A common Chinese greeting is 食咗飯未呀? “Have you eaten (rice) yet?” which is how Christine Wong’s paternal grandmother would welcome her home during her childhood in Hong Kong. Food was the language of love, with birthdays and special events always celebrated with family meals, from nine-course banquet-style restaurant feasts to simple home-cooked dinners. After leaving Hong Kong and adopting a vegan lifestyle for health and sustainability reasons, Christine yearned to recreate the flavors and textures of her family’s food at home without animal by-products.
The Vibrant Hong Kong Table: 88 Iconic Vegan Recipes from Dim Sum to Late-Night Snacks (Chronicle Books| September 10, 2024| $27.50| Hardcover) celebrates many of Hong Kong’s most iconic dishes with a vegan twist. Organized by a day of eating through the city and paying homage to its culinary heritage, these fresh, bright, vegetable-based recipes include:
- Breakfast and Dim Sum 點心: Sampan Congee, Lotus Leaf Rice, "Egg" Tarts
- Cha Chaan Teng 茶餐廳 and Lunchbox Favourites: Baked Tempeh Chop Rice, Black-Pink Pepper Cabbage Steak, Jackfruit Brisket Noodles
- Family-Style Dinners, from Festival Foods to Dai Pai Dongs 大牌檔: "Fish Fragrant" Eggplant, Sweet & Sour Cauliflower, Snow Skin Mooncakes
- Siu Yeh 宵夜 (Late-Night Snacks) and Sweets: Curry "Fishballs", Three Treasures, Hong Kong Sweet Buns
