complicated to understand. In sum, simplify and present your thoughts well to your readers.
Soy Sauce or Salt
Soy sauce or salt will bring out the flavor in the dish. I would normally use Soy sauce if I'm cooking something Asian. On the other hand, I would use salt for my stir-fried pasta dishes. Soy sauce does go with pasta sometimes but not always. The need to have some kind of salt or flavoring in a dish is essential. It makes the dish more appetizing.
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Likewise, when it comes to writing your Steemit post you want people to notice your post enough to read it. Consider the following titles:
- A comparative analysis between two different education systems and which best fits your child's learning ability.
- How to help your child learn better.
Readers of course are more likely to click on the second post. Although the first title summarizes the gist of the post better, it does not sound as interesting as the second title. Now consider this, what if you add some salt into the title to spice it up a little? You could do this by implementing a hook or something compelling to attract readers. An example is in the following title:
- Three hacks to help your child learn better.
Such a flavoring of the post does not end in the title only. The same treatment should be given throughout the write-up of the post. This can be done by having a compelling story to attract the writer to read further. I once wrote three interlocking stories for a competition, it adds a level of suspense for the readers. However, if you are looking to write on a hack or technique, share what short cuts or techniques that you would normally use. It may not be generally acceptable, but providing a different perspective for others to consider does add value to your post.
Conclusion
I hope you have found this helpful. If you come here for tips on cooking, remember that as long as you have garlic, onions and soy sauce, your stir-fried dish will be a hit! If you are here for writing tips, remember to enhance commonly seen topics and add in a little flavor of your own to spice up your content. Until next time... Steem on!
Great tips. I find that human interest stories especially your own do well here. So start with your passion and inject your personal flavors in your post.
That's right and I think you write really good human interest stories too. I hope very soon, more communities come on to steemit. For now, it seems to favor the tech/crypto/life/ niche
Posts on crypto seem to gain more interest and as such higher earnings.
Not all though.. Think only certain ones.. Maybe it's oversaturated with too many of it
Wow, very good writing. Illustrates how to write in terms of cooking. Thank you. I like your post.
Thank you, appreciate you stopping by!
The art of the title is something very interesting. I think Buzzfeed's entire market is only because they have clickbaity titles while their articles lack substance. People judge books by their cover and articles by their title. It is a skill necessary for anyone who wants to write for mass market :P
That's right... first impression though not sustainable in the long run, means a lot to get someone onboard of something. Looking forward to the future recipes that you'll be trying.
My family in malaysia too.
Great post...
Thank for sharing...
um... please don't mind me, I am just testing this out. I am not spamming, really. I'll be on my way now. oh yes... I just upvoted you by the way. Stephard Tester, superoo7/superoo7-dev
I enjoy a stir fried dish a well, yes culture is very important ingredient in writing a good 'dish'. it is just like how a drawing with some infused culture will have a better taste.
comparative analysis also shows how much effort the author takes to make the post valuable
That's right, I wonder if they will come up with an official rubric or a checklist to a great post on Steemit. Right now, its still rather subjective though
I love cookery posts I get so jealous these days because I live in a country now where asian food is not widely available. Sometimes I am tempted just to hop skip and jump over to a country where the food is incredible and flavoursome. I agree with your points totally seasoning is everything, I used to cook without herbs and spices for years. Until a family member showed me how to use them, even now making a classic soup dish or something I will sprinkle a little something into it.
Thank you for your post.
No worries, thanks for stopping by! What herbs do you use in your dish? For some weird reason, i love thyme, much to the dismay of my family
I am a bit of a basil freak I am afraid, I can't get away with oregano for some reason the smell is a smell of its own. I like to add ginger to dishes also. Happy to say that we have found a place that does chinese take out, so tonight we are going to try it out. No cooking for me tonight yey!!!
that probably lies in doing something to bring value to audiences not in your culture, so your posts can bridge cultural gaps and bring people closer.
i've been doing this in a similar way, so people not familiar with chinese or hk culture can read some of my posts on chinese or hk cultural things as if they were travelling there in real person.
Yeah, I saw one of your posts on sushi and man, that was tempting. Are you based in HK?
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Hey @alvinauh, this is an interesting blend of the two themes - nicely illustrated and stitched together.
This is an excellent point made about the unique qualities that anyone of us can bring to our self-expression.
What follows after it....
...is something I am totally unable to have an opinion on, being a life-long veggie and currently plant-only-eater :D
Thanks for the read, enjoyed its flow 👍
This was excellent!!! First of - "temporary" being subjective after four years of cooking made me laugh out loud!!!!!! hehehehe
But I loved how you compared preparing a post to the basics and fundamentals of cooking! It made perfect sense and was a wonderfully written article!!! Excellent :)