Poon choi
|
|
Poon Choi (盤菜) (also known as Big Bowl Feast) is a traditional type of Chinese food served in wooden basins instead of the porcelain or metal kind.
Poon Choi includes ingredients such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, ginseng, shark fin, fish maw, prawn, crab, dried mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried eel, dried shrimp, pigskin, beancurd and mooli.
Poon Choi is special in the way that it is composed of different layers of many ingredients. It is also eaten layer by layer instead of "stirring everything up", but those who cannot wait will often choose to pick up the juicy radish at the bottom first using shared chopsticks.
It is often served during religious rituals, festivals, special occasions and wedding banquets. Poon Choi can also be enjoyed at many restaurants in the autumn and winter or on special occasions throughout the year.
It was said that Poon Choi was invented during late Song Dynasty. While Mongolian invaded China, the young Emperor fled to area around Guangdong and Hong Kong. To serve the Emperor as well as his army, The locals collected all their best food available, cook them and put them in wooden washing basins. By doing so Poon Choi was invented.