Chinese Comfort food meals

Since we discussed here about a dedicated thread

I’m of Cantonese background. In addition to the mentioned steamed pork. Mom also did a variant with beaten egg so it was like a steamed custard with minced pork. Other dishes would be pig’s feet all sticky with the soy, fragrant with star anise. A beef with tomatoes and onions.

That’s what I have off the top of my head.

2 Likes

oh yeah! pigs’ feet. the recipe used for lactating new moms. although i’ve also come to enjoy spicy pigs feet as well. but it’s more the texture than the flavor, which is why i also enjoy beef tendon. the do ga ni tong (ox knee soup) breakfast special at sun nong dan has become a go-to for me.

my mom just steamed the egg without meat and added a little soy sauce. maybe a little sesame oil.

i haven’t had beef & tomato chow mein in a long time. i wonder if tin tin offers it as a lunch special. my mom usually added green peppers to the beef (always prepped with corn starch for texture) & tomato.

i suspect non-asian palates won’t fully appreciate some of these dishes because they’re not used to thinking of texture as part of the flavor profile. but when i look at a list of western style comfort foods, texture seems to be a common theme.

1 Like

Growing up, I never realized how much weight I put on texture. It wasn’t until I got older and learned to process and articulate better that I realized how the texture would affect the appeal of a dish for me.

I think for a lot of non food enthusiasts when they think texture, it’s relatively simple such as slimy, hard, etc. But there’s a world of subtleties and how it can affect. Things that I never actively became aware of until I was well into my 20’s. Stuff like hitting the right creaminess of the potato for a specific curry dish or mincing the ginger properly in a stir fry.

2 Likes

Texture is huuuuge in Chinese cuisine. In fact, if one thinks about the “haute” ingredients in traditional Chinese cooking, many of them are not so much tasty flavor-wise as they are immensely interesting in mouthfeel or texture. Shark fin, for example (I know - not good to mention in 2020, but its place in Chinese gastronomic history is nonetheless indisputable) has virtually no taste on its own, but when added to a broth, it adds a new dimension to it. Similar augmentation of complexity and enhancement of “bite” are found in sea cucumbers, swan’s nest, abalone, etc.

6 Likes

which is why i prefer steak fries compared to the thinner fries.

in asian cuisine in general. i know that japanese cuisine often pairs certain textures to certain flavors. spicy is often paired with ‘slippery’ mouth feel, for example. it’s why spicy pigs’ feet work for me.

1 Like

This thread has me feeling nostalgic. My mom made that steamed egg custard with pork and the beef with tomatoes and onions too! Np pig feet though, but beef tongue for sure.

2 Likes

I think American palettes also take into account texture, there just seems to be less textural variety generally it seems to be crunchy, soft, crispy, or smooth/creamy. Whereas aside from those textures asian palettes also enjoy sinewy, slippery/slimy, gelatinous, fibrous, and chewy which are generally turnoffs for american palettes.

2 Likes

There are a ton of dishes in this category that are far too broad. If typical Cantonese home cooking, and if we even just limit it to Hong Kong, the variations are wide depending on whether a typical family has roots in Taishan, Chiu Chow, Fujian, Shanghai, or just pure 100% Cantonese / Guangdong, and maybe there’s some Hakka influence in there somewhere.

Some homey dishes that otherwise are typical and more widespread:

steamed tofu with shrimp (and/or pork paste)

scrambled egg tomato (with or without proteins)

scrambled egg shrimp (this is also common in Taishan home cooking in SF Bay Area)

braised pork belly

braised pork tongue

braised meatballs with shitake and for those who like dried seafood, fish maw

braised beef brisket and turnips (and tendons)

tomato beef

steamed fish (or whatever seafood can be found from the market)

steamed chicken (there are multiple variations of this, but ginger, scallion garlic seem to form the baseline, sometimes shiitake). Soy sauce chicken is also not too difficult for households to make.

Cantonese soup (this is a must… the variations on Cantonese soup is a thread of its own)

steamed pork patties - the variations of this are many as well… with conpoy/dried scallop, or salted fish, or mui choy/pickled fermented rehydrated greens, dried squid (to yau), diced mushroom and chestnuts (a classic), maybe a pan fried version of the salted fish pork patty. Less common but very old school is a beef patty and the vital ingredient here is aged dried orange peel in the mixture, one of the best dishes if you can find someone who knows how to make this classic flavor

there’s also the typical protein x veg in one plate: steamed pork ribs over pumpkin/kabocha, bitter melon with beef and black bean sauce, variations of sweet sour pork (or sweet sour something), water chesnut/youtiao/beef stir fry

My cousin grew up eating duck tongues, these exclude the chunkier/bonier parts of the lower jaw that some Canto restaurants like to heavily fry with Maggi sauce to try to sell more beer, and there are a few ways to prepare. I quite enjoyed chicken hearts back in the day (but won’t touch it now).

And there are less classical and off the wall kind of preps that some households take on a whatever /anything goes approach. Coca Cola or Fanta Grape marinated chicken wings was something some kids took to an elementary school picnic or some high school outing.

We’re just scratching the surface here…

1 Like

Or whatever this lady whipped that particular day.

sddefault

4 Likes

Uncle Roger’s mother…

1 Like

Taiwanese side…

Braised Minced Pork Over Rice (Lu Rou Fan).

Scrambled Eggs and Tomatoes (or Chinese garlic chives, or scallions, or shrimp)

Three Cup Chicken

Hakka Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens

Sweet Potato Porridge

Pork Bone and Daikon Soup

Black Chicken Soup with goji berries, red dates, shiitake

Steamed Eggs and Clams

Lunchbox/Bentos

See this Taiwanese movie Monga, for reference, look at that Braised Chicken Leg Rice!

Porridge with pork floss, pickles, radishes, eel.

Sesame Oil Chicken Soup (Dai Ho does this I believe)

Pork Chop Rice (Braised or Fried) with braised minced pork, marinated egg, and pickled mustard greens.

Uncle Yu’s and Lu’s Garden in SGV. Lu’s Garden is very homestyle. Uncle Yu’s has some homestyle dish but it’s bar food (not snacks), some ice cold Taiwan Beer with 3 cup chicken.

Hotpot. The dipping sauce should shacha and egg yolk! Lots of fish balls and fish cakes! Those stuffed fish balls are the best.

The ultimate of course is Beef Noodle Soup!

Of course there is some cross influences and shared dishes thats because Taiwanese is a melting pot. We like both rice and noodles. There is both Northern, Central, and Southern Chinese influences.

I guess stereotypically Taiwanese nails down that perfect sweet-salty balance. Pungent, pickled, spicy are balanced out as well. Garlic, scallion, sesame oil for aromatics. Basil is a unique addition.

Also for me personally I love freakin pineapple cakes I can finish a whole thing of those

1 Like

Speaking of pigs feet

Pigs feet in black vinegar, sweet vinegar, ginger, wine is ridiculously good

Too bad Chinese people only eat after a woman gives birth

You can hit that up at most dim sum restaurants!

1 Like

True. I’ve had that at dim sum before. It’s kinda off the menu right?

I prefer the hard-cooked eggs that are in that same vinegary concoction than the pig’s feet themselves. I know, I’m a heathen…

1 Like

Those eggs are good too. Probably the best hard cooked eggs you can eat

There is hella a lot of Chinese people here

1 Like

They seem to be more prevalent at dim sum joints that still have carts going around.

1 Like

cuz old people favorite (& postpartum); young 'uns don’t find it cool

1 Like

Ultimate ROC list.

1 Like

On a food website? Shocking! ;-D

2 Likes