Chef’s pick: Four dishes to eat when you’re sick | Canada Voices

One of the greatest pleasures of cooking is feeding the people you love. When you’re sick, one of the biggest comforts is to be fed.

I talked to chefs and food writers, people who cook for a living, to share the foods they turn to when family and friends are under the weather. Many cited dishes their parents made for them when they weren’t feeling well; all find comfort in one-bowl meals that are warm and nourishing, and can be eaten in bed or on the couch, with a spoon.

Lino Oliveira

Adelino (Lino) Oliveira, culinary director and partner of SABOR Restaurant Group in Edmonton, says he has fond memories of his mother making the soup, canja, for the family when they were sick, but even fonder memories of being able to make it for her when she was feeling under the weather – he recalls her instructing him how to make it while she was tucked into bed when he was about 10 years old.

This recipe is symbolic of his early years in the kitchen at home in Portugal, and is now on the menu at his new eatery, Atrium, nourishing Edmontonians on frigid Prairie winter days.

Danai Hongwanishkul

Born in Bangkok and raised in Toronto, chef Danai Hongwanishkul has created a menu around a range of culinary influences, from Thai street food and classic French technique to bold Southern and Japanese flavours, at the Kingfisher Pacific Resort & Spa in Courtenay, B.C.

“My family is part of the Hokkien diaspora coming out of Fujian Province in China that immigrated all over southeast Asia, my mom from Thailand and my dad from Burma,” says Hongwanishkul. “Whenever I had the flu or stomach problems, my mom used to cook me muay, which is the Hokkien word for congee.”

Andrea Harling

“I’ve been cooking this recipe for red lentil chili for years, and it’s become my go-to when I am not feeling 100 per cent,” says chef Andrea Harling of the Sweatered Hen in Calgary. “It’s simple, comforting and deeply familiar … the kind of dish that fills the kitchen with warmth and makes everything feel a little easier.” This recipe makes a large batch, and it freezes well – Harling says she finds it handy to have on hand, as life with two young kids is busy. “Our family and friends have come to expect it to be dropped off when they are having a rough go. A batch of fresh red lentil chili and a loaf of sourdough on your door stop can make anyone feel better.”

Ozoz Sokoh

“There’s nothing that nurses me back to health, physically and emotionally, better than pepper soup,” says Ozoz Sokoh, a food explorer, culinary anthropologist and the author of Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria. “This belly-lingual soup speaks to multiple needs – healing and comfort, alongside being staples of home, celebration and street kitchens. The version I grew up on in Warri, a town on the southern coast of Nigeria, uses a host of spices. Think Yemeni Hawaij-spiced soup, Vietnamese pho, Thai tom yum and South Indian rasam.”

Sokoh says she often creates riffs on her original with added vegetables – leafy greens such as spinach, or carrots, pumpkin and squash, in chunks or blended, and different flavour notes such as coconut milk, tamarind paste, fresh ginger and garlic. She says bite-sized proteins work well; you can make this with plant-forward proteins, meat or poultry, mushrooms or seafood, and adjust the cooking times accordingly.