comfort food
noun
Definition of COMFORT FOOD
: food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appealExamples of COMFORT FOOD
- Pot roast and fried chicken are my favorite comfort foods.
- a restaurant that serves comfort food
nos·tal·gia
noun
\nä-ˈstal-jə, nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl-\Definition of NOSTALGIA
1 : the state of being homesick : homesickness2 : a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition; also : something that evokes nostalgia
Now, having these definitions, it seems pretty strange that I consider Persian and Ethiopian food to be within the realm of comfort food considering that I AM CHINESE and that I WAS RAISED IN THE US. To be exact, I was raised in Southern California. And that may explain some of this. Lots of immigrants from different cultures flock to SoCal and I feel rather privileged to have been raised in an environment where there are so many different cultures. There’s something special, seeing a little of where people come from. However, I didn’t have any Iranian or Ethiopian friends growing up. I certainly didn’t eat any of their food. I did have some friends who hailed from Saudi Arabia and their mother introduced me to some of their cuisine, which is similar to Persian cuisine, but I didn’t eat it regularly. So, how did I end up adopting some of their cuisine as something I crave when going through some rough times? No idea.
But this
is delicious.
So is this.

(This was from a Lebonese place, which is similar to Persian cuisine. I actually like the cuisine from that whole area.)
But don’t get me wrong, I also really like
Left to right, top to bottom:
- stuffed fudge cupcakes
- flavorful burritos of all varieties (this one is from Wahoo’s)
- cheeseburger with whole grilled onion and chopped chilis with animal fries (In-n-Out)
- happy pho…and unhappy pho too…and lots of different types of Asian food, but I could only find a picture of happy pho (a local pho shop whose name I’ve forgotten)
- pizza of all types (this one is from Neo in DFW)
- eggs in a basket…with soy sauce, because I’m pretty sure there’s a rule about only being allowed soy sauce with fried eggs
Now, why did I put up all these pictures of food that I find comforting? I’m not particularly hungry. I suppose this is another anger management technique? Only, this one can make you pretty fat and more angry. Probably better only follow this advice sparingly. It is delicious though.