MaMa's Recipe for Congee

Wash rice in rice cooker bowl.

Wash big chunks of lean meat and add to rice.

Coat both in oil and rub in some salt. Prepare at least an hour in advance.

Pour in boiling water. Optional: add dried scallops, lotus seeds.

Set rice cooker on congee setting.

Cantonese Idioms

My Cantonese relatives have a quiver full of idioms that are incisive and visceral. Some are even onomatopoeic.

1) Many knives but not one is sharp

Akin to "Jack of all trades but master of none". But a dull knife is a dangerous, unpredictable instrument, since it's hard to control. It's deprecating: You can do a lot. But you could do damage.


2) An 8 beat rhyme, literally:

You cry, You laugh,
Peeing wherever in the street

It's something to say when your kid's throwing a tantrum, all over the place or getting out of control in a hissy fit. I think the sardonic edge is supposed to counter and defuse the anger. The mockery is there so you'd take yourself less seriously. "Don't be ridiculous" just doesn't have the same effect.


3) Stick it on top of your head!

Meaning, I've run out of cupboard space. Wear it yourself!

Tough love, Cantonese.

Like?

Cantonese is a potent language. My sister explained the simple profundity of the question "Do you like it?" The Cantonese equivalent is a compact, two character phrase: Jong Yee.


First Character

Jong

means on target. If you are an archer and your arrow struck the middle ring it's JONG

Second Character

Yee

means ideal. Your dream.


Together, the phrase is "Have I targeted your ideal?"

It's a phrase that gets bandied around daily. You could ask your children "Jong Yee Mah?" over the dinner table. If the phrase was a piece of furniture, it'd be a kitchen stool.