Why experimental Hong Kong chef sticks to tradition at home when she cooks Chinese food
Vicky Lau, of Tate Dining Room, was inspired by motherhood to better understand Chinese ingredients, which take pride of place in her well-stocked pantry
She had also just given birth, and was following a Chinese post-partum practice known as confinement, whereby a new mother adheres to a strict diet based on traditional medicine that includes slowly simmered soups, gently steamed dishes and dried fruit and herbs that are thought to “warm” the body. Goji berries, red dates and wood ear fungus featured.
“I went to a Chinese doctor and she taught me some things – what I should do during the pregnancy and after,” Lau says. “For that month of confinement, I was really good; I ate all the food and soup. I think it really helped.”
The experience helped Lau to understand traditional Chinese cooking methods, and she now keeps a ready supply of dried ingredients – such as chun pei (aged mandarin peel), shiitake mushrooms and scallops – in her pantry.
