October 26, 2022
October is about to end and we are fastly approaching November when we feel a real cold season. Although it sometimes fluctuates due to climate change, the cold breeze is still in the air. The nights are becoming longer than the days. Morning skies are more greyish than brighter. But I enjoy the chilly air and wind whispers, especially in the early morning. Furthermore, the weather is ideal for going for a walk outside without getting tanned. There is no need for an umbrella as well. It is more convenient for me.
As the outside temperature drops each day, so do our body temperatures. Alongside is the craving for food that can alleviate the cold and keep my body warm. This is the season when I most likely look for champorado, a Filipino chocolate porridge cooked in coconut milk and cocoa. This is when I crave more warm food, especially soups.
However, Hong Kong soups are not the same as Filipino soups. However, there are some foods that I prefer to eat during cold season. In fact, I'm craving them right now. One of these days, I'll go to a restaurant and eat something I've really missed.
Below are the foods I tried here in Hong Kong that I like eating during the cold season.
Hotpot
What I missed the most was hotpot, also known as shabu-shabu. This is certainly the best way to eat warm food in the winter because the ingredients are cooked right on the table in a pot of boiling soup that keeps the food warm.
The restaurant I like visiting for hot pot offers unlimited hotpot food where I could have a feast in a certain period. All varieties of hot pot food are there, from meat, dumplings, sausages, vegetables, noodles, and even desserts, and appetizers.
Porridge
During the cold season, I prefer porridge for breakfast, but it takes time to prepare. But if I really wanted it, I wouldn't mind the preparation time.
Here in Hong Kong, they call porridge, congee. There are a plethora of congee flavors here in Hong Kong cooked traditionally, and topped with different toppings. They are usually paired with Chinese traditional food like rice rolls, dough sticks, turnip cake, and other fried Chinese recipes.
Soup
Who doesn't like soup in cold weather anyway? I so missed Filipino chicken tinola. So I would sometimes cook to satisfy my cravings. There's a version I made with some ingredients usually found in Chinese recipes, and I somehow liked the taste. It's a chicken soup with goji berries, star anise, cinnamon, dried chili, and peppercorn. The aroma is just so perfect.
As a veggie lover, I also prefer the no-meat soup. There's this spinach with tofu balls soup I cooked for the Power Plant (Vegan) cooking challenge. All ingredients are natural and consist of spinach, pumpkin, mushroom, coriander, and fried tofu balls.
You guys should try this. You can find the recipe here.
One more soup I want to eat again is this duck soup with rice on the bottom. I wasn't if this is a Chinese or Thai recipe. But, because it's a limited dish in this particular restaurant, I'm not sure if I can still eat this type of soup.
Udon noodles
There are many different types of noodle recipes, but my favorite is udon. Udon, which originated in Japan, is a thick noodle that can be cooked with broth or simply fried. I enjoy the simple cooking style of Genki Sushi Restaurant. The broth is mild and similar to miso soup. It can also be topped with sesame seeds, red chili flakes, and other condiments from the Genki table.
This rice vermicelli recipe paired with chicken thigh barbecue is also one of my favorites. It also comes with my favorite green tea.
Red bean drink and dessert
I like red beans because I used to eat them when I was younger. This is known as monggo in our dialect or mung beans in English. Some people dislike the taste and smell of mung beans, but I enjoy them. Furthermore, it is high in protein and other nutrients, making it an excellent meat substitute.
There is a restaurant that serves red bean drinks and desserts. I have the option of adding milk or not. I'll just have to deal with the consequences later, lol. Actually, the recipe is quite simple. Based on the taste, I assume the red beans are only boiled with ginger and brown bar sugar. Some people also add sago, which goes well with the red beans. The rice vermicelli noodles pictured above are topped with roasted duck.
So these are some of the hot food I like eating every cold season. But pardon me if you feel hungry while looking at them 🤣.
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Those foods that you have decided to eat are really delicious, in these moments what I have wanted to eat for many days are sweets, hot chocolate, chocolate cake, or well, I have also wanted to eat pizza or drink beer hahaha it is coming the days where we in our country make many parrandas, so an important element in the holidays are food, sharing with family, music and spend great moments, you made me remember that hahaha