food. Delicious #4 : 24/7 Open air food stalls.

kisame (49)in Food & Travel • 4 years ago

Dear Steemit friends:

Today, I'll be introducing a special kind of restaurant, originating from Hong Kong, it is said that Dai Pai Dong can be found anywhere where there are many Chinese people.
Dai Pai Dang's are usually mobile, meaning that they can be easily moved from one place to the next. In the past, Hong Kong's Dai Pai Dang's were close to each other and arranged in rows. However, as the economy of Hong Kong grew prosperous, the customers began having more spending power and higher expectations of the environment. As a result some of these petite bourgeoisie food stalls have developed into higher end establishments with more traditional environments.

So, let's take a look inside one of these Dai Pai Dong's from Shenzhen!

The food in Guangdong likes to use soup as the main. Seafood is usually complimentary to the main, but it is all steamed to retain the fresh flavour as much as possible.

Red Bean Taro Gorgon Fruit Soup Pot

This soup pot looks like a creamy buttery kind of soup, in actual fact, it is composed of Red Beans, Taro and Gorgon fruit and then it is slowly cooked in a regular soup stock. Taro, Red Bean are all very nutritious and healthy for the body, but Gorgon Fruit is particularly good at tonifying the spleen and helping to eliminate excess moisture.
Guangdong is considered a coastal city and is very humid being both close to the equator as well as built up by the sea. This soup is perfect for these environments.

This steamed Chinese cabbage is bright and full of lustre. While simple, it's still very delicious and always an attractive side dish.

Scallops

These scallops were caught on the day so it tastes really fresh. When it is served, the vermicelli and the steam coming from the Scallops make them sparkle. Since they were steamed, the scallops are quite soft and full of flavour.

Prawns

This is quite an interesting combination, the prawns are served on top of fried Green Peppers. I never had this combination before, but I must admit the taste is quite unique and certainly very good.

In Guangdong, one kind of seafood may have more tens of different ways to prepare it. Below is perhaps the most well known and simplest method. The Cocktail Prawns. I think this way of preparing prawns is the best for retaining their freshness. Simply boil them in plain water, then use Soy sauce, Sugar, a little ginger to make the dipping sauce. The prawns taste exquisite prepared this way. This is also the way I've eaten Prawns since I was very little.

Fish

This fish along with it's gravy sauces are wrapped in tin foil then placed on a hot iron plate. When you open the foil, the juices and sauces are bubbling from the retained heat.

The tin foil is a great way to dissipate the temperature evenly cooking the fish, but also helps to retain the fish's form as it is cooked. As you can imagine, this results in the meat of the fish being very tender and full of flavour.

Night Blooming Cereus Stewed Soup

This is one of my favourite soups from Guangdong. It's cooked extremely slowly with the ingredients left in the soup to boil for a long time. According to legend, the soup has medicinal properties which can cure some kinds of light illnesses and is generally accepted as a good supplement for maintaining good health. Because Guangdong's atmosphere is humid, this soup is particularly well received. It's hard to believe that it's actually a flower that has been cooked in a soup.

This flower "Night Blooming Cereus" is quite hard to find outside of Guangdong, and that is why this dish is unique to this region. It supposedly helps the Lungs stay moist and helps with coughs.