You may recall Lydia Lunch, who came out of the 1970s’ New York City “no wave” scene as the singer and guitarist of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks? This piece isn’t about her as it happens (altho’ it is about a Lydia and a lunch) but you might still enjoy one of her songs “Some Velvet Morning” whilst reading onwards…
…about some rather wonderful sounding char sui 叉烧 (a dish which — if you’ve not been fortunate enough to come across it and eat it — is ‘simply’ a Cantonese form of BBQ pork) via a recipe from Lydia Pang’s grandfather that I will be making for my lunch, real, real soon now.
It’s taken from the EAT BITTER ‘zine — a limited edition book that came out in 2019/2020 via Lydia Pang (ex-creative director at Nike etc etc) & fellow Hakka Chinese & top food snapper, Louise Hagger on camera & film (well, alright, digital, but YKWIM). I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to get hold of a copy ever since I saw it written about (unfortunately, 12 months after the funding had closed and the limited edition had sold out!). eBay has been no help. If you know of one that’s available, hit me up*!
I’m increasingly coming to the firm conclusion that my true, best Happy Place™ (certainly food-wise) revolves around some form of charred, fatty pork run through Chinese cooking techniques and ingredients and, of course, served over rice. This one meets all these requirements.
* and, delight of delights, having written this morning — very much on spec — to Lydia at her new company, MØRNING.FYI , she’s just replied in the past 10 minutes, saying that she very much approves of the Salute The Pig name and very kindly offered to send a free copy in the post. Watch this space…. **
Her words on the reason behind making this labour of love:
“FOR US, FOOD IS LANGUAGE. A BOWL OF SOUPY BONES SMILES “HELLO”; A PORKY “GOODIE” THROWN INTO YOUR RICE BOWL SAYS “I’M PROUD OF YOU”; AND A HAND PEELED PRAWN, WELL, IN MY FAMILY THAT PERSON SAID I LOVE YOU. LOVE FROM MY GRANDPARENTS WASN’T THE CROCHET ICED BUN TYPE, IT WAS SLICED FRUIT ON A TOOTHPICK. OUR LOVE IS SMELLY, PUNGENT, FILLING. LIKE HAKKA CUISINE, IT’S TEXTURED AND EARNED.”
Eat Bitter is about my family, my memories, it’s my bones. It’s about me trying to be less controlling and self-loathing about my output, to be kinder to myself about my creative process, and to not hide behind anyone else. … So right now, I’m revelling in the bitter pain and sweet joy of how exposing this personal project has been. And collaborating with kindred like talented photographer Louise Hagger to bring to life the imagery, art directing from America while she’s shooting in London, has only aided my therapy.
More than ever, and perhaps, for the first time truly, I consider it a great honour to have Hakka running through my veins and Eat Bitter is an ode to and celebration of the badass spirit of my family’s heritage, The Pangs. Told through childhood memories of Pawpaw’s traditional steam cake and my Dad’s newly reimagined crispy duck, these recipes are not quick, and they are not convenient. They’re humble and pungent, deceivingly simple and yet cannot be rushed. They’re a lesson in Hakka values, patience and adaptability. You have to ‘Eat Bitter’, put the time in, before you can taste the sweetness. But in a world of fleeting, instant, disposable transience, there is a delicious hardship that comes with enduring a 3- day duck basting, a luxurious forced pause that comes with waking up early to soak rice.
Eat Bitter is a collection of short stories told through childhood recipes that are not for the faint hearted. This zine is an ode to and celebration of the spirit of The Pang family and their Hakka heritage. A year long project, eating bitter and the idea of resilience and patience in dark times, has grown a sharper cultural significance in 2020. A project that began as quiet introspection has grown into a conversation around protecting and celebrating Chinese culture and cuisine. A portion of the profits are being donated to Welcome To Chinatown, an initiative that supports Chinese businesses affected due to increased xenophobia in the wake of Covid-19.
This collaboration spanned time zones and generations. The imagery was created by two female, half Chinese creatives; Creative Director Lydia Pang and Photographer Louise Hagger. The stories, recipes and memories were written by Lydia Pang, with help from her father and grandparents.
Pang said “The creative direction was born out of the Hakka spirit. Punk poster references echo the progressive and independent culture of Hakka ancestors, lucky Chinese red tones hero but with a purposeful nod into the blood red of meat. The imagery is visceral, textural and immediately grounds you in a sense of place and time, a feeling.” This work is deeply personal and aims to shine a light on a culture long ignored. Because it’s time for everyone to know what Hakka tastes like.”
** (this good news slightly dampened by finding out 15 minutes later, that Sertaç Dirik…
… the truly excellent ocakbasi chef is to leave his post cooking from behind the hot coals at Mangal 2. Bummer; that’s one of my favourite places to eat.)