Category Archives: Chinese

Who’s the Congee Queen Now?

congee

Oh, congee. How I love congee. Congee (or jook, a Chinese rice porridge) is one of those dishes that I never knew existed until I moved to St. Louis for college and became a regular at a “real” Chinese food restaurant. Then in New York, Geoff and I had our favorite place to order congee in Chinatown (Big Wong King) where I discovered that it’s traditional to dip sweet (ngau lei sou) and savory (youtiao) fried dough (Chinese doughnuts!) into steaming bowls of congee. Heaven. So, so, so good.

Geoff, of course, has a whole different relationship with congee. He grew up eating excellent congee, both homemade and at amazing Toronto Chinese food restaurants (Congee Queen is one of his family’s long-time favorites). And it’s the dish that his mother would make whenever he was feeling under-the-weather — a warm, comforting, gentle-on-the-tummy porridge, Chinese comfort food at it’s best.

Traditionally, Geoff is the congee cooker in our family. He has several shortcut methods: 1) A pressure cooker version that makes a mess, and 2) A frozen rice version that takes some planning ahead. But when Geoff wasn’t feeling well last weekend, it was up to me to make him a batch of congee. Continue reading

Stir-Fried Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) for a Healthy Side Dish

stir fried Chinese broccoli
I don’t know a lot of words in Chinese or Cantonese, the language that Geoff’s family speaks. I’m notoriously bad at foreign languages. But I do know the words daan taat (Chinese egg tart), gai mei bao (sweet coconut buns translated as “cocktail buns“) and shumai (a delectable pork and shrimp dumpling). Seeing a trend here?

Well, along with my limited vocabulary of sweets and dumplings, I also know the word gai lan, or Chinese broccoli. This leafy Chinese green with thick stocks has been one of my favorites ever since I first tasted it a few years ago. I can eat a ton of gain lan. I always look for it on Chinese food restaurant menus, and I always try to grab some at the store if I’m planning on making Chinese food at home. Stir-fried with garlic and ginger it makes a simple, healthy side dish. Feel free to try this recipe with bok choy, choy sum or other Asian greens if you’re not able to find gai lan at your grocery store. Continue reading