Poon choi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Poon Choi

Course	Main course
Place of origin	Hong Kong
Region or state	Hong Kong
Serving temperature	Hot

Poon choi (pronounced: pun-choy) is a special traditional meal from Hong Kong. It's a Cantonese dish made with many layers of different foods. People serve it in large wooden, porcelain, or metal basins. These basins are called poon, which is why the dish is named Poon choi, meaning "basin dish." It's also known as "big bowl feast" or "Chinese casserole."

The Story Behind Poon Choi

How This Special Dish Began

Poon choi has a long history, going back to the late Song Dynasty in China. The story says that when Mongol soldiers attacked China, the young Emperor had to run away. He ended up in the areas of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong.

To feed the Emperor and his army, the local people gathered all their best food. They cooked it all together. But they didn't have enough plates or bowls. So, they put the entire meal into large wooden washbasins. This is how the "basin dish" might have started!

Poon Choi and the New Territories

Poon choi is strongly connected to the early settlers of the New Territories in Hong Kong. These people moved south from mainland China between the 13th and 17th centuries. They were trying to escape attacks from invaders.

The New Territories still have many "walled villages." These are old villages with walls built around them for protection. Poon choi became a traditional dish in these villages. It's a big meal, perfect for sharing with many people. Villagers would serve it during celebrations like weddings, festivals, and family gatherings. It was a way to show their village's dining culture.

What's Inside Poon Choi?

Poon choi is packed with many delicious ingredients! It often includes different meats like pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and duck. You might also find seafood such as abalone, prawns, crab, squid, and dried eel.

Other common ingredients are dried mushrooms, fishballs, tofu, and Chinese white radish. Sometimes, special ingredients like shark fin or fish maw are added.

Why So Much Meat and Seafood?

In the past, villagers wanted to show respect to their guests. They believed that vegetables were not as valuable as meat and seafood. So, they would put mostly meat and seafood in Poon choi. This was especially true for important events. It was their way of offering the very best food.

Getting the Ingredients Ready

Making traditional Poon choi takes a lot of effort and time. It used to take three full days to prepare and cook the meal!

Day One: Gathering Firewood

First, people had to go to the mountains to collect firewood. They would chop it into pieces. Long ago, people didn't have gas stoves. They needed a lot of wood to cook all the food.

Even today, some walled villages still use wood fires. They believe wood fires give the dish a special, real flavor. They think gas stoves don't provide as much heat or cook the food as well.

Day Two: Buying Fresh Food

Next, it was time to buy lots of fresh ingredients. Walled villages usually use fresh food, not frozen or refrigerated items. This is partly because they didn't have refrigerators in the past.

People also believe that only fresh ingredients make the best-tasting Poon choi. For special feasts honoring ancestors, using fresh food was a sign of respect.

Day Three: Stewing the Pork

The third day was mostly for stewing the pork. This part takes a long time to get the perfect taste. The pork would cook for at least 10 hours! This made the pork belly, which has both fat and lean meat, very tender and flavorful.

In the past, cooking Poon choi was a big challenge for chefs. It needed a lot of patience and skill to control the wood fire for such a long time.

How the Layers Are Built

The way ingredients are layered in the basin is very important. It helps make the whole dish taste amazing.

Making it Look Good

Poon choi is special because it has many layers. Traditionally, people eat it layer by layer, starting from the top. However, some people might be eager to dig down to the bottom for popular items like daikon radish.

Ingredients like Chinese radishes, pigskins, and tofu are placed at the bottom. In the middle, you'll usually find pork and Chinese dried mushrooms. On top, there are meats, seafood, and special ingredients like abalone. Sometimes, dried noodles are put on top to make it look like a crown!

Making it Taste Good

The layering also helps with the taste. Drier foods, like seafood, are placed on top. Ingredients that soak up sauce well, like radishes, are at the bottom. As people eat from the top, the delicious sauces flow down. This makes sure all the layers get flavored!

Poon Choi's Cultural Meaning

Poon choi is often served during religious events, festivals, and special celebrations in villages. Since the 1990s, it has also become popular in cities. Many Cantonese restaurants serve it, especially in autumn and winter.

Important Values in Walled Villages

1. Showing Thanks to Ancestors

Using only the best and freshest ingredients is a way for villagers to show respect to their ancestors. This shows how traditional Chinese people remember and appreciate their family history. It also shows how welcoming and generous they are to guests.

2. Teamwork and Coming Together

Making Poon choi needs many people to help prepare and cook. For big events, respected villagers become the main chefs. They lead and teach others how to make the meal. This means cooking Poon choi brings villagers together and helps them work as a team.

3. Family Traditions

Each walled village might have its own secret way of cooking Poon choi. These recipes are often passed down from parents to children through generations. They are not shared with people outside the village. This makes Poon choi a symbol of the village's history and family traditions.

4. Everyone is Equal

Eating Poon choi together shows that everyone is equal. Rich and poor people eat from the same basin. There are no complicated rules, and everyone can join in.

5. Sending a Message

Sometimes, if a village doesn't hold a Poon choi feast, it can send a message. For example, it might mean the village doesn't approve of a certain marriage.

How People Eat Poon Choi

Traditionally, Poon choi is served in a large wooden basin. There's one basin for each table. Everyone at the table takes food from the basin, layer by layer, from top to bottom.

Today, people often use "Gun Fai" (clean chopsticks) to take food from the serving basin to their own bowls. This is more hygienic. It also lets people pick out specific pieces of food from deeper in the basin. It's even becoming okay to use these chopsticks to mix the food. Some people believe mixing the food brings good luck and fortune!

Poon Choi's Special Features

Poon choi is a key part of the traditional way of life in walled villages. It's connected to festivals and honoring ancestors. Eating this basin meal is an important way for villagers to confirm who they are.

For example, when a new boy is born in a family, they light a lamp in the ancestral hall. They invite villagers to a "lamp gathering," which is a Poon choi feast. This celebrates the new boy. After this ceremony, the newborn boy is officially a member of the village. He gains the right to inherit property.

For weddings, the couple invites relatives to a Poon choi feast. This shows that their marriage is recognized by the community. Also, after spring and autumn ceremonies to honor ancestors, villagers gather to eat Poon choi together.

Poon choi also symbolizes "unity." In the past, villagers didn't send out invitations for a Poon choi feast. They would just put a red notice at the village entrance. Relatives and friends would then naturally come to the festival. This helped bring the whole village together, making everyone feel united and harmonious.

This meaning of unity continues today. Poon choi is no longer just for walled villages. It's very popular across Hong Kong. People often eat Poon choi during Chinese New Year and other dinner parties.

Poon Choi Today

Why It's So Popular Now

Poon choi meals are becoming more and more popular. One reason is that the media promotes it a lot. Big Poon choi events, like a huge banquet in 1997, have been shown widely.

Another reason is that people in Hong Kong think Poon choi is a good value. It has many ingredients and can be cheaper than other restaurant meals. Poon choi also shows Hong Kong's food culture and creativity. Even though it's an old dish, the ingredients have changed over time. Now there are more choices to suit different tastes.

Today, you can find Poon choi stores in cities. These stores offer many choices and conveniences to attract customers. They also use names for Poon choi that sound like "good fortune" to make it more appealing.

Where You Can Find It Now

In the past, people had to travel to walled villages to enjoy Poon choi. This was also a chance to escape the busy city.

Now, you don't have to live in or visit a walled village to eat Poon choi. During festivals, city people can buy Poon choi from Chinese fast food restaurants like Café de Coral and Fairwood. Even when it's not a festival, you can buy Poon choi from special stores. Poon choi has become a meal you can enjoy almost anywhere, anytime.

In 2003, a massive Poon choi feast was held at the former Kai Tak airport. There were 660 tables, with 12 people at each table. Nearly ten thousand people, including staff, took part! This event broke a world record for the most people eating Poon choi together.

How It's More Convenient Now

Many stores now offer delivery services. This means people living far away can still enjoy Poon choi. Delivery is very helpful for large events organized by groups or the government. When customers order a lot, stores might give discounts or provide free tables, gas stoves, and tableware.

You can also order Poon choi by phone or online. This makes it super easy because you don't have to visit the store. Stores start preparing the food as soon as they get the order, which makes things faster.

Advertising leaflets usually show different sizes of Poon choi: big, medium, and small. With clear prices and sizes, people can easily decide how much to order. This also helps avoid misunderstandings between the store and customers.

Today, stores use special aluminum foil covers to keep the Poon choi warm. They also provide large plastic bags with handles, making it easy to carry. These new ideas make it much easier for busy customers.

Unlike old ways of reheating, restaurants now use portable gas stoves. These stoves warm the Poon choi before serving. You can also use them at the table to keep the food warm continuously. This ensures the food stays delicious!

More Choices and Flavors

In the past, people usually ate Poon choi with just rice. But now, you have more options. You can choose other carbohydrates like noodles or udon, depending on what you like.

There are also different price ranges for Poon choi. More expensive versions might include luxury foods like abalones, shark fin, or oysters. People might choose these to show they are generous or wealthy. Those who want a more affordable meal can still enjoy a tasty Poon choi with common ingredients.

Hong Kong is a global city, so you can find many different flavors of Poon choi now. There's Japanese Poon choi, curry Poon choi, Western Poon choi, and even vegetarian Poon choi! These varieties aim to please all kinds of customers, whether they are locals or tourists.

See also

In Spanish: Pun choi para niños