Warm, Lazy Sunday: Food and Family

We spent the day with my family today. And the theme of the day: food, eating, cooking and baking…

Everyone gathered for a light brunch of Cantonese-style rice porridge bought from the market hawker center. This is the style of porridge both my mum and myself prefer - it is cooked for many hours, so that all the grains of rice have been cooked down and almost dissolved into a smooth, thick almost soup-like gruel. The ideal would be to cook the porridge over a charcoal fire rather than a gas flame or electric hotplate. This lends an added dimension to the aroma and taste of the porridge. The men however prefer the Teochew style porridge, which has whole grains of rice is a watery gruel, and thus has more “bite”.

The Cantonese porridge (S$1.20) (~US$0.70) from this stall is very well done – beautifully smooth consistency. It’s served here with fried, crispy, crunchy small anchovies and some spring onions. Unfortunately, no you tiao (deep fried dough sticks) today – a favorite in our family, which adds a nice flavorful crunch to the porridge.

Dessert was some tau sar piah (red bean paste pastry). Buttery, flaky pastry that melts in the mouth, with a smooth, sweet bean paste filling. Yum!

Then, I decided I wanted to make the chocolate chip cookies that Alberto had posted about. I haven’t baked any cookies in a long, long time. And today, I was just itching to fire up the oven. So, everyone got into the act, with suggestions, opinions and helping hands! A case of too many cooks, err….? Well, stay tuned to find out the results of our little family-bake session tomorrow when I post the recipe. Meanwhile, here’s a teaser… ; )

For dinner, my mum decided to cook a seafood assam curry (prawns and fish in a tamarind curry gravy). Very nice! The pictures and recipe tomorrow…

It has been a wonderful day. Lots of chat and laughter over the kitchen table. Isn’t this what memories are made of? Shared family experiences over very simple activities. Ok, you're thinking... she's getting a little too soppy and sentimental here… But, it has been an enjoyable, heart-warming day…

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