A Tale of Two Bowls
It was only recently that I asked my 76-year-old father what his favourite childhood comfort food was. He grew up in Hong Kong, the son of immigrants who — like so many others in Hong Kong — left China during the Cultural Revolution to escape poverty and persecution. As one of five siblings, he wouldn’t have been very well off but his parents were hardworking intellectuals who kept an extremely disciplined household. When I was young, Dad would often remind me at mealtimes that his whole family ate together in silence, and if any of the children dropped even a grain of rice they would receive a resounding slap around the face from my grandfather.
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Back to my question. Without hesitation, he replied:
“One bowl of rice with a spoonful of lard and a fried egg on top.”
Despite having sworn off meat a while ago, his description was enough to make me salivate. I pictured a boy receiving a bowl of steaming, just–cooked white rice. Spooning in the lard and allowing the heat of the rice to melt it so the fat coats every grain and slides up and around the sides of the bowl. Finally, topping the rice with a fried egg — perhaps burnt at the edges but always undercooked — piercing the centre with a chopstick and letting the yellow yolk river flow and irrigate the rice bed. For a moment I closed my eyes and shared the yearning of that small boy, wishing for the yolk to flow forever and for the bowl to be as neverendingly deep as a well.
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Dad’s cautionary tale about mealtime antics was not intended to pass on the threat of his own father’s physical admonishments; it was to educate us in the value of every grain of rice. Indeed, these lessons will be familiar to many Chinese people around the world.
Rice is the lifeblood of the Chinese: it is a baby’s first taste of solid food, just as it is fed to the sick and dying; it is precious white gold; it is poverty food and haute cuisine; it is a blank slate but it is not the side dish — it is the main meal. In Chinese our version of ‘bon appetit’ is to say ‘let’s eat rice’ before eating.
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Dad’s story bemused me. He didn’t know it, but for the past year I’d been working on some food ideas that were reminiscent of his story. Ever seeking simplicity and reduction in my diet in an effort to live healthily (and forever), I was inspired to find ways to make one bowl of plain rice satisfying yet nourishing. Experimenting in the kitchen, I turned to vegan sources of umami, making my own concoctions of shiitake and kelp extracts, miso powders, and even attempting a veganised XO sauce.
My first three prototypes are now ready! Three flavour blends that I have nicknamed ‘accessories for rice & more’. The ‘& more’ refers to the fact that these flavours can go on just about anything — from salads to chips, and roasted vegetables to stir fries. You can learn more about these flavour blends and how to get your hands on them.
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Meanwhile, it seems that regardless of how old you are or where you live — one bowl of rice, humbly presented and simply dressed, can comfort the hungriest of bellies.
