The beginning of summer for our family is marked by the end of school, Jeffrey’s birthday and going to a baseball game. Jeffrey’s first baseball game, he was barely 3 months old and we took him to the last game of the season at Candlestick Park. It was bittersweet, we watched the game not knowing if the Giants would still be in San Francisco the next season. Fortunately the team was saved by new ownership committed to keeping the team in the City and building a new stadium. So every year we have continued the tradition of going to a game for Jeffrey’s birthday. With the Giants losing I decided to walk around the stadium and absorb the atmosphere.
No, It’s AT&T Park. Huh, coulda swore it was heaven.
I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about my other obsession.
Sports
I love watching sports, playing sports, sports movies, talking sports…you get it. My first love is baseball, I live and die by the San Francisco Giants. When I think about my childhood a couple of things come to mind, going to games at the Stick with my Dad, watching Willie Mays patrol centerfield, and watching the fog roll in off the bay right onto the field. Field of Fog, not Dreams.
My Dad and I would take Muni and get to the park and watch bp. Back in the day, the outfield at the Stick was bordered by a chain-linked fence, not the stands that came when they enclosed it for football. As the sun set and night settled in, you could hear the wind whistle as it came into the park and swirled around the stadium.
In the fall we watched the Niners on TV while eating big bowls of steaming hot jook (rice soup) dotted with tiny pork meatballs and green onions. The perfect combo for those brisk autumn days. My passion for sports & watching the hometown boys is inextricably linked to memories of hanging with my Dad. Favorite movie? Field of Dreams of course, well gotta wrap it up, going to have a catch with Jamie.
Getting to the Game
If you have not been to a game at At&T Park, even if you aren’t a baseball fan, go, it’s always a good time, and the view is amazing!
Jook, also known as congee or rice soup. Perfect football season food, jook is comfort food. I make it when it’s cold outside, when anyone is sick and when they had had their wisdom teeth pulled!
Ultimate comfort food, also known as jook or congee, rice soup is soul food. This is my Dad's Cantonese version. Made with rice, chicken stock, potatoes and garnished with lettuce, shredded chicken and, scallions.
Course Breakfast, dinner, lunch, Soup
Cuisine Asian
Keyword chicken stock, congee, Jook, rice
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Ingredients
1cupuncooked long grain ricemedium or short grain will work too
1tspsalt
1Tvegetable oil
2-3slicesfresh ginger
1quartchicken stock1 quart water
1 quart wqter
1/8cuprice wine
2chicken legs (whole leg)skinned if desired
1russet potatocut in large chunks
Meatballs
1/3poundground porkor mixture of pork and chicken 1:1 or ground chicken
Heat oil in a stockpot, saute ginger slices for about 30 seconds, add rice and salt and saute for a couple of minutes. Add stock, water, wine, and chicken legs. Bring to a boil then lower to a strong simmer. Do not stir. Let cook for approximately an hour and a half until the rice breaks down and the soup looks a little thick.
At the 60 minute mark, remove chicken and set aside to cool. Add potatoes to jook. Give it a good stir, bring it back to a simmer to finish.
Da Meatballs: My favorite addition to jook is little meatballs made with pork that my father added just before serving.
Add seasonings to the ground pork add 1 T chopped salted preserved turnip (chung choy).
Drop rounded teaspoons of the pork mixture into the rice soup, and continue to cook until meatballs are cooked through, approximately 5-10 minutes.
Shred chicken and serve alongside other garnishes.
Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions and shredded lettuce. Serve immediately.