Tushengpurenmeishipengrenjiyi
01 · Historical Records
After the Portuguese came to Macao in the 16th century, Eastern and Western cultures blended and coexisted, and the cultural traditions of the Macanese were nurtured, transmitted and developed here.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Macao Special Administrative Region lies on the northern shore of the South China Sea and the western side of the Pearl River estuary. It has a maritime subtropical monsoon climate, hot and humid, with abundant rain in summer. The main cooking techniques of Macanese cuisine are braising, roasting, baking, deep-frying, simmering, stir-frying and steaming. Common ingredients include chicken, pork, beef, potato and rice noodles, as well as bacalhau (salted cod), red beans, Portuguese chorizo and black olives brought from Portugal. Some dishes are seasoned with spices from India and Southeast Asia, such as saffron, curry, clove, cinnamon and turmeric, and Chinese traditional seasonings are also used, such as star anise, ginger, spring onion, soy sauce and rice wine. Influenced by Portuguese cooking methods, the craft of Macanese cooking emphasises the use of red and white wine, and onion and tomato are also commonly used to braise various ingredients. Desserts use large quantities of eggs and granulated sugar, and are therefore rather rich in sweetness. The more representative dishes include tacho (a mixed braise), Portuguese chicken, minchi, African chicken and braised pork with salted shrimp and tamarind, as well as such popular savoury and sweet items as bacalhau balls, red-wine raisin cake and prawn toast. The craft of Macanese cooking has a history of more than 400 years to date.
Massinha (mixed stew)
The best-known Macanese dish: several kinds of meat slow-stewed together, usually based on onion and tomato and lifted with red or white wine.
Galinha (Portuguese-style chicken)
Chicken seasoned with curry spices, its aroma coming from a blend of saffron, clove and cinnamon, often sharpened with galangal powder.
Frango de cabidela (African chicken)
Borrowed from Angolan and Guinean practice: the chicken is fried then braised in a sour sauce and served at festive feasts.
Bolinho de bacalhau
Salt cod worked into a dough and fried into small cakes with a crisp shell and soft centre, eaten with drinks or alongside a meal.
Pastel de camarao
Shrimp-filled fried pastries, a sweet-savoury snack common in Macanese family kitchens and on festive tables.
Bolo de vinho e uvas
A wine-and-raisin cake using plenty of eggs and sugar, its sweetness dense and unmistakable, the signature dessert of Macanese cooking.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The craft of Macanese cooking is a culinary skill formed on the basis of Portuguese cooking and blending the cooking methods of Africa, India, Southeast Asia, the Guangdong region of China and the local Chinese of Macao; dishes prepared with this craft are known as 'Macanese food'. The project is mainly transmitted in the Macao Special Administrative Region, and has gradually spread to other countries as local Macanese have moved abroad. Macanese cooking blends the culinary features of Europe, Asia and Africa; its dishes are rich, both varied and possessed of a flavour of their own, and it is an indispensable element of local festive occasions. At the same time, it supplies local culinary elements to Macao as a 'City of Gastronomy' and plays a positive role in supporting local economic and cultural development and in promoting cultural exchange worldwide.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The inheritors of the craft are mostly descendants of Macanese in Macao and of Macanese who have emigrated overseas. In the early period it was mainly passed by mothers to daughters, and later it was handed down through the generations by recording family recipes. At present the Macao University of Tourism actively advances the educational transmission of the project by regularly offering professional training courses, while the Macanese Gastronomy Association, founded in 2007, actively promotes the transmission and dissemination of the craft through regular skills training and exchange and promotional activities. The craft of Macanese cooking is vivid testimony to the culinary and cultural exchange and blending along the routes of the Age of Discovery, and is also one piece of evidence that Macao was once a transit point and trading platform between East and West; it possesses high historical and cultural value.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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