A bowl of egg-noodles, with barbecue pork, shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, carrots, bok choi, and green onions in a chicken broth, is considered comfort food for most Chinese people. They say that comfort food soothes the mind by acting like an opiate, hitting the receptors in our central nervous system. We go to it in times of stress, and in addition to keeping us full, it keeps us pacified.
As Pat and Jen cut, and wash, and cook, they never nibble. Everything that’s prepared goes into the pot. Not too long, or the vegetables will lose their firmness. With chopsticks and a spoon, they serve the noodle soup in large bowls. One eats from the spoon, which is used to scoop the broth, while the chopsticks are simply used to put the desired ingredients on the former utensil.
I don’t have meals like this anymore. Chinese food is a complicated affair. It takes a motley set of ingredients, most of which is only available on a single street in this city, so I’m grateful for a real home-cooked meal.
Everything about it brings me back to a time when I was a child, living with my parents, living off Chinese food every day. The contrasting colours of the pork against the noodles. The full aroma. The savoury taste of broth. Even the dulcet slurp of noodles.
If only my childhood was worth remembering.
DAMNIT, that looks SOO good… I’m feeling quite hungry now…
Mm, that looks absolutely delicious! Of course it tasted wonderful, I’m sure. I love bok choi and shiitake mushrooms. When I was younger, my father’s friend would invite us over and he and his wife would cook the most delicious meals. Partially why I love Chinese food so much.
Yo, I never knew that stuff was called bok choi, and yet I LOVE IT. I don’t buy it ALL the time, but often. I’m just like, uhh chinese broccoli or something… Although now that I think about it, maybe it isn’t bok choi… but the pics look similar.
Delicious.
It’s hard for me to look at the picture too…especially when it’s getting close to midnight on a Friday and I’m looking for a snack. I think Chinese food is a pretty universal taste, although I still haven’t figured out why.
Bok choi, literally translated, means “white veggie”. Unfortunately, I can only find it in Chinatown, which is about a 45 minute drive away.
It’s obviously too uncivilized here. There should be a chinatown within 15 minutes of everywhere :) (It’s about 45 minutes to get to chinatown from my place too).
Jeff, the photos are truly amazing.