The daylight hours are getting very short, the wind is 'fresh' as the locals put it, and the body craves something warm. Instead of the usual braises and stews that most cookbooks call for, we are still eating our usual homestyle Chinese foods, but with definite slants towards warming foods. Such as congees in their various permutations. Above is a version with beef balls and a walloping swirl of Guiness Marmite. We usually have congees with pork ribs or chicken but tried beef balls because of a picture that Su-Lin (of foodblog Tamarind and Thyme) posted in Flickr.
And soups of course. This season's favourite is a riff on the old confinement (post-partum ostracisation month for Chinese women) menu favourite Ginger Chicken Soup. A clear broth of chicken, ginger and conpoy as a base, then bolstered with some vegetables, wood ear fungus and sheets of rice noodles to make it a meal-in-a-bowl. Though some may argue that cabbage is strictly speaking a cooling food. Whatever.
Ginger is the top ingredient in our shopping list. The freshest and cheapest I found at Tang Frères. Sausage and pork steamed over a bed of ginger does wonders in warming the body and easing joint aches and pains. Young spinach cooked in vegetable stock refreshes the palate and is full of good vitamins.
Here thinly sliced matchstick ginger pops up again, this time fried to a crispy gold. If the ginger is not too old, the heat is gentler and the taste is half-sweet, half-spicy. Good eaten as a snack or as a topping for Sardine Beehoon.
Another beehoon dish, this time stirfried with strips of beef, vegetables and kimchi. Kimchi has plenty of Korean peppers and garlic, natural body warmers. We have been eating quite a lot of simple one-dish meals because with husband often away on his business trips, we can go easy on the cooking and eat lightly.
Still, nothing perks up noodle dishes like a little snacky side dish. Potstickers for example, and falafels, made according to the Mark Bittman video in NYTimes but we halved the parsley and added cayenne and paprika to up the spice factor.
And when all else fail, dress warmly and cover up well. If possible, travel to a place with warmer weather such as Rome which is where C and I are heading for tomorrow. Ciao!
update 8.38 pm Paris time: the weather in Rome will turn colder this weekend. And who knows whether I'll be able to get to the airport in time what with the transport strike and blocked roads. Fingers crossed....
