LIKE A CAT IN TAI O

In the peripheral areas of Hong Kong are a number of villages and settlements with a history of smuggling, piracy, and fishing. And, naturally, producing salt fish (鹹魚 'haam yü'; "briny fish"), which is a traditional product still semi-popular all over South East Asia. Many modern educated people won't touch it, but their ancestors relied upon it. White people are famous for eschewing it, unless they're into food, or speak Dutch with an Indonesian hue. If both of those things, it's probably a guarantee that they love it along with its relatives shrimp paste (鹹蝦醬 '"haahm haa jeung"') and fish sauce (魚露 'yü lou').

What I mean to say is that if someone is a typical high school educated Anglo twit from the Midwest, East Coast, South, or Central Valley, they'll probably exclaim "eewwwww" and wrinkle their little white button nose at it. Then head on over to McDonalds or Boo-king instead for the "good eating". Growing bodies and all that. They need grease.

Even if they're old enough to know better.
For them, that's grandma's age.

It's some good stuff. Coarse minced in fried rice, mixed into a fatty pork dish, with braised eggplant, in tofu and salt fish soup, or simply eaten with some white steamed rice and chilipaste (which is not a standard Hong Kong idea). Hip modern word: umami.

There is a McDonalds near where I work in the suburbs.
But there is no real Chinese restaurant.
That tells you something.

Chilipaste is rare, sambal blatjang unknown. They're almost like Iowa in their culinary stodginess. Barbecue sauce is exotic. The most popular condiment is ketchup.
Some of them are vegan, taking culinary puritanism to an extreme.

Some of the best salt fish is produced in Tai O (大澳 'daai ou'; "deep inlet", "large cove"), on the south side of Lantau Island (大嶼山 'daai yü saan'; "big island mountain"). Occasionally you can find it in Chinatown, look for glossiness, thickness, and a tissue around the head to keep the flies out. It should still have a slight softness. To prepare it, cut off the head, then rinse it to remove dust and some of the salt, and split it so that you can take out the spine. That last is, strictly speaking, not entirely necessary. What you need for most dishes is one or two pieces about the size of a finger. That is sufficient for steamed pork patty with salt fish (咸魚蒸肉餅 'haam yü jing yiuk beng').

For two people, one pound of fatty ground pork, maybe a little chopped water chestnut and rehydrated black mushroom, plus a pinch of sugar, ground pepper, scant drizzle sesame oil, a tablespoon of cornstarch more or less, and some shredded ginger to add on top half way through the cooking. Mix everything except the ginger and salt fish, flatten it into hamburger thickness or slightly thinner on an oiled plate, and place the salt fish pieces on top. Steam for eight to ten minutes, strewing the ginger over it around midpoint.

Eat with rice, some veggies, and sambal.
Looks ugly, tastes grand.



Tai O is worth visiting if you go to Hong Kong. It's a small village where most people still dwell in stilt houses (棚屋 'pang ok'; "shed house, stilt dwelling") at the river mouth and have ties to fishing or salt making. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no American fast food franchise of any kind anywhere nearby.

If you're traveling with American teenagers, there are shopping malls in Kowloon.
Just leave them there. You will all be happier.



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