people love this hakka restaurant's chili chicken so much, they've tried to crack the recipe - new york times chinese restaurant review hot dish

At the beginning of 1980, I first came to the Hakka cuisine in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
After we moved to Scarborough in 1990, we came again. Scarborough-
And continue-
It is home to a large number of guests and restaurants everywhere.
Every week, we go to different places to have a plate of chili chicken and rice, as well as the thick noodles in the frying pan --
Fried vegetables with pork slices.
Hakka migration has a long history and is believed to have originated in the Yellow River in northern China.
For centuries, the migration of Hakka people has spread throughout Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
In the 18 th century, there was also a large population migration to West Bengal, India, mainly due to the fact that Kolkata was a metropolis that was easily accessible through land.
Over time, the scale of Hakka communities has been expanding in nearby areas such as Tangra.
A large part of the Greater Toronto community is from Kolkata and leaves due to civil unrest caused by India's independence and India
China war in the 1960 s
That's the home of Liu and Wang Mei. Liu—
The owner of the Cantonese restaurant in downtown Torontomet.
Their family moved from Guangdong to Kolkata in their 1940 s and settled in the local Chinatown.
"Before becoming a couple, they were childhood friends," recalls Jeanette, one of Liu's five children.
Mei and Michael witnessed the fusion of the two cuisines as they grew up: Chinese exquisite cooking mixed with Indian fire and heat.
"Everywhere.
"The food is mixed a lot," Michael told me. "Hakka Indian food in Kolkata is everywhere.
Soon it became part of their culture.
In 1976, after the domestic unrest, the Lius and their two older daughters moved to Toronto.
At that time, Chinatown in Toronto had a different address: Elizabeth Street.
For the new family, this is the first step.
A restaurant owner found Lius and wanted to sell his DundasStreet Chinese restaurant.
Coincidentally, eastern Guangdong is the name of a Hakka fishing village in Guangdong, but the restaurant does not provide any Hakka food.
At the beginning, Lius hesitated and knew nothing about running a restaurant, but Mei finally accepted it.
"I think this is a way to protect our culture and introduce Hakka food to Toronto.
"No one is serving high quality Hakka food," she said . ".
Mei and Michael took over in 1987 and changed the menu to reflect their Hakka tradition.
Shortly after the completion of the new town hall, Chinatown moved west, forcing many businesses to close or reopenlocate.
Lius is one of the few owners who can stand the test of time.
They moved the restaurant twice but managed to get a stone's throw near the original location.
"We don't want the legacy that parents leave to Dienet and her sister Joanna to grow up in the catering industry.
"I spent a lot of time here and I had a lot of good memories of loyal customers and experienced what my parents did for the local community," Joanna said . ".
While Jeanette and Joanna are trying to work outside the food industry, they are quickly drawn back when their parents are considering retirement.
"We don't want the legacy of our parents to die," Joanna said . ".
"Our family has stories of immigrants who built a local community with our Hakka Indian cuisine.
This is the food of our parents and grandparents.
"She quit her marketing job a few years ago and signed up for a cooking school.
Today, when Jeanette manages the restaurant, she is the chef in the kitchen.
"We are imitating our parents.
"My dad is a chef and my mom manages the room," said Jeanette . ".
The story of Jeanette and Joanne quickly became popular in downtown Toronto.
There are countless first
A generation of moms and pop restaurants that have been running for decades.
Parents who run these institutions are about to retire, their children are adults, and they are deciding whether to continue running a family business or to work elsewhere.
This transformation has begun.
Restaurants in neighborhoods like Chinatown are either closed or reopened
Something modern or trendy.
Spicy chicken is very popular, Joanna and Janet are eager to take their Hakka cuisine in a new direction, and the most important thing for them is to preserve this unique culture.
Their Hakka food speaks at a specific time and place, a combination of the Three Cultures of China, India and Canada.
Jeanette said to me: "Hakka food in Toronto is synonymous with Hakka Indians, but in fact there are many branches of Hakka food.
"What my parents want to do in Kolkata is
Chinese Hakka food.
With the massive migration of the Hakka, we learned about many aspects of local cuisine and mixed it with our own.
"I think our chili chicken is the best example of our journey," Joanna said . ".
Chili chicken is very popular in India.
Chinese food from Kolkata.
This is a fried chicken mixed with spices and sauce and placed on a piece of rice.
Elements of Chinese and Indian cuisine-
The taste of soybeans and sweeter, sometimes mixed with a lot of spices.
But the version of Lius is different from the one you will find in West Bengal.
When I moved to the city center, I found it difficult to find a good Hakka attraction without driving to the residential area.
That's how I stumbled.
About 15 years ago, after a debate about where to buy the best spicy chicken, a friend of mine introduced it to me.
Joanna's recipe is the same as the spicy chicken her father Michael has eaten for more than 30 years and is very respected.
Just like chili chicken on Google, you'll come across message boards where people are trying to decode recipes.
Joanna chips.
Go bone chicken, throw it high
Heat the pan with a secret mixture of garlic, onions, peppers, light soy sauce and spices.
Throw the chicken in the pan and give the dish "wok hei", a smoky flavor that emanates from each piece of baking.
From Yuedong, either dishsauced or dried.
I prefer the sauc version over the years.
The fried chicken was filled with various ingredients, but the taste did not penetrate.
The dry version of the spice and Pan black notes is more fragrant and expressive.
Crispy and tasty chicken
It's like moist peppers and garlic inside.
Since moving to St.
Lawrence market in eastern Guangdong has become a hot spot for me.
When I long for India
Chinese Hakka cuisine
It is one of the most consistent places for Hakka cuisine.
Over the years, many restaurants have tried to replicate the dishes of eastern Guangdong, but few have come close to making a dish that blends the two dishes simply but perfectly.
Yue Dong restaurant is located at 126 Elizabeth Street.
Every Thursday morning, food shows are broadcast every week.
Watch his travel video on the city's onCBCToronto Facebook page.
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