Comfort Food

Comfort Food

(guest post by Tee Lineng)

Cooking and eating at home more frequently has meant I’ve become a little more experienced with and particular about creating new dishes with the same few ingredients. I’ve always wanted to bake bread, and I finally broke out the bread maker. I also noticed myself studying the fresh and packaged produce at supermarkets, thinking about tweaks I might make, perusing recipes for baking and culinary techniques, and dreaming of yummy concoctions from afar that I miss or have yet to taste.

All of the above probably provided the inspiration for this article examining common dishes done differently. I hope you’ll feel inspired to make or order some of them, or add them to your must-eat list when travelling is once again possible. I’ve also included some information about the origin or significance of each dish, since food, whether delicious, nourishing or ceremonial, is inextricably tied to culture, tradition, availability, trends and ingenuity.

What is your favourite comfort food? Is it something homely like ratatouille or Grandma’s roast? Or is it fancy, premium steak, a home-baked sourdough loaf, a hearty bowl of ramen, or a specific dish in a specific restaurant in a specific town you try to journey to each year? We’d love to hear why they are comforting to you.

NOODLES

I love noodles in any slippery, chewy, slurpy, crunchy shape, broth or form and can eat them at almost every meal. (I feel the same way about pizza because of the INFINITE TOPPING COMBINATIONS, but that can be another post for another day).

SOUP (with recipes!)

Perfect on a hot day, perfect on a chilly day, perfect on its own or with a table full of food, soup is easy to eat, (relatively) easy to make and chockfull of goodness and flavour.

Classic soup recipes this way. 

CHICKEN (with) RICE

Chicken is one of the most widely-consumed animal proteins found in almost every corner of the globe, cooked and spiced in a myriad of ways. With rice being a staple in many countries, it’s no wonder so many filling and delicious combinations have been created. Guaranteed to make you hungry.

PIES both sweet and savoury

Pies are welcome at any time of the day, especially when they have their perfect filling to crust ratio. They can be warm or chilled, a meal on its own or a satisfying end to dinner. In fact, I bought an oven just because there was a key lime pie I tried and couldn’t get out of my head.

Check out Pies around the World here