Poon Choi or pen cai - Basin Vegetable dish for Chinese New Year

Poon Choi, also known as pen cai or Big Bowl Feast, is a traditional type of Chinese dish with layers of different cooked ingredients.

It was said that pen cai was invented during the late Song Dynasty. When Mongol troops invaded Song China, the young Emperor fled to the area around Guangdong. To serve the Emperor as well as his army, the locals collected all their best food available, cooked it, and put it in wooden washing basins.

Despite it's humble beginnings, pen cai has been given an exotic makeover with many five star restaurants serving it as an exotic and expensive dish during Chinese New Year with chicken, oysters, abalone, prawns, mushrooms and vegetables.

www.fehd.gov.hk/.../poon_choi.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poon_choi

http://forums.chef2chef.net/viewtopic.php?t=502909

Homemade Assorted Stuffed vegetables - Yong Tofu - Niang Doufu 酿 豆 腐

Hakka Stuffed Tofu

The story was told that Hakkas who migrated from central China, tried to improvise making jiaozi (meat dumplings) using tofu instead of wheat flour pastry which is a scarce in southern China. Today, niang doufu (yong tofu) has become popularized in Chinese restaurants throughout the world.


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Traditional and authentic yong tofu filling contains minced pork, salty dried fish and fish paste. Starch is added to bind the meat which is whipped into a bouncy consistency. Seasoning is basic, using salt and pepper, and possibly spring onions and cut chilli.

One is not limited to stuffing only tofu products. It is really up to the imagination of the cook and the availability of ingredients to create different delicious morsels.

Niang dofu is usually deep fried so that it could keep longer. They are then cooked in boiling soya bean and anchovy stock or oyster sauce gravy. The dipping sweet and chilli sauces add another layer of flavouring to the dish.