Nothing says Hong Kong home-cooking like a stir-fry. Fortunately for travellers, many home-style stir-fry dishes are offered in restaurants too.

Although stir-fries are a humble home dish, they are quite difficult to pull off. To make a good stir-fry, the chef has to have excellent cutting skills and ensure there is sufficient heat, precise seasoning, quick thickening and plenty of ‘wok hei’ (the subtle combination of aroma and taste that a well-used wok imparts to food).
Cantonese stir-fry originated in Guangzhou but was taken to new heights by enterprising chefs in Hong Kong, who are constantly challenged to create new dishes for diners with increasingly sophisticated tastes.

 

Sweet and Sour Pork
This Cantonese-style dish has been a feature on Chinatown menus worldwide for decades. Bite-sized pieces of pork loin are stir-fried with pineapple, green pepper, onion in the distinctive sweet and sour sauce.

 

Stir-fried beef with vegetable

From broccoli to morning glory – the vegetable depends on the season and the seasoning and other ingredients are limited only by the chef’s imagination.