Slow Cooker Braised Garlic Spareribs

I recently had a hankering for some tender pork ribs and by that, I don't mean American style ribs with a sweet BBQ sauce. No, what I wanted was an Asian version with a salty, garlicky sauce perfect for drizzling over steamed white rice. I bought some spareribs over the weekend and today, was finally able to quell my craving. Best of all, these ribs cooked up in my slow cooker while I went about my day. I did spend about 20 minutes in the morning prepping the meat and putting the sauce together but after that, it was all on auto pilot. These ribs made for a fantastic dinner along with some sauteed green beans and steamed rice. Easy peasy.

Chinese Root Vegetable Soup

In my earlier childhood days, my parents, brother and I lived with my maternal grandmother ("Por Por" as I used to call her). She owned a rather large house and therefore, had plenty of room for us. My parents didn't explain why we moved in with her but I'm assuming it was so that she could help care for my brother because they were both working. My mom was a career-minded woman and owned a small computer business so she kept long hours at the office, as did my dad who held a government position at the time. Because of my mom's hectic schedule, she was unable to cook so that was left to my grandma who happened to love cooking. All the nostalgia involving home cooked meals when I was a kid comes from the dishes that my grandma prepared for us on a daily basis.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Corn Congee

Congee is a popular dish in my household. We love congee at any time of the day be it plain congee eaten in place of rice and accompanied by a few Asian dishes, or congee that's been flavored with meat and vegetables.

If you're not familiar with congee, it is basically rice that's been boiled down with water to yield a thick and creamy consistency. My Cantonese maternal grandma would call it 'jook' and my Hokkien paternal grandma would call it 'moy'. Besides being a popular breakfast food in many Asian cultures, it's also commonly fed to babies and toddlers. I practically grew up on this stuff.  Congee is such a comfort food too. When someone in my family is sick, congee is often eaten because it is soothing and easy to digest.