How this surgeon trainee sharpens his skills- and feels a bit closer to home- one dish at a time.
The UAB Department of Surgery is highlighting faculty, residents and staff who have an intriguing out-of-the-office hobby. The goal of the series is to connect individuals across the department by helping illuminate out-of-the-office moments and achievements.
General Surgery Resident Rongzhi Wang, M.D. attended medical school at China Medical University. He is now a PGY2 in the General Surgery Residency Program. Wang was the captain of a team of four medical students who represented his medical school participating in National Clinical Knowledge and Skills Competition; his team achieved fourth place in China in 2017.
He has presented abstracts at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in 2019 and Academic Surgical Congress in 2020.
Wang is also recognized by his co-residents as a talented chef of authentic Chinese cuisine.
What inspired you to start cooking?
“I was born and raised in China, where restaurants are cheap and available anytime, anywhere. I never cooked until I decided to come to the U.S about two years ago. At first, my mom gave me a crash course of cooking theory, and then I would try to be her assistant in the kitchen as much as I could. Then I realized cooking means more than just feeding myself, it's a great way to train my surgical skills; an art to boost my creativity and a perfect way to spend quality time with friends and family. All of these reasons motivate me to spend more time on cooking than I expected. Eating my own cooking offers me a great sense of belonging. It tastes like home.”
What does cooking mean to you?
“The process of learning how to cook is similar to training how to operate. See one, do one and teach one. I will observe and replicate others' motions first and then develop my own way. Using the kitchen utensils itself is similar to surgery like cutting vegetables into different shapes and separating lean meat from skin or bones.
Cooking is a form of science and art. In order to make nice dishes, I need to find a balance between different taste, texture, color and nutrition. Based on Chinese cooking theory, there are seven basic tastes including sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, salty, umami and astringent. How to use different ingredients to 
represent each taste and which taste goes well together is interesting and challenging to me. For one formal meal, I would cook different variety of dishes to present a mixed taste. I will use light broth to provide pleasant contrast to dryer and strongly flavored dish; pair stir fried green with richer meat and neutralize spicy dish with sweet and sour salad.
Cooking is also a great way to hang out with friends. Making dumplings is a tradition for celebrating Lunar New Year. Last Lunar New Year, I invited friends to my house and made them as a team. In order to make dumplings, we need to stir meat and vegetables for fillings, use flour and water to make a dough, cut dough into pieces, roll each piece into a wrap, fold the fillings into wraps and finally steam or boil the dumplings. Everyone had a great time that night.”
What are the dishes that you are most proud of?
“Generally, there are eight regional cuisines in China according to their distinct tastes and characteristics. I am from Northeast (Dongbei) part of China. Making good dumplings and ribs are natural to me. I am good at cooking vegetables in Cantonese way to preserve their freshness and crunchiness in addition to umami. I am also good at cooking Sichuan cuisine, which is famous for its bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness such as Dandan noodles, Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo tofu, spicy beef, hotpot and chili meat soup.”
Are you part of the UAB Department of Surgery and have an interesting hobby? Then we would love to know about it. Please reach out to our communications team.