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The origins of pen cai date back to the late Song Dynasty, though there are two differing stories about its creation. Upscale restaurants in southern China and Hong Kong have started doling out ever more luxurious versions of the classic, with premium ingredients such as abalone, dried scallops, sea cucumber, fish maw and rare mushrooms.
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The bottom layers of radishes, mushrooms and beancurd skin, are typically the most prized as they get to soak up the flavours of the upper levels. Each layer must be eaten before the diner digs down to the next one. The eight seasonings consist of oyster sauce, cinnamon, cloves, fennel powder, soya bean paste, superior light sauce, preserved bean curd, and dried luohan fruit.Īccording to pen cai etiquette, the dish is consumed by layer from the top down. It originally comprised ingredients such as boiled radish, stewed mushroom, beancurd skin, pig’s skin, yam, deep-fried fish paste, braised roast pork belly, dried cod, sauteed prawns, chicken and caramelised pig’s trotter, stacked in this order. True to the spirit of the Hakka people, among whom the dish originated, pen cai prizes the elevation of “poor man’s food” through complex cooking techniques. The number eight, deemed to be auspicious to the Chinese, is pivotal to the dish: eight layers of ingredients cooked with eight different cooking techniques and garnished with eight seasonings are carefully stacked in a deep bowl.
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A common sight on dinner tables in southern China around Chinese New Year, pen cai is an indulgent dish that displays far more symbolism than its humble appearance suggests.
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