On Comfort Food.

[randomness]

Christmas food--and boy, there was some yummy food on Christmas, thanks to various members of bedfull_o_books's family--got me to thinking about comfort food.

As anyone who has been around me much at all can confirm, I get wacky food cravings. Many times these cravings are for dishes I consider comfort food.

This led me to consider what those dishes are, and why they have that place for me.

I think many of my comfort foods are ones I've eaten for many years, like 干炒牛河 (gān chăo niú hé: a. k. a. beef chow fun), or macaroni and cheese. Meat loaf is another. So are 水饺 (shuǐjiǎo: boiled dumplings), with some fairly pedestrian filling like 猪肉白菜 (zhū ròu bái cài: pork with Chinese cabbage). Some dessert foods are also, like ice cream sandwiches, or a 蛋挞 (dàn tà: egg tart). Or 杏仁豆腐 (xìng rén dòu fu: almond jelly/almond tofu/almond junket) but the kind made with agar, not tofu or gelatin (despite the names).

Occasionally, though, the craving is for something I never ate as a child, but nonetheless still fills the comfort food niche, like Cincinnati chili or Saag (साग/ساگ). (bedfull_o_books also considers Saag a comfort food. Neither of us grew up with it.)

I suppose it's all about keeping my not-so-inner child fed. That kid likes fat, sweet, and salt, it seems, and searches for the uncomplicated, unchallenging tastes I grew up with.

What foods say "comfort food" to you? What about them makes them comfort food?

Comments

[denyse.livejournal.com]

Hm. Congee (esp preserved egg and pork if cantonese, or the hokkien sort with pork which I never see over here). Shuei Kuei. Hainanese Chicken rice. Cha Kuay Teow. Hokkien Mee. Preserved vege and duck soup. Cha Siew Pao. Ha Kao. Siew Mai. (I'm too lazy to find the chinese characters for all of this - I haven't installed the fonts on this computer). Roti Canai (or maybe Murtabak). Zong (the rice pyramid ones, either sweet or with meat). Really sweet mango.

I guess it's the food I grew up with after all.

[redbird]

If those zong are what I think they are, I hadn't filed them as comfort food, probably because I only get them as part of dim sum, and comfort food is often something I want when either alone or home sick.

[eclectician.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever seen Zong Zi as part of dim sum, though you do find them being sold in Chinese bakeries a lot.

[eclectician.livejournal.com]

Are you from Malaysia or Singapore? =)

[denyse.livejournal.com]

Singapore. :)