The Poon Choi, which is also spelled as "Pun Choi", is a traditional dish that was once very common in China. It is a dish usually served in large wooden, porcelain or metal basin due to its communal style consumption. The name itself translates to a "big bowl feast".
According to tradition, its origins was invented when the Mongolian army invaded china causing it's young emperor to flee the area. In order to serve the Emperor and his army, the people collectively gathered their best food and cooked it in a large wooden basin due to insufficient serving containers.
The Poon Choi slowly became a traditional dish among the villagers. Furthermore, due to it's large quantity, it is suitable for a communal meal and is served whenever there were celebrations like weddings and festivals.
The ingredients usually used in the Poon Choi are pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, ginseng, shark fin, fish maw, prawns, crab, and squid. According to the villagers at that time, vegetables are not highly valued ingredients therefore the dish usually includes mostly or only meat and seafood.
When preparing the dish, special attention is given to the layering of the ingredients as it contributes to the taste as it is composed of many different ingredients and the ingredients that absorbs sauces the most are placed at the bottom while the middle is usually filled with the meat and at the top, seafood and other rare ingredients are placed. This allows the sauces at the top to flow to the bottom as the top is eaten.
As the preparation and cooking is tedious work, it requires multiple people to work on the dish which ultimately cultivate teamwork and unity among its chef.
The modern day Poon Choi represents the creativity of the chefs as ingredients change as time passes by to suit the people's taste. This dish is extremely popular during Chinese New Year as it is gimmicked as fortune and unity.
Daryl Justin De Rozario
0106775@kdu-online.com
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