Poon Choi (Hakka) | Pen Cai | 盆菜 [Nyonya Cooking]
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Poon Choi or Pen Cai started off as a traditional Chinese New Year dish in Hong Kong and is often eaten in both Hakka and Cantonese homes throughout the world. Do not let the long list of ingredients puts you off. Preparation is actually very simple.
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Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe: www.nyonyacook...
When it comes to Chinese New Year, there is a myriad of dishes to prepare for the family. What started off as a tradition during the Song dynasty, 'Poon Choi' remains a popular dish used to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong and countries like Malaysia and Singapore. 'Poon Choi' is a dish with at least 9 main ingredients tells the history of an emperor who fled to a village where the villagers gathered all their prized ingredients to serve the emperor. As the emperor had his whole army with him, the villagers had to serve the food in wooden wash basins. Until today, there are villages still serving this dish using wooden wash basins which would need to be soaked before using, to avoid spillage. These days, you would be able to find "bucket dish" in big metal bowls, porcelain bowls or even clay pots.
The concept of making 'Poon Choi' is simple as it consists only three layers. It begins with the bottom-most layer where the ingredients would soak all the flavours from the middle and top layers. The second layer consists of ingredients with lots of flavours and gravy. The last layer which is also the upper most layer consists of drier ingredients which are usually more expensive.
While there are many variations to this special dish, I like to keep it traditional yet simple. The only dish which takes a longer time to prepare is the stew pork belly. The taste is extremely appetizing as it soaks the flavours of the Chinese vinegar and all the spices. After simmering for an hour, you will be greeted with tender and succulent pork belly. The gravy tends to be slightly thicker after a while due to the fats from the pork belly. As it sits on the second layer, the gravy will be absorbed into the sponge-like ingredients such as radish and fried tofu sticks.
The rest of the dishes need to be either quickly stir-fried or fried. As for the top most layer, feel free to buy dishes like roasted pork or grilled chicken. Below is the list of ingredients which you can choose to make your own 'Poon Choi'. Pick a minimum of 3 ingredients for each layer.
Layer 1 (bottom-most): White radish, hydrated fried pig skin, napa cabbage, hydrated fried tofu skin sticks, lotus root
Layer 2 (middle): Hydrated dried squid, pork stewed in Chinese vinegar, taro, hydrated shiitake mushrooms or any other mushrooms.
Layer 3 (top-most): Steamed/Grilled chicken, roasted/grilled pork, fried/grilled fish, fish balls, fish cakes, abalone, broccoli, bok choi, mushrooms, black moss
This recipe feeds 2 people but it can easily feed 4 in a family when served with steamed white rice. It took a little effort on our side to finish but it was wonderful!
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I am sooooooo glad you posted this! Could never find one so doable and easy to understand
I'm Chinese Malaysian of hakka descendant but embarrassingly I've never heard of this dish. Thank you for sharing and happy Chinese new year to you Grace. Hope your channel grows a lot more this year.
Hehe...it is a dish commonly found in Cantonese families too :) Hope you will give this a try! Happy New Year to you!!
Thank you for showing us this POON CHOI. We're Hakka, ancestry from Xin-ning/Moy-Yen , 興寧/梅州 . . And this is the first time we heard of this dish, it look great, and must be delicious, an a great dish for family gathering and special occasions.
Thank you very much for your guidance 🙏 Cooking my very first Choi last minute 😂. Love the way you speak.
Happy to know that it worked out. 😎 Did you take a photo too? If you did, why not share it as a food snap on your Nyonya cooking profile? We‘d love to see your poon Choi! www.nyonyacooking.com/signup ☺️
Googled and found your video. Subbed pork rind with fried hu pio (fish bladder). Thank you and love your friendly and clear presentation style.
Awesome! Post a food snap on your Nyonya Cooking profile too! I'm not sure if you saw but there is a table with alt ingredients that you can use in the future ;) www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/poon-choi-hakka~ryaHuvsvfcWX - Admin
Brilliant recipe and definitely going to make it. Looks yummy.
I like it,hope that you can cook some more Hakka food for the new year
Looks delicious !
This is why I love Malaysian food! Can I request that you try to teach us bahkuteh or crispy pork belly. Yum!
I made the laksa you made a while ago it tasted ammaaazziinngggg !!!! You’re a great cook :)
Grace.. Happy New Year..I almost ran out of recipe for this festive season before you came to my rescue..
Happy New Year to you, James! I thought I am very late, extremely late actually. Glad you now have something to try out soon :D
Mmmm... So yummy dish!! Taste so delicious meal!! So good to try it!!! I'm so excited to try it!!! Nice dish!! Great cooking and see U anytime!!恭喜发财！万事如意！！ Happy Chineses New year to U too!!
Thank you Kenny! Happy Chinese New Year to you!
You are so welcome and have a great day too!! :)
Your apron 😍😍😍
Lovely dish. Rind is pronounced rhind, rhymes with behind.
Por favor mandarme la receta en español, a loved canal cooking
Great recipe, and what an adorable apron :D
Thank you, Emma! It's my favourite colour thus far :D
good!
Thanks :D
I love your recipes, is this dish eaten in Malaysia?
Yes, especially in the recent years :) Where are you from?
Nyonya Cooking I’m from the US! I love Malaysian recipes, I hope you can start uploading more Malaysian dessert! 😊
That's awesome! You should give the recipes a try. Can't wait to see you creating it! And yes to more Malaysian desserts ;)
Nyonya Cooking thank you
Nice chopsticks!