In the Bible, Jacob robs his brother Esau of his birthright in exchange for a bowl of lentil stew. This simple dish was a symbol of survival and inheritance at the time, and it’s an iconic scene of greed and cunning that inspires many interpretations even today.

Jacob’s lentil stew recipe (Serves 6 to 8) Ingredients

– 1/2 cup olive oil
– 6 onions, diced small
– 400 g lamb, large cubes
– 2 blushes
– 2 stalks celery
– 1 bell pepper
– 400 g lentils
– 2 to 3 cups water
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Jacob’s lentil stew recipe cooking process

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the onion and sauté. Be careful not to brown the onions, and sauté only until softened.
2. Add the meat (preferably lean meat) and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, wash and chop the vegetables.
3. Pour 2 cups of water into the meat, then add the cut vegetables and lentils. Simmer gently over low heat until the lentils are tender, about 1.5 hours.
4. When the lentils are done, season with salt and pepper to taste. Shake the pot occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom, or add 1 cup of water.
5. Ladle the stew into bowls or plates while it’s still hot and serve with a cucumber salad.

Porridge

Porridge is a food made by boiling grains for a long time to make the grains mushy. Types include red bean porridge, white porridge, vegetable porridge, and abalone porridge. Have you ever made porridge for yourself when you’ve been sick or have a cold? Maybe you’ve had a stomach ache and all you want to do is stay in bed, but no one’s home and you have to drag your heavy body to the kitchen to stir the pot. Or maybe you miss the warmth of your mother’s touch as she seasoned the porridge and finally cut the nori to put on top.
In the East, porridge is often eaten during times of illness to aid digestion. You’ll often hear stories of red bean porridge being eaten on the winter solstice, or sad stories of people eating porridge because they didn’t have enough rice to cook. But I’ve always been curious about when and how porridge was used in the West, and what stories it appears in, so I did some research, and the one that stood out to me the most was the biblical story of porridge.
The story begins with the birth of Isaac’s firstborn son, Esau, and his secondborn son, Jacob. In ancient Hebrew society, the first-born son was always the favorite to inherit his father’s inheritance and blessings, so the second-born son was always the underdog. Jacob’s name provides redemption here. The name Jacob means “one who grabs the heel,” but more importantly, it also means “one who deceives” or “one who usurps the rights of others. As Jacob grows up, he realizes how important the rights of the firstborn are, and he begins to see his opportunity.
Blessed is the man who waits for his opportunity. Finally, Jacob’s opportunity arrives: his brother Esau returns home from hunting, clutching his stomach. Jacob takes advantage of his brother’s fatigue and proposes a deal: He will give him the birthright of his firstborn son in exchange for his life. Exhausted, Esau is so hungry that he promises to hand over the birthright, and that day Jacob gets what he wanted: the porridge he cooked that day was not just a dish, but a symbol of desire.
But Jacob’s desire doesn’t stop there. In ancient Hebrew society, it was customary for a father to give his firstborn son a blessing on his deathbed, the greatest gift and happiness a child could receive from his parents. Jacob wanted to receive this blessing in place of his brother, so he tricked his father’s dark eyes by dressing up as his brother and preparing delicious food. This way, Jacob received his father’s blessing instead of his brother’s. This is how porridge is used in the Bible as an important means for Jacob to gain the birthright.
Even the simple dish of porridge can have multiple meanings depending on the context. Just rice and water makes a basic white porridge, abalone makes abalone porridge, vegetables make vegetable porridge, and red beans make red bean porridge. The meaning and use of porridge changes depending on the ingredients. While my mother’s porridge is considered a warm and comforting panacea, Jacob’s porridge symbolizes greed.
As I thought about porridge, I realized that it also parallels human nature. Children are like a blank slate, white as porridge, with infinite possibilities, and it’s up to us as parents to decide what to put into those possibilities. You can bathe them in pink love and raise them to be caring and compassionate, or you can fill them with praise and encouragement and raise them to be confident. Conversely, a child who is abused with violence and coercion can have their life ruined because of it.
Just as a chef cooks porridge with love, a parent can sculpt a child’s life. I want to be the kind of parent who reads books and builds an education, so that one day I can draw wonderful dreams on my child’s blank page.