Chicken Jook

Food Editor: Lillian Chou
Father: Kuo Hung Chou, Pine Brook, NJ
Jook, a rice porridge, is eaten at breakfast or as a light lunch in many parts of Asia. Although my father came from Shanghai, he preferred the more flavorful Cantonese version my mother made. Breakfast with "Baba"("Daddy" in Mandarin) on Sundays meant a table adorned with many small dishes of condiments. One of his favorites was "thousand-year-old eggs" (pei dan), which are actually chicken or duck eggs preserved in a mixture of clay, lime, and salt.

Thousand-year-old eggs are available at Chinese markets, where they're sold individually or in packs of six. (Don't confuse them with "salted eggs," which are brined duck eggs.) Since their quality varies widely, it pays to buy a more expensive variety, if available.