Tips & Tricks of Hongkong Style CookingTips & Tricks of Hongkong Style Cooking

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, so cooking, whether at home or as a chef on the streetsides of the city, must be done with efficiency in mind. This is a city where apartment sizes are likened to the size of large parking spaces, where space is limited, and home kitchens are often a secondary thought, or else there would be nowhere to sleep. Limited space in kitchens means that there are no ovens; sometimes fridges and freezers are hard to fit into the tiny kitchens, so Hong Kongers find themselves either eating out more if they can afford to, or going to the market on a daily basis to save space and still be able to cook fresh food. Despite first appearances, the lack of space also lends itself to some clear positives: Hong Kong cooks and chefs have an amazing sense of resourcefulness when it comes to cooking. Every single surface in the kitchens or streetside tables is used to prep or cook, stacking ingredients, prepped or not, on top of each other, using height, not length, to make more room. So long as there is space for a wok, cleaver, chopping board, and possibly a steam basket stored on top of the wok, you can make a banquet worth bragging about.