Taste o f Maca u Portuguese Cuisin e on the China Coas t

Annabel Jackson

# m *. * & m *t HONG KON G UNIVERSIT Y PRES S Hong Kon g University Pres s 14/F Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Road Aberdeen Hong Kong

© Hong Kong University Press 2003

ISBN 96 2 209 638 7

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Designed an d photographed b y Robert Stone Limited Printed an d bound b y Kings Time Printing Press Ltd., Hong Kong, China CONTENTS FOREWORD by Antonio M. Jorge da Silva x

by Wilson Kwok x v

INTRODUCTION 1

TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF MACANESE COOKING 6

MACANESE STOR E CUPBOARD 9

POEM Secret Family Recipes by Leung Fing-kwan 2 2

VIGNETTES Macanese in Their Own Words

Anabela Estorninho 2 4 Isabel da Silva 2 6 Marina de Senna Fernandes 2 8 Antonio M. Jorge da Silva 3 0 Henrique de Senna Fernandes 3 2 Carlos Marreiros 3 4 RECIPES Soups and Starter s

Almondegas Mince d Pork Patties 3 6 Caldo Verde Cabbag e and Potato Soup 3 7 Casquinha de Caranguejo Stuffe d Cooke d Crab 3 8 ChamUfaS I Macanes e Samosas 3 9 Chamucas II Macanes e Vegetarian Samosas 4 0 Chilkotes Deep-frie d Mea t Pies 4 2 Pasteis de Bacalhau Sal t Cod Cakes 4 4 Repo/ho Receado Stuffe d Cabbag e Rolls 4 6 Rissdis Shrim p Rissoles 4 7 Sopa de Abobora & Caranguejo Cra b and Pumpkin Soup 4 8 Sopa de Couve Flor Cauliflowe r Sou p 4 9 Tostas de Camardo Vivienne' s Har Toasy (Shrimp Toasts) 5 0 Tostas de Queijo Chees e Toasts 5 1

Fish and Seafoo d

Bacalhau a Gomes de Sd Sal t Cod in Gomes de Sa Style 5 2 Bacalhau d Penha Sal t Cod in Penha Hill Style 5 4 Bacalhau FreSCO Assado Bake d Fresh Cod 5 5 Bacalhau Guisado Sal t Cod Stew 5 6 Caril de Camardo Shrim p Curry 5 8 Caril de Caranguejo I Currie d Whole Crab 6 0 Caril de Caranguejo II Flake d Crab Curry 6 2 Empada de Peixe Fis h Pie 6 3 Gambas d Macau Kin g Prawns with Chilli and Garlic 6 4 Gambas em Molho Picante de Abobora <& Coco Prawns in Spicy Pumpkin an d Coconut Sauce 6 5

Tulas Recheadas Stuffe d Squi d 6 6 Peixe Assado Bake d Perch in Tomato Sauce 6 7 Meat

Capela Mea t Loaf 6 8 Caril de Galinha Chicke n Curry 7 0 Chau Chau Parida I Salte d Saffron Por k Kidneys 7 1 Chau Chau Parida //Tosse d Chicke n with Saffron 7 2 Diabo 'Devil'Dis h 7 3 Teijoada Por k and Kidney Bean Stew 7 4 Galinha d Cafreal Africa n Chicke n 7 7 Galinha Portuguesa Portugues e Chicken 7 8 Minchi Minc e with Soy Sauce 7 9 PatO Cabidela Duc k Cooked in Its Own Blood 8 0 Pa to Tamarinho Tamarin d Duck 8 1 PorCO BafaSSa Saffro n Por k with Potatoes 8 2 Porco BalichaO Tamarinho Por k with Balichao and Tamarind 8 3 PorCO Com Restrate Por k with Lotus Root 8 4 Sarapatel Spic y Pork Offal (Organ ) Stew 8 5 Sarrabulho Mixe d Offal Ste w 8 6 Tacho Winte r Casserole 8 7 VacaTLstufadal Ric h Beef Ste w 8 8 Vaca Estufada II Po t Roast Beef 8 9

Vegetables

AmargOSO Torcha Bitte r Gourd in Coconut Milk 9 0 Qtieijo de Soja COm Cagumelos Bea n Curd with Mushrooms 9 2 Salada a Portuguesa Gree n Salad 9 3 Sambal de Bringella Eggplan t Sambal 9 4 Vegetais em Ijeite de Coco Vegetable s in Coconut Milk 9 5

Rice and Noodle s

Arro^Carregado Presse d Rice 9 6 Arro^i de Bacalhau Codfis h Ric e 9 7 Arro^Gordo Assorte d Meat Rice 9 8 Tacassd Noodle s in Shrimp Broth 10 0 Desserts

Bagi Glutinou s Rice Cake 10 2 Batatada Potat o Cake 10 3 Bebinca Coconu t Milk Cake 10 4 Bebinca de Teite Coconu t Milk Set Custard 10 5 - Boh Menino Nu t Cake 10 6 Molotoff Meringu e with Sweet Egg Yolk Sauce 10 7 OVOS COmJagra Egg s with Jaggery 10 8 Plidim de Manga Mang o Pudding 10 9 Pudim de SagU Sag o Pudding 11 0

WINE AND PORT 11 2

GUIDES Macanese Restaurant s in Macau 11 4 Where to Buy Ingredients in Macau and Hong Kong 11 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS u s INTRODUCTION jLjLbout te n years ago I began work on a food-culture-travel guid e entided Macau on a Plate, during the research fo r which my interest in Macanese cooking was piqued. I also came to understand how the cuisine was already becomin g marginalized eve n among sections of th e Macanese community in Macau. In fact , it was dying out. It was when I committed to try to gather a body of Macanes e recipes and test them tha t I really began to truly understand th e cuisine. My kitchen shelve s began to fill with an almost confusing juxtapositio n o f ingredients ; exotic aroma combinations wafted acros s the apartment . Gathering such a body of recipes , particularly for a non-Macanese, is no easy task. Macanese recipes have traditionally been passed down orally , or in decades-old, handwritte n albums. I have been privileged to see precious recipe albums brimming with historica l fascinations, where, for example, the inclusion of papay a flower s recall s the days when everyone would have a kitchen garden, and each of thos e kitchen gardens would nurture at least one papaya tree; and where amounts of a n ingredient are recorded not by weight but in currency — fo r example, 20 cents of ginger . Liquids are often measure d b y 'tumbler' or 'wine glass', or the measurement guide instruction i s little more than ' a little'. Macanese recipes are closely guarded and rarely given away , and those which are shared are often incomplete . One friend ha s yet to be given her family's recipe s by her father : apparently he is convinced she would share them too generously. Yet there is a growing sense within section s of th e Macanese community that unless the already dying cuisine is recorded fo r a wider audience, it will be forever lost. Some of thos e Macanese, several of who m I have known fo r more than a decade, have willingly shared recipes with me. But there are just as many who have obviously felt unable to entrust to me and this cookbook with what I am compelled to assume are viewed as family heirlooms and , further, one of th e last surviving tenets of Macanes e cultural identity From time to time one comes across a Macau-produced recip e anthology that includes some Macanese recipes in English, and there are three or four Macanese cookbooks written in Portuguese. Yet not only are these difficult t o find, they are also difficult t o cook fro m (even for a Macanese), assuming too much prior knowledge on the part of th e home cook or even excluding a key ingredient or technique. This, then, is essentially the first comprehensive, English-language cataloguing of th e cuisine. Even with recipes in hand, the process was still complicated. Cuisines that are not taugh t in the school but learned within the family operate inside their own fascinating set s of rules . There is no singl e way in the Macanese cooking lexicon to cook a dish like, say, sarrabulho — but the childhood memories o f ever y Macanese are framed wit h the unique aromas of thei r own grandmother's sarrabulho . So there is only one way to cook it, and that is her way!

1 -

I was keen, for this book, to get real recipes fro m rea l people, rather than writing them myself, and many recipes have a 'story' behind them which is included alongside . In case s where more tha n one famil y gave me the recipe fo r a dish, I have selected the one I find the most delicious. I have 'fiddled' a s little as possible with the recipes, occasionally taking a feature fro m on e recipe and incorporating it in another, but in general allowing an origina l recipe to speak fo r itself. I have been struck during the recipe-testing phase how Macanese cooking truly is a hybrid, because it is accessable and enjoyabl e to many people and palates. I have tested out dishes on Asian and Caucasian friend s an d colleagues from a range of background s and cultures, and there wasn't one who did not enjo y th e majority o f th e food sampled .

2 The intention ha s been to include recipes which can more or less work in kitchens aroun d the world, and simultaneously document the fascinating cooking styl e of Portugues e descendants o n the Pearl River Delta. It is not even necessary to have a wok to produce thes e dishes, though quick-cook dishes like arro% bacalhau, minchi2S\& cbau cbau parida could work well in a wok. A normal pan suffices , however . Regular pans, casseroles and baking tins such as would be found i n almost an y kitchen ar e perfectly workable . The foundation s o f Macanes e cooking are indisputably Portuguese (aide d by the availability in Macau fo r centuries of Portugues e non-perishables suc h as wine, olive oil and chourico), while many of th e ingredients ar e those readily available locally wliich are shared with the Cantonese kitchen, from roo t vegetables, ginger and garlic to so y sauce and lap cheong. Yet here the influence o f th e Chinese kitchen on the traditional Macanese kitchen ends. Some more modern cook s might use Chinese five-spice, but the more traditional curry base would be Indian-style curry powder, and even a pile of spice s freshl y ground a t home. The cuisine's exoti c spicing (for exampl e saffro n an d cinnamon) i s a reflection no t of th e Portuguese landing in Macau but of Portugal' s seafarin g history in Asia, encompassing Goa , Malacca and Timor. Indeed, the cuisine has much in common with Goan cookin g and the Nonya cuisin e of th e Malaccan Straits. The use of bloo d (se e for example pato cabidela) i s believed to have originated in Malaysia among the Hokkien people, as is the slo w simmering in lard of offa l (orga n meat) in particular. Thus a dish like vaca estufada slow-braises local beef an d potatoes in a gravy which migh t combine, more obviously, European rosemary and bay leaf wit h Asia n cinnamon bar k and star anise. Desserts based on Portuguese original s substitute coconut milk for cow's milk. It could be argued, then, that Macanese cooking with its frequent mutation s o f Portugues e originals i s the prototype o f East-meets-Wes t experimentation — lon g before th e ter m became fashionable ! Today, modern health sensibilitie s have seen the amount of suga r and egg yolk heavily reduced i n sweet dishes, and rarely does one see potatoes cooked in lard. Few families ar e now large enough — o r have time enough — t o present groaning spreads of twenty-plu s dishes which comprise the cbdgordo (literally 'fat tea', a combination o f swee t and savour y dishes traditionally serve d in the afternoon a t large Macanese celebrations) an d mammot h pots lik e feijoada and tacho. The recipes in this book range from ver y traditional Macanese dishes (chilicotes^porco bafassa, boh menind) to dishes with a history of littl e more than fift y years , such a s Africa n chicken, right up to modern interpretations o f Macanes e cooking, such as pato tamarinho, or a dish featuring fres h co d rather than bacalhau. There ar e those who argue that Macanese cooking, with its strong roots in the home kitchen, cannot be authenticated in the restaurant kitchen. Indeed, it could be further argue d that it is even unsuitable fo r th e restaurant given, for example, the less than aesthetic visual appeal of man y of th e finishe d dishes : the deep dark colour of th e cooked blood in pato cabidela, the blackened bird which i s African chicken , the pale anonymity of th e batatada cake. There are comparatively fe w good restaurants in Macau serving Macanese food, but this collection of recipes , it is hoped, will succeed in bringing the centuries-old cuisin e instantly to a wider audience who may never have the chance to see Macau for themselves .

3 Note o n spelling and translatio n

Since my mission i s to try and preserve the cultural indicators of th e Macanese communit y through their collected recipes and memories, for Portuguese words, I have generally followe d the spelling used b y the contributors and sources, which might be affected b y patois and vary from standar d Portuguese. Where there are variations, I have followed th e one used in most Portuguese cookbooks . For translations I have also depended on m y sources. An interesting example i s the use of 'Macaenses', which means 'sons o f Macau' . This ha s somehow become 'Macanese' in English. Some of th e contributors, especially Antonio M. Jorge da Silva, prefer to call themselves Macaenses instead because of th e deep cultural meaning of th e term, which I have kept whenever the y are quoted. 'Macanese' is popularly use d to refer t o anyone born in Macau. For Cantonese, I have used the transliteration in the original recipe or piece; otherwise, all Cantonese transliteration s ar e my own.

Note o n weights an d measure s

The quantities used in these recipes are given in metric, Imperial and US systems. Any reference t o a pint implies an Imperial pint (2 0 f l oz); reference t o a cup indicates use of th e American cu p ( 8 fl 02); and reference t o the quart, an American quart ( 4 cups). For convenienc e of measurement , the Imperial and US quantities given in parentheses ar e often approximations . TOWARDS A DEFINITION O F MACANESE COOKIN G

• ps*a » «W? K -^ !

F• o r the purpose s of compilin g thi s cookbook, I sough t to develop a broad definition o f wha t Macanese cooking is.

Even within th e community, there is no complete consensus . On a number o f occasion s I hav e been given the name o f a classic Macanese dish b y one family , only to hav e another famil y clai m it is not Macanese. Underlyin g this difference o f opinio n are issues suc h a s gender , ethnic background, class , upbringing, age, knowledge and a simple interest o r lack of i t in cooking . m I I f It i s perhaps simples t to defin e what Macanese foo d i s not. There i s certainly confusion ove r what I would prefer t o cal l 'Macau' food : tha t is, dishes for which Macau ma y be famou s bu t which ar e not trul y Macanese. Favourite s such a s roast pigeon, pork-chop bun, and even egg curry, are eaten by locals an d visitors alike , but have grown up in the broader, multi-cuisine restaurant scene , not fro m withi n th e Macanese domesti c kitchen . Macanese cooking is not a simple cross between Portuguese (th e colonizer) an d the local Chinese (th e colonized). Indeed, when th e Portugues e arrived in Macau fou r hundred an d fift y year s ago, the landmass was virtuall y uninhabited sav e fo r a few fishin g families . Many Chinese who the n began t o work in Macau in the golden er a stil l slipped back across the border into Chin a to sleep . The Portuguese arrive d with wives and servants fro m othe r colonie s and outposts in Asia — Goa , Malacca, Indonesia, even Japan. The cookin g whic h developed is , at its simplest, Portuguese dishe s made with Portuguese technique s but using agricultural products o f souther n China , accented with Southeast Asia n herbs an d spices . A cuisin e never stand s still . Subsequently, many o f th e grander familie s embraced tru e Portuguese recipes made with al l the traditionall y correc t ingredients, and thes e shoul d be regarded a s Macanese dishes , particularly a s several appear on traditional menus a t weddings, baptisms an d large parties. The more averag e famil y incorporated mor e Cantonese-styl e dishe s and ingredients , though ther e are in fac t fe w totall y Cantonese-inspired dishe s in the Macanes e lexicon. Tacho i s perhaps th e most Cantones e o f al l the recipes in this book . Today, mainly as a result of th e Macanese diaspora , the cuisine i s adapting itself t o locally available ingredients acros s the world, often makin g substitutions, to produce dishe s that have the spiri t of Macanes e cooking , but are fa r fro m traditional . The use of fres h codfis h rathe r than sal t cod {bacalhau), and the need to fin d a n alternative fo r th e almost extinct fis h sauc e bahchao, ar e good example s o f thi s evolution . MACANESE STORE CUPBOARD

Xhe beauty of Macanes e cuisine is that so many of th e ingredients ar e the staples of th e keen kitchen an d easy to buy everywhere fro m neighbourhood we t market to international supermarket. Whether pile s of tomatoe s and onions, eggs by the dozen, mince d pork and whole chickens, or simply flour, butter an d sugar, they are readily found. Sometime s the type or quality of th e individual products ca n make a material difference t o the dish (rea d on fo r details ) and thos e ingredients that may not readily appear in the averag e larder are described here. Bacalhau Salted (an d thus preserved) codfis h was and remains a staple o f th e Portuguese kitchen, though i t is no longer a s inexpensive a s it used t o be. It readily found it s way to the South Chin a Se a aboard Portuguese ship s and became incorporated i n Macanese cooking . Generally, it suffices t o first wash the fish under running water, then soak it in water fo r twenty-four hours , regularly changing the water. After draining, pour boiling milk over it, and leave it for a further tw o hours. This helps t o tenderize the fish befor e removin g skin and bones. The fles h i s then flaked o r broken into large pieces, depending on the recipe application . The drained-of f mil k can be used in soup. In a perfect situation , there i s no need t o add more sal t to a dish prepared with bacalhau, nor should th e codfish itsel f brin g too much sal t to the dish. I f yo u cannot sourc e bacalhau, i t is often possibl e t o substitute fres h codfish , o r similar meat y white fish , with the altere d method explaine d in each recipe. Balichao A definin g moment o f Macanes e cooking, balichao is a strong and fiercel y aromati c fermented fis h sauce , likely to have taken its name fro m Malaysia n balachan (fermented fish past e sol d in a block). It is also said to have given birth to th e shrimp paste currently s o popular i n Cantonese cooking . It is now difficul t t o find, eve n in Macau, and made b y just a few old ladies. If no t available , make your own balachan-bzsed balichao, or use a good qualit y Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce instead .

Recipe fo r Balicha o I am presenting this recipe entirely a s it was given to me, using the traditional weights an d measures of Macau/souther n Chin a still in use today, but I am not suggesting that you try it at home! Very few Macanese make it themselves, not necessarily because it is difficult, bu t because today it is virtually impossible to fin d the correct shrimps . Originally, the shrimps fo r this paste were found th e way up the Pearl River Delta, and were of a variety almost too tin y to be seen with the naked eye . To use ordinary shrimp s is to create something with the wrong flavour entirely . Ingredients 10 cate* shrimps 2 tael peppercorns 3 cate salt 1 tael bay leaves, crushed 8 tael** Shaoxing (Chinese wine) 3 lemons, juiced and cut into quarter s 4 tael Portuguese brandy 1- 2 tae l chillie s

*1 cate = 50 0 g (13 lb) appro x **1 tael - 3 0 g (I302) appro x

Method Mix together, sea l jar, and leave fo r 3 months!

This recipe came fro m Isabe l Eusebio, the owner of a former Maca u restaurant calle d Balichao, and a place where many would enjo y Macanes e foo d a s cooked b y Isabel's mother, Maria .

Recipe fo r Balachan-based Balicha o

One Macanese gourmet frien d ha s suggested that, to get something close to the origina l flavour, we can start with a base of , say , 1 kg of Malaysia n balachan, then mix it with al l the balichao ingredients listed above, save for salt . Seal and leav e fo r a few weeks to allow the ingredients to integrate. Then remove lemon peel, peppercorns an d ba y leaves. Before use , gently crush the sauce by hand or in a food processor . Fry fo r about two minutes, then stor e in a well-sealed ja r for futur e use .

11 Bay lea f Also known a s the laurel leaf, this herb comes fro m th e tree luiurus nobilis. It i s a classic herb in European cookin g and th e tree is also a native of India . The leave s can be lef t whole in soups or stews , but should be crumbled whe n used in marinades .

Bechamel sauc e To make a bechamel, melt 40 g butter (I 7 oz/3 tbsp ) ove r a low heat in a heavy saucepan. Add 4 0 g flour (I70Z/ 3 rounded tbsp ) and sti r briskly fo r about 5 minutes unti l the mixture i s smoothly blended but before th e colou r darkens. Slowly sti r in 50 0 ml milk ( \ pint/ 2 cups) , bring to a boil, season . This recipe wil l yield 500 ml of sauce ; adapt quantities of ingredient s wher e smaller or larger quantities ar e required . 12 Brown suga r In Southeast Asia , dark palm suga r in blocks known a s jaggery is often use d instead of mor e refine d dar k sugars, but eithe r is acceptable in Macanese cooking .

Chillies Macanese cookin g normally uses the smal l and ho t bird's-eye chillies , usually red but sometimes green .

Chinese win e Shaoxing wine i s the so-calle d 'yellow ' rice wine, good fo r braising. The so-calle d white ' rice wine, moutai, i s like a grappa, and is used to finis h of f the dish. The labe l on the bottle will usually give the generic name fo r th e wine.

Coconut mil k Popular acros s Southeast Asian cuisines, coconut mil k feature s prominentl y i n Macanese cooking, in sweet and savour y dishes. Tinned coconu t mil k is most commonly sol d in a 165 ml ( 6 f l 02/ \ cup ) can , which i s the siz e used in thi s cookbook. Fres h coconut mil k or freshl y grate d coconut fles h ca n of cours e b e used if desired , though almos t no Macanese continues to use fres h coconut .

13 Chouri90 This drie d chopped pork sausag e is a staple o f th e Portuguese kitchen . The lowe r quality , cheape r sausages ar e designed fo r cookin g in soups an d stews, while the to p qualit y ones ca n be eaten a s they come, grilled (broiled ) o r barbecued, o r incorporated int o many differen t dishes . They com e i n many differen t sizes : 100 g/15 c m in length ( 4 oz/6 in ) is the standard size . The best substitut e i s not another kin d of sausag e but a salty, strong-flavoured ham .

•• Cinnamon bar k The thick rough barks (cassia ) foun d i n Asia, crumbled , probably impart the best flavou r i n Macanese dishes , but the smalle r pencil-thick stick s can be readil y used. Thoug h dried, the'freshness'of th e bark is the key; in othe r wx>rds store for weeks rather than months .

Garlic The garlic bulbs foun d i n Southeast Asia and use d in Macanese cooking are typically those with 10-15 medium-sized cloves .

Glutinous rice Sticky rice is usually used in desserts, though there ar e some savour y dishes that incorporate it . Cook in the same w ray as regular rice but soak for up to three hour s before use .

Indian curr y powde r Some modern Macanes e and Macanese dishe s substitute Chines e five-spic e fo r curry powder, o r combine the two, but Macanese cooking mor e normally uses an Indian curr y powder likel y to contain coriander , cumin, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric an d fenugreek . Lap cheon g Chinese dried sausag e fro m Guangdon g Province , mos t famous i n Dongguan. I t is slightly sweet s o tends to b e very popular with childre n when tosse d i n frie d rice . Use Portuguese chourico as a substitute, or a strong-flavoured ha m cu t into smal l cubes. s

Lotus roo t (rhizome ) This vegetable, popular in China, almost resemble s strings of sausages . It is a little sweet, pleasantly crunchy , and beautiful i n its cross section . It can be sliced in rings, which ar e very attractive, though th e Cantonese ar e mor e likely to smash i t with a cleaver, then chop it into 5 cm- (2 in) lengths.

Morcela Portuguese bloo d sausag e flavoured with warm spice s suc h as cinnamon. Any good blac k sausage works a s a substitute.

Olive oi l A combination o f butte r and olive oil makes a n excellent base fo r many Macanese dishes , but it is important t o use the thick green-tinged aromati c Portuguese oliv e oils usually purchased in tins. Heavy Spanish or even Greek oliv e oils can make acceptabl e substitutes, but th e lighter Italian oil s are not generall y suitable.

Olives Most recipes in the book cal l for blac k Portuguese olives , but an y olives can b e substituted, the less processed th e better . Look fo r oliy^e s with a textured bit e to them , rather than the very smooth, manufacture d brands. Where green Portuguese olive s ar e called for , an y green oliv e can similarl y be substituted, th e firme r th e fles h th e better . 17 Rice In spit e of th e heavy use of potatoes , an d the popularity o f bread , steamed white ric e (Thai fragrant ric e is the most popular typ e today) i s almost alway s served with Macanese food . Rather tha n having it 'dry', the Macanese famousl y spoo n gravy or sauc e over the rice before eatin g it. Wash ric e before use .

Saffron Notoriously expensiv e today , saffron bring s a beautiful arom a to a dish, a s well as a rich colour. It can — an d shoul d — b e use d sparingly s o as not to dominate a dish. Even a quarter-teaspoonful o f saffro n powde r i s preferable t o using turmeric, though th e latte r is more normally used today . If usin g good quality strands, as fe w a s two to fou r strand s is normally sufficient .

Sago Small, starchy pellets made fro m th e stem s of th e sag o palm which grows i n Southeast Asia . This i s sold in Southeast Asian stores , usually in sealed plastic packet s of abou t 10 0 g (3^oz) i n weight.

Shrimp past e Cantonese shrim p paste, sold in soli d blocks, is believe to be a direct descendent o f balichao, thoug h it is in fac t fa r more salt y les s sweet and less 'fishy'. Malaysia n balachan, o n th e other hand, i s a more suitabl e substitute fo r balichao, and ca n be found i n Southeast Asian grocery stores . Under th e entry'Balichao' a recipe i s given which produces a kind of balichao but based on balachan. I n som e cases, good qualit y nuoc mam (Vietnames e fis h sauce ) or , because it is usually more readil y available, Thai nampla, ca n be used instead of balichao, particularly where aroma i s as important a s flavour . Soy sauce (dar k and light ) Soy sauce is generally used a s a marinade or to make sauce s thicker , darker and o f course salty . It is rarely if eve r used in Macanese cooking as a dipping sauce o r added a t the last minute. Dark so y sauce i s made fro m dar k or black , rather than white, soy beans, and has a stronger flavour . Both type s ar e used in Macanese cookin g to varying degrees accordin g to personal taste .

Star anis e A beautifull y aromati c spice , the traditional Chinese kitchen typicall y uses sta r anise fo r pork an d poultry cooking , but i t is included thes e day s in everythin g from bee f sou p t o fis h stew . Stock There i s nothing to beat homemade stocks . At their most basi c the y simpl y require bringing to boil a pile of por k bones , a fresh chicke n carcas s with mea t removed, o r a fish hea d i n about 1. 5 litre s ( 2 j pints / 1 2 quarts) water . Ski m the surface . Then ad d a stick of celery , a potato, a carrot, an onion an d a clove of garlic . Simmer ove r a low simmering heat fo r on e o r tw o hours, lor stock s i n Macanese cooking, bay leaves, peppercorns, sta r anise and cinnamon bar k ca n readily be added . Tamarind Fresh tamarin d pods ar e difficult t o fin d outside Asia, and in any event most cooks bu y tamarind in dried, pulp for m fro m Southeas t Asian grocery stores . This pulp shoul d b e soaked and eve n simmere d i n boiling water, then straine d to leave a marvellously sour , ric h liquid. Discard th e fibrous remains . Work o n proportions o f abou t 150 g tamarind pulp t o 225 ml ( 8 f l oz/lcup) water .

Turmeric Turmeric brings littl e of flavou r t o a dish, but lends an attractive colour to al l kinds of curries , sauces and even meats.

White win e While th e Macanese in Macau would historically have use d Portuguese white wine, the kind of whit e wine used in th e marinades make s littl e difference t o the fina l result. But avoid strong, oaky Chardonnays an d us e fresh-styl e wine s where possible .

Wrappers Wrappers, whether made fro m ric e flour , wheat flour , gluten-free flou r o r various combinations o f thes e including the addition o f egg , are used fo r dishe s such a s spring rolls and Chinese di m sum . They come in al l shapes and sizes ; and they come fresh , frozen , chille d and dried. So the subjec t o f wrapper s i s a rather complex one. There i s one Hong Kong-based Macanes e woman who tol d m e she buys froze n wonto n wrapper s fro m th e US because those in Hong Kong ar e not suitabl e fo r chi/icotes. Wrappers ar e used in this book fo r chamucas, and ca n also be used fo r chi/icotes and rissois in place of homemad e pastries . 21