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I’m not a big fan of rice to start with so when the weather is stifling warm like it is these days, I find rice even less palatable. So sometimes I opt to cook porridge instead. It’s nice and soft and so much easier to swallow. Served with a few simple savory dishes, it makes a very rustic meal.

In the old days, the working class Chinese survived on these sorts of meals. This was considered a poor man’s meal because the plain porridge and savory dishes are the simplest and least elaborate of meals.

We have salted egg which you boil and de-shell just like a normal egg.

As for the anchovies, just fry in a little oil till crispy. They don’t smell fishy and they’re very rich in calcium with the bones intact. In fact, when my kids were just getting into solids, I used to crush up the anchovies into a coarse powder and sprinkle into their porridge.

Then we have the main dish which is mooi choy, a sweetened preserved vegetable, finely chopped. Just fry it with some oil, finely chopped pork and fresh red chillies and a drizzle of dark, thick soy sauce. No need to add salt as the mooi choy is sweetly saltish.

The plain porridge combined with the sweetness of the mooi choy and the savory of the other 2 dishes makes this one of my favorite meals for a hot day!

Since we’re all poorer for rising fuel prices, this is quite an appropriate meal . But actually if you were to have this meal outside, it can be quite costly these days.