In our family, the clash of cultures, most evident in the case of a simple pot of porridge.
My husband wants millet, spices and served in Beijing with his favorite cucumbers. I prefer the flexibility smooth slow cooked rice seasoned with pork broth with very little meatballs savory, some bands cooked liver and onions served in a pinch.
My son was born and raised in Singapore has grown prefer the version of Chaozhou, the grains of rice filled with fish swim spicy pepper sauce and Tianjin preserved cabbage.
But we disagree about something. Comfort food is consumed when you are stressed, according to the weather, recovering from an illness or suffer from too much good - and plowed all the wonderful goodies lunar new year, just us.
My husband grew up in Beijing at a time when food was scarce and every bit of value in cereals. Her grandmother was a frugal woman, nothing is lost. Where did the porridge was with coal, would be dirty, or diced radish took care of top and tail would throw another shop served.
Times were tough at the time, but we swear that man has not eaten anything tasty there, but we tried the porridge and pickles are many times more. Perhaps the old adage is true - Hunger is the best cook ever.
The memories of my limited with boiled rice.
When we were young, Hong Kong, breakfast was a bowl of plain rice pudding, creamy and soft and white, spiced with a pinch of salt and some olive oil and served with a crispy batter - or you.
Each bite is full of contrasts - the sweetness of the sauce and crisp fresh dough. Sometimes, when we were lucky, we also sprinkled a tablespoon of roasted peanuts, sugar and salt, which was an exciting package of the plain batter.
Rice pudding was served for lunch or dinner, and the basis of oatmeal has always been that the rice was cooked in water or broth until the grains were dissolved almost completely. We have the ingredients that made the difference.
It exploded with boiled rice, pasta, fried minced meat porridge achieve thin strips of squid and peanuts soft rolled, there was pork and century egg porridge, broth, and there was a pig.
Pork broth is my favorite, because they had small parts in it. Tiny meatballs floating in the ordinary rice porridge, and there were usually two or three slices of pork sliced velvet, and a large explosion in the liver, marinated in ginger juice or Chinese wine, and cooked just right.
Eat a bowl of porridge was like a treasure hunt. You never know what spoon in another.
When he moved to Singapore, we discovered the joys of the dinner. There was always trying new things, but one of our favorites was the night mash shop Chaozhou food close to center, where we lived.
Here, small bowl of rice congee served with a kaleidoscope of dishes. Steamed fish, cold crab, steamed braised trotters, intestines, braised tofu with soy sauce and five spice, salt, steamed fat, you can have a feast of different kings.
But what is the secret. You should keep the portions very small, and the whole purpose was to titillate the palate, and no cholesterol clot.
The same stall offered also batter fish, Chaozhou-style, which has become well-seasoned fish broth over a bowl of cooked rice soft.
Often, the fish should be accompanied by the broth served separately, cut into thin slices, on a plate, should be weakened, then with a fragrant mixture of salt, sesame oil, cilantro and green onions. This will be quickly removed and thrown in a boiling steam - a great way to ensure that the fish is not overcooked.
A corner support of laver - dried seaweed - is soup.
When the snow last March hanging over Beijing can be a bowl of soup with delicious comfort food you want to try this weekend.
Here's the gravy recipe pork belly warm and please your palate. It may be little time to cook, but I assure you that it deserves.
