Hong Kong Dishes
Cha Siu This
is virtually Hong Kong’s national dish. The name literally means “fork
roast”. The tender fillets of pork are roasted and glazed in honey and
spices, and hung in the windows of specialist roast meat shops. Cha siu is classically served thinly sliced, with steamed rice and strips of vegetables.
Cha siu
Moon Cake Made
of moist pastry and various fillings, including lotus, taro, adzuki
bean, whole egg yolk and occasionally coconut, the delicacy also has a
quirky history: revolutionaries in imperial China used to smuggle
messages to each other hidden in a moon cake’s dense filling. Steamed Whole Fish In
Hong Kong, fish is almost always dressed very simply, using only peanut
oil, soya sauce, coriander and chives. To maximize freshness,
restaurants keep live fish in tanks, killing and preparing them to
order.
Steamed whole fish
Hainan Chicken Comprising
chunks of steamed chicken, served slightly warm or cold, and dipped in
an aromatic oil made with spring onions and ginger, this dish has become
everyday comfort food. It is traditionally accompanied by a rich
chicken broth, a few vegetables and rice steamed in chicken stock for
flavour. Brisket of Beef Requiring
up to eight hours of slow cooking, preparation of this Hong Kong
classic is an art. Households and restaurants guard their individual
recipes, but all involve the classic five Chinese spices, rock sugar and
tangerine peel. It’s served in an earthenware pot as a main course, or
as a topping for rice or noodles. Given its richness, it is particularly
enjoyed in winter. Water Spinach The
leafy, hollow-stemmed vegetable can be prepared with various
seasonings, from the quotidian oyster sauce to garlic and shrimp paste.
At its best when stir-fried with potent chillies and semi-fermented
tofu. Wontons Done
properly, this marvellous prawn and pork ravioli is poached in a stock
made from shrimp roe, aniseed and other spices, and served with fresh
egg noodles and soup.
Wonton soup
Fish Balls A
daily food for many Hong Kongers, either on skewers as snacks or served
with noodles in broth to make a meal. Traditional restaurants eschew
machine production methods, and still shape these balls of minced fish,
white pepper and other spices by hand, before poaching them in seafood
or chicken stock.
Fish drying, Cheung Chau
Salt and Pepper Crusted Squid You
may have encountered the disastrous and greasy travesty of fried squid
served up in Western Chinatowns. Banish that unpleasant memory from your
mind, and prepare to discover the gloriously crisp original. Fresh
squid is scored, lightly battered and flash fried with lots of salt,
white pepper, chilli and garlic. The result is an addictive combination
of tangy textures. Lai Wong Bau Chinese
bread is shaped into buns, not loaves, and steamed rather than baked –
giving it a beautifully soft and fluffy quality (no gritty whole grains
here). There are many varieties of sweet bun, but lai wong bau
is the reigning favourite, the kind of treat that children will clamour
for. These buns are filled with milk, eggs, coconut and sugar. Try them
piping hot on a cold winter morning.
Top 10 Dim Sum (Dumplings)
Har Gow Prawns wrapped in rice flour casing – like a very plump ravioli. Siu Mai Minced pork and shrimp parcels, topped with a dab of crab roe. Seen Juk Guen Soy pastry, crisp fried with a vegetable filling. A savvy alternative to the common spring roll. Gai Jaht Chicken and ham wrapped in soya bean sheets, served in rich sauce. Lohr Bahk Goh Mashed turnip, pan-fried with chives, dried shrimp and Chinese salami. Cheung Fun Rolls of rice pastry, filled with shrimp, pork or beef, and smothered in sweet soy. Chiu Chow Fun Gohr Soft, pasty-style dumplings filled with chopped nuts, minced pork and pickled vegetables. Chin Yeung Laht Jiu Green pepper stuffed with minced fish and prawns and served in black bean sauce. Ji Ma Wu Decadent, treacle-like dessert made from sugar and mashed sesame. It is served warm from the trolley. Ma Lai Goh Wonderfully light, steamed sponge cake, made with eggs and walnuts.
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