A Rainy Day and Dat’s Mozzarella

Oh, what to do on a rainy afternoon….make mozzarella, of course. Who could better lead you through the process than Dat Phan, a man with a natural attention to detail? Instructions were clear and nothing was left to chance. The results, eaten on the spot, could not have been better.

The process seemed natural. Find someone who knows what they are doing, get the right ingredients, and assemble the usual suspects — a guy from the bicycle coalition, a writer pondering character development in her latest short story, a Missionite temporarily exiled to Singapore to set up a branch office, a Lyft driver and a nutritionist. In short, call your friends. After a few drinks and random, I mean really random, conversation, you’re ready to make mozzarella.

Unlike most kitchen adventures there was plenty of room because Phan, an inveterate explorer of all things complex and an artist, had rigged a webcam on an Ikea Tertial light to hover over the pots at the perfect angle. Now you could drift between the kitchen and the couch while enjoying the show. Unlike the cooking channel when things got interesting you could pick up your drink and wander into the kitchen.

Phan left no detail unattended. He even had assembled everything that you needed to make mozzarella in the comfort of your own kitchen. A goodie bag contained citric acid, a vial of the magic enzyme complex rennet and the proper thermometer. A careful, step-by-step recipe was emailed in PDF format, because paper is a hassle. Now even an individual, like me, with rudimentary cooking talent can dazzle their friends. What could be simpler?

The mozzarella was perfect and Phan made it look so simple. I asked, “Is it always this easy?”

“I practiced a lot,” he said.

I guess my dazzling will have to wait a while. PDF of Full Recipe.