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Hong Kong Gourmet With Justine Schofield - Season 1 Episode 5
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00:00I'm excited to share my journey through one of the most exciting food cities in the world, Hong Kong.
00:06Oh my goodness!
00:08Here, East meets West, traditional meets modern, and every meal tells a story.
00:14From steaming baskets of dim sum...
00:17Look at that, aren't they beautiful?
00:19...to sizzling woks on street corners.
00:22Smells amazing!
00:23I'm diving into centuries of culinary tradition.
00:26Yum chum is not complete without...
00:29...some tea.
00:30But I'm not just here to eat, I'm here to cook.
00:34On a hot summer's night in Hong Kong, this is the dish to have.
00:38So join me on a journey through culture and taste in this incredible city.
00:43This is Hong Kong right here. I love it.
00:45In a city packed with great airies, this little shop has carved out a name for itself with their Shanghai-style pan-fried buns.
01:05They're a little different from your typical dumpling, golden and crispy on the bottom, soft and pillowy on top, and filled with a juicy, savoury broth that bursts with every bite.
01:16But it's no surprise they've caught the attention of the Michelin guide.
01:21Well, this is where all the magic happens. It's a busy little kitchen.
01:25Geoffrey, tell me how you make the buns here.
01:28What have you got here? This is the pork mixture?
01:30Yeah, yeah. Pork means I make some jelly.
01:32So there's jelly in here. So a little bit like Sao Long Bao?
01:35Yeah, yeah. Hotter than Sao Long Bao.
01:37Hotter?
01:38Yeah.
01:38You're going to burn your tongue?
01:39Over a larger degree.
01:41Whoa, okay.
01:43And how many different varieties of the pan-fried buns do you have here?
01:47Oh, truffle, shrimp, cap roll and the original.
01:51And the original?
01:52Yeah.
01:52Okay.
01:53And so the dough, it's very much like a bread dough.
01:56So at the moment it looks like a bit of a duckling dough, but it's not at all.
01:59As it cooks, it's going to fluff up and become quite puffy-like delicious bread, if you like.
02:04So first the truffle goes on.
02:06This is the truffle variety that they're making now.
02:08And then a nice big amount of that pork mixture with the jelly.
02:13And what type of jelly is it? What's it made from, the jelly?
02:16Oh, pigskin.
02:17Pigskin. That's the best quality, isn't it?
02:18Yeah.
02:19Yeah, yeah.
02:20So she grabs and pulls, grabs and pulls, and in a circular motion,
02:24completely tucks in all of that meat into a little parcel.
02:29Very hard, this tradition.
02:31It's very hard to do.
02:33Let's go and have a look how they're fried. I'm very interested in that.
02:36Okay.
02:39So, Jeffrey, can you tell me how the buns are cooked?
02:42They will put some oil in the middle of the bun and then close it.
02:46And then the lid goes on.
02:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:48Okay.
02:48About six minutes, they will put some water inside.
02:52After six minutes, water, and then it steams.
02:54So you've got those two textures, fluffy on the top, crispy on the bottom.
02:58Yeah.
02:59Sounds very nice.
03:00It's so busy here. The orders just keep coming and coming.
03:03How many orders do you do a day, do you think?
03:04About 5,000 to 6,000.
03:065,000 to 6,000 a day?
03:08A day.
03:09It's a lot of buns.
03:10You really know what you're doing. It's good.
03:12Yeah, yeah, I know.
03:13Yeah, it's a good product.
03:14And that's the thing, with these restaurants, if you do one thing really, really well,
03:17customers will always come back.
03:19All right, well, I'm going to get out of the way because it's so busy here,
03:21but I do want to try some of your pan-fried buns.
03:24Which ones should I try?
03:25Oh, I think original is better.
03:27Original? I was hoping you'd say that.
03:29Why are they better?
03:30Because the original, inside the soup, is more than others.
03:34Okay, more soup.
03:35Yes, I like the sound of that.
03:36I'll taste the buns.
03:37Okay.
03:44Ooh, thank you, Jeffrey, amazing.
03:47You can add a little bit of vinegar as you and I.
03:50A bit of vinegar?
03:51Yeah.
03:51Okay, I will try it.
03:52Thank you so much.
03:53Thanks.
03:53The first thing I notice is this little sign here that says,
03:56the soup inside the bun is scalding hot.
03:59You may burn your mouth, so beware.
04:01In fact, when you come here, there's these cute little videos on how to eat them
04:06and how not to eat them, so you don't want to bite into them straight away.
04:09He also recommends adding a little bit of vinegar to your spoon
04:13because it goes so well with the soup inside and the pork.
04:17I'm just going to have a little bite on the side
04:21and then have a sip of the soup inside of this.
04:27Yep, it is piping hot, but it is so delicious.
04:31It's savoury, the most beautiful broth you've ever tasted.
04:35Look, I'll even pour some into this spoon
04:37and what I love is just to mix it with that vinegar.
04:41Mmm, it's so good.
04:43And, of course, the best thing about this pan-fried bun is the two textures.
04:47You've got crispy on the bottom and then fluffy and soft on the top,
04:52similar to a gyoza if you like.
04:55I'm going to have a bite into it to really taste that pork too.
05:00Mmm, it's so good.
05:02I've made a mess.
05:03That was always going to happen.
05:05But the pork is just so juicy.
05:09I wonder why this place is so popular.
05:12They make the best pan-fried buns ever.
05:14Yum!
05:14You've got to come here.
05:20Very good.
05:25Sham Shui Po is one of Hong Kong's most vibrant and authentic neighbourhoods.
05:29This isn't the glossy skyline or the high-end walls.
05:32This is the real heartbeat of the city.
05:35Here, food isn't about luxury, it's about legacy.
05:39Recipes passed down through generations served from tiny shops with decades of stories behind
05:46them.
05:46I've just stumbled across this gorgeous tofu shop, it looks like a cheese shop to me but
05:53you can see there's beautiful fresh tofu here and at the back they make it fresh every single
05:59day.
05:59Now there's many different varieties of tofu for different types of dishes.
06:03So you've got firm tofu here, you've got silken tofu here, you've also got all the gorgeous
06:09drinks, you've got a soybean milk here that you can just sip on.
06:12This one's supposed to be really, really good for you, it's soybean with black sesame seed
06:17throughout it.
06:18You can also eat in and get some fried tofu or as you can see over on the counter there
06:23they've got set sweet puddings which would be absolutely delicious.
06:27I love tofu so I'm going to get some silken tofu, I've got a wonderful dish that I can do
06:33with it.
06:35Tofu has played an important part in Cantonese cuisine for over 2,000 years, offering people
06:41a vital source of protein and other nutrients and here at the Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory they've
06:48been making fresh bean curds since 1896.
06:51Wow this is incredible, I'm very lucky, the owner said I can come and have a quick look
06:56and I've never seen anything like this.
06:59There are some big vats at the back there with soy milk, you can see that it's just being
07:03churned if you like and made into tofu and you can see this is the tofu that's just set,
07:08it is piping hot, it's in muslin pot and also just on some wooden planks and one after the
07:16other he's just flipping them over and they're ready to be sold.
07:20This is as fresh as it gets, it's going to be so tasty and most importantly the texture
07:26it's going to be like nothing else.
07:33It's not often you walk past a shop that's making fresh tofu and nothing compares to it,
07:55the texture is just so silky and creamy, have a look at that.
08:00And those that were actually eating in the store were eating fresh tofu with a little
08:04sugar syrup and some crunchy raw sugar.
08:06Now I'm going to take that concept and make it a little extra special by making a caramel.
08:12This is 100% vegan because I'm going to be using some coconut milk in my caramel as opposed
08:18to cream and butter.
08:20So let's get onto the caramel first before we start to steam this gorgeous silken tofu.
08:24So in a pan I'll add my coconut milk, you'll need about one cup of coconut milk and to
08:30that I'm going to add some coconut sugar, that's about three quarters of a cup of sugar.
08:36And that's all you need to make a caramel sauce that's dairy free.
08:40So I'm going to turn the heat on, allow that to come to the boil, keep an eye on it, you
08:45just want it to become thick and glossy.
08:56This smells fantastic and it's the perfect consistency.
09:00See how it's coating my wooden spoon?
09:02That's what we're after.
09:04Now what's caramel without a little bit of salt, so a pinch of really good quality salt
09:09flakes, they can go in and just stir that throughout our caramel and I may add a little
09:17more after the tofu is cooked.
09:19So that can go straight into a bowl and then we need to cool it down completely.
09:25Okay, time to cook our silken tofu.
09:28This only takes a few minutes to steam.
09:31The more I know about silken tofu, the more I love it, it is so versatile.
09:35You can use it in dressings, you can blend it up, it makes fantastic mousse.
09:41You can stir fry it, mapo tofu, one of the most famous dishes and it's also fantastic for
09:45desserts just like this.
09:47So into a steamer basket and you can see that I've just placed it into a little dish, that's
09:53just going to make it so much easier to get out.
09:56Lid goes on and then that goes into a wok and I've just placed a little bit of water underneath
10:00it.
10:01Now we just want to steam that for a few minutes until it's piping hot.
10:06In the meantime, I'm just going to prepare some gorgeous strawberries.
10:10Look at these plump strawberries.
10:12Ah, smells like summer.
10:14All right, let's have a look at the tofu.
10:24Oh, yes.
10:26And look at that jiggle, it's just the best.
10:29So I'll grab a spatula and I'm going to present it in this little bowl.
10:33So I'm just going to cut a lovely chunk of this fresh tofu off.
10:40In it goes.
10:42And don't be afraid to break it up slightly, place that down.
10:46And then you can just smother it in delicious caramel.
10:52My vegan friends are going to love this dessert.
10:56It's right up there, Ali.
10:58And even if you're not vegan, this is such an easy dessert to prepare and it's got loads
11:03of flavour and that texture that we constantly talk about here in Hong Kong, how important
11:08it is, not just for savoury dishes, but for sweet dishes just like this.
11:12I'm going to garnish it with these fresh strawberries, a big pile over the top and a little hint of
11:19salt, just extra salt on that caramel.
11:22All right, I have to have a taste of this.
11:27A bit of strawberry.
11:31Oh, it's so good.
11:32And that touch of salt goes so well.
11:35And because the tofu is so neutral, all of those flavours just work so well together.
11:41This dessert is done in 20 minutes.
11:43And you can see why tofu is such a favourite dessert here in Hong Kong.
12:01In the heart of Hong Kong, Amber is one of the city's most
12:04celebrated dining experiences, elegant, inventive and unlike anything else around.
12:11Led by chef Richard Ekbis, the menu takes a modern approach to French cuisine.
12:17It's completely dairy free, built on clean, pure flavours and the finest seasonal ingredients
12:23sustainably sourced from around the world.
12:26Proof that luxury and responsibility can go hand in hand.
12:29Richard, it's an honour to be in your restaurant.
12:33As you know, French food is my absolute favourite.
12:36And to be having it here in Hong Kong is quite special.
12:39Tell me a little bit about the philosophy behind your restaurant.
12:44Because it's not just French food, is it?
12:46When we started this restaurant, our cooking was very French.
12:50But then with me travelling much more through Asia, appreciating the incredible Cantonese cuisine,
12:57I started to integrate certain influences without it being fusion.
13:02For example, we started to put a lot of emphasis on mouthfeel, which is also a very
13:06Chinese interpretation of food, so texture.
13:09We started to have a better understanding of the fifth taste, umami, and how to integrate
13:14that within our food.
13:15And yeah, that sort of shaped our cuisine.
13:17But I think 10 years ago, there was a big sort of shift where I sort of had an experience myself
13:22in Europe, had an indulgent meal and felt very overindulged and very heavy.
13:26And that's where I sort of started to think, how can we create an indulgent experience without
13:30feeling terrible after the end of the meal, having the food baby sort of feeling.
13:35So that's where we started to take away some of the elements that are sort of expected in French
13:39food, such as butter, such as refined sugar, such as refined flours.
13:44For a European restaurant, that seems impossible to do.
13:47Yeah, yeah, it was quite a big challenge.
13:50But at the same time, we also realised that 70% of Asian people are lactose intolerant.
13:54So we were poisoning people for 10 years, so to speak.
13:58So we felt that there was really an important stride to sort of eliminate dairy.
14:02So what are some of the substitute ingredients that you're using?
14:05So plant-based fats or extra virgin oils, fats, which is coconut fat.
14:10We use nuts, seeds, the fats in those.
14:13The best way to experience sort of our philosophy is by tasting some of our dishes and particularly,
14:18you know, to start with the, you know, most emblematic dish of the restaurant,
14:22which is the sea urchin.
14:25And that was probably one of the dishes that was most difficult for us to create,
14:29because this was a dairy-heavy dish and it was the dish that everybody wanted in the restaurant.
14:34And it had heavy cream, it had milk, it had butter.
14:37And we basically found a technique called enriching soy.
14:40So basically, it's about a way of condensing soy milk so it becomes much richer, almost like a yogurt.
14:45And then we whip that up like a cream.
14:48And then we have many different layers.
14:49So in the bottom, you have the akka uni, then you have the cauliflower with the soy.
14:52Then you have more uni, blue lobster jello.
14:54And then you have the caviar, the gold leaf, because we are, after all, in Hong Kong, you know,
14:58it's the city of Bling.
14:59Opulence.
15:00You know, opulence.
15:01And on the side, you have the crackers of the seaweed.
15:04So it's a tapioca cracker, very Asian as well, you know, the prawn cracker.
15:09So we made it with seaweed instead of prawn.
15:11Oh, fantastic.
15:12Well, I better have a taste.
15:13Yes.
15:15All right, I want to be able to get all of those layers that you've just described.
15:19Oh, there's the jelly.
15:20Oh, look at those layers.
15:23Fantastic.
15:28Do you know what?
15:29The first thing I think of is the texture.
15:32It is like velvet.
15:34It is so smooth on the palate.
15:36And you can really taste the caviar, the lobster there.
15:40Yeah, the lobster jello.
15:40The jello, you really taste that there.
15:42And to know how much effort has gone into each layer here makes it extra special too.
15:49This is serious artwork right here.
15:51And it just tastes just incredible.
15:53Delicious.
15:54I'm not sherry.
15:55No, no, you're not.
16:04I'm not sherry.
16:06I'm not sherry.
16:07But this also tastes good.
16:09And if you're not sherry In your next course, it's scallop but it's a hand-dive scallop.
16:17Scallops are very sustainable seafood.
16:19But the catching method is not, because the dredging is very destructive.
16:22So for us, it's very important to use only hand-dive scallops.
16:27So it's a scallop that is basically collected one by one.
16:30So we have cooked this scallop in a way we call lute, which is a very French way.
16:34Normally, you cook a chicken like this in a pot, and you put a salt dough around it.
16:38So we said, let's do that with a scallop and see how that sort of works.
16:42In the scallop, we have made an incision.
16:44And in the incision, there's a slice of truffle, but there's also celeriac.
16:48And this is a lacto-fermented butter.
16:50It's a toasted hazelnut butter.
16:52I can smell the hazelnuts from here.
16:55Hazelnuts and scallops, what a fantastic combination.
16:57Yeah, it's very, because there's that nutty taste in scallops.
16:59So that's sort of that link for us.
17:01We also use that same butter in the sauce.
17:04We made a dashi from seaweed, and then we make this, which is our Asian wisdom, so to speak.
17:09So it's a garum made of the beards.
17:11So the beards that is inside of the scallop, we recuperate them all.
17:15And then we make a fish sauce, you know, and you can smell it.
17:17It has incredible smell.
17:18So it has fish sauce made of scallop.
17:21That's serious, clever cooking right here.
17:25And also using everything, you know, not having waste.
17:28You know, it's an incredible protein.
17:31Then because we have celeriac inside, it has been confit.
17:33We add a little bit more celeriac as a puree on top.
17:37And then because we have truffle inside, so we do that normally a day before.
17:40So really, the truffle flavor goes already in the scallop.
17:43But we add a little bit of fresh truffle on top.
17:45And chef, where are you getting your truffles from at this time of year?
17:48They are coming from Perigord, France at the moment.
17:54There you go.
17:54Wow.
17:55So it looks very simple, but, you know, a lot of time in developing the sauce and making
18:00the sauce.
18:00It's six months' fermentation to make the sauce.
18:02And I guess the idea is to just have everything together and have a taste of that hazelnut butter.
18:07That is exquisite.
18:16It really is.
18:17It's remarkable how you've taken all of these simple ingredients and just turned them into
18:22magic.
18:23And everything works so nicely together.
18:25It's nothing's overpowering.
18:27It's just subtle and delicious.
18:30You just cannot wait for the next bite.
18:33I think what I love most about this restaurant is the sustainability side of it.
18:36And nothing goes to waste.
18:38And you really care about where your products are coming from.
18:41Well, I'll just have to come back for the eight courses.
18:44And I'll know I'll walk away feeling light and refreshed, not heavy.
18:48Forget about all that cream and butter.
18:50Not for today anyway.
18:50A lot of fish dishes that I've had here in Hong Kong have been steamed, and it's a really
19:09great way to prepare fish.
19:11Now, the dishes that I have had have been whole fish like coral trout or sea perch.
19:16But I'm going to show you my version using some fillets.
19:19Now, I've got my hand on some black cod.
19:22It's a fantastic fish to steam.
19:24It's buttery.
19:25It's firm.
19:26But once it's steamed, it becomes really flaky.
19:29A very traditional sauce that you'd put with it is fried spring onions and ginger.
19:34So I'm going to take that concept and give it a bit of a twist.
19:36So in a bowl, I'll add some spring onions that I'm just going to finely chop.
19:42About two tablespoons worth.
19:46You want it to be quite fine because you want the hot oil to cook those spring onions all
19:51the way through.
19:53And then the classics for this sauce, which is ginger that's been finely chopped along
19:58with some garlic.
19:59Lots of that.
20:00And this is where it gets a little bit interesting.
20:05I'm going to add some chili flakes.
20:08Once that gets heated up with the oil, it really, really gives it a lovely aromatic flavor.
20:14To this, I'm going to add some sesame seeds.
20:16I've already toasted these.
20:19That's going to give it a nutty flavor.
20:21And now for the oil.
20:22Now, this oil is piping hot.
20:25And we're just going to slowly pour this oil all over those ingredients.
20:32So what that does is cook all of the raw garlic and the ginger.
20:36It's like perfume.
20:37All of those flavors really come to life as that oil hits it.
20:42And you can see that it thickens up slightly.
20:44And that is the base of the sauce.
20:46Now, I'm going to take this even further with a few other flavors.
20:49So a hint of oyster sauce.
20:52And you want to add this after you add the oil.
20:54Just a small amount.
20:56We need to season it.
20:57So a little more salt with some soy.
20:59Tiny splash.
21:00And some pepper.
21:03And then, like all great Cantonese cooking, we need to balance it.
21:07And that means some sugar.
21:09And that sugar is going to dissolve in there as it mixes in with that hot oil.
21:14And now, ideally, you want to allow this to sit for about 10 minutes for all those flavors to mingle
21:19before we start cooking the fish.
21:24I've just been admiring the view from the 14th floor of the Region Hotel.
21:30This is one of the best views in Hong Kong.
21:32You can see Hong Kong Island and then behind the skyscrapers, the mountains.
21:36It is truly magnificent to be right here.
21:40I've just been heating up my steamer basket in a wok.
21:43A little bit of water on the bottom.
21:45I've also placed my plate in there.
21:47So I'm going to be serving the fish on this plate.
21:50In with the cod.
21:53And you don't need too much liquid in here because the steam is going to cook it nice and gently.
21:58I will add just a small amount of chalzing wine, though.
22:03It's going to give it a lovely flavor.
22:05Lid goes on.
22:06And because we're steaming and its fish is very delicate, it's only going to take about two to three minutes at most.
22:12All right, let's check and see if the fish is cooked.
22:21What I like to do to check that the fish is cooked is just pierce through the center,
22:26hold your knife there for a moment and then take it out.
22:28If that's piping hot, you know that it's cooked all the way through.
22:32This is extremely hot.
22:34So take good care when you're taking the plate out of the basket.
22:39And I'm not going to get rid of any of those juices.
22:43There's lovely flavor there.
22:44If you don't like the skin, of course, you can take it off.
22:47Look at this beautiful fish.
22:49It's so fresh.
22:52Next, our sauce.
22:54Look at the lovely color of it.
22:55And you can be quite generous over the top of the fish.
22:59And I love how that flavorsome oil just mixes in with the juices of the fish and that shauzing wine.
23:06And it does need a little bit of a garnish, but I also like a garnish for the crunch too.
23:12I have a combination of spring onions.
23:15I've just finely chopped them along with some coriander and then just mix it up so it's like a little salad.
23:23And then that goes on top in the center.
23:25Well, that is a wonderful way to prepare fish.
23:30Really easy too.
23:31Steamed with that fragrant, delicious sauce.
23:35Don't forget to give it that twist with the oyster sauce and the addition of the sesame seeds.
23:39It really takes it up a notch.
23:40The egg waffle is a street-side classic across Hong Kong.
23:55Born in the 1950s when real eggs were scarce, inventive street vendors created a clever batter
24:01and cooked it in custom iron molds, giving rise to its signature puff shape.
24:06Today, you'll find both the original and creating new twists on this timeless treat.
24:22Now, I got mine from Mummy.
24:24These are super delicious and they actually call them egg puff.
24:28They also go by the name eggettes.
24:30So these are the cheese ones.
24:33And what you do is just take them out, pull the little egg puffs off and have a taste.
24:38Oh, look at that.
24:40It's all really puffy inside.
24:42Essentially, it's a pancake batter and it's cooked in a waffle-like machine.
24:48Mmm.
24:49The cheese is really good.
24:51Crunchy, caramelized on the outside.
24:54A little bit soft in the center.
24:55Salty.
24:56So good.
24:57But if you're a bit of a sweet tooth, I'd highly recommend their very popular choc chip egg puffs.
25:06Mmm.
25:07So good.
25:08Look at that.
25:10Chocolate in the center.
25:11I mean, there's choc chips everywhere.
25:13This is the perfect snack to grab when you just want to do a bit of sightseeing, walking around, eating these.
25:20Heaven.
25:20A little bit of a Keller.
25:26Okay.
25:27Thank you so much.
25:41Of course.
25:41Yes.
25:42Thank you so much.
25:44Thanks for watching.
25:45Thank you so much.
25:46Thank you so much.
25:46Bye.
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