Chef Cheung Hong-man on poon choi’s humble Hakka origins and how the festive dish has evolved

How did they prepare it? “You couldn’t just order out for food then. You called everyone in the village who knew how to cook to help out. They would build a firepit with bricks and charcoal, and start cooking on an open terrace. Everything was prepared separately before being assembled into serving basins.

“Folks did that at Chinese New Year and for special occasions like holidays, birthdays and weddings. When I was small, I would watch from the side with interest as the elders cooked. I thought, ‘How do they make this? The wok is so big.’ Maybe occasionally I would ask a question or two.”

What is the history of the dish, as you understand it? “The stories I heard of how poon choi was invented is that a New Territories village sent its best foods in a large basin to the Song dynasty emperor and a general when they arrived nearby while fleeing from Mongol invaders. I’m sure there’s some truth to it.”

What’s the key to preparing this traditional dish? “For me, there are three layers to a poon choi. The top is decorated with the most prized and deluxe items, like the meats, shrimps and other expensive stuff. When I grew up, we didn’t have fancy ingredients like fish maw, abalone or sea cucumber. Instead, we had an entire dace fish fried to get a moreish smell, maybe dried oysters and black moss if we were lucky. But each item would have its own flavour and taste.

“In the middle would be Hakka-style fermented bean curd pork. This would be the dominant taste infusing most other ingredients inside. I make it without too much spice so it’s not too heavy. At the bottom layer, there might be bean curd, bamboo, bean curd skin, wood ear fungus, lotus root and Chinese radish. The most important is the radish because it doesn’t stick to the bottom and it releases a lot of moisture when slow cooked, making the flavour more complex.”