CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, December 27, 2019 | 21 LIFE

Eat beat

Jia springs into Cantonese the new year to please Jia’s executive chef Ho Hau­yuen has designed a special menu for Li Qiang’s Cai Yi he meticulous preparation the upcoming Spring Festival hol­ of every top­notch ingredi­ iday. Braised sea cucumber with Xuan restaurant ent is the reason cited for black mushrooms in oyster sauce awarding one Michelin along with the wok­fried beef ten­ in Beijing has Tstar to chef Li Qiang’s Cai Yi Xuan derloin and goose liver and bal­ won a Michelin restaurant at the inaugural Miche­ samic vinegar are the two must­ lin Guide Beijing. Li’s is one of five try additions. The Hong Kong star for its Cantonese eateries among Beijing’s native’s signature poon choi, 23 Michelin­starred restaurants. Li Qiang’s signature dish­ Guangdong’s famous casserole, careful selection The 46­year­old Tianjin native es include lobster (top), features a variety of seafood and and preparation studied transportation at a techni­ grouper in seafood soup rare mushrooms stewed to per­ cal secondary school. The factory in (middle) and abalone fection. of ingredients, which he worked closed when he puffs (bottom). No 2A Jiangtai Road, Chaoyang was 20 years old. So, he applied to PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY district, Beijing. 010­5926­8281. Li Yingxue become a cook at a Cantonese res­ reports. taurant. He learned from a Hong Winner winner, Kong chef for over a decade before heavier,” he explains. becoming a chef at Cai Yi Xuan When Li returns to Tianjin on chicken dinner when it opened in 2012. weekends, he gets up early and Li has over 20 years of experience cycles to a local market to learn in the various cooking styles found about seasonal ingredients and buy all over China, including Cantonese, what he needs to prepare a large Beijing, Tianjin and Chaoshan cui­ meal for his family. sines. “You can learn about the times to Seafood is one of his specialties, harvest and enjoy the ingredients and especially abalone. He has mas­ because farmers understand this tered braised whole South African better than chefs,” he says. Japanese­cuisine restaurant Dar­ abalone, double­boiled fresh abalo­ Li is continually developing sea­ uma specializes in grilled poultry ne­chicken soup in coconut, sonal menus. and sake. Deep­fried chicken poached abalone in rice soup with He creates Cantonese dishes wings feature crispy skin, juicy minced pickled Chinese cabbage using hairy crab in winter. He serves meat and perfect seasoning. The and oven­baked whole abalone them steamed in his crabmeat balls grilled chicken with scallion is puffs with diced chicken. and in bald­butter soup rice dishes. also succulent. A signature win­ The abalone for the puff is stewed His grapefruit, sea urchin and ter warmer is the miso ox­intes­ for three hours before it’s added to crabmeat jelly with sturgeon caviar tine pot boiled with fishbones the diced chicken. The puff is then and his deep­fried crabmeat, roe and and cabbage. baked until it’s crisp and topped shrimp meatballs coated with No 81 Sanlitun Jiubajie, with a spoonful of abalone sauce. almond slices feature the flavor of Chaoyang district, Beijing. His signature dish is stewed pork umami. belly with abalone and truffle. Pork Li’s innovative approach to the belly is prepared differently classic drunken hairy crab dish Chua Lam’s new throughout China. For instance, it’s swaps the traditional Shaoxing yel­ location, new stew spicy in Hunan province and sweet low liquor for a plum spirit to make in Shanghai. it sweeter and fruitier. Li believes the key is to select the Li is preparing a festive menu for right slices with three layers of fat the Spring Festival family­reunion and two layers of lean meat. It’s fatty period. but not greasy when cooked. “For Spring Festival dinner, we Li uses a spray gun to remove the must have Cantonese dishes as well villi and then blanches the cuts to as dumplings, which is a must for make the meat more compact and northern culture,” he says. tastier. The pork is steamed for half Li heads up two different teams an hour. preparing northern and Cantonese Chua Lam’s Dim Sum opened its The live abalone from Dalian are food, respectively. second branch in Beijing. For the cleaned and boiled in warm water “Each cuisine has its own special­ festive season, poon choi was for two minutes. Li then makes an with pork belly,” Li says. fermented black garlic. ty. Even the pots and scoops they use added to the menu. The soup is From top: Chef Li Qiang is abalone sauce, which is the key to Spotted grouper is prepared in He doesn’t waste anything. Gin­ to fry the dishes are different,” he stewed for six hours with abalo­ strict with the selection of his signature dish. various ways. Li steams it whole, ger, for instance, is served in slices or explains. ne and 10 other ingredients, every ingredient; a baked bun The pork belly is cut into 50­gram deep­fries the bones and wok­fries strips, or is minced into different “We offer high­end Cantonese cui­ including sea cucumbers, fish with a crisp topping and bar­ cubes and deep­fried before it’s the fillets. dishes. So, Li asks his team to slice sine. But since our customers come maws, shrimp from Thailand, becued pork filling is a popu­ boiled again with yellow liquor, soy Li’s signature spotted grouper dish the ginger first and then cut it fur­ from all over the world, I want them pork belly and mushrooms. lar dish at Cai Yi Xuan; Cai Yi sauce and rock sugar for an hour. is a seafood soup ideal for winter. ther if needed. to get a taste of Beijing during their B1, No 81 Jianguolu, Chaoyang Xuan wins one Michelin star Finally, abalone sauce and abalone The chef also experiments with “Cantonese cuisine values the visit. So, I added some northern­ district, Beijing. at the inaugural Michelin are added to the pork belly. It’s soft ingredient combinations to give tra­ freshness of its ingredients, and the style dishes.” Guide Beijing in November. and sweet with a strong truffle flavor. ditional pairings a new twist — for flavors change a little according to Shanghai’s tangy PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY “Abalone is seafood, and truffles instance, foie gras with Chinese the season. Summer dishes are Contact the writer at are fungus. And both match well chives and wok­fried prawns with lighter, while winter dishes are [email protected] taste hits Beijing Italian, Japanese chefs serve up best of both worlds

By LI YINGXUE ly seen in Beijing. replicate that experience,” he says. The first course of Ora King New In Iraci’s opinion, Italian and Jap­ Shanghai Tang restaurant opened For the first time in its six­year Zealand salmon used an ingredient anese cuisines both rely on the qual­ its Beijing branch in December, history, Opera Bombana invited a in the sake­making process — shio ity of the ingredients. bringing its modern and exqui­ two­Michelin­starred Japanese chef koji — to tie into the theme of the “When you talk about Italian food, site take on Shanghai cuisine to to join his Italian counterpart in Bei­ menu. The salmon was paired with 80 or even 90 percent of its out­ the capital. The stewed pork belly jing to create a unique fusion­dining egg­yolk vinegar, green asparagus, comes depend on the caliber of the is typical of the Shanghai flavor — event — all accompanied by a spe­ grilled shiitake mushrooms, and products you are using,” he says. the pork is springy, like jelly, cially created sake menu and sake­ yuzu essence and juice. “Every region and every recipe while the bamboo shoots and the themed cocktail list. To honor Italian cuisine, Takagi have specific ingredients that have egg that are stewed together with From Dec 5 to 7, the restaurant uses tomatoes in his main beef to be the most genuine and most the pork absorb all the flavors of hosted an East­meets­West dining course. It looks like a Western dish authentic, and the approach of Jap­ the broth. experience, bringing together Japa­ at first glance, but instead carries anese chefs toward the ingredients 6F, No 1 Jianguomenwai Ave, nese Michelin­starred chef Kazuo authentic Japanese flavors. has the same respect, the same Chaoyang district, Beijing. Takagi and Opera Bombana’s execu­ A duo of desserts showcased the importance.” 010­5961­1777. tive chef, Eugenio Iraci, working chef’s differing takes on ice cream. He is a firm believer that every­ alongside sake sommelier Ueno Opera’s pre­dessert dish created by thing starts with the ingredients, Toshio and professional mixologist chef Filippo Mazzanti featured a tra­ and the ingredients themselves tell Casa Talia displays Jonny Amir. ditional Italian gelato infused with the chef what to do — and what not fireworks of flavor It was the perfect escape from the toasted rice, while Takagi’s dessert to do. cold winter winds outside as diners featured an ice cream made with As for the differences between the settled in for a meal featuring out­ sake lees paired with a grilled sake two cuisines, Iraci thinks it’s all standing ingredients from around zabaglione. about technique. He believes what is the world paired with warming, It’s the second time that Takagi most interesting about Japanese mellow sake. has been invited to Beijing to collab­ Top: Japanese Michelin­starred chef Kazuo Takagi (right) is invit­ cuisine is that it’s like a treasure The meal started with a selection orate with an Italian chef. Takagi ed by Italian chef Eugenio Iraci (second from right) to throw a trove of techniques. of welcome snacks created by Iraci, thinks the differences between Ital­ collaborative dining event in Beijing. Bottom: Three dishes created “A lot of people are aware of the including a taco­like black­olive ian and Japanese cuisines celebrate by Takagi for the event combine authentic Japanese cuisine with a techniques in Italian cuisine, but Casa Talia is offering its special New Year menu until Jan 6. The wafer with pizza flavors, a cannoli of their distinctive cultures. nod to Italian fare. PHOTOS BY WANG DONGMEI / FOR CHINA DAILY when you look at Japanese food, potato filled with Jerusalem arti­ “But we both love eating, and the some of the techniques behind them foie gras, cranberry and chili choke cream, and a tonnato sauce in similarity is that we respect the are a complete mystery to the cus­ explosion combines the sourness red­pepper jelly, each combining ingredients, and the basic cooking Takagi usually spends half of the influence his dishes in the future. tomers,” he says. of the fruit and the silkiness of traditional Italian flavors with mod­ principles are the same. So, for me, year traveling the world to learn He likes to link art and food He thinks the techniques used in the foie gras with the spicy bite ern presentation and culinary tech­ this kind of event is fun,” he says. about new ingredients, and discover through his cooking. In his mind, Japanese cuisine are like spells. of the chili jelly to deliver a burst niques. The techniques he used at the new techniques and new philoso­ art has a more intellectual and emo­ “It’s something that refreshes of rich flavors. Meanwhile, the Both the amuse­bouche and first event were mostly Japanese, while phies, which have a huge influence tional effect on people, but food has your approach toward a certain Christmas paella is a seafood course were created by Takagi, dem­ the presentation was based on West­ on his cooking. a much deeper, more tangible ingredient,” he says. feast with a festive vibe. onstrating his unique presentation ern styles. He enjoys these kinds of He says he can’t really describe his impact. “Because you are not going “Also, one of the words people 1F, No 9 Dongdaqiao Road, style and attention to detail. The experimental events that entertain cuisine because his dishes are always to take a piece of art to put in your hear about Japanese cuisine is ‘uma­ Chaoyang district, Beijing. steamed monkfish liver in the diners as they eat and offer a sense influenced by his trips. This visit to mouth and swallow, that’s a physical mi’, but it’s not usual to see it in Ital­ 010­6553­7021. amuse­bouche is an ingredient rare­ of theater. China will be no different and will action — art will never be able to ian food, too.” CHINA DAILY