An Old Family Recipe ~ Comfort Food dinner and it’s cheap!

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I got a craving for comfort and looked around my kitchen – what did I have on hand? Ummm… a can of Libby’s Corn Beef, green onions, garlic, one egg, and Uncle Ben’s Boil in a Bag white rice…. ahhhhh…..

    History & Ingredients

This used to be an incredibly cheap dinner. I was stunned at the local market’s prices for Corn Beef – close to $7.00 for a can! It used to be about $3.00 – still pretty close if you’re willing to tackle the crowds at WalMart. Green onions in Washington State now about .99 cents a bunch – you’ll need two bunches finely chopped. Uncle Ben’s Boil in Bag rice… well, if you haven’t heard of this stuff, oh, you are in for a treat. No burnt pans, 10 minutes and you have perfect white rice. As a P.O.W. of the Japanese, my father was very picky about how his rice was prepared. Curiously, all four of his children had four different ways of preparing their rice until Uncle Ben’s came out with this Boil in a Bag. Shoot! Couldn’t be easier. Don’t forget some minced garlic (I tend to forget).

    Preparation

So, you prepare the rice in a pot. In a skillet, you open the can of Corn Beef, dump it in a skillet with a little bit of vegetable oil, break it up, toss in the two bunches of diced green onions, and just before serving, take a raw egg, break it and throw it in the pan with the garlic, corn beef and scramble briskly. Serve over the rice with soy sauce. Serve with ice cold water or beer. Nothing else works.

Depending on your appetite, serves 2-4 people. Really good and strangely, a big hit at pot luck parties!

16 thoughts on “An Old Family Recipe ~ Comfort Food dinner and it’s cheap!”

  2. My this does sound good. Not to contradict you, but a glass of good ol’ southern xweet tea with a squirt of lemon would be good too. I was appalled at the cost of corned beef as well. We have a chain of stores, Roses, used to be called dime stores. Excellent prices. Went in for a trifle, came out with 5 cans of corned beef….3.79 can and not the small can either. I am going to give this recipe a go. Sounds yummy, easy, and knowing the family part of it makes it extra special.

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    • While I hesitate to give advice to such a chef as yourself, Kanzen, I made it last night using my new cast iron skillet. Still learning the tricks to cast iron – in this case, I should have turned up the heat when scrambling the egg in at the last minute – it was more gooey than scrambled – …. grin – living and learning~! Let me know what you think of it. 🙂

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  3. Wow, Huntie, to in passing mention your father was a P.O.W. and the rice comment, was stunning. So powerful a comment I couldn’t pass it over without stopping by and giving you another big cyber hug. The recipe sounds like a great warm weather comfort dish. It’s so interesting how things come together when we look around our kitchens and up pops those memories. ❤

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    • Paulette, it is actually a wonderful dish in cold and warm weather. I have written about my Dad several times and his having been a P.O.W. He came home with a love of white rice and a few dishes, of which this is one. There is another we call “Ponsit,” which is ground beef, garlic, green onions, fresh tomatoes, celery, bean sprouts served over white rice that is simply outstanding.

      He also taught us to love Tuna Sashimi, which is sliced uncooked high grade tuna dipped in a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi (horseradish) and we always eat it with a bowl of hot white rice…

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  7. You’re right – this is comfort food at it’s best!!
    And quite affordable, even here in the suck heap.
    Often, when the kids were younger and still living with me, we would have this as a Friday night supper with one difference, we used a tin of creamed sweetcorn in it.
    Served with a bit of chutney on either bread or rice as you – easy, quick, affordable and it fills you up just perfectly!

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  8. Oh no, I wish you hadn’t mentioned corned beef. I bought a piece the other day, cooked it last night and had hot with mash spuds, green beans, carrots and parsley/mustard white sauce. I went back for seconds and thirds (it was only a small plate). And then today I haven’t been able to keep away from it – it’s the salty taste, I’m so addicted. Just as well I only bought a small piece, a little over a kilogram. The leftovers were supposed to be for cold sliced meat for a few days. So I sit here now, bloated with all my share in me. The recipes sound great, and I admire your dad for not holding grudges against the food he had as POW.

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    • Two great appetites – you and me, Christine! Your last comment re my Dad liking the food – I remember thinking the same thing. Caveat though – they did not get this food in the POW camps – they were lucky to get a bowl of rice. I believe these adaptions came later or maybe before the War while stationed in the Philippines, using their rations.

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