Hungarian ambassador OF ASIAN GASTRONOMY

by György Szalma

HUNGARIANS BECAME AWARE OF LI MENGYI’S NAME THANKS TO A HIGHLY WATCHED SHOW ON ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S LEADING TELEVISION CHANNELS. THE YOUNG CHINESE LADY COMPLETED THE TASKS WITH A SKILL THAT PUT EXPERIENCED CHEFS TO SHAME, FINISHING THE TELEVISED COMPETITION IN SECOND PLACE.

- A Chinese friend of mine told me that in Chinese cuisine, it is not the recipe that is important, it is the Chinese way of preparing the food. Do you agree?

- I cook by instinct, adding what and how much I think is appropriate at the time. After tasting, I decide whether or not I need to add anything else to the dish. It is a slight exaggeration to say that there is no fixed recipe in Chinese cuisine. The flavours are much stronger in the north, much softer in the south, and in Sichuan everything is terribly spicy. Of course, you need a guideline to show you what ingredients are needed for a particular dish, but I think that to a certain extent, cooking is mostly improvisation. Yet in a Chinese restaurant, the chef measures out the ingredients to the gram, but the home-style cooking is based on improvisation.

- Somewhere I read that gastronomy plays a very important role in Chinese culture. What does this mean in everyday life?

- In China, when two people meet, they ask each other, “Have you already eaten?” This is the Chinese equivalent of “how are you”. Gatherings of family or friends are not about drinking, but about gathering around a circular table to eat and drink together. When I was a child, my father always rewarded me by cooking something special. When I introduced my husband to him, he welcomed him by cooking him a full table of food.

- Hungarian–Chinese fusion cuisine. Does it exist?

- I see similarities in many foods. The use of hot paprika is also a common point, and the texture of a Hungarian stew is almost exactly the same as a Chinese dish, just as pig’s ears are no stranger to the tastes of either nation. You can easily make Chinese-Hungarian fusion dishes.

The author is a journalist

In China, when two people meet, they ask each other, “Have you already eaten?” This is the Chinese equivalent of “how are you”.