Bottles of soy sauce, rows of fermented bean curd and other condiments are stacked neatly in the premises of Tai Ma Sauce Company in Kwun Tong. Most prominent on display, however, are large jars of fermented soya bean paste - or min si zeong in Cantonese - that owner Chau Wing-cheong takes pride in.
'I'm the third generation of this family business which my grandfather started on the mainland about 50 years ago. We've always used the most demanding and time-consuming method to make our products in our own factory - now located in Sheung Shui,' Chau says.
'Not many businesses make min si zeong like we do any more and it's not the most lucrative item. It takes more than a year to make our min si zeong, which has an intense aroma as it has received plenty of sunlight, which condenses the flavour. When added to dishes - and it goes well with many different ingredients especially fish heads and duck - it enhances and adds layers to the taste.'
Chau's min si zeong is considered by many connoisseurs to be the finest in Hong Kong. It's used mainly to marinate meat and seafood, or it's stir-fried with vegetables to remove the 'grassy' flavour. Available in original and spicy flavours, the fermented soya bean pastes are available in air-sealed bottles or from the large jars, from which the desired amount will be scooped into small plastic bags before being tied with a straw.
The enthusiastic Chau often offers cooking tips to customers, suggesting they mix his fermented soya bean paste with garlic, sugar and crushed preserved plums to marinate pork ribs before steaming them. The same ingredients also work in a duck stew with the addition of some ginger slices and replacing sugar with rock sugar. The result is a type of sweet and sour sauce with enhanced richness, the plum balancing the fattiness of the meat.