A pot of flavour-drenching comfort food

If you come into my kitchen, the first thing you’ll notice is a large clay pot.  As a matter of fact, the 15-quart drum-like clay pot is sitting on the stove top, loaded with simmering creamy chicken congee and emitting warm and ravishing aroma right now.  The congee, which takes about 2 hours to perfect, will be served with Chinese donut sticks, chopped green onion and cilantro, along with a platter of wok-fried pork and mushroom vermicelli for our family brunch today. Around the table the family will gather to indulge in a simple but healthy homey meal while sharing laughter and events of past week. This is a regular weekend scene in the Yuen’s household and, I am quite sure, in many other Asian households as well.

The same pot is also used for making specialty soups made with certain herbs, vegetables and meat ingredients. Known as ‘Lo-For Tong’ (Long-boiled soup) that requires few hours of simmering, different ingredients are combined to provide different holistic needs human bodies require due to climatic changes and what life throws at us from time to time. Caught a flu?  Not sleeping well? Overworked? Feeling weak?  There is a pot of soup for that!

According to traditional Chinese medicinal studies, the well-being of our bodies relies largely on the well-balance of energy and good blood flow. A healthy yin and yang equation can be garnered by consuming the right food at the right time.  Our bodies need a break from heavy eating and senseless consumption of junk food, alcohol and other substances regularly. Chinese believe wholesome soups or congees not only induced healthy effects into the body, it also helps cleanse the internal system and replenish vital energy loss which often are the reasons behind immune deficiency.

Quite a few Chinese restaurants here in Vancouver are known for their gourmet Lo-For Tong as a lure to attract diners. Do not let the remedial functions of these soups stop you from trying; they are more delicious than most of the soup broth you’ve tasted. Besides seafood, lean meats and soup bones, goji berries, dried longan nuts, honey dates, even papayas and pears play an important role in the pot of soup. So go ahead, take a sip!

For those who want to make a pot or two at home and have no clue what to get. T&T Supermarket and other Asian super stores offer lo-for soup ingredients already packaged for you to take home. Go to the meat cooler section or ask a store clerk to show you.