Where’s the Beef?

In Hong Kong it’s in the wet markets, outdoor street markets in neighborhoods all over the SAR.

Pork, poultry, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables are picked up on a daily basis by locals to cook at home.

Roadside Tofu, by Beth Cosgrove, Chef de Cuisine, Hong Kong

 

Roadside Tofu

I step out of the forest, my arm bleeding, my skin slick with sweat, blood, and fresh rainwater. My guidebook is a smeared heap of now-recyclable mush. I ascend up the street, water pouring over my toes as if they’re unyielding rocks in a thrashing river.  I’m drenched, out of sorts, and lost; yet oddly less concerned about the wild monkey bite on my arm than my next meal.  I’m hungry!

Our eyes meet through a section of the dilapidated and foggy display case of bubblegum, cigarettes, and vibrant Balinese candy arranged perfectly in no order. We exchange cordial grins, his serene disposition drawing me towards his counter. He must have something homemade.

I insinuate with two fingers and a hungry smile at a mound of triangle-shaped sticky rice pillows wrapped tightly within banana leaves. Before I can pull out my soaked bills, Komang motions me to bamboo bench next to his roadside “shop”, sloped nearly to the ground from years of use and fast-snacking locals.

As if treating me to an impromptu tasting menu, Komang makes the short stride to my haven on rickety and well-traveled knees. One by one he boastfully presents me with morsels of perfectly juicy chicken wrapped in fragrant pandan leaves, prawn crackers with sea bean salad, curiously perfect dices of cucumber smothered in peanut sauce. I sit, wet to the bone watching mopeds with families of 4 whiz by churning mud. He hands me what I reckon is his favorite; puffy tofu pockets stuffed to the brim with local herbs, bean sprouts and rice noodles, their savoriness insanely gratifying when bitten into. This is the tastiest thing I’ve ever eaten.

My epiphany comes as I swallow my 4^th tofu nugget. My accidentally-on-purpose time with Komang is exactly what I want. We sit for 2 hours, taking in his culture, shielded from the frenetic scurry of the storm, chickens crossing the road, children sloshing barefoot in fresh island rain.  We cheers over ice cold Bintang and I am never more pleased to be lost.

by Beth Cosgrove

Chef de Cuisine, Hong Kong

Beth Cosgrove is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America

CookStoryBlog

This blog is created to give a voice to chefs and cooks who would not be heard otherwise.

Working as a chef I have always been interested in the lives and paths of my colleagues.

Let’s share what we love, what we are, what we create, what we see, smell and taste!

I hope to hear from cooks and chefs all over the world with great stories, or simple  snapshots of professional kitchens of every kind.

Tell Your Story!

Share your pictures!

Best Food Wishes

Cooks and Chefs Tell Your Story!

Cooks and Chefs, tell me your story!

 

who are you?

what do you do?

where are you?

when did you know you wanted to cook?

why did you become a chef?

how did you arrive at your current destination?

share your favorite cook/chef or food pic!

 

Culinary Regards,

Chef Suzanne

Comforting Chicken Congee Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong

Warm rice porridge with chicken, preserved egg, spring onion and wonton crisps

Hong Kong Hot for Soup

Hong Kong is Hot for Soup!

Hong Kongers love soup – hot, cold, morning, noon and night, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, cheap and dear.

Wonton Noodle Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef Brisket Noodle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hot Pot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chilled Mango, Fruit Jelly, Sago and Milk Dessert Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even borrow soups:

Udon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laksa

Chef Jaakko Sorsa FINDS Hong Kong’s first and finest Nordic seafood restaurant & bar

SALMON SIX WAYS

Cold Smoked, Seared, Mousse, Pickled, Gravad Lax, Roe

 

Big BBQ Pig, Roast Duck Heads and Necks, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Typical Hong Kong BBQ shop, but the whole pig hanging is not common.

During Chinese New Year we did a special feast for a center for the needy – they had some tasty neighbors.

Roast Duck heads and necks also a bit special, great for soup.

Cooks and Chefs send your stories!

Seeking cooks and chefs to tell their stories of why and how they got where they are.

Just a quick who, what, where, when and how – a few paragraphs to share with the world stories which would otherwise not be heard.

Please send pics as well!

I am hoping for all corners of the world to be represented.

Put your fame on the fire!

Chef Suzanne

3AM Dim Sum, San Hing, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong

                                                                                  BaoLoud late crowd watch crew fresh make simply steamed snacks.

Young guns, elegant old ladies and beer buddies rendezvous through the years in this gritty, urban stop.

Egg and Sand Bun