tastes like home, to me., Recipe tastes like home, to me.

Posted the 13/11/2008 08:00:00 By Delightful Delicacies (Visit website)

imagine someone asking you, "if you could only pick one, what food would be the one that always makes you stop, and think of home?" how would you answer? well i'm asking you now. what is that special dish? for me, it is this.

no matter the season, at any time of day, and regardless of my mood, my father's zok halts me. it's an incredibly simple dish, the 'poor man's feast', but it makes me stop, and savor it in along with the memories that are inherently tied to it. my father, serving it as breakfast before we ran out the door, always a few minutes late; my aunt, making me drink a seemingly enormous glass of water before i could dig into my soy milk and zok with doughnut - to assure i didn't overeat; being hungry late at night, and knowing there would be a pot of it in the refrigerator; being under the weather, and this being the only thing bearable to eat, there was that time i had my wisdom teeth taken out too...; seeing our 'ol reliable stock pot bubbling on the stove, donning dried streaks along the sides, evidence of it having boiled over; coming home after a long, often sleepless week at college, knowing that i'd be headed back with a gallon ziplock full to the brim, along with other goodies; and now sharing it with the love of my life, thinking about how it may be the beloved comfort food for my own children.

this soup is made with only four ingredients, but it has supported countless memories and satisfied many a finicky palate.

I honestly don't know why it took me this long to finally make it on my own.

baba's zok
pronounced 'chjoke', something like that; aka congee

1 part rice (2 cups)
5 part water (10+ cups)
1 Tablespoon per 'part' of oil (2 Tablespoons)
salt, to taste

rinse out the rice, until the water runs clear. drizzle the rice with the oil and add the salt; mix it a little to assure that all the rice is coated with the oil.

let sit for about 15 minutes.

bring water to rolling boil; add in rice.
If you have any bones handy (we used chicken bones from our dinner the night before) add them in here.

Once the rice is brought back up to a boil, reduce the heat to very low, cover, and let simmer for an hour or two; or three. Stir every once in a while to assure no rice sticks to the bottom of the pan. if there is the amount of liquid is dwindling, go ahead and add more as necessary, one cup at a time.

A little before you?re ready to serve, discard bones, add extra meat pieces - previously cooked and warmed, and flavorings: fish sauce, chicken bouillon, more salt, etc. Garnish with chopped green onions, century eggs, whatever you fancy.