Hong Kong Day #4: More Food! "Poon Choi" aka Big Bowl Feast

stepbie (63)in #food • 7 years ago

More food, food and food in Day #4 in Hong Kong!

Today I want to introduce you what we called "Poon Choi". In the Chinese name, we called it "Poon", that means a "Bowl", or simply "Big Bowl", I have also found a couple more translations online, some called it "Big Bowl Feast", "Basin Cuisine", or "Chinese Casserole". It is origin from Guangdong, one of the China's Southern province, inside the wall villages. I remember back then when I was young, the only time we can enjoy this transitional dish is by invitations, and majority of the time we enjoyed this delicious dish inside the Wall Villages. Nowadays, we can pretty much buy it, or even DIY. I recently heard that there are now Japanese Poon Choi, Curry Poon Choi and Western Poon Choi.

Do you know: What is a Wall Villages?

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the shore of Guangdong suffered majorly from pirates. Therefore, the Punti and Hakka communities around the shore of Hong Kong would build walls around them so that they can fight against the pirates.

Fanling 1.jpg

History of Poon Choi:

Poon Choi has existed in Hong Kong for more than 700 years! Originated in the late Song Dynasty, and created in the New Territories in Hong Kong. During the wars between Mongolia and Song China, Emperor Bing fled to Hong Kong (960-1279AD). The dish contains seasonal and quality food, i.e. fish, and chicken. The first Poon Choi was born during war times. The dish still remains popular til this day and mainly during the Lunar Chinese New Year, as it signifies abundance in the coming year.

Meaning of Poon Choi:

Money: Fortune, Treasure, and Prosperity.
Family: Unity, closeness of family.

Normal Ingredients:

Pork, Beef, Chicken, Duck, Abalone, Fish Maw, Prawn, Dried Mushroom, Fish Balls, Squid, Dried Shrimp, Pig Skin, Bamboo Shoots, Vegetables, Chinese Radish, Dried Scallops, Fatt Choy (black moss)...... Everything within the Poon Choi is prepared separately and then being layered within the basin.

Do you know: You think it is as simple of layering everything on top of each other?

You are wrong! Attentive layering of the ingredients contributes to the taste of the whole dish, as the juice of some ingredients would make the other ingredients in the bottom tastier! For example, relatively dry ingredients such as seafood are placed on the top while the other ingredients that can absorb sauces will be placed in the bottom of the basin. That allows the sauces to be able to flow down to the bottom.

We hope you enjoy our introduction of this traditional Hong Kong dish!