This is just beautiful, thanks Marilyn. It reminds me of when I lived in
Providence and had graduate students live on my third floor. When the first woman came, a post doc at Brown in thermodynamics, she would cook those dishes with a lot of oil too. Gradually the oil decreased as she watched me cook and I had many great meals from the wok. She had brought a pan with her from China that looked like a small dish pan. That was to cook her rice. One try with my rice cooker and she put the pan away. That was in the mid 80's and she was among the first allowed out to study in the US. She lived with me for 2 years and I have such fond memories. I'd love one of her meals right now.