Lick My Rice Bowl Clean

My favorite meal is my mom’s one dish meal, pot-roasted pork chop with eggs, over rice.

The pork chops are marinated overnight in soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pinch of sugar. Hot boiled eggs are browned in oil.   After pork chops were fried, simmer for 1 hour in homemade sauce. Add eggs to the mix. Simmer for anther hour. The end result —delicious mouth-watering tender pork chop with eggs soaked in meat juice.

Growing up, I would never have enough of it since everything was rationed: meat, egg, rice, flour and other basic things based on family size and needs; Family with elderly or babies was given higher quota. I remember at the time we were rationed about 16 eggs a month for a family of four.   To eat more eggs or meat, mom needed to hustle in a black market. Only on special occasions, we would have pot-roasted pork chop with eggs. So, what constitute rare occasions? Holidays. Birthdays. On my birthdays, I was allowed to have one egg and a half of a pork chop. By the end of the meal, I would lurk into the meat sauce. Drizzling it over rice, it is as delicious as meat. Even that, I had to share with my brother. Wait, that was kind. I had to fight him over the drips of meat sauce. But, in the end, it did not matter who won, we all licked our bowl clean and came off the dinner table satisfied.

The good old times are gone. Now, every time I do ask about mom’s special meal, everyone is worried about calories or fat. I cannot remember the last time I licked my rice bowl clean.  Sigh…

 

Writing 101, Day 10: Happy Special Occasion.

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