Comfort food for cold & flu season

[Gaia]

The dishes I know from firsthand experience are Canadian chicken noodle soup, Japanese okayu (rice porridge), and Italian pasta in bianco (pasta, parmesan, olive oil).

I'm curious about what other sick folks around the world are eating.What are different cultures versions of comfort foods that are prepared for people who are sick and feeling under the weather?

I'm more interested in the coughing/runny-nose/exploding-head sort of sick... Flu season is right around the corner in Québec Canada...



Gaia

[Elainie]

As a child I was always given green split pea soup when I had a cold (with croutons I might add). For the past 30 years I've stuck to miso soup (with ginger) and I sometimes will add dried shiitake mushrooms and astragalus to the broth as well for extra immune factors. Sometimes a congee is nice (I put dark sesame oil on as well as spring onions as a condiment, rice wine too).

[Truglivartna]

That symptomology is always my signal to do a 4 - 5 day fast using several 4-oz glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice (or watered-down grape juice) during morning and afternoon; for "dinner" a bowl of chicken/vegetable broth simmered for several hours. Discard the solid food and bones, drinking slowly the broth. Several glasses of cold water during the day as well. Great purifier!

Kit

[AriG]

This is not a preemptive recipe, but more after the bug already has you:

Hot Lemon Stew:

2 Whole Lemons
1 large onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Cut lemons in half, discard seeds
Peel and quarter a strong onion
Bake lemons and onion in 1/2" of water in oven at 375 until tender and slightly browned
Remove lemons and onion, put a half lemon and a quarter onion in a mug
Take the reserve liquid from the roasting pan and add sugar and salt and 4 full cups of water. Bring to a boil on the stove top.

Once at a rolling boil, remove liquid and add to mug or cup containing lemon and onion.

Makes four servings.

Tastes Weird.

Works like a charm :)