Secret soup (3)

Continuing from Secret soup (2) .....

Porridge, congee, gruel, broth – they’re basically the same, cereal cooked as a soupy concoction, in some cases with some meat, fish or veggie added in.

The last two, gruel and broth, would suggest a thinner or lighter fare, while the former two convey a picture of more substantial bodies.

Porridge is of course a breakfast cereal of Scottish origin, while congee is more related to a Chinese meal, though strangely the latter is of Tamil origin.

Mind you, porridge also carries a naughty meaning, where the phrase ‘stirring the porridge’ implies taking one’s turn late in a group bonking session.

For some reason, perhaps because of the British influence (and hopefully not because of the group sex), English educated Penangites have preferred the word porridge more than congee.

It’s a choice not unlike that for either moi or chok. But then, one can understand the preference for the Chinese words because the former is Penang Hokkien whilst the other is Cantonese.

While my Penang mind perceives moi as rice porridge with the grains of rice intact and separated, and submerged in clear soup like micro submarines remaining quietly still at the sea bottom when sub-hunters prowl above - the claustrophic world of U-571 or Das Bot - good lord, just imagine Jürgen Prochnow in my kay moi, yuck! - it visualises chok as a sticky mixture of white grain-less rice paste not unlike the glue that political party faithful used to stick up their campaign posters.

I am of course not knocking the latter as it’s certainly great with pei-tan (century old eggs but made in 100 days - well, there's a 'century' of sorts!), or grilled chicken intestines, as in chee cheong chok.

I introduced Bruce to the latter, but strangely for a Scot he seemed put off by offal, such as heart, liver, kidneys, intestines, brains, giblets and tripe, all yummy stuff. He’s obviously one of those Scots who hadn’t eaten haggis.

But back to the issue, when it’s Penang style chicken porridge, it’s kay moi and never kay chok, thank you!

Oh, by the way, many people, even some Penangites, don’t know that the terminology of kay moi also carries a cryptic (Da Vinci-ish) social code for Penangites.

To be continued …