Congee Dinner
Yesterday, a post in a private community made me think about how the meaning of the word “standard” changes drastically depending on where you’re at — that “standard” can sometimes be “non-standard” if you would simply move a few kilometers to any direction. If you took a plane around the world and visit as many airports as you like, it might be a wonderful experience to experience a few hundred variations of “standard”.
That’s what inspired me to post about a standard meal in Hong Kong. This was actually my dinner last night. For a dinner, it’s actually not very standard — this is the type of food that you would normally eat for breakfast or lunch. But sometimes, I like to eat these things for dinner because they are simple and delicious.
Mostly, I wanted congee, so I ordered some fried dough to go with it. I saw some steamed rice rolls on the menu, and ordered some as well. I threw in some deep fried fish skins because it’s a wonderful snack.
I tend to over-order when I order for delivery and keep leftovers as snacks.
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粥 Congee
粥 Congee is a form of savory rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. The first recorded reference traced back to 1000BC during 周 Zhou dynasty.
It’s usually eaten for breakfast and lunch, but I like having it sometimes for dinner when I feel like having something light.
油炸鬼 Yau Char Kway (油條 Youtiao)
油炸鬼 Yau Char Kway (油條 Youtiao), literally “oil-fried devil”, is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of wheat flour dough. It’s normally only eaten with congee.
I love these things — I would always order more than I plan to eat, and put some in the freezer. Then I reheat them in the toaster oven when I feel like having a crunchy snack.
腸粉 Steamed Rice Rolls
腸粉 Steamed Rice Rolls, “Cheung Fun,” is a Cantonese dish originating from Guangdong Province in southern China.
It’s something normally served as dimsum, with ingredients inside. But I like getting the lighter version with the rice rolls by themselves, mixed with sesame paste, sesame, and soy sauce.
炸魚皮 Deep Fried Fish Skin
炸魚皮 Deep Fried Fish Skin is something to die for. It’s not something traditionally seen in Chinese cuisine, but has recently become a very popular snack in Asia, and as such, can be seen on the menu in a few Chinese restaurants.
Trusty Congee King 靠得住粥麵小館
I bought all of these for dinner today from Trusty Congee King 靠得住粥麵小館. Its Wan Chai branch was on the list of Michelin Recommended Restaurants for 2011-2017.
Several everyday restaurants in Hong Kong have earned stars in the Michelin Guide — which is one of the truly special thing about the food in Hong Kong.
SML Data
Dinner / 2024-02-23 / SML
Series: Chinese Food Culture
Canon EOS R8
Canon RF 24-105 f/4L IS USM
Creative Commons (CCBY)
Copyright 2024
See-ming Lee /
SML Photography /
SML Universe Limited