Taste of Macau: Portuguese cuisine on the China coast

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Portuguese CuisflBlpfl the China Coas

Annabel Jackson

Taste of Macau Portuguese Cuisine on the China Coast

Taste of Macau Portuguese Cuisine on the China Coast

Annabel Jackson

# m *. * & m *t HONG KONG UNIVERSITY PRESS

Hong Kong University Press 14/F Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Road Aberdeen Hong Kong

© Hong Kong University Press 2003

ISBN 962 209 638 7

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Designed and photographed by Robert Stone Limited Printed and bound by Kings Time Printing Press Ltd., Hong Kong, China

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For Carlos & Carlos

CONTENTS

FOREWORD by Antonio M. Jorge da Silva x by Wilson Kwok xv

INTRODUCTION 1 TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF MACANESE COOKING 6 MACANESE STORE CUPBOARD 9 POEM Secret Family Recipes by Leung Fing-kwan 22

VIGNETTES Macanese in Their Own Words Anabela Estorninho 24 Isabel da Silva 26 Marina de Senna Fernandes 28 Antonio M. Jorge da Silva 30 Henrique de Senna Fernandes 32 Carlos Marreiros 34

RECIPES Soups and Starters Almondegas

Minced Pork Patties 36

Caldo Verde

Cabbage and Potato Soup 37

Casquinha de Caranguejo ChamUfaS I Chamucas II Chilkotes

Macanese Samosas 39 Macanese Vegetarian Samosas 40

Deep-fried Meat Pies 42

Pasteis de Bacalhau Repo/ho Receado Rissdis

Stuffed Cooked Crab 38

Salt Cod Cakes 44 Stuffed Cabbage Rolls 46

Shrimp Rissoles 47

Sopa de Abobora

& Caranguejo

Crab and Pumpkin Soup 48

Sopa de Couve Flor

Cauliflower Soup 49

Tostas de Camardo

Vivienne's Har Toasy (Shrimp Toasts) 50

Tostas de Queijo

Cheese Toasts 51

Fish and Seafood Bacalhau a Gomes de Sd Bacalhau d Penha

Salt Cod in Penha Hill Style 54

Bacalhau FreSCO Assado Bacalhau Guisado Caril de Camardo

Salt Cod in Gomes de Sa Style 52 Baked Fresh Cod 55

Salt Cod Stew 56 Shrimp Curry 58

Caril de Caranguejo I Caril de Caranguejo II

Curried Whole Crab 60 Flaked Crab Curry 62

Empada de Peixe

Fish Pie 63

Gambas d Macau

King Prawns with Chilli and Garlic 64

Gambas em Molho Picante de Abobora

<& Coco

Prawns in Spicy Pumpkin and Coconut Sauce 65

Tulas Recheadas Peixe Assado

Stuffed Squid 66

Baked Perch in Tomato Sauce 67

Meat Capela

Meat Loaf 68

Caril de Galinha

Chicken Curry 70

Chau Chau Parida I Salted Saffron Pork Kidneys 71 Chau Chau Parida //Tossed Chicken with Saffron 72 Diabo

'Devil'Dish 73

Teijoada

Pork and Kidney Bean Stew 74

Galinha d Cafreal

African Chicken 77

Galinha Portuguesa Minchi

Portuguese Chicken 78

Mince with Soy Sauce 79

PatO Cabidela

Duck Cooked in Its Own Blood 80

Pato Tamarinho

Tamarind Duck 81

PorCO BafaSSa

Saffron Pork with Potatoes 82

Porco BalichaO Tamarinho PorCO Com Restrate Sarapatel

Pork with Lotus Root 84

Spicy Pork Offal (Organ) Stew 85

Sarrabulho Tacho

Pork with Balichao and Tamarind 83

Mixed Offal Stew 86

Winter Casserole 87

VacaTLstufadal Vaca Estufada

Rich Beef Stew 88 II

Pot Roast Beef 89

Vegetables AmargOSO Torcha

Bitter Gourd in Coconut Milk 90

Qtieijo de Soja COm Cagumelos

Bean Curd with Mushrooms 92

Salada a Portuguesa

Green Salad 93

Sambal de Bringella

Eggplant Sambal 94

Vegetais em Ijeite de Coco

Vegetables in Coconut Milk 95

Rice and Noodles Arro^Carregado

Pressed Rice 96

Arro^i de Bacalhau Arro^Gordo Tacassd

Codfish Rice 97

Assorted Meat Rice 98 Noodles in Shrimp Broth 100

Desserts Bagi

Glutinous Rice Cake 102

Batatada Bebinca

Potato Cake 103 Coconut Milk Cake 104

Bebinca de Teite

Coconut Milk Set Custard 105 -

Boh Menino Molotoff

Nut Cake 106

Meringue with Sweet Egg Yolk Sauce 107

OVOS COmJagra

Eggs with Jaggery 108

Plidim de Manga

Mango Pudding 109

Pudim de SagU Sago Pudding 110

WINE AND PORT 112 GUIDES Macanese Restaurants in Macau 114 Where to Buy Ingredients in Macau and Hong Kong 117 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS us

FOREWORD by Antonio M. Jorge da Silva

Macau and the Macaenses

M

acaenseSy filhos de Macau^ are Portuguese or descendants of the

Portuguese who were either born in Macau or trace their ancestral roots back to Macau. Macau, a peninsula protruding from the western banks of the Pearl River where it meets the South China Sea, was recognized by the authorities of Kwangtung* Province as a Portuguese setdement in 1557. The first Portuguese landing in China had been by Jorge Alvares in 1513, but the Chinese court of the Ming Dynasty forbade any permanent setdements along the Chinese coast by the Portuguese 'barbarians'. Having established successive illegal trading posts as far north as an island off the Chekiang coast, the Portuguese were slowly pushed back to Liampo, then Ningpo, the Fukien coast, then back to islands off the Kwangtung coast — first Sanchuen, then Lampacao in 1554.** A typhoon in 1553 caused some Portuguese ships to take shelter at 'A-Ma-Kong' or 'A-Ma-O' (translated from Chinese as the 'Bay of the Ancestral Grandmother'), soon modified by the Portuguese as Amacao and later Macau. With a sheltered inner harbour and a land link with China, the Portuguese soon moved there from Lampacao. Although Macau was not officially recognized by Portugal until 1587, the first Macaensewas probably the child of a Portuguese father and a Malaccan, Japanese, Malay or Goanese mother. There were also African slaves among the early settlers. Few Portuguese women survived the long trip from their homeland to the Far East in those days — but a few did, so that possibility also cannot be discounted. As the Portuguese could not marry a non-Christian, intermarriage with the Chinese, who were forbidden to adopt the Christian faith, was not to occur until just after the turn of the century. With the discovery of Japan in 1542 and the conversion of many Japanese to Christianity, the Portuguese were able to marry Japanese girls. The Malaccan women and the Japanese were, in fact, the ancestral mothers of

the early Macaense population. As their children grew up, intermarriage within the community and with the new arrivals from Portugal formed the original structure of the Macaense people. Little by little, the Chinese married into the community, adding much to its culture. Although this is true of the early genealogical make-up of the Macaenses, it is also the case that other Europeans as well as metropolitan Portuguese continued to marry into the community. Macaenses who travelled to further their studies in Portugal and other Western countries after the turn of the twentieth century would often return with Portuguese and European spouses. Professional and military personnel from Portugal have, in many cases, married Macaense women and remained in Macau after their term of service. It would be ethnically incorrect, therefore, to generalize that all Macaenses have a large percentage of Asian blood, as the contrary can often be the case. Macau and the Japan Trade flourished well into the seventeenth century, decades after the expulsion of the Jesuits and the Portuguese from Japan in 1614. Its decline started as trade with Japan diminished, and as the deeper keeled steamships replaced the shallows-bottomed sailing galleons. The silted waters of Macau made it impossible for the deep-keeled cargo vessels to pass through its shallow channels. Following the cession of Hong Kong to the British after the Opium War in 1842, almost three hundred years after the settlement of Macau, the ports of Canton, Amoy, Foochow,*** Ningpo and Shanghai were open to foreign trade. In 1844, the British transferred their trade headquarters from Macau to Hong Kong. They also set up in Shanghai, which was soon to become the international centre of the China Trade in northern China. Initially a few, then later many, of the Macaenses had no alternative but to leave Macau for better opportunities. The Macaense communities of Shanghai and Hong Kong began to grow and setde into their new environments. World War II saw the disruption of these communities with the majority, as fate would have it, returning to the land of their ancestors, Macau, as refugees from the invading Japanese. After the surrender of the Japanese, which ended the war in the Pacific, most of the Macaense refugees moved back to their former settlements in Shanghai and Hong Kong; a few started to emigrate to other countries in the Western world. This was the turning point in the lives of many Macaense families. Less than a decade after the war, families from Macau itself began to emigrate to Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Portugal. At first a trickle, then more and more Macaense

from Hong Kong and Shanghai (particularly after the Communists took Shanghai in 1948) left for new opportunities in the United States of America, Australia and Canada. A few followed those from Macau to Brazil, and fewer still, to Portugal. The vacuum left in the Macaense communities in Asia, which largely intermarried within itself, saw more and more marriages with the Chinese and other Asians. Many Macaense families in Macau today use Chinese as their first language. Portuguese and Portuguese patois was, until the middle- to late-1970s, heard in most Macaense homes in Macau. In Hong Kong and Shanghai, English was the first language. This is still the case for the few families left in Hong Kong. After almost 400 years of Portuguese rule, Macau was returned to China in December 1999. It was the end of an era. Macaenses are now spread all over the world, many of the later generations integrated with the peoples of the countries to which they emigrated. The culture will live on, so long as the Macaense community worldwide continues to pass it along to their children and grandchildren. Their heritage as descendants of the Portuguese pioneers who ventured to the south China coast is part of the colourful history of Portugal and the pride each Macaense carries in his or her soul.

Note: This article has been modified from an article written for use as part of the display exhibited by the Tusitano Club of California during the Portuguese festival held in the San Francisco Bay Area in June 1995. Photographs, a map of the south China coast andposters of Macau were also on display.

* Today's Guangdong. ** 'Chekiang is present-day Zhejiangy cNingpo> is Ningbo and 'Fukien', Fujian. 'Sancbuen' and cLampacao} are now called Shangchuan andlMngbai. *** Guangzhou, Xiamen and Fu^jwu.

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FOREWORD by Wilson Kwok

M

acanese cooking is an endangered culinary art and Annabel Jackson is the

pioneer of its revival. Through her endless effort in collecting these Portuguese-derived recipes, this cookbook represents the voice of a unique cuisine with deep cross-cultural roots equivalent to Nonya, Creole or fusion food. NOWT

is the right moment to publish a comprehensive and detailed cookbook that reflects

the lifestyle, habits, customs, influence and heritage of the centuries-old Portuguese colony, I for Macau's political and cultural identity is no longer Lusitanian after its handover back to China. While the design and names of many of the streets in Macau reflect Portuguese influence, and remain covered with blue and white porcelain tiles after 1999, it remains to be seen whether the Macanese cooking of old will continue to be prepared in those pequenas casas, or small homes, and whether their mamas' cooking will live on and flourish for generations to come. Annabel's invitation to write this foreword is my first mission as convivium leader of the Hong Kong International Slow Food Movement, to speak of a beautiful art that has rarely been heard of even by Macau-based Chinese, not to mention that it is almost a new subject outside of the Lusophone world. Along with some serious food-related problems that groups or individuals try to tackle today, the founding of Slow Food's third chapter in Asia, after Japan and Singapore, has these major objectives: to improve the quality of imported foods, to preserve local culinary culture and to raise awareness of that heritage, and to educate the next generation about food. While the name 'Slow Food' given in Italy is to defend against its literal opposition, fast food, the Asian focus lies mainly on the pleasure of eating and respect for regional cooking. In this book, Annabel Jackson, also an active founding member, has shown her devotion to save disappearing agricultural products, cooking methods, cultures and traditions, and rescue the art of eating. From tasting the Macanese recipes with her, I am convinced that this hearty family food of Macau qualifies as Slow Food — no doubt this is a well-deserved Slow Food companion! My other capacity to applaud Annabel's choice of subject seems less food-related, yet, having Chinese parents who settled down in Macau (in the 1940s), it is fascinating to have Annabel as our historian, or simply someone who weaves short stories of our past together, curiously yet appropriately, in a cookbook. During the 1940s and the 1950s, this mixed XV

community in the Portuguese colony was where every southern Chinese took shelter from war. Nobody at the time ate extravagantly nor could they spend time to take cooking as a hobby, but since it was a spacious place with few people, which gave it a laid-back image, Macau was a kind of escape for South European-style leisure. In any event, the local Chinese, including my parents, were probably not analytical about the difference between Portuguese-Macanese and original Portuguese cuisines. They would smell and guess what food was being cooked at the homes of their Portuguese neighbours, and wonder about the ingredients and taste of their food. However, back at home, Cantonese food was all there ever was. How the cooking next door became transformed by the choice of products in the wet market remained a big question mark. It is a pity that thev did not know the complete story of their Portuguese neighbours to share with us now; it is certain that at the time their top priority was to secure a brighter future. The job of researching this story is left to our author today. The development of a Portuguese cuisine that incorporates local ingredients has always been limited by the ingredients available in Macau: a small quantity of fresh produce from local farmland that was supplied mainly to the Chinese residents, and freshwater seafood that did not substitute very well for the fish of the Atlantic Ocean used in Portuguese cuisine. Being a small piece of hilly land attached to Guangdong Province, plus two small islands, all surrounded by fresh water running down from Pearl River, Macau has always counted a great deal on products imported from both China and Portugal. Then howr did Macanese cooking come about? A simple recipe explains that Macanese cooking at its inception relied on the supply of Portuguese-imported ingredients, by boat via the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Goa in India and Malacca in Malaysia. Spices were picked up in this exotic route, and as a result, more spices are used in Macanese cooking than Portuguese cooking. By the same token, the local meat suited Macanese cooking better than the vegetables, thus the smaller proportion of vegetable ingredients in such dishes is easily noticeable. Contrary to this cuisine based on Portuguese-derived recipes, the Macau-Chinese wTould call any cuisine T o Quoc Choi' or Portuguese food as long as even the simplest local produce and meat is accompanied by a touch of imported bacalhau and olives, added with spices and coconut milk from Malaysia and India. This sort of Macanese fusion food has become popular in both Macau and Hong Kong since the 1990s, but in terms of taste, it is far from its counterpart. Everything about cooking the other Macanese cuisine would still be

a mystery to many if it were not for this publication. This book not only satisfies our curiosity in Macanese home cooking, but serves as the reference for Macanese everyday life and culture. The cultivation of such cooking has taken over days, months and years to nourish. From gathering vintage recipes and tidbits about this tiny Macanese community to putting it all in text, Annabel has spent tremendous effort and enthusiasm to deliver this message to food enthusiasts, chefs and scholars: fusion cooking can have its cause in history and it is not something that creativity alone can make happen. Whether it is photography, styling, recipes or simple reading, Taste of Macau is a top-quality cookbook for enjoyment.

The International Slow Food Movement was founded in 1989 to counter the degrading effects of industrial and fast food culture that are standardising taste, andpromotes the beneficial effects of the deliberate consumption of nutritious locally grown and indigenous foods. A convivium is a local Slow Food branch, a grassroots structure co-ordinated by our international headquarters and our network of national offices. By becoming a Slow Food member, you can take part in the activities promoted byyour convivium: meetings and dinners, tasting courses, taste workshops on food, wine, beer, coffee and so on, gastronomic tours, visits to foodproducers, lectures and symposia. For more information about Slow Food, go to www.slowfood.com, or email Wilson Kwok at [email protected] to know more about the Hong Kong Convivium.

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INTRODUCTION jLjLbout ten years ago I began work on a food-culture-travel guide entided Macau on a Plate, during the research for which my interest in Macanese cooking was piqued. I also came to understand how the cuisine was already becoming marginalized even among sections of the Macanese community in Macau. In fact, it was dying out. It was when I committed to try to gather a body of Macanese recipes and test them that I really began to truly understand the cuisine. My kitchen shelves began to fill with an almost confusing juxtaposition of ingredients; exotic aroma combinations wafted across the apartment. Gathering such a body of recipes, particularly for a non-Macanese, is no easy task. Macanese recipes have traditionally been passed down orally, or in decades-old, handwritten albums. I have been privileged to see precious recipe albums brimming with historical fascinations, where, for example, the inclusion of papaya flowers recalls the days when everyone would have a kitchen garden, and each of those kitchen gardens would nurture at least one papaya tree; and where amounts of an ingredient are recorded not by weight but in currency — for example, 20 cents of ginger. Liquids are often measured by 'tumbler' or 'wine glass', or the measurement guide instruction is little more than 'a little'. Macanese recipes are closely guarded and rarely given away, and those which are shared are often incomplete. One friend has yet to be given her family's recipes by her father: apparently he is convinced she would share them too generously. Yet there is a growing sense within sections of the Macanese community that unless the already dying cuisine is recorded for a wider audience, it will be forever lost. Some of those Macanese, several of whom I have known for more than a decade, have willingly shared recipes with me. But there are just as many who have obviously felt unable to entrust to me and this cookbook with what I am compelled to assume are viewed as family heirlooms and, further, one of the last surviving tenets of Macanese cultural identity From time to time one comes across a Macau-produced recipe anthology that includes some Macanese recipes in English, and there are three or four Macanese cookbooks written in Portuguese. Yet not only are these difficult to find, they are also difficult to cook from (even for a Macanese), assuming too much prior knowledge on the part of the home cook or even excluding a key ingredient or technique. This, then, is essentially the first comprehensive, English-language cataloguing of the cuisine. Even with recipes in hand, the process was still complicated. Cuisines that are not taught in the school but learned within the family operate inside their own fascinating sets of rules. There is no single way in the Macanese cooking lexicon to cook a dish like, say, sarrabulho — but the childhood memories of every Macanese are framed with the unique aromas of their own grandmother's sarrabulho. So there is only one way to cook it, and that is her way!

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I was keen, for this book, to get real recipes from real people, rather than writing them myself, and many recipes have a 'story' behind them which is included alongside. In cases where more than one family gave me the recipe for a dish, I have selected the one I find the most delicious. I have 'fiddled' as little as possible with the recipes, occasionally taking a feature from one recipe and incorporating it in another, but in general allowing an original recipe to speak for itself. I have been struck during the recipe-testing phase how Macanese cooking truly is a hybrid, because it is accessable and enjoyable to many people and palates. I have tested out dishes on Asian and Caucasian friends and colleagues from a range of backgrounds and cultures, and there wasn't one who did not enjoy the majority of the food sampled.

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The intention has been to include recipes which can more or less work in kitchens around the world, and simultaneously document the fascinating cooking style of Portuguese descendants on the Pearl River Delta. It is not even necessary to have a wok to produce these dishes, though quick-cook dishes like arro% bacalhau, minchi2S\& cbau cbau parida could work well in a wok. A normal pan suffices, however. Regular pans, casseroles and baking tins such as would be found in almost any kitchen are perfectly workable. The foundations of Macanese cooking are indisputably Portuguese (aided by the availability in Macau for centuries of Portuguese non-perishables such as wine, olive oil and chourico), while many of the ingredients are those readily available locally wliich are shared with the Cantonese kitchen, from root vegetables, ginger and garlic to soy sauce and lap cheong. Yet here the influence of the Chinese kitchen on the traditional Macanese kitchen ends. Some more modern cooks might use Chinese five-spice, but the more traditional curry base would be Indian-style curry powder, and even a pile of spices freshly ground at home. The cuisine's exotic spicing (for example saffron and cinnamon) is a reflection not of the Portuguese landing in Macau but of Portugal's seafaring history in Asia, encompassing Goa, Malacca and Timor. Indeed, the cuisine has much in common with Goan cooking and the Nonya cuisine of the Malaccan Straits. The use of blood (see for examplepato cabidela) is believed to have originated in Malaysia among the Hokkien people, as is the slow simmering in lard of offal (organ meat) in particular. Thus a dish like vaca estufada slow-braises local beef and potatoes in a gravy which might combine, more obviously, European rosemary and bay leaf with Asian cinnamon bark and star anise. Desserts based on Portuguese originals substitute coconut milk for cow's milk. It could be argued, then, that Macanese cooking with its frequent mutations of Portuguese originals is the prototype of East-meets-West experimentation — long before the term became fashionable! Today, modern health sensibilities have seen the amount of sugar and egg yolk heavily reduced in sweet dishes, and rarely does one see potatoes cooked in lard. Few families are now large enough — or have time enough — to present groaning spreads of twenty-plus dishes which comprise the cbdgordo (literally 'fat tea', a combination of sweet and savoury dishes traditionally served in the afternoon at large Macanese celebrations) and mammoth pots like feijoada and tacho. The recipes in this book range from very traditional Macanese dishes (chilicotes^porco bafassa, boh menind) to dishes with a history of little more than fifty years, such as African chicken, right up to modern interpretations of Macanese cooking, such as pato tamarinho, or a dish featuring fresh cod rather than bacalhau. There are those who argue that Macanese cooking, with its strong roots in the home kitchen, cannot be authenticated in the restaurant kitchen. Indeed, it could be further argued that it is even unsuitable for the restaurant given, for example, the less than aesthetic visual appeal of many of the finished dishes: the deep dark colour of the cooked blood in pato cabidela, the blackened bird which is African chicken, the pale anonymity of the batatada cake. There are comparatively few good restaurants in Macau serving Macanese food, but this collection of recipes, it is hoped, will succeed in bringing the centuries-old cuisine instantly to a wider audience who may never have the chance to see Macau for themselves.

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Note on spelling and translation Since my mission is to try and preserve the cultural indicators of the Macanese community through their collected recipes and memories, for Portuguese words, I have generally followed the spelling used by the contributors and sources, which might be affected by patois and vary from standard Portuguese. Where there are variations, I have followed the one used in most Portuguese cookbooks. For translations I have also depended on my sources. An interesting example is the use of 'Macaenses', which means 'sons of Macau'. This has somehow become 'Macanese' in English. Some of the contributors, especially Antonio M. Jorge da Silva, prefer to call themselves Macaenses instead because of the deep cultural meaning of the term, which I have kept whenever they are quoted. 'Macanese' is popularly used to refer to anyone born in Macau. For Cantonese, I have used the transliteration in the original recipe or piece; otherwise, all Cantonese transliterations are my own.

Note on weights and measures The quantities used in these recipes are given in metric, Imperial and US systems. Any reference to a pint implies an Imperial pint (20 fl oz); reference to a cup indicates use of the American cup (8 fl 02); and reference to the quart, an American quart (4 cups). For convenience of measurement, the Imperial and US quantities given in parentheses are often approximations.

TOWARDS A D E F I N I T I O N O F MACANESE COOKING

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• or the purposes of compiling this cookbook, I sought to develop a broad definition of what Macanese cooking is. Even within the community, there is no complete consensus. O n a number of occasions I have been given the name of a classic Macanese dish by one family, only to have another family claim it is not Macanese. Underlying this difference of opinion are issues such as gender, ethnic background, class, upbringing, age, knowledge and a simple interest or lack of it in cooking. mII

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It is perhaps simplest to define what Macanese food is not. There is certainly confusion over what I would prefer to call 'Macau' food: that is, dishes for which Macau may be famous but which are not truly Macanese. Favourites such as roast pigeon, pork-chop bun, and even egg curry, are eaten by locals and visitors alike, but have grown up in the broader, multi-cuisine restaurant scene, not from within the Macanese domestic kitchen. Macanese cooking is not a simple cross between Portuguese (the colonizer) and the local Chinese (the colonized). Indeed, when the Portuguese arrived in Macau four hundred and fifty years ago, the landmass was virtually uninhabited save for a few fishing families. Many Chinese who then began to work in Macau in the golden era still slipped back across the border into China to sleep. The Portuguese arrived with wives and servants from other colonies and outposts in Asia — Goa, Malacca, Indonesia, even Japan. The cooking which developed is, at its simplest, Portuguese dishes made with Portuguese techniques but using agricultural products of southern China, accented with Southeast Asian herbs and spices. A cuisine never stands still. Subsequently, many of the grander families embraced true Portuguese recipes made with all the traditionally correct ingredients, and these should be regarded as Macanese dishes, particularly as several appear on traditional menus at weddings, baptisms and large parties. The more average family incorporated more Cantonese-style dishes and ingredients, though there are in fact few totally Cantonese-inspired dishes in the Macanese lexicon. Tacho is perhaps the most Cantonese of all the recipes in this book. Today, mainly as a result of the Macanese diaspora, the cuisine is adapting itself to locally available ingredients across the world, often making substitutions, to produce dishes that have the spirit of Macanese cooking, but are far from traditional. The use of fresh codfish rather than salt cod {bacalhau), and the need to find an alternative for the almost extinct fish sauce bahchao, are good examples of this evolution.

MACANESE STORE CUPBOARD

Xhe beauty of Macanese cuisine is that so many of the ingredients are the staples of the keen kitchen and easy to buy everywhere from neighbourhood wet market to international supermarket. Whether piles of tomatoes and onions, eggs by the dozen, minced pork and whole chickens, or simply flour, butter and sugar, they are readily found. Sometimes the type or quality of the individual products can make a material difference to the dish (read on for details) and those ingredients that may not readily appear in the average larder are described here.

Bacalhau Salted (and thus preserved) codfish was and remains a staple of the Portuguese kitchen, though it is no longer as inexpensive as it used to be. It readily found its way to the South China Sea aboard Portuguese ships and became incorporated in Macanese cooking. Generally, it suffices to first wash the fish under running water, then soak it in water for twenty-four hours, regularly changing the water. After draining, pour boiling milk over it, and leave it for a further two hours. This helps to tenderize the fish before removing skin and bones. The flesh is then flaked or broken into large pieces, depending on the recipe application. The drained-off milk can be used in soup. In a perfect situation, there is no need to add more salt to a dish prepared with bacalhau, nor should the codfish itself bring too much salt to the dish. If you cannot source bacalhau, it is often possible to substitute fresh codfish, or similar meaty white fish, with the altered method explained in each recipe.

Balichao A defining moment of Macanese cooking, balichao is a strong and fiercely aromatic fermented fish sauce, likely to have taken its name from Malaysian balachan (fermented fish paste sold in a block). It is also said to have given birth to the shrimp paste currently so popular in Cantonese cooking. It is now difficult to find, even in Macau, and made by just a few old ladies. If not available, make your own balachan-bzsed balichao, or use a good quality Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce instead. Recipe for Balichao I am presenting this recipe entirely as it was given to me, using the traditional weights and measures of Macau/southern China still in use today, but I am not suggesting that you try it at home! Very few Macanese make it themselves, not necessarily because it is difficult, but because today it is virtually impossible to find the correct shrimps. Originally, the shrimps for this paste were found the way up the Pearl River Delta, and were of a variety almost too tiny to be seen with the naked eye. To use ordinary shrimps is to create something with the wrong flavour entirely.

Ingredients 10 cate* shrimps

2 tael peppercorns

3 cate salt

1 tael bay leaves, crushed

8 tael** Shaoxing (Chinese wine)

3 lemons, juiced and cut into quarters

4 tael Portuguese brandy

1-2 tael chillies

*1 cate = 500 g (13 lb) approx **1 tael - 30 g (I302) approx

Method Mix together, seal jar, and leave for 3 months! This recipe came from Isabel Eusebio, the owner of a former Macau restaurant called Balichao, and a place where many would enjoy Macanese food as cooked by Isabel's mother, Maria.

Recipe for Balachan-based Balichao One Macanese gourmet friend has suggested that, to get something close to the original flavour, we can start with a base of, say, 1 kg of Malaysian balachan, then mix it with all the balichao ingredients listed above, save for salt. Seal and leave for a few weeks to allow the ingredients to integrate. Then remove lemon peel, peppercorns and bay leaves. Before use, gently crush the sauce by hand or in a food processor. Fry for about two minutes, then store in a well-sealed jar for future use.

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Bay leaf Also known as the laurel leaf, this herb comes from the tree luiurus

nobilis.

It is a classic herb in European cooking and the tree is also a native of India. The leaves can be left whole in soups or stews, but should be crumbled when used in marinades.

Bechamel sauce To make a bechamel, melt 40 g butter (I7 o z / 3 tbsp) over a low heat in a heavy saucepan. Add 40 g flour (I70Z/3 rounded tbsp) and stir briskly for about 5 minutes until the mixture is smoothly blended but before the colour darkens. Slowly stir in 500 ml milk ( \ pint/2 cups), bring to a boil, season. This recipe will yield 500 ml of sauce; adapt quantities of ingredients where 12

smaller or larger quantities are required.

Brown sugar In Southeast Asia, dark palm sugar in blocks known as jaggery is often used instead of more refined dark sugars, but either is acceptable in Macanese cooking.

Chillies Macanese cooking normally uses the small and hot bird's-eye chillies, usually red but sometimes green.

Chinese wine Shaoxing wine is the so-called 'yellow' rice wine, good for braising. The so-called white' rice wine, moutai, is like a grappa, and is used to finish off the dish. The label on the bottle will usually give the generic name for the wine.

Coconut milk Popular across Southeast Asian cuisines, coconut milk features prominently in Macanese cooking, in sweet and savoury dishes. Tinned coconut milk is most commonly sold in a 165 ml (6 fl 0 2 / \ cup) can, which is the size used in this cookbook. Fresh coconut milk or freshly grated coconut flesh can of course be used if desired, though almost no Macanese continues to use fresh coconut.

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Chouri90 This dried chopped pork sausage is a staple of the Portuguese kitchen. The lower quality, cheaper sausages are designed for cooking in soups and stews, while the top quality ones can be eaten as they come, grilled (broiled) or barbecued, or incorporated into many different dishes. They come in many different sizes: 100 g/15 cm in length (4 o z / 6 in) is the standard size. The best substitute is not another kind of sausage but a salty, strong-flavoured ham.

••

C i n n a m o n bark The thick rough barks (cassia) found in Asia, crumbled, probably impart the best flavour in Macanese dishes, but the smaller pencil-thick sticks can be readily used. Though dried, the'freshness'of the bark is the key; in other wx>rds store for weeks rather than months.

Garlic The garlic bulbs found in Southeast Asia and used in Macanese cooking are typically those with 10-15 medium-sized cloves.

Glutinous rice Sticky rice is usually used in desserts, though there are some savoury dishes that incorporate it. Cook in the same wray as regular rice but soak for up to three hours before use.

I n d i a n curry powder Some modern Macanese and Macanese dishes substitute Chinese five-spice for curry powder, or combine the two, but Macanese cooking more normally uses an Indian curry powder likely to contain coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric and fenugreek.

Lap cheong Chinese dried sausage from Guangdong Province, most famous in Dongguan. It is slightly sweet so tends to be very popular with children when tossed in fried rice. Use Portuguese chourico as a substitute, or a strong-flavoured ham cut into small cubes.

s Lotus root (rhizome) This vegetable, popular in China, almost resembles strings of sausages. It is a little sweet, pleasantly crunchy, and beautiful in its cross section. It can be sliced in rings, which are very attractive, though the Cantonese are more likely to smash it with a cleaver, then chop it into 5 cm(2 in) lengths.

Morcela Portuguese blood sausage flavoured with warm spices such as cinnamon. Any good black sausage works as a substitute.

Olive oil A combination of butter and olive oil makes an excellent base for many Macanese dishes, but it is important to use the thick green-tinged aromatic Portuguese olive oils usually purchased in tins. Heavy Spanish or even Greek olive oils can make acceptable substitutes, but the lighter Italian oils are not generally suitable. Olives Most recipes in the book call for black Portuguese olives, but any olives can be substituted, the less processed the better. Look for oliy^es with a textured bite to them, rather than the very smooth, manufactured brands. Where green Portuguese olives are called for, any green olive can similarly be substituted, the firmer the flesh the better. 17

Rice In spite of the heavy use of potatoes, and the popularity of bread, steamed white rice (Thai fragrant rice is the most popular type today) is almost always served with Macanese food. Rather than having it 'dry', the Macanese famously spoon gravy or sauce over the rice before eating it. Wash rice before use. Saffron Notoriously expensive today, saffron brings a beautiful aroma to a dish, as well as a rich colour. It can — and should — be used sparingly so as not to dominate a dish. Even a quarter-teaspoonful of saffron powder is preferable to using turmeric, though the latter is more normally used today. If using good quality strands, as few as two to four strands is normally sufficient.

Sago Small, starchy pellets made from the stems of the sago palm which grows in Southeast Asia. This is sold in Southeast Asian stores, usually in sealed plastic packets of about 100 g (3^oz) in weight. Shrimp paste Cantonese shrimp paste, sold in solid blocks, is believe to be a direct descendent of balichao, though it is in fact far more salty less sweet and less 'fishy'. Malaysian balachan, on the other hand, is a more suitable substitute for balichao, and can be found in Southeast Asian grocery stores. Under the entry'Balichao' a recipe is given which produces a kind of balichao but based on balachan. In some cases, good quality nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) or, because it is usually more readily available, Thai nampla, can be used instead of balichao, particularly where aroma is as important as flavour.

Soy sauce (dark and light) Soy sauce is generally used as a marinade or to make sauces thicker, darker and of course salty. It is rarely if ever used in Macanese cooking as a dipping sauce or added at the last minute. Dark soy sauce is made from dark or black, rather than white, soy beans, and has a stronger flavour. Both types are used in Macanese cooking to varying degrees according to personal taste.

Star anise A beautifully aromatic spice, the traditional Chinese kitchen typically uses star anise for pork and poultry cooking, but it is included these days in everything from beef soup to fish stew.

Stock There is nothing to beat homemade stocks. At their most basic they simply require bringing to boil a pile of pork bones, a fresh chicken carcass with meat removed, or a fish head in about 1.5 litres (2 j pints/ 1 2 quarts) water. Skim the surface. Then add a stick of celery, a potato, a carrot, an onion and a clove of garlic. Simmer over a low simmering heat for one or two hours, l o r stocks in Macanese cooking, bay leaves, peppercorns, star anise and cinnamon bark can readily be added.

Tamarind Fresh tamarind pods are difficult to find outside Asia, and in any event most cooks buy tamarind in dried, pulp form from Southeast Asian grocery stores. This pulp should be soaked and even simmered in boiling water, then strained to leave a marvellously sour, rich liquid. Discard the fibrous remains. Work on proportions of about 150g tamarind pulp to 225 ml (8 fl o z / l c u p ) water.

Turmeric Turmeric brings little of flavour to a dish, but lends an attractive colour to all kinds of curries, sauces and even meats.

White wine While the Macanese in Macau would historically have used Portuguese white wine, the kind of white wine used in the marinades makes little difference to the final result. But avoid strong, oaky Chardonnays and use fresh-style wines where possible. Wrappers Wrappers, whether made from rice flour, wheat flour, gluten-free flour or various combinations of these including the addition of egg, are used for dishes such as spring rolls and Chinese dim sum. They come in all shapes and sizes; and they come fresh, frozen, chilled and dried. So the subject of wrappers is a rather complex one. There is one Hong Kong-based Macanese woman who told me she buys frozen wonton wrappers from the US because those in Hong Kong are not suitable for chi/icotes. Wrappers are used in this book for chamucas, and can also be used for chi/icotes and rissois in place of homemade pastries.

21

SECRET FAMILY RECIPES by Leung Ping-kwan (translated by Brian Holton) the swirling flicker begins from a lamp an always unsustainable accident at your car some sav you're hot-tempered but you're already n o longer that; people from later on boiled that dish dry, forgot the original theme, as we stirred we slowly lost ourselves too vague, too weak, too compromised impossible to arrive at the shape of dawn-to-dusk thought from beyond a mediocre cuisine we keep on wanting to recover those lost notes n o matter where we go we always carry with us from our youth the aromas that drifted through lanes and alleys from big colonial houses after school from the faraway town, renewing our desires the comforting embrace we repeatedly lose grown up, the subtly sweet and bitter sourness disclosed in unavoidable depression the secret escape route whose direction is unknown eternal secret, stuck between the teeth like Granny's paradoxical fishcakes: an undifferentiable blend of sweet and salty if you have the best bacalhau, if you have Portuguese olive oil, strong enough and mellow enough can everything then be magically reproduced? the dinners our godmothers cooked for us on Sundays in every attic, behind every closed curtain and shutter inside southern European-style windows in these dusty yesterdays, what was so subtly shining? sisters recorded it, kith and kin noted it down and the paper slowly and gradually faded impossible to hold on to these mysterious rites performed with such wizardly perfection remember the flavours of aniseed and nutmeg those balichao stir-fries really mouth-watering remember Granny used to cook a mysterious dish (neighbours all knew in the kitchen she'd do her stuff) the aroma was a lingering one, but after she was gone there was no-one who could blend the same flavours again our nickname was muchi-mtichi, and after school whoever lost a bet invited the others to eat cha-cha sweet bean soup we grew up between meals, faintly remembering grown ups had shown us a mysterious album we just mix food in the pan, not knowing if we can reclaim those riches

Leung Ping-kiran is a poet bom and raised in I long Kong. I le teaches literature and film studies at IJngiian I //irersity and has published ace/aimedpoetry, including Travelling with a Bitter Melon (2002), as well as fiction and critical essays. Currently he is working on a series of stories. Post colonial Affairs of Food and the I lean, and hisfirstphotography ('\hibition, Food and the ( \ t \.

MACANESE IN THEIR OWN WORDS LS with most Macanese families, food has been and still is an integral part of our family tradition. The aromas of minchi^ sauted ground beef or pork or a combination of both, capela^ our meadoaf, and chiffon cakes would fill the air every so often and what usually awaited was a great meal! As a kid, I never felt the need to learn the basics of preparing my most beloved Macanese dishes. Shortly after I gained an interest in baking, the family's head chef, my mother that is, passed away. My mother loved to cook and bake, and was good at both! (is

Now all that is left are memories of my mom **x in the kitchen and a f recipe book that I bring out once in a while ... Nevertheless, my maternal grandmother's speciality was Macanese food, which she would occasionally treat us to until Parkinson's took over the best of her; her passing was six years ago. But being a typical older-generation Macanese, she did not believe in passing on her

Anabela Estorninho was born in Macau, studied overseas at a hotel school, and returned to Macau to resume herprofessional career. She is married to another Macanese, and has a son in whose sense of cultural identity she takes a particular interest.

knowledge of the world's greatest cuisine and everyone, including myself, was shooed out of the kitchen! My persistence and my siblings' great love for a breakfast dish we call OVOS amarelos (yellow eggs) prevailed when my dear Avo (Granny) half-rcluctantly showed me the tricks to preparing a good serving of yellow eggs. This has become my signature item at family reunions, and is usually one of the highlights since it can only be had once every few years! Speaking of which, feasts are a must at family reunions be it in Macau, Portugal or NewYork. Dinner tables are laden with the more renowned and other lesser-known Macanese dishes. Minchl is a must, especially with kids around, and so is the Portuguese coconut chicken, braised beef loin we call vaca esttifada, zndporco

bafassa (braise-fried pork loin), with duck

bafassa ^nd galinha parida as luxury dishes. It's a pit}' no one I know makes sarrabulho

(sauted

diced internal organs of the pig) any more due to its high cholesterol content and the amount of preparation involved in cleaning and dicing a variety of pigs' insides. Funny howT my older brother and I loved this dish accompanied by plain white rice when we were little. I mean, kids don't usually appreciate these flavours until adulthood, but this was an exception. Regular visits to the wTet market were part of my childhood housekeeping training programme. Along with my mom, we would drive down to the central market to do our bi-weekly food shopping. In those days, wiien people were less aware of the hazards that bad hygiene could bring about, food purchased in markets was wrapped in old newspapers and tied with a string of seaweed. Weird or yucky as it may sound, everyone carried their own shopping baskets and there wras no real need or abusive use of plastic bags — you know; one of the tilings that is now polluting our environment. At an early age I came to realize that bargaining skills wrere an important part of shopping which lead to a tighter control on household expenses. When you have seven mouths to feed and throw lavish weekend family banquets, wow, you carry a lot of food home but at the same time leave a big chunk of your wallet in the market. I also learned that choosing only the best produce is the first secret to the preparation of a great dish. O n the other hand, what I disliked most of these visits w^as the arrival of the 'piggy truck\ where inspected, gutted and cleaned pigs w'ould make their way on to the butchers' benches — very fresh yet very smelly! And when the fish resisted being caught to be put under the knife, they'd toss and turn and wiggle their tails, splashing water all over our faces. \ow T adays, my son resists going into a wet market and when he does, he embarrasses me by clamping his nose and continuously muttering the w7ord 'smelly' in Chinese loud enough for it to be heard by passers-by and vendors. Funnily enough, the word 'supermarket' does miracles and brings a sparkle to his eyes, but so does minchil

have very vivid memories of my grandmother, and especially her baking. Many people continue to tell me how her baking was so special. But the people who influenced me most in my love for and the importance of Macanese cooking were probably my aunt and uncle in Australia, with whom I lived when I was studying there. Both loved food and enjoyed entertaining and cooking — and I would always help out in the kitchen, all the while learning so much from them about Macanese food. Through eating in that way, even though I was abroad, my Macanese-ness was kept alive, and indeed perhaps truly discovered for the first time. They were living very happily in Australia, but maintained such strong, vivid reminiscences of Macau. My first attempt at understanding what it meant to be Macanese was when I was at school in the United Kingdom, this being the first time I was treated as 'different'. I was not Chinese, I was not European; I was 'neither-nor'. At the age of eleven, I found myself trying to understand what it meant to be Macanese, without really knowing wiaat I w7as looking for. If I had stayed in Macau, I am not sure if I would have realized how7 important it is to keep my own Macanese-ness alive, nor recognized how- fragile is the Macanese identit}7. In Macau, it is much easier to take Macanese-ness for granted. At the risk of sounding controversial, I w7ould say that Macanese w7ho have lived overseas might feel stronger about maintaining their Macanese identity compared to those in Macau. Howrever, I also know7 that after the handover in 1999 there were many Macanese who went througl

deling displaced — and perhaps still do.

But it is up to us as individuals to maintain what makes Macau special, and that is the four hundred years of intermarriage wiiich uniquely produced us, the Macanese. If wre cannot maintain the sense of this history, it is Macau that suffers as much as the Macanese. Macau becomes just like any other city What is important about Macau is not just a few7 things the Portuguese left behind. It is the way in which we have evolved together. I am convinced that cuisine, in almost any culture, is the easiest way to understand that culture and learn about the people. Food goes so much deeper than being a matter of filling the stomach. In Macanese cooking, you only have to look at the combination of ingredients to understand so much about w7here the people came from. Even for me, as someone by now7 very Westernized wiio knows nothing of the Macanese patois, Macanese cooking is the thing which helps me understand my own heritage. I also feel very strongly about preserving it as an effective tool to conserve our unique and meaningful culture, our heritage for future generations!

Isabel da Silva was born in Macau, but left at ayoung age to be educated in the United Kingdom, Australia and Switzerland. After hotel school, she returned to Macau with the idea of being with her family for a couple of years, little expecting that she would still be there, and thriving professionally, into her thirties.

define the authenticity of our cuisine by the aromas and tastes that I remember: the aroma of the marinades of wine, garlic and laurel leaves; the aromas of saffron, nutmeg, cloves, cumin; or the aroma of stir-fried balichao^ the Macanese shrimp paste. All these aromas remind me of Macau, my granny's place, my childhood and teenage years, and Praia Grande. These are the aromas that I am trying to reproduce in my cooking. When I was a child, my friends and I liked very much to take long walks after school, in the surroundings of Praia Grande, Lilau, Rua Central and the areas of S. Lourenco, where there were many large and beautiful colonial-style houses. Passing the doors of those houses during lunchtime or before teatime certainly whet our appetites! One of our favourite games was to guess who was living in those houses, whether it was a Chinese, Portuguese or Macanese family. We would distinguish the family by the aroma of the cooking. And when we were in doubt, we could wander around the house for days until we could find out for sure. The best part was when one of us decided to challenge, so we had to bet. The one who lost had to invite us all to have 'cha-cha' after school {cha-cha is a sweet assorted-bean soup with coconut milk, served either hot or cold; when cold, vanilla or coconut ice-cream can be added). My granny was famous for her sarrabulho (a dish redolent with spice made from pig blood and chicken offal) and I was lucky enough to have tried it during my teenage years; but sadly, she didn't leave the recipe written down for anyone. Those who remember say that when she cooked it, the whole neighbourhood would know, because of the unique aromas. I tried to reproduce it, and am glad to say that I succeeded, but it took me almost five hours in the kitchen to achieve the correct aroma and taste. I am still trying to improve on it; at least to reduce the time required for cooking! Sadly, many of the recipes in the Macanese repertoire we only know by name and have no idea how to actually make them. My nickname is Mutchi, after a Macanese sweet dumpling called muchi-muchi, which is made with rice flour, peanut filling and toasted soya bean powder or white bean powder. I had heard about this dumpling for years, but did not have the chance to try it until about three years before I left Macau. Subsequently I have learnt that there is only one person in Macau who really knows how to make it.

"*7V"

Marina de Senna Fernandes is the daughter of a Macanese novelist, Henrique de Senna Fernandes. She trained as a lawyer and ivorked professionally in Macau for a number of years, but now makes Lisbon her home.

M

ost Aiacaenses will agree that their cuisine is basically Portuguese enriched with the spices

and wonderful flavours of the East. The legacy the Macaenses will leave to their descendants

after four hundred years in Macau is not music, architecture, literature, or poetry; it is a cuisine with more diversity and complexity and than any left by Western countries who claimed empires on Asian soil. Though its distance from Portugal is much greater than that of Madeira or the Azores Islands, a Macaense feels just as Portuguese. Their intermarriage with other cultures has given them a wealth and heritage unique to a people who have retained their identity and loyalty to their country of origin. The exotic foods of Southeast Asia blended well with Portuguese food. To some it may be curious that Portuguese cuisine retained its dominance while spices and ingredients from the Indo-Malay and Chinese cultures played but a supporting role. Macau remained very European throughout its history. Its culture and food retained the strong historical link and pride that the Portuguese always carried with them. Some families in Macau have closer ethnic ties to Portugal than do others: many mainland Portuguese have married into local Macaense families. This has a direct impact on the culinary preferences both at home and in the restaurants they frequent. As this has gone on for centuries, some mainland traditional dishes have been integrated into the Macaense cuisine. The social structure of Macau, like that of most societies, is divided into groups. The average household at the beginning of the twentieth century, for example, had at least one domestic helper and affluent families had anywhere from four to six. This obviously affected the way meals were cooked and served. The larger estate homes had a cook, with an assistant, and the lady of the house often supervised the cooking and presentation of the meal. In the average home, the domestic staff did most of the cooking if the lady of the house did not do it herself. As such, the affluent residents of Macau often had three- or four-course meals, frequently served with wine, and the average home had two or perhaps three courses. Living in California, I still carry on the traditions of my family. The recipes, which my mother sent to me when I was in university in England, have been translated by me and passed on to my children. I have written some of my own, as my ancestors did, based on traditional Portuguese cuisine. The evolution goes on, now with an American touch — but always, Portuguese olive oil, often a glass of our distinctive port wine, and occasionally a touch of aguardente.

30

Antonio M. Jorge da Silva is a member of a formerly prominent Macau family. He now lives with his wife and two daughters in California, where he has an architectural practice. He regularly visits Macau, and recently completed a professionalp Hong Kong — the lighting system for the new Club Lusitano Building.

fust shy of his eightieth birthday and a proud grandfather, lawyer Henrique de Senna Fernandes is a tireless chronicler of Macau and the Macanese. tie has published widely in Portuguese, and two of his novels have been made into movies, most notably A Tranca Feiticeira (The Bewitching Braid). He writes daily from his legalpractice, ajumbled office in the heart of downtown Macau. An exotic and engaging character, he is also a charming raconteur.

ow he missed Macau having left it. He could still feel his friend's warm embrace. He felt a vague need to cry. Two weeks in his homeland after an absence of twenty-four years had hardly been enough. It would have been better if he hadn't come back. But how could a Macanese turn down the chance of seeing his homeland again when given the opportunity? His mind was still full of the sights of his native city. The trees along the Praia Grande and the Chunambeiro, the mellow autumn sunset watched from one of the belvederes on the Penha hill, the Meia-Laranja, with the sights of its junks eternally coming and going from the fishing grounds, the streets and alleyways, wending their way down from S. Lourenco to Manduco beach, the narrow and twisting residue of an old Macau now tending to disappear. He had made full use of his stay. He had satisfied his long craving for Macanese and Lnese food, savoured with their own local ingredients, he had enjoyed the sincere hospitality of his friends, had tenderly deposited a wreath on his parents' grave and visited the school where, as a young boy, he had dreamed of wider horizons and distant places. He had been shocked by the changing face of his city. There were new districts, modern blocks and seething traffic. That was progress, people said. The early 1970s were years of optimism and a promise of new prosperity There was the future bridge, the new Hotel Lisboa, tourists in their droves and many other things, whose novelty was beginning to shake the sleepy old town from its lethargy. Two weeks had been enough time to acquaint him with the latest intrigues, rumours and gossip. In these things Macau hadn't changed. He discovered a new restaurant, the Solmar, wj^ere he could meet hi§ friends of old. He had found out who had died, and who "" ISfcfs. He had brought himself up to date with Macau and its news.'

/ rom the short story Candy by iHenrique de Senna Fernandes. As published in Visions of China: Stories from Macau (Hong Kong University Press, 2002) selected and translated from the Portuguese by David Brooksbaw

T

X—\—\

• h e typical Macanese house in Macau, as I remember from my childhood, had a flower garden in the front, and a horta (kitchen garden) in the back. The front is food for the soul, and the back is food for the stomach! I remember that food was incredibly important to Macanese families — and still is. Every gathering featured food very strongly. But if none of your daughters were getting married, or none of your sons were getting baptized, everyone managed to find an excuse to get together to eat anyway. So we would eat food for its own sake! Families were always large, so we could always present many dishes at the same time. I was raised in a large, middle-class family — you could say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth (as opposed to a gold one!). My grandmother was Chinese, but she took a CathoUc name and did not impose her own culture at home. One of my uncles was a priest, and four of my aunts were teachers in the Portuguese school. At home we ate mainly Macanese food (more than half of the time); twenty percent of our food was Portuguese or continental, and the remainder Chinese. Much of the Portuguese food had become so popular among Macanese families that it was almost assumed to be Macanese. My mother never learned to cook; I learned to cook in Lisbon. I was suffering from a head cold one day, and was sent to a Macanese medic called z\lberto. I found out that he was a good cook and in fact would go to see him not when I was sick, but to eat and to learn how to cook. Food is central to our identity, but as to the future of the Macanese culture, I am not sure. The culture of a community lasts until the day it ceases to be somehow 'useful'. So long as there are genuine 'agents' who are spontaneous and dynamic, our culture will continue. If a culture is seen only through the annals of a museum, that means the culture has already faded away. I believe there are fewer and fewer of those agents ... and I do not want to see our culture in the National Museum of Anthropology. I still love Macanese food more than any other cuisine — it contains so many different tastes — but it seems to me that the ultimate position for the Macanese person today is to be a citizen of the world.

h

Carlos Marreiros, who calls himself 500 percent Macanese \ is among the more politicised of the community. Born in Macau, he studied architecture in Portugal and Germany, returned to Macau in 1985, and today works passionately I as an architect in Mara//. I lis first loves, however are painting and writing.

H t l l J S£ffCTCI Ifcl 14 N 91H? Almondegas Minced Pork Patties

Makes about 20 pieces

500 g (1 lb/2 cups) minced pork 100 g (3i 0 2 / i cup) hard yellow cheese, grated 10 green olives, finely chopped pinch salt pinch white pepper 2 eggs, beaten white breadcrumbs olive oil mixed with a little butter for frying

1. Combine pork, cheese and olives and knead together until the mixture is smooth and thick. Season with a little salt and pepper. 2. Form mixture into small balls. Dip each ball in beaten egg, then breadcrumbs and flatten to form a small burger about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. 3. Heat a little olive oil and butter in a pan to generously cover the bottom, and shallow fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown, turning once.

Anabela Estorninho (see her story on p 24) remembers these little pork patties that godmother, Auntie Mina, used to make, as totally delicious. The recipe is incredibly simple, but the result outstanding — although it should be noted that the original hand-written recipe did not include the quantities of each ingredient! 1 have approximated these. The Portuguese word almondega usually refers to a round meatball In this case we flatten each one into a small burger shape.

ZItllJ RKT3IC1 Ifcl 14U& Caldo Verde Cabbage and Potato Soup

Serves 6

8 medium potatoes 3 litres (5 p i n t s / S i quarts) water 1 tablespoon salt (or more, to taste) 1 teaspoon white pepper 150 ml (5 fl o z / § cup) Portuguese olive oil 8 cloves garlic, crushed 1 onion, finely chopped 1 whole chourico (100 g / 4 oz approx), sliced, or strong-flavoured ham, cut into slices 1 bunch kale, cut into fine strips

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes and place in a pan with 3 litres (5 p i n t s / 3 i quarts) of water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and \ teaspoon pepper, cover and bring to boil. When cooked, remove the potatoes, mash and return to the water in the pan. 2. In a separate pot, heat olive oil and fry garlic, remove when brown and set aside. Add onion and saute until almost translucent. Add the sausage slices and continue to fry until onions are fully translucent. 3. Transfer garlic, sausage and onion, inclueling all the oil, into the pot with the potato broth. This can now be set aside until the meal is almost ready to be served. 4. fust before serving, bring the broth to a boil, add kale and cook for 5 minutes or until the kale is tender. Taste and correct corrcc for seasoning, then serve hot with a drizzle of Portuguese olive oil in each bowl.

Antonio M. Jorge da Silva, who passed on this recipe, comments that although caldo verde is the most traditional of Portuguese soups, if is served in almost every [non-Asian] restaurant in Macau. The use of Portuguese olive oil is essential as its pungency, when sauted with garlic, produces the most typical and traditional Portuguese aroma and flavour, fie adds, 'Some people puree the onions and potatoes before serving, I prefer the country style.'

H t l l J S£TCK1 VX M N M CK Casquinha de Caranguejo Stuffed Cooked Crab

500 g (1 l b / 2 cups) crab meat, flaked 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 75 g (2^ 0 2 / 3 cup) black mushrooms, finely chopped 2 red bell pepper, finely diced 25 g (1 o z / 2 tbsp) butter 10 Portuguese black olives, finely diced 5 stalks fresh coriander, finely chopped 500 ml ( | p i n t / 2 cups) bechamel sauce (see p 12 for preparation) salt and pepper to taste 1 egg, beaten breadcrumbs

1. Saute onion, garlic, mushroom and bell pepper in butter until lightly browned. Add crabmcat, olives and coriander. Gradually add bechamel sauce, stirring constantly until everything is well combined. Check for seasoning. 2. Stuff mixture into cleaned crab shells (or ramekin dishes) and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and place under the oven grill for about 5 minutes until lightly browned.

38

Serves 6

K l t l l J RtfTCKl IfclHI M M Chamugas I Macanese Samosas

Makes 25-30 pieces

fi?r //>r filling 500 g (1 l b / 2 cups) minced beef 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon paprika pinch ground clove 1 teaspoon saffron pinch ground cinnamon 1 green bird's-eye chilli, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2.5 cm (1 in) piece ginger, finely chopped 1 teaspoon oil 1 reaspoon vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 1 onion, cut into very tine rings, then soaked in a little vinegar and water for 20 minutes and dried carefully bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped spring roll wrappers egg white, lightly beaten cloves (optional) oil for deep-frying 1. Place all ingredients for the filling, except onion and coriander, in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over a slow heat for about 30 minutes until the mixture is totally dry. Add more salt if necessary. 2. Stir onion and coriander into the meat mixture and set aside. 3. Using a generous teaspoonful of meat mixture as filling, fold wrappers into two-bite-size triangles (see diagram on p 41), sealing the edges with egg wliite and placing a clove if used at centre. Deep-fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown. This recipe was passed to me by Adnano Neves, owner of A Lorcha restaurant in Macau, and the son of a Portuguese father and Chinese mother. His father taught Adriano's mother how to cook Portuguese food, and she remains head chef at A Lorcha, one of the best and most popular Portuguese restaurants in Macau. 1 lowever, on the menu are one or two Macanese dishes, including these excellent chamucas. They are made off the premises each day apparently by an elderly Macanese woman, but her identity has not been made known to me! With their thin wheat-flour wrapper and slightly spicy filling, chamucas can be characterized as a cross between Chinese deep-fried spring rolls and Indian samosas. The Indian influence is more obvious still in the vegetarian version, recently added to the restaurant menu, with its richly spiced peas and potato combination. Chamucasare traditionally wrapped to create small triangles though I find it equally nice — and perhaps easier — to create scjuarcs, placing a clove at the centre of each one to help hold the four points together 'see photograph on p 41).

H t l l J EKTCK1 KklHI H 91JK Chamucas II Macanese Vegetarian Samosas

Makes about 20 pieces

For the filling 1 onion, finelv chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger 2 fresh chillies, finely chopped 1 carrot, finelv diced 2 potatoes, finely diced 100 g (3 2 o z / 2 cup) green peas 1 tablespoon ground coriander 2 teaspoons curry powder J> teaspoon saffron 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs spring roll wrappers egg white oil for deep-frying

1. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil undl soft. Stir in ginger and chillies and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Then add carrots, potatoes and peas. Mix in coriander, curry powder and saffron and season with salt. Cook over a very low heat for up to 1 hour until the vegetables are soft and the mixture dry. 2. Adel lemon juice and breadcrumbs to absorb any excess liquid. Check for salt. Set aside. 3. Place a generous teaspoon of filling on to each spring roll wrapper. Fold wrappers into 2-bite-size mangles (see diagram) and seal edges with egg white. Deep-fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown.

40

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fiKTCKl K l HI N M H2

Cut the wrapper into strips about 7 cm x 16 cm (3 x 6 inches). Place a heaped teaspoon of filling about 2,5 cm (1 inch) in from the short edge nearest to you andfold as illustrated

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continue folding in this way until you have a triangle

41

Chilicotes Deep-fried Meat Pies

Makes 10-12 pieces

For the pastry 200 g (7 o z / s c a n t 1 cup) flour 2 teaspoon salt 1 egg, beaten 2 teaspoons oil 50 ml (1-f fl oz/scant 4 cup) cold water For the filling 1 small potato, peeled, cooked in salted water, then finely chopped oil for frying 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finelv chopped 2 teaspoons Indian curry powder pinch saffron (optional) 100 g (3 i o z / 4 cup) minced beef 50 g ( 1 | o z / i cup) minced pork 1 teaspoon salt oil for deep-frying

1. To prepare the pastry, sift flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and slowly stir in beaten egg. Gradually add oil and water and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is combined. Knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 2. Place a little oil in a pan and saute onion and garlic over gentle heat until soft. Stir in curry powder (and saffron, if using). Add meats and stir to break down any lumps. When the meat is cooked through, combine with potato and salt. Set aside and cool. 3. Take dough from refrigerator. Roll out and cut into 7.5 cm (3 in) diameter rounds. Place a generous teaspoon of stuffing at the cenrre of each shell and fold pastry over to make a half-moon shape. Seal edges with water. Deep-fry until golden brown and serve immediately

This particular recipe includes a tew tips I have received from different sources. Not satisfied by early attempts to recreate this Macanese favourite, I asked the daughter of a well-known Macanese cook for the 'secret'. She told me to try mashing the potato rather than cutting it into little cubes to create a more solid filling which would fill the pie right to the edges. She added that it was just as well that I had asked her this question personally, as her mother would never have passed on the tip! Another Macanese woman told me that the potatoes should never be mashed. After many tastings m various places I do believe the most authentic version cuts the potatoes rather than mashes them.

42

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RttlM « K « i l fcl HI M 911« Pasteis de Bacalhau Salt Cod Cakes

Makes 15—20 pieces

250 g (8 oz/1 cup) bacalhau (see p 10 for preparation) 2 large potatoes 1 small onion, very finely chopped 2 eggs 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley olive oil for deep-frying

1. After preparing the bacalhau in the usual way, flake into tiny shreds (this can even be done in a food processor). 2. Boil potatoes in their skins in plenty of water until well cooked. Drain. Remove skins and mash potatoes until very smooth. 3. Combine codfish, potato, onion, eggs and parsley, working the mixture by hand until it is soft and smooth. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. 4. Form the mixture into small oval-shaped cakes between two teaspoons and deep-fry in olive oil over a high heat. Serve hot or cold.

Note: This dish cannot be made with fresh codfish as the fish is too wet and lacks sufficient flavour or texture.

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Makes 6 pieces (1 per serving)

6 cabbage leaves, dinner-plate size 300 g (10 oz/14 cups) lean pork meat, such as loin, finely chopped (but not minced) 1 tablespoon flour 1 teaspoon salt For the sauce

1 clove garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying i tomato, skinned and de-seeded 1 teaspoon tomato paste 1 bay leaf 200 ml (7 fl oz/1 cup) water h teaspoon balichao, ready fried salt to taste

1. Blanch cabbage leaves in boiling water for about 30 seconds to soften. 2. In a bowl, combine chopped pork, flour and salt, and mix by hand until a little sticky. 3. Place about 1 tablespoon of pork mixture at the centre of each cabbage leaf Turn in sides of leaf and roll, and secure with a cocktail stick. Steam cabbage rolls for 10 minutes. 4. Saute the garlic in a little olive oil over a low heat until soft but not browned. Increase the heat, add tomato and tomato paste, and stir until tomato starts to break down. Add bay leaf, water and balichao and cook for about 5 minutes until the flavours are fully combined. Check seasoning and add salt to taste. 5. Transfer cabbage rolls to sauce in pan and cook over a low heat for a further 5 minutes. Serve with a little steamed rice or boiled potato.

Note: If using a fish sauce other than balichao but in the same quantity (such as the balachan-based recipe, sec p 11), check carefully for salt.

This is the first dish I ever ate at Restaurante Carlos, and I can still remember how impressed I was. Such delicate, almost elegant flavours; and once given the recipe, I also discovered how quick and simple it is to make. Restaurant owner and chef, Henrique Castilho (the restaurant was named after a former partner), says the dish can also be made with either beef or shrimp. Born in Macau of a Chinese mother and a Hong Kong-Portuguese father, former healdi inspector Henrique learned to cook 'by watching'.

46

•CI t i l l RKTCKl VX HI N M Rissois Shrimp Rissoles

Makes 15 pieces

For the dough 200 g (7 oz /scant 1 cup) plain flour 1 teaspoon salt 200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) water 25 g (1 o z / 2 tbsp) butter For the filling 300 g (10 0 2 / I 4 cups) fresh shrimps, shelled, washed, de-veined, and sprinkled with \ teaspoon salt 1 onion, finely chopped olive oil for frying 1 tomato, finely chopped 2 tablespoons milk juice of 3 lemon 2 eggs, beaten white breadcrumbs

1. First make the dough. Sieve the flour with the salt. Bring water to boil and stir in butter. Add flour and salt and stir until the flour is absorbed and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and when dough has cooled a little, turn on to a board and knead until smooth. Rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 2. Blanch the shrimps in boiling water for 1 minute and roughly chop. Set aside. 3. Saute the onion in a litrle olive oil, add the tomato and cook until soft. Add reserved shrimps and stir well. Pour on milk and lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring until the mixture has thickened a little. Remove from heat and set aside. 4. Take dough from refrigerator. Roll out thinly and cut into 9 cm- (3i in) diameter circles. Place a scant teaspoon of filling at the centre, fold the pastry in half and seal the edges tightly. Rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. 5. Dip each rissole in beaten egg, then breadcrumbs and deep-fry for about 8 minutes until golden brown.

Like so many recipes m the Macanese repertoire, this dish is very obviously of Portuguese origin. It is slightly altered m the Macanese kitchen, where it uses water rather than milk in the pastry, and adds vegetables to the prawn stuffing.

K l t l M EKffCTCI Ifcl HI H W MC Sopa de Abobora & Caranguejo Crab and Pumpkin Soup

Serves 4—6

100 g (3 2 02/ J cup) crabmeat, flaked 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 50 g (2 0 2 / i cup) butter 50 g (2 02/ J cup) flour 1 teaspoon turmeric 500 g (1 lb) firm Asian pumpkin flesh, diced 1 red bird's-eye chilli, chopped 1 litre (1 i pints/44 cups) fish stock 1 bay leaf 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoon pepper

1. Saute onion and garlic in butter in a large pan until they begin to soften. Slowly add flour and turmeric until fully combined and continue cooking for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add pumpkin, chilli, fish stock and bay leaf, bring to boil, simmer for 45 minutes. 2. Remove bay leaf and transfer contents of pan to an electric blender and blend until smooth. 3. Return soup to gende heat, stir in crabmeat and seasonings and cook for a furdier couple of minutes.

Veronica Chan de Jesus serves this soup in her Macanese restaurant Sol Nascente from time to time and finds it pleases all palates. It is true that almost evervone seems to love fresh crab, though vou can get away with using frozen crab in this dish, blanched before use. The final texture, thanks to the blended pumpkin, is incredibly creamy, so the addition of real cream at the end is unnecessary.

48

XUII « * 3 R « fcl !M U MM Sopa de Couve Flor Cauhflower Soup

Serves 4—6

1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying 50 g (2 oz/ 4 cup) Thai fragrant white rice, washed 1.5 litres (2 \ pints/1 \ quarts) water 1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoon pepper 200 ml (7 floz/1 cup) milk 100 ml (3 \ fl 02/ 7 cup) heavy cream 2 eggs, beaten

1. In a large pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. 2. Add washed rice to water to die pan and cook for about 20 minutes until rice is very soft. Add cauliflower, salt and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. 3. Add milk and cream, return to boil, and quickly stir in eggs. Serve.

This recipe comes from Riquexo restaurant, a cantecn-stvic establishment in Macau owned by Sonia and Fred Palmet, which also does a roaring home-delivery service for elderlv Macanese. Heading up the kitchen is Sonia's mother, Aida Jesus, one of the best-known proponents of Macanese cooking who, in a previous incarnation at the landmark Hotel Lisboa, was responsible for training many young Macanese in their native cooking. This soup is a delicious and surprisingly light dish despite the addition of eggs and cream. The restaurant would not normally serve it as a vegetarian dish, but would add shredded chicken meat (the meat of one chicken leg) with the milk and cream. A little chicken powder would generally be used for extra flavour but is here omitted.

49

R » l H (OTTO fcl UN Mitt Tostas de Camarao Vivienne's Har Toasy (Shrimp Toasts)

Makes 16 pieces

200 g (7 oz/1 cup) shrimps, shelled, washed and de-veined 5 water chestnuts (optional) 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger 1 egg, lightly beaten \\

teaspoons cornflour

1 teaspoon Madeira or sherry h teaspoon salt pinch freshly ground black pepper 4 slices white sandwich bread (2 days old), crusts removed oil for deep-frying

1. Finely chop shrimps and water chestnuts, and mix with ginger. Add beaten egg and stir in cornflour, Madeira or sherry. Season with salt and pepper. 2. Spread shrimp mixture evenly over the bread. Cut each slice into four triangles. 3. Heat a generous amount of oil to smoking point. Place toasts, shrimp-side down, on a slotted spoon and gently lower into the oil. Deep-fry until bread is golden (about 1 \ minutes). Turn each piece and continue deep-frying for a few seconds more. Drain, and serve hot.

This recipe comes from an old family cookbook passed to Hong Kong-born Mary Roeirigues from her mother-in-law, Lady Ana Rodrigues. 1 wish we knew who Yivienne is, to whom the dish is attributed! The name given to die dish is already very interesting. Har is the Cantonese word for shrimp and toasy is a rather Cantonese wav of pronouncing toast. It illustrates how the Macanese community, though Pormguese-speaking, has also become increasingly integrated in the local populations of Hong Kong and Macau. After the 1970s, when the Portuguese population in Macau began to dwindle with the departure of the military, more and more Macanese began marrying into the Chinese community, rather than the Portuguese. Interestingly, one Chinese friend born in Macau told me that this dish was the first AYestern' dish she ever ate. Yivienne notes that these toasts can be kept warm in a slow oven before use, and can also be frozen, then re-heated in a moderate oven.

50

X t l l J EKTCK1 Ifcl HI H M t« Tostas de Queijo Cheese Toasts

Makes up to 100 pieces

250 g (8 02/1 cup) Cheddar cheese, finely grated 250 g (8 02/I cup) Edam cheese, finely grated 250 g (8 02/I cup) butter, softened 3 eggs, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons English mustard loaf white sandwich bread

1. Remove crusts from the bread, then cut each slice into eight triangles. 2. Heat the oven to 150°C (300°F), place bread pieces on a baking tray and put them in the oven for about 5 minutes to slightly dry the bread. 3. Combine cheese with butter, eggs, sugar and mustard. 4. Flatten a generous teaspoon of the cheese mixture at the centre of each triangle, placing it on the underside of the bread (which will be softer than the top side). 5. Bake in a hot oven (180°C/350°F) for about 15 minutes until the cheese mixture is set but not browned.

Simple but time consuming and a little fiddly, this dish is nonetheless a favourite for Macanese parties. This recipe was passed to Isabel da Silva (see her story on p 26) bv her Uncle Jose, and is one which stronglv reminds her of her childhood. Some recipes call for only one type of cheese; but mixing two types (the better the qualm' of the cheese, the better the taste of the toasts) produces a more delicious result.

51

a H :raw» i sttim Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa Salt Cod in Gomes de Sa Style

Serves 6

500 g (1 lb/2 cups) bacalhau (see p 10 for preparation) 3 medium potatoes, parboiled for 20 minutes with skins off, peeled, then sliced in thin wheels 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 onions, thinly sliced in rings 100 ml (3i 0 2 / ^ cup) Portuguese olive oil pepper to taste salt as necessary 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced 20 Portuguese black olives 1. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until the onions are translucent and lightly browned. Remove garlic and discard. 2. Add potatoes and flaked bacalhau to the pan, stir and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes to blend the flavours. 3. Pre-heat oven to 170°C (325°F). Transfer onion, potato and fish mixture to a baking dish and sprinkle with pepper (and salt, if required). Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered, until the top is golden brown. 4. Garnish with chopped parsley, slices of hard-boiled egg and black olives and serve.

Note: If bacalhau is not available, substimte ling or other firm rock cod, though the taste would be quite different This recipe, from Antonio da Silva (see his story on p 30), is based on a traditional recipe from Minho, Portugal, which takes its name from its creator, Gomes de Sa. It falls into the category of Portuguese dishes so heartily embraced by the Macanese as to be rendered a firm part of the Macanese culinary history.

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Bacalhau a Penha Salt Cod in Penha Hill Style

Serves 6-8

600 g ( H l b / 2 i cups) bacalhau (see p 10 for preparation) 3 medium potatoes, cooked in their skins, peeled, then sliced 2 onions, sliced 2 green bell peppers, sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 200 g (7 02/I cup) fresh black mushrooms, chopped 3 bay leaves olive oil for frying 80 ml (3 fl oz/4 cup) heavy cream 800 ml (H pints/3^ cups) bechamel sauce (see p 12 for preparation) 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered 12 black olives 1. Saute onion, bell peppers, garlic, mushrooms and bay leaf in a generous amount of olive oil until onions are beginning to soften. 2. Stir in bacalhau flakes until it is fragrant. Pour in cream and bechamel sauce and stir well. Add potato slices, eggs and olives. 3. Turn into a baking dish and place under the oven grill until lightly browned.

Note: It is difficult to use fresh fish in this recipe in place of bacalhau as the taste and texture are not strong enough. Penha Hill is one of the most scenic parts of Macau, with a beautiful church built at its top. The allusion in the name of this dish clearly illustrates that the Macanese were and remain firmly Catholic. They did not follow the Buddhism or Taoism of their Chinese neighbours. On the other hand, many Chinese in Macau as a result of the Portuguese influence were born into or converted to Catholicism, and in these circumstances were often baptized with Portuguese given names.

54

si KI s raa SKI u i t J i: Bacalhau Fresco Assado Baked Fresh Cod

Serves 6

3 fillets Canadian black cod or ling (or any white, meaty fish) 5 potatoes, parboiled in their skins for 15 minutes, peeled, then sliced 4 cloves garlic, crushed 3 onions, sliced thinly in rings 6 tablespoons Portuguese olive oil 100 ml (34 fl o z / i cup) whole milk 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoon white pepper 3 tomatoes, sliced 100 g ( 3 \ o z / 4 cup) Portuguese black olives

1. Saute the garlic and onions in 4 tablespoons olive oil until the onions arc translucent. Remove from heat and place in a deep ovenproof dish and top with cod fillets. Add milk and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the wliite pepper. 2. Place parboiled potato slices in a laver on the fish and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Layer the sliced tomatoes on the potatoes and arrange half the olives on top. Drizzle evenly with remaining olive oil. 3. Cover the dish with foil and place in pre-heated oven at 180°C (350°F). Bake for about \\ hours until potatoes arc soft. 4. Take the dish from the oven, remove the foil and dress potato covering with remaining black olives. Return dish uncovered to the oven lor 5 minutes. Serve with bread.

Antonio da Silva (see his story on p 30) contributed this cod dish which he created for cooks (such as his daughters) who cannot readily find bacalhau. 'The use of a fresh cod or ling makes it easy for me to maintain the Portuguese-ncss of this dish. It is simple to prepare but without a strong Portuguese' olive oil, forget it! This is an example of where the Macaenses who have moved away are adapting recipes to either suit the availability of ingredients or even getting to simpler tastes for the next generation. These adaptations will eventually dilute the complexity of the original tastes, but this is inevitable/

55

Bacalhau Guisado Salt Cod Stew

Serves 4-6

500 g (1 lb/2 cups) bacalhau (see p 10 for preparation) 2 large onions, cut into 0.5 cm (i in) rounds 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 large bell peppers, roughly chopped 2 large potatoes, cut into 0.5 cm (Jin) rounds 2 bay leaves salt and pepper to taste pinch paprika 400 ml (14 fl oz/li cups) olive oil

1. Remove skin and bones from the codfish, and break flesh into large flakes. 2. In large, heat-resistant casserole with a well-fitting lid, layer onion, garlic, tomato, peppers, potato, bacalhau and bay leaves, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika, and pour olive oil over the top. 3. Bring to a boil, then tightly cover pot. Reduce heat to the minimum and cook for at least 2 hours. Do not stir and do not remove pot lid. Shake the pot to avoid sticking.

Note: If bacalhau is not available, fresh fish fillets such as Canadian black cod or ling can be substituted, though the taste would be quite different. Where does Portuguese cuisine end, and Macanese begin? Bacalhau dishes seem to have such strong origins in the motherland. However, a dish such as this looks 'local' because all the vegetables can be readily found in southern China, and the manner of cooking renders them delicious, when in truth vegetables in tins part of the world can lack flavour. The copious amount of olive oil called for might scare off some. Don't worry, says Marina de Senna Fernandes (sec her story on p 28) from whom this recipe came: the oil is necessary to bring texture, aroma and full flavour to the codfish. No need to use your best extra virgin for this: a thick Portuguese oil from a can is perfect.

56

FISH & S F A F O O

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Caril de Camarao Shrimp Curry

Serves 4—6

750 g (1 J> l b / 3 cups) shrimps, shelled, cleaned, de-veined and mixed with 2 teaspoons salt 50 g (2 02/4 cup) tamarind pulp, softened in 100 ml (3i fl o z / ^ cup) hot water, then strained 1 onion, finely chopped olive oil for frying 1 x 165 ml (6 fl oz/tj cup) can coconut milk 4 green bird's-eye chillies, cut in half lengthwavs 2 teaspoon saffron 1 teaspoon paprika 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2 teaspoon ground cumin

1. Saute the onion in plenty of olive oil undl very soft. Add shrimps together with coconut milk, tamarind, chillies, saffron and paprika. Stir over a low heat for 2 minutes. 2. Stir in garlic and ground cumin and cook for a further couple of minutes, or until the shrimps are pale and soft. Serve immediatelv with plain, steamed rice.

Beautifully home-cooked in style (note the unusual combination of coconut milk and tamarind in the same dish), this recipe came from Anabela Estorninho (see her story on p 24), from her mother's hand-written cookbook. Play with the proportions a little to achieve the flavour vou like in terms of spicing.

58

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a fa: rara 3&i » i m Caril de Caranguejo I Curried Whole Crab

Serves 2-4

1 whole fresh crab, cleaned and divided into about 5 pieces 2.5 cm (1 in) piece ginger, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 6 red chillies, sliced diagonally 1 onion, sliced into half-rings olive oil for frying 1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped splash Portuguese white wine 100 ml p i fl 0 2 / i cup) fish stock 50 ml ( 1 | fl oz/;J cup) coconut milk juice of 2 lemon splash cream 1 spring onion bulb, finely chopped 1 teaspoon salt

1. Saute ginger, garlic, cliillies and onion in plenty of olive oil until soft, add crab in its shell and half of the coriander. Cook for 3 minutes. 2. Add white wine, fish stock, coconut milk, lemon juice and cream. Cook for a further 5 minutes. 3. Stir in spring onion and remaining coriander, add salt and stir well. Serve when crab shell has changed colour.

Note: Chef Chan Yuk Kong at Flamingo restaurant in Hyatt Regency Macau, who contributed this recipe, adds two salted egg yolks and two egg whites at the end. Two whole eggs can also be used, stirred in rapidly, but the dish is equally delicious without this addition, particularly if the crab has plenty of roe. Crabmeat sticks and chicken powder are also popular additions for the Cantonese market, but do not suit all tastes.

60

i a KI : r ; « i DM tttiti I Caril de Caranguejo II Flaked Crab Curry

Serves 4-6

500 g (1 lb/2 cups) crabmeat, flaked 150 g (5 o z / ^ cup) shrimps, steamed until cooked, then shelled 12 quail eggs, hard-boiled 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 red chilli, finely chopped 75 g (22 o z / i cup) butter 2 teaspoons Indian curry powder 50 g (11 o z / i cup) plain flour 2 bay leaves 500 ml ( | pint/2 cups) chicken stock 100 ml (3i fl o z / 4 cup) coconut milk salt and pepper to taste 1. Saute onion, garlic and chilli in butter until soft Carefully stir in curry powder and flour and add bay leaves. Slowly add stock, stirring constantly. 2. Add crabmeat, stir, and simmer for a couple of minutes until all the ingredients are well blended. 3. Add coconut milk and season with salt and pepper. Bring back to a boil. Serve garnished with shrimps and quail eggs. Note: Those who put in the time to flake their own fresh crabmeat (or manage to find a co-operative fishmonger) will be richly rewarded. Frozen crab produces a rather inferior result. If using frozen crab, blanch before use.

Empada de Peixe Fish Pie

Serves 6-8

For the filling 450 g (1 lb) fish fillets (sea bass or fresh cod) olive oil for frying 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped \ teaspoon saffron (or turmeric) 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon salt 5 Portuguese black olives

For the pastry 300 g (10 02/I4 cups) wheat flour 50 g (2 o z / i cup) icing sugar 2 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoon salt 4 egg yolks, beaten 100 g (3^ 0 2 / \ cup) lard (or butter) 2 tablespoons brandy

1. Prepare the filling a day ahead. Slowly pan-fry the fish in a touch of olive oil over a low heat until the flesh is quite dry. Remove skin and bones, discard, and set fish aside. 2. Saute the onion, garlic, saffron and coriander in olive oil. Carefully stir in reserved fish fillets and add salt. Cover the pan, refrigerate and keep until the next day. 3. To make the pastry, sieve together flour, sugar and baking powder into a large bowl. Slowly add the egg yolks, combine by hand, and knead until the dough is quite smooth. 4. In a small saucepan, melt the lard over a high heat (or butter, at a lower heat to avoid burning) and then pour this over the dough. Continue to knead the dough and add sufficient brandy to make it moist and smooth. 5. Divide dough into two. Roll out half to cover the bottom of a medium-deep dish. Add the filling plus 4 olives. Cover with the rest of the dough and place an olive at the centre. Bake in moderate oven (about 180°C/350°F) until the pie is golden. This recipe comes from Hugo Bandeira, a Macanese living and working in Macau, where he is employed bv I FT. According to his mother, the recipe was passed first to Hugo's uncle by an old lady who apparently had refused ever to show this recipe to anyone. 1 don't know how it ended up in my family,' says Hugo, 'but it is delicious and for me one of the best.' He loves the combination of a sweetened pastry and full-flavoured salty filling; in fact this is his favourite combination of all flavours and sensations! The dish is often used as part of the chdgordo, and also served at Christmas. The original recipe uses double the amount of sugar I have shown, so adapt to suit your own tastes. I have also halved the amount of pastry given in the original recipe to create a slightly thinner pie.

63

a KI : rata 3&i sttxu»: Gambas a Macau King Prawns with Chilli and Garlic

Serves 4

8 large prawns 10 red bird's-eye chillies, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 4 spring onions, finely chopped pinch paprika 50 ml (2 fl 02/ J cup) Portuguese white wine olive oil for frying 2 bay leaves, crumbled 25 g (1 02/2 tbsp) butter

1. Cut open the prawn shells along the back, discard the intestinal tract, but do not remove shells. Place prawns in a bowl. 2. Mix together cliillies, garlic, spring onions, paprika and wine and pour over prawns to marinate. Place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. 3. Remove prawns from marinade. Strain marinade and set both strained vegetables and liquid aside. 4. In a pan, heat oil and saute prawns for about 4 minutes until the meat is soft and the shells pink. Set prawns aside in a warmed dish. 5. Add rhe crumbled bay leaf to the strained chilli, garlic and onion mixture and saute in butter over a high heat. Add the reserved liquid to the pan and srir well until heated through. Pour over the prawns and serve immediately.

This recipe is based on one published by IPT in their own cookbook, The Art of Macanese Cuisine & Other Delights, available for sale in the IFT training restaurant and reception.

64

Gambas em Molho Picante de Abobora & Coco Prawns in Spicy Pumpkin and Coconut Sauce

Serves 3—4

300 g (10 o z / l i cups) fresh prawns in their shells (about 14 pieces) 300 g (10 02/I4 cups) pumpkin, diced and steamed for 20 minutes 1 clove garlic, peeled 1 stick celery, broken into 4 pieces 1 red chilli, whole 250 ml (2 pint/1 cup) water 1 small onion, cut into half-rings 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced 4 red chillies, thinly sliced oil for frying 6 sprigs coriander, roughly chopped 50 ml (2 fl oz/q: cup) Portuguese white wine juice of 2 lemon 1 tablespoon cream 70 ml (2j fl 02/ ^ cup) coconut milk 1 teaspoon salt

1. Remove the shells from the prawn heads and set aside. Cut along the back of the bodies, remove and discard intestines, and set prawns aside. 2. To make the prawn stock, place whole garlic clove, celery pieces and whole chilli into a pan with the shells from the prawn heads and about 250 ml (h pint/1 cup) of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour over a medium heat. Pound the contents of the pan with a pesde to break down the shells and extract maximum flavour. Strain and set liquid aside. 3. Saute onion, sliced garlic and sliced chilli in a little oil until beginning to soften. Stir in whole prawns and coriander and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour on white wine, lemon juice, cream and coconut milk. 4. Add steamed pumpkin, salt and 100 ml (31 fl 02/2 cup) of the strained liquid from the prawn shells. Stir. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. 5. At the end of the cooking time, stir vigorously to break down pumpkin and create a thick sauce. Serve with steamed white rice.

Created by Chef Chan Yuk Kong at Flamingo restaurant, this recipe is based on one passed to him bv a Brazilian national who is a long-time resident of Macau. Brazilian cooking can be seen to have had certain influences on Macanese cooking ifeijoida is the most obvious example), and there are a number of Brazilians who have made Macau their home. Chef Kong was born in Macau to a chef father who was famous for his Portuguese cooking; he is one of four brothers who all work as professional chefs. Faced with the challenge of cooking for a whole range of nationalities and palates, he readily admits that he adapts recipes slightly according to whom he is cooking for — for example, he will usually add chicken powder for Cantonese clients.

65

aw: ran SKI »itj» Lulas Recheadas Stuffed Squid

Serves 4—6

1 kg (2 lb/4 cups) squid (ideally, medium-sized squid, one per person) 350 g (12 oz/1 i cups) minced pork 7.5 cm (3 in) piece chourico (or 2 02/ 4 cup strong-flavoured ham), finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 egg white 1 tablespoon cornflour For the sauce

1 onion, sliced into rings 1 bay leaf olive oil for frying 1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped 1 small carrot, cut into small cubes 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes 6 tomatoes, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons tomato puree 1 whole chourico (100 g/4 oz approx) 50 ml (2 fl oz/ 4 cup) Portuguese white wine 2 teaspoons salt 6 Portuguese black olives pepper to taste 4 sprigs coriander, coarsely chopped 1. Clean the squid by removing and discarding the head and contents of the body cavity. Reserve tentacles and squid body and wash well. Cut the tentacles into small pieces and set aside. Blanch squid bodies for 1 minute in boiling water. Remove from water, reserving water for later use. 2. Combine minced pork, chourico, chopped onion, half the chopped garlic, egg white and cornflour. Work the mixture by hand until it is thick and sticky. Stuff tightly into squid bodies, sealing the ends with a toothpick. Set aside. 3. To make the sauce, saute the sliced onion, the rest of the garlic and bay leaf in olive oil. Add bell pepper, carrot, potato and tomato. Cook until soft. Stir in tomato puree and continue cooking until highly aromatic. 4. Add whole chourico, white wine, salt and 350 ml (12 fl o z / l n cups) of the water in which the squid was blanched. Simmer until thick. Remove sausage, cut into slices and leave to one side. 5. Add stuffed squid to pot and simmer over a gende heat for about 30 minutes until tender. Add sliced chourico and check for seasoning. 6. Turn into serving dish, garnish with black olives and coarsely chopped coriander. Serve with steamed white rice.

66

Peixe Assado Baked Perch in Tomato Sauce

Serves 4—6

1 whole river perch (fish such as snapper or garoupa may also be used), cleaned juice of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon salt 50 ml (2 fl 02/4 cup) Portuguese white wine olive oil for frying 1 onion, sliced in thick rings 2 green bell peppers, roughly chopped 1 garlic bulb, peel and smash each clove 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced in rings 100 ml ( 3 | fl o z / i cup) Portuguese white wine 75 g (2 h 0 2 / 5 cup) tomato paste 100 ml (3 \ fl 0 2 / ^ cup) fish stock 2 bay leaves 300 g (10 0 2 / I \ cups) clams (optional)

1. Make a few light incisions with a knife through the skin of the fish into the thickest parts of the flesh. Mix together lemon juice, salt and white wine, pour over fish and leave to marinate for about 20 minutes. 2. Pan-fry fish in a little oil until just beginning to change colour (about 5 minutes) and set aside. 3. Using a heavy-bottomed pan, saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, white wine, tomato paste and fish stock. Crumble in bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Toss in clams (if using) and stir well. 4. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the fish in a serving dish, pour tomato sauce over the top, and bake for 8—10 minutes until the fish is cooked through but the flesh still firm.

Chef Chan Yuk Kong, who finds this a most popular dish at Flamingo restaurant, stresses the need to slow-cook the sauce — an important detail in many Macanese and Portuguese dishes — to release good aromas and intensify flavours. Widi its emphasis on the freshness of the fish for good results, this dish would count among the subder in this book.

67

Capela Meat Loaf

Serves 8-10

100 g (3i 02/ \ cup) white bread, without crusts 200 ml (7 02/I cup) milk 1 kg (24 lb/47 cups) minced pork 100 g (3 2 02/scant \ cup) chourico or strong-flavoured ham, finely chopped 10 Portuguese black olives, finely chopped 125 g (4 02/7 cup) strong hard yellow cheese, such as Parmesan, grated 3 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon salt h teaspoon pepper 1 onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying 25 g (1 02/2 tbsp) breadcrumbs handful almonds

1. Soak bread in milk for 20 minutes, then squee2e excess milk from bread and break into small pieces. Discard milk. 2. Mix pork and chourigo (or ham) together, then add olives, half the cheese and the beaten eggs. Add bread pieces, then season with salt and pepper. 3. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until beginning to brown, then add to the meat mixture and combine well. 4. Turn into a loaf-tin or mould, top with breadcrumbs and aknonds and the remainder of the grated cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm in slices.

Almost every cuisine has its own version of meat loaf and this one, when prepared with high quality ingredients, is elevated to a fascinating and richly delicious concoction. The recipe comes from Riquexo restaurant.

68

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Caril de Galinha Chicken Curry

Serves 4—6

1 whole fresh chicken, cut into about 10 pieces 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 3 teaspoons coriander seeds 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 6 dried red chillies 2 srrands saffron 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 teaspoons lard (or olive oil) 1 onion, cut into 8 pieces 2 teaspoons salt 1 x 165 ml (6 fl oz/^ cup) can coconut milk 50 g (2 0 2 / ^ cup) tamarind pulp, soaked or simmered in 85 ml (3^ fl 02/scant \ cup) hot water, then strained

1. To make the curry paste, use a pestle and mortar, food processor or coffee grinder. Pound or grind cumin, coriander, peppercorns and chillies together to as fine a powder as possible and then mix with saffron and chopped garlic. 2. Heat lard (or olive oil) in a pan and saute onions with salt until the onion is soft. Add chicken pieces, saute for 5 minutes, stirring well. 3. Mix in prepared curry paste and coconut milk, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is tender. Stir in prepared tamarind liquid, bring back to a boil, and serve.

This recipe comes from an old family cookbook from Lady Ana Rodrigues, credited to Delmira Alvares. The original recipe, written in English but with a few Portuguese words appearing in the ingredients list, called for half a fresh coconut, which is here substituted with the rather more modern convenience of a can of coconut milk.

70

Chau Chau Parida I Salted Saffron Pork Kidneys

Serves 2-3

4 pork kidneys salt For the marinade

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger \ teaspoon saffron generous pinch sugar salt and pepper generous pinch cornflour 2 slices of fresh ginger 1 spring onion, cut into strips 1 clove garlic, smashed 2 shallots, thinly sliced olive oil for frying 1 teaspoon Shaoxing (Chinese wine), port or sherry \ teaspoon saffron (or turmeric) generous pinch sugar salt and pepper to taste cornflour (optional), dissolved in a little water

1. Cut kidneys in half and remove the white membrane. Rub kidneys with plenty of salt, especiallv the outer surface. Rinse well under running water, dry and slice thinly. 2. To prepare the marinade, mix chopped ginger, saffron, sugar, salt, pepper and cornflour and rest the kidneys in this mixture for about 20 minutes. 3. In a frying pan, saute ginger slices, spring onion, garlic and shallot in a little olive oil until beginning to soften and brown. Add kidneys over a high heat and stir constandy for 2 minutes. 4. Stir in wine, saffron, sugar, salt and pepper, and cornflour preparation if using. Cook for 2—3 more minutes and check that the kidneys are evenly cooked. Serve immediately. Chau chau parida is traditionally made for postnatal women, since the offal and ginger in particular are believed to hasten die flattening of the belly and pig organs are claimed to be excellent for breast milk. The dish's therapeutic qualities also make it popular with anyone who has just had an operation. Marina de Senna Fernandes (see her story on p 28), from whom this recipe comes, stresses that kidneys should never be overcooked, so keep them on a high heat. 'The higher heat, the better the result,' she says. This dish can also be prepared with pork liver or pork heart. Or the three can be used altogether, for chau chau parida de miude^as.

Chau Chau Parida II Tossed Chicken with Saffron

Serves 4

500 g (1 lb/2 cups) lean chicken, cut into large chunks 1 teaspoon salt freshly crushed black pepper scant J teaspoon saffron (or turmeric) olive oil for frying 1 small onion, finely sliced 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2.5 cm (1 in) piece fresh ginger, finely sliced 5 stalks Chinese chives, cut into 4 cm (1 J> in) slices 4 tablespoons water 2 teaspoons brandy

1. Mix together salt, pepper and saffron. Toss chicken pieces in the mixture and leave to rest for 15 minutes. 2. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute onion, garlic, ginger and chives over high heat until beginning to brown. Add marinated chicken pieces and continue to cook over high heat until the meat is sealed. 3. Moisten with about 4 tablespoons water, cover, and reduce to low heat for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 4. Stir in brandy over high heat and serve.

This modernized version of chau chau parida (see previous page), which uses lean chicken rather than pork offal, comes from Riquexo restaurant. The word chau is most readily translated as 'mixed' (thus chau chau would approximate as 'mix mix'!) and appears very often in names of Macanese recipes.

72

Diabo 'Devil' Dish

Serves 6-8

2 roasted chicken 6 roasted pork chops 1 kg ( 2 j l b / 4 2 cups) cold leftover meats such as roast turkey, braised duck, ham 6 cloves garlic, smashed 1 onion, finelv sliced olive oil for frying 2 jars pickled ginger slices, drained 1 jar pickled shallots, drained 300-400 ml (10—14 fl 02) jar grainy Dijon-style mustard 6 large potatoes, peeled, boiled and quartered

1. Roughly chop the cooked meats into two-bite-size pieces and set aside. 2. Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Stir in pickles, mustard and enough hot water to prevent the sauce sticking to the pan. Slowly stir in chopped meats, covering each piece w^ell with sauce. 3. Stir in potatoes at the last minute and heat through. Serve with steamed white rice and a side salad.

The post-Christmas dish for every Macanese family, diabo uses all the meats left over from the festive table, whether turkey, chicken, ham, quail, veal or duck. Henrique Castilho, wTho first explained the recipe to me, said he might even use chicken left over from galinha Macau (washed first to remove the sauce) and even left-over rabbit stew. 'This is a left-over dish from our parties ... because our grandparents did not want to throw anything away!' he added. The Macanese Christmas spread tends to be more British-style than even Portuguese-style and certainly not Cantonese in flavour, so this dish is relatively easy to reproduce in Western homes just after Christmas. The main flavours are provided by the pickles and mustard; these can be used in lesser or larger quantities, to taste. Some families also add chilli, which, it is said, makes the dish into even more of a devil for the stomach!

73

Feijoada Pork and Kidney Bean Stew

Serves 6—8

500 g (generous 1 l b / 2 cups) mixed pork meats (traditionally includes ear and trotter) 450 g (1 l b / 2 cups) kidney beans, soaked overnight, then cooked for about 1 hour until soft 4 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon white pepper olive oil for frying 2 onions, roughly chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 small (Chinese) cabbage, cut into large chunks 500 ml (^ p i n t / 2 cups) chicken or pork bone stock 1 whole chourico (100 g / 4 oz approx) 1 morcela, thickly sliced

1. Cut the pork meat into large pieces and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon white pepper. Set aside. 2. Pour a little olive oil into a very large pot and saute the onion and garlic on medium heat. Add chopped tomatoes and stir until they begin to break down. Add cabbage and stir until softened. 3. Transfer meat to the pot and pour in stock. Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. 4. Add chourico, beans and more salt, and cook for a further 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. 5. Remove chourico, cut into thick slices and return to the pot. Add morcela, cook for another 5 minutes and check for salt. Serve with steamed rice.

Note: There are no substitutes for the Pomiguese sausages in this recipe. Omit them entirely if they are unavailable. There are dozens of variations on this dish. It is originally Brazilian, but found its way to Macau where the Macanese adapted the recipe. Similarly, this dish is very popular in Portugal where it might be cooked with chickpeas (grao) or white (butter) beans instead of red beans. The Portuguese would tend to use a special sausage called linguica; while the Macanese are just as likely to substitute lap cheoug, the Cantonese air-dried pork sausage, but might also include morcela, the Portuguese blood sausage. The idea is not necessarily to eat the different cuts of pork, but to treat them as flavouring which is absorbed by the beans and cabbage.

74

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Galinha a Cafreal African Chicken

Serves 4—6

1 small chicken (1 kg/2i lb approx) 75 g (2h 0 2 / 3 cup) butter, softened 12 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon salt 2 bav leaves, crushed 4 small cliillies, chopped 1 x 165 ml (6 fl 02/1| cup) can coconut milk 1 teaspoon cornflour (optional) 1 tablespoon chicken stock (optional)

1. Using a sharp knife, cut through the backbone of the chicken lengthways. Score the breastbone lengthways until you can press the chicken flat on a plate. 2. To prepare the marinade, mix 50 g (2 02/ £ cup) butter, 8 cloves of chopped garlic, salt, bay leaves and chillies into a paste. Spread paste over the chicken, cover, and leave to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. 3. To make the basting sauce, combine the remaining butter with the other 4 cloves of chopped garlic, add the coconut milk and stir well. 4. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and set under the oven grill for about 1 hour. Baste regularly with the coconut milk mixture. When ready, the chicken should be blackened on top but still soft underneath. Before serving, stir sauce thoroughly and, if necessary, thicken with cornflour dissolved in a little chicken stock.

For many Hong Kong gourmets who take weekend R&R trips to Macau, African chicken is Macau! And what folklore has built up around the dish. Surprisingly, the dish is one of the more modern in the Macanese repertoire, dating from the 1940s. It is thought to have been created at the former Pousada de Macau by Chef Americo Angelo who died in 1979. Many Macanese can still remember the dish as he cooked it, but few have been able to recreate it. Manv recipes produce an over-dry chicken, while this one, with its rich sauce, seems to be closer to the original as remembered fondly by diasporic Macanese. And why is it called cafreal ot African chicken? The suggestion of culinary links to Africa seems the most likely, following a visit by Chef Angelo to one of die former Portuguese colonies; while some Macanese believe it is so called because of its final blackened appearance.

77

Galinha Portuguesa Portuguese Chicken

Serves 6-8

1 whole fresh chicken, cut into 6 or 8 pieces For the marinade

i teaspoon saffron 50 ml (2 fl oz/:}; cup) white wine 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon pepper 3 bay leaves, crumbled 4 medium potatoes, parboiled in skins for 15 minutes, peeled, and quartered olive oil for frying 1 onion, roughly chopped 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped 1 teaspoon red curry paste 1 tomato, roughly chopped 2 teaspoons salt 200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) coconut milk 100 ml (3 i fl 02/4 cup) evaporated milk 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters few slices chourico, or a few cubes of a salty strong-flavoured ham 6 Portuguese black olives 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut pepper to taste 1. To prepare the marinade, combine saffron, white wine, salt, pepper and crumbled bay leaves in a bowl and marinate chicken pieces for not more than 1 hour. (Do not remove skin or bones from chicken.) 2. Heat a little oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and saute the onion and garlic over high heat until soft. Stir in curry paste and add chicken to seal. 3. Add chopped tomato, salt and about 250 ml (J> pint/1 cup) of water. Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. 4. Add in potatoes and leave on medium heat for a further 10—20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. 5. Stir in coconut milk and evaporated milk, and remove from heat. Check for seasoning. 6. Turn into a large serving dish and garnish with egg, chourico, olives, desiccated coconut and freshly ground pepper. Place under die oven grill for about 10 minutes until lightly browned on top. Also known as Macau Chicken, this dish is thoroughly Macanese: anyone who goes searching for it in Portugal is likely to be very disappointed! A fantastic family-style dish, it is delicately spiced but rich widi flavours and 78

textures.

tflSMIN Minchi Mince with Soy Sauce

Serves 3—4

500 g (1 lb/2 cups) mixed minced pork and beef 2 medium potatoes olive oil for frying 1 onion, finely chopped 1 bay leaf 1 clove garlic, smashed salt and pepper to taste 3 tablespoons light soy sauce pinch sugar 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Dice potatoes into 1 cm (J> in) cubes and fry in olive oil until golden brown. Drain and set aside. 2. Heat a little olive oil in another pan, add onion and bay leaf, saute until onion is soft and golden. Set onion aside. 3. Add crushed garlic and a teaspoon of olive oil to the same pan and continue to heat. Press garlic and circulate it around the pan to free out the aroma. Discard garlic once it is golden brown. 4. Increase heat to high, add minced meat to the pan with a pinch of salt and press constantly to break meat down. 5. Cook for about 4 minutes and when the minced meat is nearly broken up add reserved onion and bay leaf. Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes. 6. Combine soy sauce, sugar and NXbrcestershire sauce and pour this mixture on to the meat. Stir well for 3—5 minutes until the minced meat is broken up and the mixture is becoming dry 7. Add potatoes, mix well and serve.

Ah, minchi. Every Macanese child (not to mention adult!) loves minchi, the Macanese comfort food many recall eating daily when they were children. Evidence of the influence the British had, particularly after the founding of nearby Hong Kong in 1841 (then three hours away by ferry, now just one hour on a high-speed boat), is in the dish's name, believed to come from the English 'mince' which Cantonese have traditionally pronounced c

meen-chee'. Always strong and salty, there are as many versions of minchi as there are Macanese families, and

some families even serve two versions at the same meal: some prefer a heavier minchi made with dark soy, others prefer it made with a light soy sauce. A fried egg, flipped, is sometimes placed on top; and the dish is usually served with rice. This version, from Marina Senna de Fernandes (see her story on p 28), also uses thoroughly British Worcestershire sauce — another give-away as to the influence of the British on some sectors of Macanese society.

Pato Cabidela Duck Cooked in Its Own Blood

Serves 4—6

1 duck, cut into about 8 pieces 250 g (8 02/I cup) lean pork, diced olive oil for frying 1 onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 shallots, finely sliced 2 teaspoons caraway seeds 2 teaspoon saffron (or turmeric) 100 ml (4 fl 02/2 cup) Portuguese white wine 200 ml (7 fl 02/scant 1 cup) hot water h tomato, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon salt h teaspoon pepper 3 bay leaves, crumbled 2 potatoes, coarsely chopped 150 ml (5 fl 02/5 cup) duck blood

1. Put a litde olive oil into a large pot and saute onion and garlic over high heat undl the onion begins to soften. Add shallots, caraway seeds and saffron, and stir. 2. Add the diced duck and pork, and sear. Add wine, water and tomato. Stir in salt, pepper and bay leaves. Cover the pot and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Add potatoes. 3. After a further 30 minutes, when the potatoes are soft and the meat almost cooked, quickly stir in blood. Cook for a further couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened a little. Check for seasoning and serve with steamed white rice.

It is not always easy to get blood, particularly if you don't have a butcher you can trust. Duck blood in this recipe can be substituted with chicken blood, though in my experience 150 ml would be blood of about 5 chickens! I have tested the recipe with just 75 ml of chicken blood and the result is still very satisfying. This dish cannot be attempted without fresh blood.

80

Pato Tamarinho Tamarind Duck

Serves 4

1 fresh duck 1 spring onion 125 g (44 oz/J> cup) tamarind pulp, soaked or simmered in 225 ml (8 fl oz/1 cup) hot water, then strained 6 shallots, peeled 2 onions, sliced in rings 6 cloves garlic, peeled olive oil for frying 5 cm (2 in) piece fresh ginger, finely sliced 50 g (2 02/4 cup) palm or brown sugar 250 ml (9 fl 02/generous 1 cup) duck stock 50 ml (2 fl o z / i cup) Portuguese white wine 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 bay leaf, crumbled 2 star anise 5 cm (2 in) piece cinnamon bark, crumbled 2 teaspoons salt 100 g (3^ oz/;*) cup) fresh black mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1. First make duck stock. Cut the duck into about 8 pieces, remove the skin and discard, and reserve the meatiest parts of the bird. Simmer the remaining pieces of duck with the spring onion in about 1 litre ( 1 | pints/44 cups) water for 1 hour. Strain and set aside. 2. Deep-fry the shallots, onion and garlic until golden brown. Set aside. 3. In a large pan, saute ginger in a litde olive oil until aromatic, add reserved duck meat and stir rapidly. 4. Dissolve sugar in tamarind liquid and pour into the pan together with stock and wine. Add tomato paste and the onion mixture, and bring back to a boil. Add bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon bark and salt. 5. Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes until the duck is tender. Stir once or twice during the cooking period. 6. Add mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with steamed white rice.

Created by Chef Chan Yuk Kong at Flamingo, this dish, using duck instead of pork and adding more elements to the original recipe, is an excellent example of a 'modern' Macanese dish created in a restaurant setting where the look and image of the dish becomes more important. The sour-sweet framework remains the same, but the overall feel is a little lighter and rather more elegant.

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Porco Bafassa Saffron Pork with Potatoes

Serves 6-8

1 kg (2i lb) pork loin For the marinade

h teaspoon saffron (or turmeric) 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 100 ml (4 fl o z / i cup) Portuguese white w 2 bay leaves, crumbled 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped one bunch spring onions, tied into a knot olive oil for frying 300 ml (10 fl 0 2 / I i cups) pork bone stock 1 teaspoon salt 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered 250 ml (h pint/1 cup) hot water 4 teaspoon white pepper 4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1. Rub saffron, salt and pepper into the pork and place in a bowl. Combine wine, bay leaves and garlic and pour over the pork. Cover and leave for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. 2. Saute the onion, garlic and spring onions in olive oil in a thick-bottomed casserole until soft. Remove the spring onions. 3. Remove pork from marinade, add to the casserole and sear over a high heat. Add the stock and salt, cover and cook for 10 minutes. 4. Add the marinade, potatoes and hot water. Simmer very gently for \~\h hours until pork is tender. Add white pepper and cayenne pepper and check for salt. 5. Remove the loin and carve into slices. Serve with potatoes and pour the gravy over the top.

As noted by Antonio da Silva (see his story on p 30) when he was explaining this dish to me, bafass is a Macanese word which comes from the combination of two Portuguese culinary terms abafar (to steam) and assar (to roast or bake). The Macanese term was coined from abafar + assai\ abbreviated to baf+ ass — bafass. 'The origin of this dish is probably the Portuguese pork prepared in vinhas dalho — a garlic and wine-vmegar marinade,' he said. It became one of the principal dishes of the Macaense repertoire. The potatoes were originally not cooked with the pork, but set on a baking dish and basted with lard, in the same manner as potatoes are cooked as part of the traditional Sunday roast'in the U K

82

Porco Balichao Tamarinho Pork with Balichao and Tamarind

Serves 6—8

1 kg (2 4 lb/4i cups) pork loin, cut into one-bite-size cubes 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying 2 tablespoons balichao, ready fried 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce 150 g (5 o z / § cup) tamarind pulp, soaked or simmered in 225 ml (8 fl oz/1 cup) hot water, then strained 85 g (3 oz/ + cup) block dark sugar, or dark brown sugar 325 ml (12 fl o z / l i cups) boiling water

1. Saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil until they begin to soften. Add balichao to the pot and continue cooking for a few minutes until well blended. 2. Combine diced pork and soy sauce, add to the pot and stir well. Add tamarind liquid, dark sugar and boiling water. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes until the pork is tender and the sauce thick. Serve with arro\carregado (see p 96).

Note: If you cannot find balichao, use the balachan-based recipe described on p 11, or substitute any strong and salty fish paste, or a good quality Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, in the same quantity as that given for balichao.

83

Porco com Restrate Pork with Lotus Root

Serves 6

750 g (14 lb/3 cups) pork loin, cut into two-bite-size pieces For the marinade

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce 4 tablespoons light soy sauce 2 tablespoons Chinese vinegar 3 spring onions, cut into 0.5 cm (4 in) diagonal slices 2 tablespoons brown sugar 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon olive oil for frying 5 cm (2 in) piece ginger root, thinly sliced 500 g (1 lb/2 cups) lotus root (rhizome), medium size, cut into two-bite-size pieces 500 ml ( | pint/2 cups) hot water

1. Mix together the dark and light soy sauces, vinegar, spring onions and sugar and marinate the pork pieces for 1 hour in this mixture. 2. Fry garlic in the olive oil for 2 minutes or until it begins to brown, discard the garlic. Remove the pork from the marinade and fry in the garlic-flavoured oil to seal. 3. Lower heat to medium and add the marinade and slices of ginger. Cook for 2 minutes stirring all the time. 4. Transfer the contents to a casserole and add the hot water (or just enough to cover the pork) and the pieces of lotus root. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, then lower heat to the minimum and leave to simmer for \h hours.

Passed on to Antonio da Silva (see his story p 30) by his grandmother, Olga A. Pacheco Jorge da Silva, this dish is not generally known to many Macanese of the younger generation nor served in many households. Unlike most dishes from the Macanese repertoire, it is basically Asian, with little or no Portuguese influence, with even the lotus rhizome traditionally cut lengthways Chinese-style, rather than into wheels. Like many Macanese recipes, gravy is a very important aspect. Slighdy sweet and gingery, it here provides a backdrop for the contrast of the tender pork with the apple-like snap of the lotus rhizome. Note: If you are using canned rhizome, do not expect quite the same texture. Antonio's research has shown that restrate, meaning the rhizome of the lotus, is a term little used today. The word, according to Graciete Batalha, author of Clossrio do Diakcto Macaense, is of Chinese-Macanese origin, made up of the Portuguese word rai% (root) and die Macanese term Irate (from the Malaysian word terataiwhich describes a kind of water lily). Rai^de Irate (leen ngau in Cantonese) metamorphoses into one word to become restrate.

84

Sarapatel Spicy Pork Offal (Organ) Stew

Serves 10-12

500 g (1 l b / 2 cups) pork liver and heart 1 kg (2i l b / 4 4 cups) pork loin, cut into two-bite-size pieces, with some fat reserved for frying lOOg (4 0 2 / \ cup) tamarind pulp, soaked or simmered in 170 ml (6 fl o z / | cup) hot water, then strained 10 dry red chillies (or more, to taste) 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 4 cloves 4 peppercorns 2.5 cm (1 in) piece cinnamon bark 2.5 cm (1 in) piece fresh turmeric, finely chopped 1 onion, finely sliced 1 bulb garlic, finely slice each clove 5 cm (2 in) piece ginger, finely chopped 300 ml (10 fl 0 2 / U cups) water 2 teaspoons salt 4 green chillies, sliced lengthways 200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) pig blood (optional) 1. Wash the liver and heart and cook in boiling water for 5 minutes. Cool, cut into two-bite-size cubes and fry gendy (no oil necessary) until browned. Set aside. 2. Sear the pork loin in a heated pan. Remove from heat and stir all the meats together with the tamarind pulp. 3. Using a food processor or coffee mill, grind together the chillies, cumin seeds, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon bark, then combine with turmeric. 4. Using a litde of the pork fat, saute onion, garlic and ginger until the onion is beginning to soften. Add the ground spices, fry well and add the meat and tamarind, water and salt. 5. Cook over a low heat for at least 40 minutes until the meat is tender. 6. Add the green chillies and blood, stirring continuously. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate for at least 1 day before re-heating. Serve with plain steamed white rice. Sarapatelis very much at the Indian-Goan end of Macanese cooking, says Isabel Eusebio, owner of former Macanese restaurant Balichao; it is a dish that her Chinese-Malay Hindi mother used to love to cook for restaurant guests. Indeed, this tasty and quite spicy recipe is based on one I found in a litde Goan recipe pamphlet by Joyce Fernandes, which in turn was a compilation of recipes from many Goan women. The dish is best left for a whole day before serving, and could even be said to taste at its best after 3 or 4 days. The flavours and aromas are a litde different if lean pork is substituted for the liver and heart. However, the spicing is so strong that this can be done with a good result.

Sarrabulho Mixed Offal Stew

Serves 6-8

1 pork heart 1 pork liver 2 pork kidneys 1 pork spleen 3 teaspoons salt i teaspoon pepper 100 g (3i oz/i cup) pork fat 300 ml (10 oz/14 cups) fresh pig blood (or coagulated) 4 teaspoons vinegar 2 onions, finely sliced 2.5 cm (1 in) piece ginger, finely chopped 2 green chillies, sliced lengthways 1 teaspoon ground coriander 2 teaspoon saffron 1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 bay leaves 250 ml (h p i n t / 1 cup) boiling water

1. Place heart, liver, kidneys and spleen in boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Cut everything into two-bite pieces, season with 1 teaspoon of salt and h teaspoon pepper and set aside for 20 minutes. 2. In a pan, heat half the pork fat and fry the blood with 1 teaspoon of vinegar for about 2 minutes until congealed. Set aside. 3. Heat remaining pork fat in a large pan and saute onion until beginning to soften. Add ginger and chillies and cook for a further minute. 4. Add coriander, saffron, cumin and the remaining salt. Stir well and add reserved offal, blood, bay leaves and remaining 3 teaspoons vinegar. 5. Pour in boiling water, cover, and cook gendy for about 40 minutes or until the offal is tender.

Though perhaps inaccessible for some modern cooks, this is a very traditional, evocative part of die Macanese cuisine (see Manna de Senna Fernandes's story on p 28) and is included in this book even if it is difficult (or undesirable, for some) to replicate it at home. The flavours and aromas are quite different if lean pork is substituted for the organs. It is also desirable to use fresh blood, though this can be chicken blood rather than pig. (Pig blood is very difficult to buy fresh, even m Hong Kong and Macau, while chicken blood is relatively easy to organize when buying fresh chickens from markets in Asia.)

86

Tacho Winter Casserole

Serves 10—12

1 chicken, cut into about 10 pieces 450 g (1 lb) pork chops, each cut into 2 pieces 2 Cantonese roast duck, cut into about 6 pieces 400 g (14 o z / 1 3 cups) Chinese bacon (lap yuk), cut ito bite-size pieces 6 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), cut into small chunks 450 g (1 lb) pig skin, soaked in hot water for 1 hour, then washed in cold water, and cut into squares 1 ham bone 1 pig's trotter (about 600 g / 1 i lb) 1 onion, roughly chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 shallot onions, finely sliced olive oil for frying 4 bay leaves 1.5 litres (2i pints/64 cups) pork bone stock 2.5 kg (5.5 lb/11 cups) white cabbage, cut into large chunks salt and pepper to taste

1. Using a very large heaw-bottomed covered pan, saute onion, garlic and shallots in a little olive oil until beginning to soften. 2. Add the ham bone, pig's trotter and bay leaves, cover and simmer for 1 hour in 1 litre ( 1 | p i n t s / 4 J cups) stock. 3. Add the cliicken, pork chops, roast duck and Chinese bacon with the remaining stock and cook for a further 35 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked. Add the Chinese sausage and pig skin. 4. When the meats are all cooked, stir in the cabbage and cook for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is soft. Check for seasoning. Serve with steamed rice.

Tacho is a legendary Macanese winter casserole, close to Portugal's co^ido a portuguesa in spirit but, as Hugo Bandeira points out, probably the most Cantonese-style dish within the Macanese repertoire. It is very difficult to make this dish using non-Cantonese meats. However, the dish is so important to the Macanese family — always served at winter gatherings — that it needed to be included in this book. As soon as the weather turns cold, the family gets together to enjoy it — almost as a welcoming of winter. It is a real meat-lover's dish, rich with pork fats, though additional vegetables such as carrot, turnip and kale can be added.

87

Vaca Estufada I Rich Beef Stew

Serves 6-8

1 kg (2^1b/4i cups) stewing or similar cut of beef For the marinade

1 teaspoon salt \ teaspoon peppercorns, lightly crushed 6 sprigs rosemary 4 bay leaves 3 star anise 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 5 cm (2 in) piece cinnamon stick 1 onion, roughly chopped olive oil for frying 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped 2 teaspoons tomato puree 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters 2 medium carrots, cut into 1 cm (2 in) slices 250 ml (\ pint/1 cup) water

1. Combine the ingredients for marinade. Rub into beef and leave covered for 2 hours in the refrigerator. 2. In a large casserole, saute onion in a litde olive oil until it begins to soften. Add chopped tomatoes and stir until broken down. 3. Add tomato puree, beef in its marinade, quartered potatoes and sliced carrots. Pour on the water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat to a simmer and cover casserole. 4. Cook for at least 45 minutes and when vegetables have achieved a soft consistency, remove them from pan and set aside. Turn beef and continue to cook for about 1 \ hours until beef is tender. 5. Remove beef from pan and strain gravy. Slice meat and serve with warmed vegetables. Pour strained gravy on top.

With its combination of (Western) rosemary and bay leaf with (Asian) star anise and cinnamon stick, this recipe from Riquexo restaurant is an excellent of example of how Macanese cooking reflects an early East-meetsAVest spirit long before the term became fashionable. A second recipe for vaca estufada is included (opposite) because it is so different and so delicious. Again, the combination of white wine and dark and light soy sauce in the marinade is a perfect illustration of the hybrid spirit of the Macanese kitchen. Think of the first recipe as a beef stew, the second, which comes from Restaurante Carlos, as more like a pot roast beef with gravy.

88

Vaca Estufada II Pot Roast Beef

Serves 6

1 leg beef or similar cut (about 1 k g / 2 lb) For the marinade 6—10 cloves garlic, smashed 1 tablespoon white pepper 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 3 tablespoons light soy sauce 1 botde Portuguese wliite wine olive oil for frying 1 onion, finelv sliced 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped 1 teaspoon tomato puree 1 teaspoon salt

1. Combine the marinade ingredients and place in a deep bowl with the beef. Cover and leave in the refrigerator for at least 3 days, turning meat from time to time. Use as much wine as is necessary to cover the meat. 2. Remove the meat from the marinade and set marinade aside. Heat a httle olive oil in a pan and sear the beef on all sides. Set beef aside. 3. In the same pan, adding more olive oil if necessary, saute the onion. When onion begins to soften, stir in chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Return the beef to the pan and add enough of the marinade to cover the meat, adding water if necessary. Bring to a boil. 4. Cover the pan and cook over a medium heat for about 12 hours until meat is fully tender. Check for salt. Carve beef into slices and serve with plain, boiled potatoes, and the gravy in which the meat was cooked.

89

Amargoso Lorcha Bitter Gourd in Coconut Milk

Serves 4—6

3 bitter gourds (about 500 g / 1 lb) 2 x 165 ml (6 fl oz/$ cup) cans coconut milk 2 teaspoons lard (or butter) 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, smashed 1 teaspoon balichao (or more, to taste) i teaspoon saffron (or turmeric) 2 large tomatoes, de-seeded and roughly chopped 225 g (8 0 2 / I cup) minced pork 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon pepper 2 eggs, beaten

1. Cut gourds in half lengthways, remove seeds and coarsely slice in half-moons. Cook in plenty of boiling water for about 5 minutes under tender. Drain and set aside. 2. Taking care not to shake the cans of coconut milk, separate the upper layer of coconut cream from the thin coconut milk. Set aside. 3. Heat the lard (or butter) and saute garlic and onion until beginning to soften. Add balichao (or a substitute) and saffron and stir for about 5 minutes. 4. Add chopped tomatoes and continue to stir until mixture is quite dry. 5. Mix in the pork meat, salt and pepper and continue to stir to combine well. 6. Carefully stir in eggs and thin coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add gourds and simmer for a further 5—10 minutes until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Stir in thick coconut milk and rest for 1 minute. Serve with steamed rice.

Note: It vou cannot find balichao, use die balachan-based recipe described on p 11, or substitute any strong and salty fish paste, or a good quality Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, in the same quantity. This recipe-, highly prized among the Macanese, is based on the one I found in an old Macanese cookbook (in Portuguese) called Co^inhados de Macau by Maria Celestina de Mello e Senna. Bitter gourds — the taste for which could be viewed as acquired for anyone not regularly exposed to them — are very popular in Southeast Asian cuisines, as well as Chinese, and arc very inexpensive in local markets.

90

GKTABLES

MsmanfeiapsK! Queijo de Soja com Cagumelos Bean Curd with Mushrooms

Serves 2-4

2 x 1 0 cm (4 in) squares soft fresh bean curd, cut into large cubes oil for deep frying 1 teaspoon salt 2 spring onions, cut into 10 cm (4 in) lengths additional oil for frying 2 large black mushrooms, roughly chopped 100 g (3J> oz/Jr cup) b a m b o o shoots, sliced 2 tablespoons hot water salt and pepper to taste dash soy sauce pinch sugar dash Portuguese brandy

1. Deep fry bean curd until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and set aside. 2. Over a high heat, saute spring onion in oil, stir in mushrooms and bamboo shoots, add salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons hot water. Add bean curd and stir for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar and Portuguese brandy. Serve immediately.

This heavih' Oantonese-style dish is based on a recipe of Edith Jorge, who was born and bred in Macau. By her own admission, this is a simple and inexpensive dish Tor die house'. To it can be added all kinds of left over vegetables, cooked or uncooked, such as onion, tomato and lettuce. Serve this vegetarian dish with steamed white rice.

92

JJHfJHKlHIlZK Salada a Portuguesa Green Salad

Serves 6

1 onion, thinly sliced in rounds 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 butter lettuce or similar soft lettuce, roughly torn 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced in rounds 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced in strips 10 Portuguese black olives 1 teaspoon salt, dissolved in a little hot water 3 tablespoons Portuguese olive oil 1 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Soak the onion rings in 1 tablespoon vinegar and enough cold water to cover the rings, for 20 minutes. 2. Casually arrange vegetables in a salad dish, pour olive oil and lemon juice over the top with the olives and salt preparation, toss, and serve.

Typical Macanese salads are rough and ready. They are often made using local lettuce of the kind which the Cantonese might cook with or throw into congee (a soft 'porridgy' rice), anil always with heavy oil dressings and lots of salt. N o artful arrangement is required. The dressing shown here is a little toned down; add m o r e olive oil and salt to taste if vou like a strong and pungent dressing.

Sambal de Bringella Eggplant Sambal

Serves 4 as a side-dish

2 teaspoons lard (or olive oil) 2 teaspoons balichao 1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces 2 tomatoes, de-seeded and cut into 8 pieces 1 medium eggplant, cut in half lengthways, then diagonal 5 cm (2 in) chunks 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar (optional) salt to taste

1. Heat the lard (or olive oil) in a pan and fry the bahchao for 2 minutes (if using fish sauce, add at the same time as the eggplant). 2. Add onion, saute for 5 minutes, then add tomatoes and continue to saute until the tomatoes have broken down and produced a thick sauce. 3. Add eggplant, vinegar and sugar, cover, and simmer until the eggplant is soft. Check for salt and serve.

Note: If vou cannot find balichao, use the balachan-based recipe described on p 11, or substitute any strong and salty fish paste, or a good quality Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, in the same quantitv. Thts recipe comes from an old family cookbook belonging to Lady Ana Rodrigues. It is not clear whether the recipe was written by Lady Ana herself, or given to her by one of her Macanese friends in Hong Kong. We would normally expect sambals to be spicy, but this so-called sambal is a very fresh-tasting, mild side dish. The Portuguese spelling of eggplant is actually benn/et'a; the Macanese bringella recalls the Indian-Goan word for eggplant, brinjaf and is from the almost-forgotten Macanese patois.

Vegetais e m Leite de Coco Vegetables in Coconut Milk

Serves 6—8

3 large potatoes, parboiled in skins for 30 minutes, peeled, and each cut each into 6 pieces 1 head broccoli, cut into florets 1 cauliflower, cut into florets 1 onion, roughly chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped 3 teaspoons salt 2 x 165 ml (6 fl o z / | cup) cans coconut milk 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters 12 black olives 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut pepper to taste

1. Steam broccoli and cauliflower undl just beginning to soften. Transfer to a large warmed serving dish. Set vegetable water aside. 2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, saute onion and garlic in a httle oil over a high heat until soft and then stir in curry paste. Add about 250 ml (4 p i n t / 1 cup) of vegetable water together with tomatoes and salt. Continue to cook until the tomatoes start to break down. 3. Add potatoes and simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the potatoes are well cooked. Stir in coconut milk and remove from heat. Check for seasoning. 4. Pour the contents of the pan over the broccoli and cauliflower and decorate with egg, olives, desiccated coconut and freshly ground pepper. Place under the oven grill for about 10 minutes until lightly browned on top.

There are very few vegetable recipes in the Macanese lexicon. Macanese usually cook Cantonese-style vegetables, or take a side salad as an accompaniment (this is also true of Macanese restaurants in Macau). However, Hugo Bandeira told me about this dish he remembers eating as a child, which is essentially Portuguese Chicken without the chicken.

95

Arroz Carregado Pressed Rice

Serves 6-8

30 g (1 o z / 2 tbsp) lard or butter 6 spring onions, finely chopped i teaspoon salt 450 g (1 l b / 2 cups) Thai fragrant white rice, washed 1.7 litres (3 p i n t s / 7 ^ cups) water a little melted lard or butter

1. Heat the lard (or butter) in a large pan, add spring onions and salt and saute for 2 minutes. 2. Bring water to a boil. Add the rice to the spring onions in the pan and pour in boiling water. Bring back to a boil and then simmer on a very low heat. Stir after 10 minutes to mix in spring onions and prevent rice sticking to the pan. 3. ('over and cook for a further 20 minutes. If the rice grains are still a little hard, add a litde more boiling water, stir, and cover the pan again. 4. When the rice is soft and well cooked, turn into a dish and with a knife dipped in melted lard (or butter) press down until the surface is flat and the rice well packed. Cool. Serve in slices. This dish is traditionally eaten withporco balichao tamarinho (see p 83).

This recipe comes from an old family cookbook belonging to Lady Ana Rodrigues, and was credited to a woman named Guilly. It is fantastically precise and detailed. 1 have edited down her original, but cannot resist quoting her phrase: 'the consistency will be something like very thick papa\ I have interpreted this as well cooked.

96

Arroz de Bacalhau Codfish Rice

Serves 6-8

500 g (1 l b / 2 cups) bacalhau (see p 10 for preparation) 400 ml (14 fl o z / H cups) codfish stock 400 g (14 0 2 / I I cups) Thai Fragrant rice, washed 1 onion, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 bay leaf olive oil for frying 2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped 200 g (7 0 2 / 1 cup) cabbage, finelv shredded 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 teaspoon tomato puree 1 whole chourico (100 g / 4 oz approx), or strong-flavoured ham, finely chopped 4 eggs, beaten salt and pepper (optional)

1. To prepare codfish stock, gently simmer discarded skin and bones of codfish in 600 ml (1 p i n t / 2 4 cups) water for about 1 hour or until the water has reduced by about one-third. 2. Cook rice in the codfish stock, set aside and leave to cool. The rice can be prepared the dav before and left in the refrigerator. 3. Saute onion, garlic and bay leaf in a little olive oil over a high heat. After about 2 minutes add the bell pepper and cook for a further minute. 4. Add cabbage, tomatoes and tomato puree and stir until tomatoes begin to break down. Then add cfjonrico and flaked bacalhau, stirring vigorously. 5. Mix in the cooked rice, stirring until all ingredients are combined and the rice is warmed through, then quickly stir in eggs. Check for seasoning and serve warm.

Note: 1 resh codfish, or other firm-fleshed white fish, may be substituted in this recipe, but should be cooked (boiled) before use, then flaked and added to the rice at the last minute. Check carefully for salt if using this alternative.

97

Arroz Gordo Assorted Meat Rice

A larinade for chicken 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 2 bay leaves, crushed 1 tablespoon paprika 150 ml (5 fl o z / ^ cup) Portuguese white wine Marinade for pork 1 bay leaf pinch cumin powder pinch paprika 2 tablespoons Portuguese wliite wine Marinade for beef 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 whole fresh chicken 6—8 pork chops 6-8 beef steaks 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped olive oil for frying 1 bell pepper (optional), chopped 3 tablespoons tomato paste pinch sugar 1 teaspoon salt 500—700 g (1—\\ l b / 2 - 3 cups) Thai Fragrant rice, washed 750 ml (1 \ p i n t s / 3 cups) water 1 whole chourico (100 g / 4 oz approx) (optional) handful sultanas butter for greasing pan 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced black olives roast pine nuts roasted almonds flakes croutons

98

Serves 6

H m roa*Ltitj u n SK 1. Mix together the chicken marinade ingredients, spread over chicken, cover and refrigerate for a few hours. 2. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Brush the chicken with oil and roast for 1 2 hours. When cool, remove skin and bones and cut the meat into small pieces. 3. Mix together the pork marinade ingredients, spread over the chops and refrigerate for 2 hours. 4. To prepare the beef marinade, add lemon juice to the chopped garlic, season with pepper and spread over the beef. Set aside for 10 minutes. 5. To cook the rice, saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil until golden and add bell pepper. Cook for a couple more minutes and then add tomato paste and sugar. Stir well, add salt and about 750 ml ( H pints/3 cups) water (increase amount of water proportionally if using more than 500 g rice). 6. Bring to a boil, then add 500 g (1 l b / 2 cups) rice and whole chourico. Cover the pan and cook over a low7 heat until the rice is almost done. 7. Add sultanas, and cut the sausage in half. Continue cooking until the rice is well cooked and almost dry. (S. While the rice is cooking, prepare the beef steaks. Grease the frying pan with butter, heat the pan and fry the steaks till done. Cut each steak into 3 pieces. Grill the pork chops and each cut into 3. Slice the chourico. 9. Layer the nee and assorted meats in a large serving dish, ending with a layer of meat. Garnish with boiled egg slices, olives, pine nuts, almonds and croutons.

Marina de Senna Fernandes (see her story on p 28) provided this recipe and believes it is based on the Portuguese arro\ \ a

typical dish from northern Portugal. In its Macanese incarnation, arro^gordo

is usually served as an essential part of

\s Marina note

o is a standing buffet, so nothing

>er\ed should require a knife for cutting. Arrot^gprdo can also be offered as a post-Christmas dish, using left over meat such as turkey and lamb. Different recipes for this dish seem to fall into two main categories: those that use the best cuts of meat, and lots of it; and those which are a little more cost-conscious.

99

a m »^cLtitJ u m 9K Lacassa Noodles in Shrimp Broth

Serves 6

150 g (5 o z / f cup) small shrimps, shelled, washed and de-veined 100 g ( 3 ^ o z / 4 cup) rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained olive oil for frying 1 onion, finely chopped 1 bay leaf 1 red chilli, finely chopped 1 tablespoon balichao 1.5 litres ( 2 4 p i n t s / 6 2 cups) fish stock 1 teaspoon Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) 4 sprigs coriander, roughly chopped

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and saute onion, bay leaf and chilli until the onion is beginning to soften. Add balichao and continue cooking for about 2 minutes until aroma is strong. 2. Add fish stock and Chinese wine, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add shrimps and cook for a further 5 minutes until the shrimps are soft. Check for seasoning. 3. To serve, put the vermicelli in the bottom of a bowl and pour the soup oxer the top. (Tarnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: Balichao is essential for the flavour and aroma of this dish. If vou cannot find it, use die balachan-based recipe described on p 11, or substitute any strong and salty fish paste, or a good quality Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, in the same quantity.

100

H m roaawtj ii n SK

IHSKKJHUIIK Bagi Glutinous Rice Cake

Serves 8-10

280 g (10 oz/l-j: cups) glutinous rice, soaked in water for three hours 280 ml (10 fl 02/14 cups) water in wliich to cook rice 85 g (3 o z / i cup) desiccated coconut (optional) 1 x 165ml (6 fl 0 2 / I cup) can coconut milk 370 g (13 02/I i cups) sugar 70 ml (2h fl 02/3 cup) water in which to boil sugar

1. Cook glutinous rice in 280 ml (10 fl 02/I4 cups) of water for about 30 minutes until it is thoroughly soft and cooked through. Set aside. 2. Soak desiccated coconut (if using) in coconut milk and set aside. 3. Warm sugar and 70 ml (2h fl 02/+ cup) water in a large pan on gentle heat and stir until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons of this syrup and keep warm. 4. Add the coconut milk and desiccated coconut (if using) to the rest of the syrup in the pan, bring to a boil and simmer for 10—15 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. Add cooked rice and mix well. Bring back to a boil and simmer gently, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture has dried into a thick paste. 5. Transfer the mixture to a large dish and with a knife dipped in the reserved 2 tablespoons of syrup. Press down on the mixture until it is about 4 cm (\h in) deep. Use the syrup to smooth the surface. Divide the mixture into 8—10 pieces scoring the surface slighdy and rounding off the corners of each slice. Allow to cool until it is set. Serve warm or cold.

This recipe comes from an old family from Lady Ana Rodrigues, written by a woman named Guilly Noreen Susan, an old friend of Lady Ana, prefers a smoother texture, so she omits the desiccated coconut. After watching Noreen Susan cook this dish, I could achieve subsequently achieve an excellent consistency. However, achieving the 'correct' consistency for this dish has become sometliing of a mystery for some. 'Like my Auntie Cecilia's recipe,' remarked Marina de Senna Fernandes (see her story on p 28), 'it died along with her and today none of us in the family knows how to reproduce it exactly. The secret is in the consistencv.'

102

IJ 3KK) 31 HI IM Batatada Potato Cake

Serves 8-10

3 medium to large (400 g/14 oz) potatoes, boiled in their skins, peeled, then mashed 150 g (5 o z / 3 cup) sugar 125 g (4 J o z / J cup) butter 3 eggs 1 e gg 7 o l k 135 ml (5 fl oz/§ cup) fresh whole milk 2 tablespoons coconut milk 110 g (4 02/4 cup) flour pinch salt

1. Beat sugar and butter together until soft and pale in colour. 2. Lightly wliisk eggs together and beat slowly into butter and sugar mixture. Slowly add milk and coconut milk, followed by mashed potato. Finally fold in sieved flour and salt. 3. Turn mixture into a greased 1 kg (2 lb) loaf tin and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour in a pre-heated oven at 180°C (350°F). The cake is cooked when a knife can be inserted and removed clean. Cover the top of the baking tin with aluminium foil if necessary to avoid burning. 4. Cool and serve thinly sliced. Veronica Chan de Jesus, a Hong Kong-born Chinese living in Macau, showed me how to prepare this cake. Not only is she a restaurant owner, she is also a pastry chef. Regarding changing tastes and health concerns, she encourages cooks to play with the proportions of sugar and egg yolk to suit their own tastes. Adding a little here or reducing there does not make a significant enough difference to effect the final consistency.

m SKK) 91 Ul IK Bebinca Coconut Milk Cake

Serves 12-16

300 g (10 o z / H cups) rice flour 1 tablespoon baking powder pinch salt 300 g (10 oz/14 cups) sugar i teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 6 eggs, beaten 35 g (I4 oz/2 tbsp) butter, melted 500 ml ( | pint/2 cups) single cream 2 x 165 ml (6 fl o z / | cup) cans coconut milk

1. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add sugar and nutmeg and mix in well. 2. Combine beaten eggs and butter and slowly add to the flour mixture. Stir in cream and coconut milk until smooth. Pour into a large rectangular baking dish so that mixture covers the base to a depth of 2.5 cm (1 in). Cover and rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 3. Heat oven to 200°C (400°F) and place the dish in the centre for 40—50 minutes until the bebinca is golden brown on top. Serve warm or cold in slices.

104

1JDBBJ 91 Vt *Sl Bebinca de Leite Coconut Milk Set Custard

Serves 6

350 ml (12 fl o z / l i cups) milk 150 g (5 o z / ^ cup) sugar large piece of lemon rind 50 g (1;| oz/scant \ cup) cornflour 1 x 165 ml (6 fl oz/tj cup) can coconut milk 5 egg yolks, beaten

1. Bring milk, sugar and lemon rind gently to a boil. Set aside to cool shghtlv and remove lemon rind. 2. Dissolve the cornflour in coconut milk and stir in egg yolks. 3. Over a low heat, whisk everything together undl the mixture is thick and creamy. 4. Turn into six small dishes or one large dish and place under the oven grill to brown. Cool slighdy and serve.

s

IH 9KK) M HI K! Bolo Menino N u t Cake

Serves 12

85 g (3 o z / i cup) desiccated coconut 1 x 165 ml (6 fl o z / | cup) can coconut milk 8 whole eggs 8 egg yolks (additional) 250 g (9 oz/generous cup) castor sugar 60 g (2 o z / J cup) Marie biscuits, ground to a powder 30 g (1 oz/2 tbsp) pine nuts, roasted and ground to a powder 60 g (2 o z / J cup) almonds, roasted and ground to a powder 1 teaspoon baking powder, dissolved in 3 tablespoons of milk

1. Soak the desiccated coconut in the coconut milk and set aside. 2. Carefully separate the egg yolks from the whites. Beat all 16 egg yolks together with sugar until smooth and pale in colour. 3. Beat egg whites until they are stiff and form peaks, then carefully fold into the egg yolk and sugar mixture. 4. Sift the powdered biscuits into the egg and sugar mixture with the pine nut and almond powder, then stir in coconut mixture. Lastly, stir in the baking powder dissolved in milk. 5. Turn into a large 10 x 10 baking tin (or, more traditionally, a mould), and bake in the centre of a pre-heated moderate oven (180°C/350°F) for 20-30 minutes or until a knife stuck into the cake comes out clean. Cool, and serve.

This recipe comes from an old family cookbook belonging to Lady Ana Rodrigues. It is credited as having come from a woman by the name of Delmira Alvares. The cake is traditionally served at afternoon parties and best eaten when freshly baked.

i j ma si HI in Molotoff Meringue with Sweet Egg Yolk Sauce

Serves 5

5 eggs 150 g (5 o z / ^ cup) castor sugar 70 ml (24 fl o z / 4 cup) hot water

1. Carefully separate the egg yolks from the wliites and beat egg whites at high speed until stiff. Slowly add about half the sugar and condnue beating until very firm. 2. Using an icing bag, pipe egg whites into five portions 7.5 cm (3 in) in diameter and about 10 cm (4 in) high onto a greased baking tray, then bake in a pre-heated oven at 190°C (375°F) for 10 minutes until meringues are lightly browned. 3. Dissolve the remaining sugar in about 70 ml (2^ fl oz/ J cup) water in a pan over heat until syrupv. Cool slightly. 4. Beat the egg yolks bv hand and cpicklv whisk into sugar mixture. Return pan to heat and stir until thick. 5. To serve, drizzle egg volk mixture over the meringue and serve warm or cold.

107

iijsftaasiHiiK Ovos com Jagra Eggs with Jaggery

Serves 4 - 6

100 g (3 \ o z / i cup) jaggery \ cup water 3 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon butter (optional)

1. Place the jaggery and water in a small pan and heat gently until the sugar has completely dissolved. Strain off anv remaining small hard lumps. 2. Bring the solution to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it has become dark and syrupy. 3. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon and slowly pour in eggs. Reduce heat and stir continuously to avoid sticking or burning until the mixture is thick. Remove from heat. 4. Stir in butter, if desired, and turn into a dish. Serve warm or cold.

This recipe — think sweet, almost caramelized scrambled eggs — comes from an old family cookbook from Lady Ana Rodrigues, and was written by Guilly. Guilly notes: 'Serve with bread. Very suitable for Friday tea.' Anabela Estorninho (see her story on p 24) remembers as a child eating ovos comjagra on buttered toast as a treat for breakfast.

IJ DKKI911* M Pudim de Manga Mango Pudding

Serves 6—10

200 g (7 oz/scant 1 cup) sugar 250 ml (9 fl oz/generous 1 cup) fresh whole milk 750 ml (lif pints/3 cups) water 25 g (2 tbsp) gelatine, dissolved in a litde warm water 3 medium-sized ripe mangoes, diced 50 ml (2 fl o z / i cup) fresh pouring cream

1. Combine sugar and milk with 750 ml (14 pints/3 cups) water, bring slowly to a boil and remove from heat. 2. While still warm, carefully stir in the dissolved gelatine. Allow to cool, then add mango pieces and cream. Stir carefully to combine. Turn into small individual serving dishes and chill in the refrigerator until set.

Macanese mango pudding differs from rhe Cantonese with the use of pieces of mango and the absence of egg. Mangoes are, of course, readily available and relatively inexpensive in Asia; but in other parrs of the world peaches make a possible substitute. The proportion of milk to cream can be changed as desired, and evaporated milk can also be added into the mix.

109

IIJSKKJSflHIirc Pudim de Sagu Sago Pudding

Makes 12 individual puddings or one large one

300 g (10 02/I4 cups) sago, soaked in plenty of water for at least 10 minutes 600 ml (1 pint/2^ cups) whole milk 400 ml (14 fl o z / 1 ^ cups) coconut milk 100 ml (3i fl 02/ h cup) water 200 g (7 02/scant 1 cup) sugar pinch salt 6 egg yolks, beaten

1. In a pan, mix together milk, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt and bring gendy to a boil. 2. Drain the sago and add to the boiling milk. Stir carefully for at least 10 minutes until thickened and the sago pearls are opaque. 3. Remove from heat and slowly stir in egg yolks. Return to gentle heat and stir for at least a further 10 minutes until the egg is cooked and the mixture comes away from the pan clean. 4. Turn into one large mould or 12 individual dishes and place in the refrigerator until set. Serve well chilled.

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55KKTS

WINE AND PORT T h e smallest corner store in Macau sells Chinese rice, Japanese chips and American cigaretres. And Portuguese wine. The same is true of the most simple daipai dong (street cafe). Most would be able to muster a couple of wineglasses and a dusty- botde of Mateus Rose. According to market economics, stores and restaurants only stock a product if they can sell it. Which already informs the onlooker that Macau is very different in its habits from other cities on the Pearl River Delta or indeed anywhere else in China. Long before Chateau Petrus became a status symbol in China, the Portuguese had already begun to convert not only their own descendants, the Macanese, to wine drinking, but many aspirational Chinese inhabitants of Macau too. Wine-loving residents today are as familiar with top Portuguese labels such as the Douro's Barca Velha and Quinta do Cotto Grande Escolha as they are with the classed growths of Bordeaux. O n the ships from which the Portuguese made their trading fortunes in Asia, came to Macau non-perishables from the European motherland such as bacalhau, chourico, olives and olive oil and, of course, Portuguese wine. In Charles Boxer's The Great Ship front Amacon, he mentions that around 1600, 'What most surprised me was to see that a quart of wine is worth a rial, which is about its worth in Lisbon.' The stage was already set. Portuguese wine, with the exception of port, has yet to achieve a world stage. While many labels are available in northern Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Belgium, it takes the dedicated to track it down in N o r t h America, Australia, central Europe and, even, H o n g Kong. This could probably be traced, simply, to a lack of marketing budgets and know-how r ; because there is no doubt that Portuguese wine is achieving great quality, a great price-quality ratio, and offering a world tiring of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, a panoply of indigenous grapes and inspired blending. The D o u r o is the most serious wine region, today producing table reds with the same blend of grapes used to make port, including the tremendous Touriga Nacional, Portugal's answer to Cabernet Sauvignon with its ageing ability. At the other end of the scale, reds from the Alentejo in the south are wonderfully fresh and lively but in general better drunk young. Reds remain far more exciting than whites (though cooking marinades usually use white wine more than red in Macanese cooking); and the Portuguese palate happily pairs reds with fish and seafood, though fresh young whites can match with delicate seafood dishes. Taking a young, tannic red with bacalhau is an acquired taste but one well worth acquiring! Wines made from the tiny diick skinned baga (literally 'berry') grape perfectly match the famous suckling pig of the Barraida region (and, indeed, work well with all kinds of meat with high fat content). Before the Macau handover in 1999, Portuguese wine enjoyed a preferential duty bracket and very few wine-producing countries could compete with the competitive retail prices. Since that time, import parity has been achieved, and N e w World wine has begun to make headway, with even top hotels wliich were previously committed to Portuguese wine; and Portuguese restaurants which listed only Portuguese wine have begun to list wines from a range of countries. With the exception of port, wiiich has never been drunk enthusiastically by the Portuguese, the selection in this Special Administrative Region is still terrific — the best range outside Lisbon — and an enduring, endearing legacy of Macau's long association with the Portuguese.

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MACANESE RESTAURANTS IN MACAU Many restaurants in Macau serve a handful of Macanese dishes, particularly dishes as famous as African chicken or a Macanese-style crab curry. The restaurants listed here are dedicated to Macanese cooking, although menus are still likely to include some traditional Portuguese and Cantonese dishes, and even the odd international favourite. Restaurante Carlos Lojas AR & AS, Edificio Vista Magnifica, Rua Cidadade de Braga, NAPE, Macau Tel: (853) 751 838 Unassuming as it is, this restaurant is the canteen for some of the more colourful Macau residents from the Church and dog racing alike! The place does not look anything special, and the menu lists conventional Portuguese and Macanese dishes, but it has real soul thanks to the Macanese chef-owner, Henrique. In its old location, the restaurant was a tiny cafe with laminated tables and the food was terrific. Even though it is now very centrally located, and appealing to tourists, there is still something of the casual cafe feel to it. The day's specials are what one should look out for, often more unusual dishes from the Macanese repertoire, and if Henrique has been experimenting in the kitchen for fun, so much the better. Among star dishes are his stuffed cabbage rolls, and vaca estufada. RECIPES Repolho Receado (p 46) Vaca Estufada II (p 88) Flamingo Hyatt Regency, 2 Estrada Almirante Marques Esparteiro, Taipa Tel: (853) 899 6874 Chef Chan Yuk Kong has presided over this restaurant for years, and a fascinating character he is: his three brothers are all chefs, and his father was one of the best-known Portuguese chefs in Macau, years back. Even his mother used to be a cook! He has recendy attempted to bring Flamingo back to its Macanese roots with a new menu and do2ens of new dishes, including some modernization and interpretations of traditional dishes, such zspato tamarinho (based onporco balichao tamarinho), and prawns in pumpkin sauce which drawTs from Brazilian cuisine. Many dishes have been adapted and beautified to befit a five-star hotel — as happens in most hotel restaurants around the w-orld. This is perhaps the most attractive restaurant now in Macau, set around an ornamenral pond packed with fish and ducks, with outdoor, terraced, indoor and even air-conditioned areas to suit all preferences. RECIPES Caril de Caranguejo I (p 60) Gambas em Molho Picante de Abobora & Coco (p 65) Peixe Assado (p 67) Pato Tamarinho (p 81)

Instituto de Forma^ao Turistica (IFT) Colina de Mong-Ha, Macau Tel: (853)598 3077/076/168 In a tranquil setting on a forested hill called Mong-Ha, Macau's hotel training school, the IFT, includes two excellent training facilities: a charmingponsada (boutique hotel, Portuguese style) and a restaurant. The restaurant is open daily, serving a different cuisine each mealtime. Friday night there is a Macanese buffet offering about a dozen main dishes, in addition to a large dessert selection. Highlights include the meat loaf called capela, crab (in its own shell) casquinha de caranguejo, and soupy noodles lacassa. Bear in mind that the food is cooked by students, with inevitable compromise on the tiny details and the precise ingredients, but the school has built up an impressive body of recipes, and invites Macanese cooks to help teach in the kitchen. T h e restaurant is pretty, the food is excellent value, the service from students is ahvavs bright and friendly, and there is a super Portuguese wine list. A unique feature is the live Macanese band, delivering a mixed musical bag including old Macanese favourites delivered in the original patois. RECIPE Gambas a Macau (p 64)

Restaurante Litoral 261-A Rua do Almirante Sergio, Macau Tel: (853) 967 878 Probably the best Macanese restaurant in Macau now, offering not only great food but also excellent, professional service, a comprehensive Portuguese wine list, and a quaint, cozy interior featuring heavy w r ooden furniture and accented beams. There is even a picture of Chris Patten in the private room — who visited the place during his tenure as Governor of H o n g Kong. Macanese owner Manuela Ferreira can trace back her family roots in Macau to more than two hundred years, and she is immensely knowledgeable about Macanese food, from traditional dishes up to the modern. She is the first to admit that it wmdd be hard to run a restaurant featuring only Macanese dishes, so she includes plenty from Portugal, and also curries of no fixed abode! Here, the minchi is delicious and the porco balichao tamarinho particularly good (Manuela makes her own balichao); and even included on the menu are heavy, winter stews such as tacho when the weather turns cold.

Riquexo 69 Avenida Sidonio Pais, Macau Tel: (853) 565 655 The most authentic place for Macanese food in Macau, Riquexo is more canteen than restaurant, where patrons queue up at the counter with a tray to choose from ten or so dishes. No attempt is made to beautify the food: the secret is in the taste, not in the presentation. The restaurant opened in 1978 in the extraordinary setting of a supermarket, where is remains to this day. Tellingly, it still attracts an almost exclusively and very loyal Macanese clientele, and a home delivery service is offered for those older Macanese no longer able to take the trip out for lunch. The kitchen is run by Aida Jesus, now in her eighties, who could be described as the godmother of Macanese cooking in Macau today. Most of the Macanese chefs have been trained by her, whether at Hotel Lisboa, where she worked years ago, at the training school IFT or even in the kitchens of the Mandarin Oriental, Macau. RECIPES Sopa de Couve Flor (p 49) Capela (p 68) Chau Chau Parida II (p 72) Vaca Estufada I (p 88)

Sol Nascente 29-33-37 Edificio Chung Leong Garden, Avenida Dr Sun Yat Sen, Taipa Tel: (853) 836 288 French-trained pastry chef Veronica Chan de Jesus, who comes from Hong Kong, dreamed of running her own coffee shop. But her Macanese husband suggested they open a Macanese restaurant, and in 1996 Sol Nascente (Rising Sun) opened its doors on Taipa, which at that time did not have a Macanese restaurant. Veronica took cooking classes and also learned as much as she could from the family, and now works closely alongside the head chef, though the amazing chocolate mousse is all her own doing! This casual, comfortable restaurant specializes in honest, home cooking: as Veronica describes it, literally the kinds of dishes that Macanese cook at home for themselves. Hence stuffed crab, stuffed prawns, seafood rice and beef stew are some of the most delicious dishes. Veronica has also invested a lot of time in putting together a good Portuguese wine list. RECIPES Sopa de Abobora & Caranguejo (p 48) Molotoff (p 107)

W H E R E T O BUY I N G R E D I E N T S I N MACAU AND H O N G KONG Even small corner stores often have the odd can of Portuguese olive oil or wine, though those listed below are the best, with the widest ranges and the best quality. Conversely, in Hong Kong it is almost impossible to find any Portuguese products at all, even in the top food halls. Seng Cheong Supermarket 243-9 Avenida Dr Sun Yat Sen, Taipa Probably the best supermarket in Macau for Portuguese products. Excellent selection of olive oils and olives, tinned goods such as beans and chickpeas, chounco, bacalhau, lard, cheese; and a good wine selection. Pavilions 417—425 Avenida Praia Grande, Macau This basement store boasts the largest selection of Portuguese wine in Macau; and in addition to staples such as Portuguese olive oil, chourico and bacalhau, it even stocks Portuguese bay leaves, Portuguese salt and good value (Spanish) saffron. N e w Yaohan 1579 Avenida da Amizade Excellent selection of Portuguese wines and excellent quality bacalhau. Tung Fong 6 Travessa do Soriano, Macau Just off the central Largo de Senado, this traditional store looks very Cantonese, but has a great range of herbs and spices wiiich is packed in-house in tiny httle bags, including a good Indian curry pow^der and turmeric. Dah Chong Hong 8 Travessa do Soriano, Macau Deli rather than supermarket, though do not expect up-market: this store sells a small range of Portuguese staples including bacalhau.

Southeast Asian ingredients such as tamarind, balachan, cinnamon sticks and star anise are readily available throughout Hong Kong and Macau. In Hong Kong, the Thai stores on Stone Nullah Lane in Wanchai stock everything from fresh bird's-eye chillies to tamarind pulp, and good, freshly ground spices are available at the Indian Provisions Store just behind Times Square in Causeway Bay. Macau abounds in Southeast Asian stores, particularly in the maze of market streets close to Red Market.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am so grateful to all the Macanese families and Macanese restaurants in Macau which have entrusted their recipes to me. Sonia Palmer and her mother Aida Jesus, of Riquexo restaurant, have consistendy helped me, as has Henrique Castilho of Restaurante Carlos. In the USA, Antonio M. Jorge da Silva has guided me meticulously; and in Lisbon, Marina de Senna Fernandes has shared so many stories and recipes with me. In Macau, I would like to thank Veronica Chan de Jesus for the cooking demonstrations at her restaurant Sol Nascente, Adriano Neves of A Lorcha restauranr, Henrique de Senna Fernandes, Anabela Estorninho, Isabel da Silva and Sandy Leong. Also thanks to the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO); to hotel school Instituto de Formacao Turistica (IFT) and Hugo Bandeira in particular; to Hyatt Regency Macau, especially Chef Kong of Flamingo restaurant. In Hong Kong, many thanks to Mary Rodrigues for sharing with me recipes from the Hong Kong Macanese community and to Noreen Susan for cooking them with me. Thanks to M at the Fringe restaurant and the Grand Hyatt for helping me source quality ingredients; and thanks to Joao Paulo Matos Sequeira, the former Consul General of Portugal, and Pousada restaurant in Sai Kung. Thanks to Simon Tarn for the lesson in Chinese rice wine, and to Carol Dyer for her thoughtful editing. Finally, thanks to Eva for her expert assistance during the lengthy process of market trips and recipe testing, and to all the Hong Kong friends who put their souls into sampling the results — and then eagerly carried the leftovers home in plastic boxes.

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