People have a very different opinion on what can be considered comfort food. If you’re a true southerner, you’d probably reply that chicken fried chicken with a side of mac & cheese and freshly baked biscuits are the way to go. Or perhaps you’re a junk food junkie that craves a big juicy burger and side of crispy deep fried potatoes of some sort? If you grew up in Texas, I’ve noticed that they simply cannot resist the call of Tex/Mex anything! Give Andy a big bowl of chips and dip (and plenty of napkins) as he waits for his sizzling fajita meats & vegetables and I promise that he’ll be a happy boy!

Though I do love all of these items (and much more), when it comes to true comfort foods for me, there can only be my family’s cooking. That of course, would be referring to true everyday Chinese cuisine. Forget your lo mein, cashew chicken, and fried rice. These are dishes you’re not likely to find in an American style Chinese restaurant. The problem? I have absolutely no idea how to make the foods that I love. I can’t even recognize most of the ingredients I would need! Back when I lived with my parents, this was never an issue. Want something? Just ask mom! Now that I’m living, working, and cooking on my own…I haven’t had some of my favorites in years!

Since my parents were in town last weekend, they took us to our favorite Chinese supermarket (Asia World Market) in Frisco. I was lucky enough that they had the time to show me around the confusing and almost completely written in Chinese aisles (Imagine that! A Chinese grocery store that has products that have little to no English? Crazy talk!) . They helped me pick out the sauces, dried and canned goods, meats, veggies, and spices I would need to recreate some of their easier recipes.

Though I went into this whole process fairly confident that I would succeed, I greatly overestimated the amount of information that I missed! My parents have been cooking for so long, that their directions have no real measure. It’s not a 1/2 cup or 2 tablespoons of something, it’s just add some liquid to about 3/4 of a pot. What size pot? A big one, though not a huge one. It’s not cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, it’s boil for a few minutes until the sound changes. (In case you’ve ever wondered why I always put my ear up to the skillet when I’m cooking pot stickers, that’s why…I’m waiting for the sound to change) Cook the eggplant until soft…how soft is soft? Squishy soft would just be gross! Boil the rice noodles in plenty of water, but be careful because rice noodles tend to soak up a lot of liquid. So don’t use too much liquid and don’t leave them in there for too long. But it’s rice noodle soup!!! If I don’t leave the rice noodles in the soup, where would they go??? I know that the procedure gets easier as I repeat them, but that first trial run can be bewildering!

Sigh…thankfully, I managed to pull off what I deem a successful first try of one of my most favorite dishes, baby pork rib soup with rice noodles. There’s nothing quite like this nice hot soup to warm you up on a chilly night. Plus, it’s extra fun to slurp all those delectable noodles! Yes, it’s considered okay to slurp in Chinese cuisine! So slurp away my friends! (I did go through a few “Oh my gosh, I have no idea what I’m doing!!” moments…but that was to be expected)

The pork, noodles, and soup are topped with freshly cut scallions and my favorite sweet red chili sauce (which incidentally is also very tasty on tamales)

Seeing as how there’s not a drop remaining, I’d say it was a hit and will be adding this recipe to my repertoire. Another long term goal in addition to learning more Chinese dishes? I’d really like to figure out a better way to document my food through photographs. No worries, this isn’t turning into a food blog (though I do love food, I’m not ready to write exclusively about it). But when I’m particularly proud of something I’ve made, I’d like to capture it in a more interesting manner than just me taking an above my plate shot. For inspiration, I’ve been given a few recommendations from a friend that I already love! (101 Cookbooks, Tea and Cookies, and Cannelle et Vanille). Tell me, what dish is it that you wish for when you’ve had a stressful day and just need to unwind?

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