#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Mama Liu & Sons

 

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?

Yong: I was born in Qingtian, a small town in Zhejiang province, Eastern China. I came to Vienna at the age of six. 
Mine: From Qingtian..

Rice or noodles?

Yong: I love them both! Rice for lunch and a hot noodle soup would be perfect for dinner. 
Mine: Definitely rice. A bowl of white rice with a few side dishes made with simple ingredients is pure satisfaction to me.

What does home taste like?

Yong: Fish cooked with fermented cabbage and tofu. My mom always cooks it for us. That’s probably what home tastes like to me. 
Mine: I grew up in a large family with seven children. Back then we didn’t have much, but my parents always worked hard to give my siblings and me a better life. My mother always brought warm food to the table. Anything she cooked was filled with love and tasted like home.

Favourite Chinese vegetable?

Yong: Bitter cucumber ‘ku gua’ (苦瓜). A classic dish made with this veggie is stir-fried with egg. You can taste the sweetness of the vegetable after the bitterness of the first bite. 
Mine: Chinese stem lettuce ‘wo sun’ (莴笋), which is healthy and delicious either stir-fried or in a salad.

Share a food memory:

Yong: My mom hosting the Chinese Spring festival banquet for our relatives and friends. We’d have a lot of traditional Chinese dishes from the province of Zhejiang, such as steamed salt-cured pork belly, stir-fried rice cake ‘nian gao’ (年糕) with shiitake mushrooms and Chinese broccoli, fish ‘yu’ (鱼) either braised in soy sauce or steamed. Also, as dessert, the Qingtianese sticky rice cake with caramel, which is just superb! ‘Nian Nian You Yu’ (年年有余) or ‘Nian Nian Gao’ (年年高) is said to bring fortune and prosperity to the New Year in Chinese.
Mine: As children, we used to have sweet potato leaves rice porridge. Still today thinking back of my childhood, the image of us around the table having hot porridge stands out most in my mind.

How did you learn to cook?

Yong: My mother is an excellent cook and teacher. I started learning from her. Later in life I went to mainland China and Taiwan and took cooking lessons with local cooks. I really enjoy cooking, that’s my way to express my creativity.
Mine: I learned to cook when I started my own family, especially when I became a mother. I began with ingredients that both my children and I love, using simple techniques and seasoning. I also used to ask my mother for advice and tips.

Who’s your Chinese food legend?

Yong: My mother. ;)
Mine: My mother. =)

The perfect comfort food:

Yong: I would probably say spicy cumin lamb skewers.
Mine: I’m afraid I don’t really have one. But when I’m feeling down, I would appreciate a steamed water egg with spring onion, a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil. That’s quite comforting.

Most underrated Chinese ingredient:

Yong: Wood ear mushroom. Many find it uninteresting because of its faint taste. But the truth is that it is such a versatile ingredient that you can put almost everywhere, not to mention how healthy it is.
Mine: Fermented tofu. It can be used in many cooking methods or directly served with rice porridge, it is also fantastic used in a dipping sauce.

What would you like to tell the world about Chinese food?

Mine: Chinese food is not simple and cheap at all as many think, it is much more complex and interesting than first appears. 
Mine: I totally agree. Just think how many types of cuisines from all of China’s regions there are!

 
#ChineseFoodiesofIGJenny Lauchinese identity, austria, vienna, zhejiang, family, restaurantsComment