ANOTHER INTRO: No diets in Honk Kong!

I have amazing news! I am extremely privileged to be able to visit Honk Kong for the 1st time in my life and I am so excited about sampling authentic Chinese food. I can't wait to learn about the food history and culture. I have joined a cooking school to learn all that I can while I am here. Unfortunately the rules dictate that I cannot tell you the recipes that I learn at this School! BUT I can show you the pictures! Later on I will try and adapt them to my palate, budget and diet so that the dishes are healthy and nutritious! In the mean time I shall show you all the wonderful dishes I get to sample and try and find out what we all want to know - with all the Dim Sum, Dumplings and Delicious Dinners, HOW do they stay so slim??

My experience of Chinese cooking is stir fries and steaming. I hope to expand my knowledge and learn the real deal!! So far I have eaten the best BBQ Duck and Prawns in the best XO sauce I have ever had - I can't wait to learn how the BBQ here is so good, what products to use to create the best sauces!

Everyone in this city seems to eat out all the time. The serviced apartment we are in has some cooking facilities but it is not possible for me to recreate wok fried dishes in the the tiny studio with one electric hob, one pot and a weak exhaust! I managed to make a simple broth with chicken and choi sum!

I poached the chicken with Soy Sauce, White wine vinegar, Stock and then added Choi Sum and Green Beans.

Later that week I was taught how to poach a chicken the Chinese way and OH MY GOODNESS! Their method is very different, very precise and results in a much more tender chicken.  The Chinese prefer the Chicken's thighs, legs, wings, feet, skin and innards! They discard the breasts or sell them cheaply to westerners!! When they poach the chicken it is so tender that they do use the breasts for cold salad dishes e.g. Bon Bon Chicken.

They chop the chicken in a very different way to the way we carve, they love to cook with the bone in and yes they would eat the head! The skin is incredibly tender and the cartilage is perfectly edible. It may not be to everyone's taste but it is very tasty indeed!

I also learnt how to make an incredible Stir fry with Aubergines and 2 different ways with tofu! I have never been a fan of Tofu but I am willing to learn and try these amazing dishes to see if it will change my mind!

Deep fried Aubergines with Rice noodles

Stir fried spicy tofu

Deep fried Fresh Tofu