#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Lydia Pang of Eat Bitter

Lydia Pang

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

A tiny village called Llancayo in South Wales in the UK. There's a river, a windmill and lots of sheep.

What does home taste like?

Roast duck skin, steamed rice, bone broth, the crust on the edges of lasagne, sweet fresh seafood with red wine vinegar dip, custard, bread and butter pudding made from leftover panettone, rooibos tea and dates.

Rice or noodles?

FRIED CHEWY PEPPERY HO FUN. SOUP NOODLES TANGLED AROUND VEG. ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION, NOODLES, EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME.

What’s in your fridge at home?

Lots of homemade kimchi (nothing me and my husband Roo Williams won't try and kimchi or pickle!), dried shrimps, veggies, a load of tofu from Ota Tofu.

Share a food memory:

So many. Every memory I have is tied to a food moment with my family, our love is born out of eating and cooking and gathering and sharing together. My whole zine, EAT BITTER is dedicated to those memories!

Who's your Chinese food legend?

My dad. He is so creative, knows all the old school recipes and always finds exciting ways to innovate them and give them flair. He never stops learning and trying new things. He forages his own mushrooms, makes his own kombucha, smokes his own fish. Last summer we foraged clams from the beach and he grilled them on hot rocks. Our evening hangouts after school we would make pasta from scratch. He taught me so many skills but mostly the joy and generosity and love that comes from sharing food.

The most important Chinese ingredient is...

This is tough. I instantly thought rice, then ginger, then the humble scallion, then obvs the queen....soy! And then my taste buds specifically thought about chicken soy sauce, one of my fav dishes. So let's go soy.

What’s a Chinese recipe everyone should learn?

Pork char siu, my gung gung's recipe is epic, it's in my zine! Just that sliced on white rice with a lil broccoli, heaven.

Dream dinner party guests:

Probably just my entire family. Maybe I miss them right now as they're in the UK and I'm here in the US. But it is true, when I think about the best and happiest meals of my life, I think of those humans. They're the fucking best.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

Sundays sat around the lazy Susan, everyone loudly talking and clacking plates and bowls, steamy windows, Eastenders omnibus in the background, salty dried goodies, roast duck, soft rice with soy drizzled and sliced oranges for dessert. It's family, it's everything good.