Hong Kong
#FIRSTLOOK: ARTS IN HONG KONG – ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH
We miss Hong Kong so much! This month Arts in Hong Kong will be a huge focus with several virtual events that allow us to enjoy events like Art Basel: Hong Kong, film screenings, streamed live talks, art walks and more! This all in time for Asian Heritage Month.
Check-out some of the amazing virtual events available to all right now!
1 Art Basel – Held from May 21 – 23 at the HKCEC, the world’s leading art fair isa hybrid of the physical and virtual, featuring 104 influential galleries from 23 countries and territories. New this year, ‘Art Basel Live: Hong Kong’ will broadcast the fair to a global audience. www.artbasel.com/hong-kong
2 Art Central – For the first time, satellite fair Art Central (May 20 – 23) will take place alongside Art Basel at the HKCEC. Works can be bought in person or online, and a talk programme organized by the Asia Society Hong Kong Center will be broadcast online. http://artcentralhongkong.com/
3 West Kowloon Cultural District – Now nearing completion, the WKCD’s M+ Museum offers documentary screenings on demand under a two-part programme, titled Cinema, Disrupted. Films and talks for Part Two: Interrupted Legacies will be available from May 6 to 16.
www.westkowloon.hk/en/mplus/whats-on-51/m-screenings-online-cinemadisrupted
4 French May&French GourMay – The annual French May (May 1 –June 30) is a multicultural feast of more than 100 mostly in-person events, spanning art, design, opera, classical, pop concerts, dance, movies and more. www.frenchmay.com/en/home. FrenchGourMay (May 1 – 31) is an invitation to (re)discover French gastronomic
heritage. www.frenchgourmay.com/
5 Hong Kong Museum of Art The HKMoA’s initiative‘Art For Everyone’ (until May 23) features 100 artwork images from the museum’s collection, displayed across Hong Kong, complemented by augmented reality experiences. www.artforeveryone.hk
It will also run a major Surrealist exhibition, featuring 100 artworks from Paris’ Centre Pompidou, from May 21 until September. https://hk.art.museum/
6 Tai Kwun The former Central Police Station, now a heritage and art centre, will host live drama and dance performances by local artists during its performing arts season under the theme ‘SPOTLIGHT’ (until May 16).
www.taikwun.hk/en/programme/detail/tai-kwun-performing-arts-seasonspotlight/757
7 Yim Tin Tsai Arts Festival 2021 – This community arts festival is an opportunity to get a glimpse into this unique village with its Roman Catholic and Hakka background. The third edition (until July 16) features 31 art pieces, including 14 new works, available on-site and online. www.yimtintsaiartsfestival.hk/index.php?lang=en
8 HKwalls – Hong Kong’s annual street art and mural festival (May 8 – 16) returns with the takeover of wall space in the seaside district of Sai Kung, while an exhibition themed ‘Tools of the Trade’ on the history of street art will run until June 6 at Soho House. https://hkwalls.org/
9 Hong Kong Arts Festival – The annual festival’s PLUS programme embraces the digital format this year to connect with audiences both on and offstage. Available through June 2021 will be a hybrid line-up of online and in-venue programmes, in addition to an interactive online exhibition, and series of online documentaries and cinema screenings.
https://www.hk.artsfestival.org/en/programmes/index-plus.html#All
10 ‘Arts in Hong Kong’ arts maps, event listings, online contents and more
The HKTB brings art to an international audience with its dedicated ‘Arts in Hong Kong’ campaign website, a one-stop platform featuring online showcases, art itineraries, an event calendar, artsy offers, interviews with art insiders, and more. www.discoverhongkong.com/Arts
#COOKING: BLACK PEPPER FRIED CHICKEN STEAK RECIPE
Black Pepper Fried Chicken Steak. This is a favourite, which traditionally is deep-fried but I’ve adapted it for the Air Fryer. And it came out perfect! A crispy, Panko-crusted chicken fillet topped with a spicy, savoury brown gravy, served with rice. This is something I grew-up with, a staple at any Hong Kong-style Diner or food court, and actually not too tough to prepare at home. Come to think of it, this is a converging of Southern cuisine and Hong Kong cuisine. We know Americans in the South love them Country Fried Steak and a nice gravy too!
Ingredients:
6-8 Chicken Drumsticks de-boned or thin Chicken Breast filets
2/3 cup Panko
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Sauce:
1 cup Beef Broth
3 tbsps Soy Sauce
2 tbsps Corn or Tapioca Starch
3/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsps Organic Raw Sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 white onion, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions:
1. Season chicken in half of salt and pepper, allow to stand 30 minutes.
2. Mix salt, pepper, Panko, garlic and onion powder in shallow platter.
3. Prep shallow platter for egg wash.
4. Preheat Air Fryer for 3 minutes at 390°F.
5. Coat chicken in egg wash and then dip in Panko mixture.
6. Arrange a batch of 3-4 chicken pieces in Air Fryer. Cook for about 8 minutes, turning once halfway through.
7. Once cooked, set aside in platter.
8. In skillet, sautée onions and garlic in oil till caramelized. Add stock, soy sauce, Worcestershire, pepper, salt and sugar. Bring to boil.
9. Make a slurry with starch and equal parts water. Mix into gravy to thicken. Bring to boil and set aside.
10. Arrange chicken and rice on serving plate. Pour sauce over top and garnish with parsley.
#COOKING: HONG KONG PORK CHOP RICE RECIPE
Hong Kong Pork Chop Rice. This is a classic. Hong Kong Cuisine takes a lot of traditional Chinese influences and combines them with European ingredients and techniques. It smells like literal heaven when it is baking. It truly is a perfect, comforting dish for the Fall. Mom approves and she’s had many variations of this dish. I too have had many renditions of this, some amazing and some made clearly with a can of tomato soup as the sauce base. Nope. I’m happy with this super-tomatoey take which uses real cheddar versus processed cheese (I’ve really seen it all!). As a bit of a food snob, I totally get those who turn-up their nose at things like garlic powder and ketchup, but they are necessary notes in the dish and the end result wouldn’t be the same without it! I hope you love this little bit of my heritage.
Ingredients:
4 pork chops, deboned and halved5 cups of cooked white rice
1 cup of chopped green beans, chopped
1/2 white onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 large tomoato, chopped
1 can of tomato paste
3 tbsps ketchup
3 tbsps white wine
3 tbsps water
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp organic raw sugar
4 slices of Cheddar Cheese
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Parsley
Instructions:
1. Prepare rice and allow to cool.2. At room temperature, marinate pork chops in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders. Allow to stand 30 minutes.
3. Pre-heat oven at 350°F. 4. Heat oil in large skillet. Sautée onions, beans and garlic.
5. Once caramelized, set aside half of this mixture. Shift remaining vegetable mixture to side of skillet.
6. Add about 2 tbsps oil into skillet and fry egg till just done.
7. Add rice and toss in fried egg and vegetables till combined evenly. Season with salt.
8. Add about 1 tsbp of oil into baking dish and coat bottom.
9. Place rice into dish, levelling top.
10. Add 1 tbsp oil into skillet with reserved vegetables.
11. Add chopped tomato and allow to soften (about 3 minutes on medium heat).
12. Add-in ketchup, sugar, wine, Worcestershire, tomato paste and water stirring evenly. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with a bit more salt and pepper.
13. In Air Fryer, cook pork chops for about 7-8 minutes at 350°F till just almost done. Remove from heat.
14. Layer pork chops onto rice in dish and pour tomato sauce over top.
15. Layer top with cheese slices on-top and sprinkle some parsley.
16. Bake for about 6 minutes and then set oven to broil for about 5 minutes till cheese is melted and browned.
17. Allow to stand 15-20 minutes before serving.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: PINEAPPLE-BBQ PORK PASTRIES RECIPE
Pineapple-BBQ Pork Pastries. A hybrid of two classics, BBQ Pork Puff Pastry x Pineapple Buns. The latter is a staple at any Chinese bakery but surprisingly doesn’t have any pineapple in it. What a tragedy! Let’s fix that. 🍍
Think – a flaky, crumbly meat pie with a savoury-sweet pork filling… and a cookie topping!
Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps sea salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled
3/4 cup Crisco Golden All-Vegetable Shortening
1/2 cup cold water
Cookie Crust:
3/4 cup flour
4 tbsps unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup organic raw sugar, pulsed in food processor till fine
1 tbsp whole milk
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
Pineapple-BBQ Pork Filling:
2 cups Chinese BBQ Pork (Cha Siu), minced
1/2 white onion, minced
3/4 cup chicken or beef broth
3/4 cup pineapple chunks, sectioned
3 tbsps organic raw sugar
2 tbsps soy sauce
2 tbsps dark soy sauce
3 tbsps Oyster Sauce
2 tbsps Hoisin Sauce
5 tbsps flour
1 egg beaten, used as egg wash
Instructions:
1. Prepare pastry, combining ingredients, adding water 1 tbsp at a time, handling minimally. Knead dough gently on floured surface. Roll into ball. Chill minimum 2 hours, no more than 5 days.
2. Pineapple-BBQ Pork filling: Sautée onions in sesame oil. Add pork and pineapple. Cook 3 minutes medium-high heat. Add sugar, dark and regular soy sauce, Oyster Sauce, Hoisin Sauce and chicken/beef broth. Bring to boil. Taste to ensure flavour balance is right. In bowl, mix flour and equal parts water to form paste, stirring into pork mixture till thick like a pie filling. Chill.
4. Cut dough into halves. Roll each half onto floured surface. Use cup to cut circles, reforming and rolling again till used. Each half should yield 12 circles, a total 24.
5. Flatten each circle with hand. Scoop filling into center of dough circle, careful not to overfill. Place another circle on-top, pressing together to seal and crimp edges gently with fork. Use paper towel to tidy any filling that leaked-out. Prepare 12 pastries and place on greased baking sheet.
6. Prepare oven at 425°F.
7. Cookie crust: mix flour, baking powder and turmeric in one bowl. In separate bowl, cream milk, butter, vanilla, egg yolk and sugar. Combine butter mixture into flour and form dough. Form 12 even balls, rolling into a thin sheet between 2 Ziploc bags till large enough to cover each pastry. Apply to pastries gently.
8. Using fingers or brush, apply egg wash.
9. Bake 15-17 minutes till golden. Cool 15 minutes.
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#COOKING: CREAMY BAKED LOBSTER X CHEESE RECIPE
Creamy Baked Lobster x Cheese. Cheese and Seafood I’ve been told are a big no-no, but rules were meant to be broken, especially when they taste this spectacular! Enjoy this decadent dinner, which is a lot more simple to prepare than you’d think.
Ingredients:
2 lb lobster, cleaned and sectioned (reserve a tablespoon of Tomalley)
450g package spaghetti
4 cups Baby Spinach
1/2 cup shredded Old Cheddar
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup 5% cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 stalk green onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 strip bacon, diced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cilantro, chopped to garnish
Instructions:
1. Prepare spaghetti, cooking till al dente. Strain in colander. Place spaghetti in a deep 13×9″ tray.
2. Boil water and cook spinach till it wilts, drain and gently squeeze out water. Place aside.
3. Preheat oven at 375°F.
4. In sauce pan, melt butter and sautée garlic. Add bacon and green onion, salt and pepper. Cook till bacon is done.
5. Add spinach, cook one minute and add-in cream. Bring to a slight boil. Add tablespoon of reserved Tomalley (fatty goop) into sauce and stir throughout.
6. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour and mix with equal parts water to form a thick, smooth paste.
7. Add a bit of paste into cream sauce, stirring till sauce reaches a thick consistency. Remove from heat.
8. Arrange lobster pieces on-top of spaghetti. Sprinkle sea salt, to taste.
9. Pour cream sauce over lobster pieces.
10. Combine both cheeses together and sprinkle over lobster. Then sprinkle some grated Parmesan.
11. Bake for 25 minutes, till cheese turns golden. Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro and let sit for 15 minutes before serving
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#COOKING: PORTUGESE CHICKEN RECIPE
Portugese Chicken | 葡國雞. The odd thing about Portugese Chicken is that none of my Portugese friends have never heard of it. The name often conjures-up thoughts of roasted chicken, Churrasqueira-style. This actual dish hails from Macau, a formerly Portugese region across the river from Hong Kong, where my mom and dad had their honeymoon. It is a mild, rich, coconut milk-based curry with pronounced turmeric notes. A comforting family fave of ours for many years and a staple at any Hong Kong-style diner.
Ingredients:
8 chicken drumsticks
1 200 ml jar of Lee Kum Kee Coconut Curry Sauce (Trust me! If you don’t have it, combine 1/2 can coconut milk, 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tbsp organic raw sugar, 1 tbsp grated ginger)
1/2 can of coconut milk
1 white potato, chopped into chunks
1/2 onion, chopped into chunks
1 pint of mushrooms, stems chopped off and halved
1 carrot, sliced into cylinders
1/2 red pepper, chopped into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Sea Salt to taste
Optional:
3 teaspoons tapioca starch
Instructions:
1. Sautée garlic, onions, potatoes on medium heat in a large skillet till caramelized.
2. Add-in red peppers, carrots and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add drumsticks and cook till just browned.
4. Add coconut milk and stir.
5. Add in Coconut Curry Sauce and one equal part water, stir evenly.
6. Bring to boil and and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes or till chicken is just cooked. If sauce is runny, in a bowl mix three teaspoons of tapioca starch and just enough water to form a runny paste, and mix into sauce to thicken it.
7. Preheat oven on broil.
8. Place pan in oven and high broil for about 7-10 minutes till sauce is a bit, but not overly-charred.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes before serving on rice.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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