Christmas Foods Must Include Devil's Curry and Feng

When your family is Catholic and celebrates Christmas, you grow up with the flavors of the season that family cooks/caters. My family is a mish-mash of cultures, and as a result, the table on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are filled with different types of food. And to my relief, as a child, when different family members host these meals, they at least discussed the menus, resulting in different foods for each meal at different homes. Yay. These foods shaped my tastebuds, and my preferences for Christmas foods have been distinctly Asian. Hahaha.

To me, the Christmas season in Singapore isn't complete with a taste of homecooked curry debal a.k.a Devil's Curry and feng (pig offal curry). We're lucky to have had many scoops of those at the friends' homes. They make such wonderful iterations. We're so privileged to have had many invites this Christmas too. These parties are something to look forward to. When those huge Southeast Asian style metal pots come out on the stove, you know the kitchen means business. Whatever those pots churn out, it's seriously delicious. I'm highly resistant to having only festive turkey, ham and beef on the table. I'd love to have some spices (not necessarily chillies) in the food. The one thing I miss at Christmas in this part of the world, zero tamales. Hahaha. I love tamales. I also love hearty salads and Asian chillies. When all else fails, just give me damn good bread and cheese.

These huge gatherings with homecooked foods are the best. It's a huge endeavor by the hosts; it's a lot of hard work prepping and cleaning up, not to mention having to chat with the guests too. I can't never host this type of parties at home. It's more than the cooking. When one is an introvert, it's very hard to muster the will to do it. It's the pure effort and energy expended to welcome so many people at home. I'll never be able to do that. The sheer thought of having so many humans at my house make me cringe and feel like hiding inside the wardrobe. It certainly takes a super special generous heart to open one's home to guests during the festive season.