Comfort food

My daughter Louise woke up feeling unwell yesterday – she’s having a little cold. Nothing too serious, but I wanted her to stay at home and get some rest. I could see a ray of light glowing with happiness in her eyes when she asked: ‘Will I get Chinese rice for lunch?’ It is our family tradition to have ginger fried rice when someone gets ill. It’s our equivalent of chicken noodle soup for the soul. Growing up in Hong-Kong, Chinese herbal medicine was a way of living. There was always a soup boiling in the clay pot with goji berries, ginseng, lotus seeds, red dates to name a few. Every morning my mother gave me a spoon of bird-nest soup (delicacy in Chinese cuisine filled with minerals) before going to school. Nutrition has a purpose – natural preventive medicine.

Ginger does wonder to health, and I always make sure to have a few roots at home. Whether I use it as a spice for cooking or grate it for drinks, it’s my miracle ingredient. It acts as an anti-oxidant, has powerful enzymes for digestion, eliminates toxins and purifies blood. So next time you feel tired and unwell, try this drink: Boil one liter of water in a pan. Add 3 tbsp grated fresh ginger, 3 slices of ginger, 5 tbsp honey and set aside to cool. Drink this rejuvenating ‘potion’ all day long – you will be amazed with the results. My mother always said that ginger kills the bad fire caused by inflammatory food. That ‘bad fire’ is the source to all health problems.

Louise was very happy to have the ginger fried rice served in her princess bed – pure comfort food filled with goodness. It is so easy to make and takes a few minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp grated ginger root (I like to put 5 but it’s a bit strong for kids)
250 grs left-over cooked white rice
2 eggs
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 shallot (chopped finely)
3 tbsp canola or ground-nut oil

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a high heat. Fry the shallots, garlic and grated ginger for two minutes. Add the rice and stir well. Make a well in the middle of the pan and break the eggs in the center. Mix the eggs and cook in a ‘scrambled eggs’ style, then mix all the ingredients together in the pan. Add soya sauce and fry for two more minutes. Serve immediately.

34 thoughts on “Comfort food

  1. Hello, Mimi! I discovered your blog a few days ago via A Cup Of Jo. It’s wonderful! The way you cherish good ingredients, all the stories behind your recipes, the pictures… You really inspired me to try a few new things in the kitchen and to make some little changes to my own recipes.
    I wanted to try your ginger “potion” and I have a question. Do you peel the ginger?

    1. Bonjour from Médoc! Welcome to my blog, so glad you enjoy it and hopefully it will inspire to to try a few dishes! Yes, I do peel the ginger. I am actually having this drink right now as I have a mild cold:) Have a lovely day! Mimi

      1. Thank you, Mimi! I prepared half a liter yesterday to give it a try… and I can’t wait to have some more 😉 Wishing you a good day from Munich! Eulalia

  2. I LOVE ginger! Also, if you have a sore throat, Manuka honey works wonders. As for Chinese medicine, although I also grew up with the ubiquitous pot of herbal soup simmering on the stove, I have never been a huge fan. There is much to be said for healthful nutrition, but I just cannot condone a belief system that advocates, in this day and age, the use of, say, rhino horn or tiger bones for so-called medicinal purposes.

  3. Dear Mimi,

    I love your blog, and will try out as many recipes as possible.
    When seeing pictures of your sweet children, eating all those different meals, I could get slightly jealous, as my daughter (20 months) would never even try them, altough I constantly offer various, delicious food to her. at the and, all she wants to eat is butter, noodles and chocolate.
    Any tips for me? Thanks so much!

    1. Bonjour Erika! Thank you for your kind words. Regarding your daughter, here’s a tip you should try. With my daughter Gaïa (she’s 2), whenever she refuses a certain dish, I ask her older sisters or brother to eat the dish in front of her and tell her how delicious it is. She immediately wants to try, as all she wants to do is to be like her older siblings! It always works 🙂 If your daughter does not have siblings, just ask a few friends to come over with their kids and try this trick. I also find that whenever a toddler refuses food, I say ‘OK then, you’re not eating because you are not hungry’, then I place the dish aside. I don’t suggest any other choice. Shortly after, I usually get a positive response and get a request to serve the same food again. It’s all about patience and not offering an alternative. It works for my family! Mimix

      1. Dear Mimi,

        thank you so much for these tips. Unfortunately she is our only child, But I will try your first tip with some neighbour’ s children.
        And you are right to not to offer any other food choice, I know that is a mistake I made in the past, As she is quite slim I always feared she might not become enough vitamins etc. But I will definetly follow your route now,
        Guess what, right now I will go and cook the ginger fried rice, I bought ginger today and I am looking forward to it the whole morning. Have a great day!

        Thanks again,
        Erika

  4. Hey Mimi!

    First of all, your blog is amazing 🙂 I found it yesterday via mrporter.com and diretly fell in love with it. Since my girlfriend and I went to Paris last winter, we fell in love with French cuisine!

    Today we immediately tried ourselves on this easy but super tasty meal. Do you have any tips on how to cut the ginger best? Do you use any special tools?
    And, do you know how to recognize a fresh ginger in the supermarket?

    Thanks in advance and keep on doing your great work with this blog! I’m pretty sure lots of people get their inspiration for cooking from here 😉

    Greets, Marc from Hamburg

    1. Hi Marc! Thank you so much for your kind words! To answer your questions, I ususally slice the ginger very finely, but I would also recommend using a cheese grater to grate the ginger (use the larger holes to grate). To recognize fresh ginger, it’s best to choose a hard/firm ginger with no trace of mold (it shouldn’t be soft). Most supermarkets sell fresh ginger. Thanks for all your encouragement, and enjoy the recipe! Mimix

  5. I so enjoy your beautiful posts. Your photos as well as your wording inspire me to want to try your recipes.
    This picture of your daughter reminds me so much of my daughter at that age (now in her thirties).
    Kudos to you for being an inspiration and for being kind enough to share your lovely life, great ideas and knowledge with others. Thank you so much!

    Sincerely,
    Sherrie

  6. I made this today because I feel sick. Thank you for the quick and delicious recipe. I have a feeling it will pop up often on my table now 🙂

  7. What an inspiring blog! I love all the pictures and your recipes! Do you know that there’s also a Chinese text about your blog on wechat? Médoc must be beautiful, any chance moving back to HK? 🙂

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