Food History

It’s impossible to do a useful post on any country’s food in a few hundred words, but of all the countries in the world, Chinese food is the most impossible to summarise in this way. Because of the Chinese diaspora and Chinese restaurants in other counties and a certain understanding of certain dishes in certain countries, we tend to go about our lives happily thinking that we know Chinese food. We don’t. Well, some people do. I don’t. I know some of the regional flavours and a few of the cooking styles and some of the historical influences and that’s enough to teach me that I really don’t know anything.

So, what do I give you here to celebrate the Chinese hosting the Olympics? A version of the Chinese Diaspora, of course. That has its own complex food history and it’s the one most of us know best.

Because the theme has mostly been students abroad, here are some recipes from Hong Kong that a Hong Kong student taught me twenty years ago, when homesick. I’ve gone for the easy dishes, because I’ve come to the end of my energies (how did I get posts to you this week? I crept out of bed and typed until my fingers were too tired, posted what I had done, then crept back into bed again – I made great use of WordPress, which allowed me to post ahead of time – I know they weren’t the best posts in the world, but the recipes are fabulous and it meant I can now creep into bed for the next 2 days, knowing, on Thursday, that you’re all OK for food till Sunday. All my friends have already scolded me, so you can just shake your head sorrowfully and enjoy the posts.)

Curry Triangles

Mix minced beef with curry powder and seasonings. Cut rice pastry into triangles and fill. Fold into small triangles, using beaten egg to seal the corners. Fry in hot oil.

Steamed Chicken

Bring chicken to room temperature. Shred fresh ginger and spring onion. Stuff chicken with it. If you want, you can also sprinkle salt in the stuffing, on the chicken and oil the skin of the chicken lightly. Steam the chicken for fifteen minutes (my friend used a wok as a double boiler – it reached a high heat quickly – you may need a bit longer cooking time if you’re not using a wok). Immediately after steaming, drain and rinse with cold water. Cut and serve with a sauce made by mixing the stuffing with oil and soy sauce.

Beef fillet

Slice beef very thin. Marinate for one hour in hoisin sauce, seasoning, sesame oil. Stir fry very thin slices of onion till brown. Add beef. Serve with lightly steamed Chinese cabbage with oyster sauce.