Poon choi or puhn choi (pronounced: pun4 coi3 in Cantonese and pun choi in Hakka), pén cài in pinyin, is a Hakka festival meal composed of many layers of different ingredients. It is served in large wooden, porcelain or metal basins called poon, due to the communal style of consumption. The Cantonese name, transliterated as Poon choi, has been variously translated as "big bowl feast", "basin cuisine" or "Canton casserole". The dish is popular among Cantonese people.
Origin
According to tradition, Poon choi was invented during the late Sung dynasty. When Mongol troops invaded Sung China, the young Emperor fled to the area around Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. To serve the Emperor as well as his army, the locals collected all their best food available, cooked it. But there were not enough serving containers available, so they put the resulting meal in large wooden washbasins.
Association with the New Territories
In any event, Poon choi is associated with the early settlers of the New Territories, who had been driven south of the mainland by a series of barbarian invasions in China between the 13th and 17th centuries.
Walled village culture is well preserved in the New Territories and Poon choi gradually became a traditional dish of the walled villages. As Poon choi is a large dish portioned to be suitable for a communal meal, it was served whenever there were celebrations connected with rituals, weddings, festivals, ancestor worship and other local events as an expression of village dining culture.
Ingredients
Poon choi includes ingredients such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, ginseng, shark fin, fish maw, prawn, crab, dried mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried eel, dried shrimp, pigskin, chicken feet, duck feet, goose feet, bean curd and Chinese white radish.
Out of respect to their guests the villagers put only a relatively small amount of vegetables in Poon choi. To walled villagers, vegetables are not highly valued ingredients.
Manner of eating
Traditional Poon choi is served in a big wooden basin. There is one on each table and every person at the table takes food from the basin, layer by layer, from the top to the bottom.
Today, people use 'Gun Fai' (clean chopsticks used to move food from serving basin to personal bowl) to get the food. This allows the diner to pick out particular pieces of food from the bottom of the serving basin as well.
The Poon choi is symbolized to "unity". In the traditional Poon choi feast, people are not sent the invitation cards to the villagers. Only a red notice of the Poon Choi feast will be posted at the door of the village, their relatives and friends will naturally come to this festival. The villagers used the Poon choi feast to reach the whole village without any distinction, becoming an individual, united and harmonious. This symbolic meaning has been passed down to the present day, Poon choi is no longer limited in the walled village. It has been widely developed in Hong Kong, people will eat Poon choi during the Chinese New Year and other dinner party.
Modern Poon choi
Reasons for popularity
Poon choi meals are becoming more and more popular, one of the reasons being promotion by mass media, which widely publicise Poon choi events, such as the 1997 large-scale Poon choi banquet, and the Poon Choi banquet held by Heung Yee Kuk. Another reason is the economic downturn. Since Poon choi contains a large amount of many ingredients, Hong Kong people think the cost is lower than other types of restaurant meals. Poon choi also represents Hong Kong's food culture and creativity. Although it is a traditional cuisine of Hong Kong walled villages the ingredients have changed over the past decades and become more diversified to suit peoples' varying palates and tastes. 洪運正宗盆菜, Poon choi has become a meal that people can enjoy anywhere and anytime.
In 2003, a Poon choi feast was held in the former Kai Tak airport. It had 660 tables, seating 12 people per table; together with the staff a total of nearly ten thousand people participated. This event broke the world record for the highest number of people gathered to eating Poon choi.
Convenience
Delivery service is provided so that the stores can ensure that all people, especially those living far away, can enjoy Poon choi and purchase it from a store. Delivery service is no doubt convenient when there are activities organised by local organisations or the government which feature a Poon choi feast. As these customers order bulk amounts, the stores give discounts or provide free materials, like tables, a gas stove, and tableware together with the Poon choi.
Ordering by phone or online enables customers to conveniently order Poon choi, since it eliminate the need for them to take time to visit the stores. The stores immediately start preparation once they have received the order, increasing efficiency.
The advertising leaflets from these stores usually offer customers a choice of big, medium and small amounts of Poon choi. With standard quantities and prices, people can easily determine how much they wish to order.