How Macau gave birth to the world’s first fusion cuisine, blending Portuguese and Chinese traditions

In the mid-16th century, the Chinese Ming dynasty leased Macau as a trading post to Portugal. In doing so, he sowed the seeds that would sprout into one of the world’s first and most compelling fusion cuisines.

Today, many of Macau’s millions of annual visitors make a point of trying local dishes such as the ubiquitous pastel de nata – in its original form, that is, unlike the pastry if popular in Asia that even KFC offers its own version. the local egg tart. Or minchi, a dish made from ground pork or beef, and understood even in Hong Kong to describe a dish that resembles the Malay dish nasi lemak.

“(Macanese cuisine) is a fusion of Malacca, Chinese and Portuguese dishes and culinary traditions,” explains Manuel António de Jesus, owner of the recently closed Macanese restaurant Cozinha Aida and son of the late Aida de Jesus, the famous “godmother of Macanese cuisine. cuisine” who owned and operated the famous Riquexó restaurant.

Culinary historian Janet Boileau confirms that Macau’s distinctive local cuisine owes much to the city’s unique history.

“It’s closely linked to a cultural heritage and a way of life,” she says. “Cuisine changes as access to ingredients changes and cultural context changes.”

Visit any authentic Macanese restaurant and a glance at the menu clearly shows how local dishes blend different culinary traditions.

Tacho, a popular European-style stew, makes good use of pork offal and scraps – ingredients not unlike the innards you might see served with fondue or in regional street food.

Galinha a Africana is another local favorite. The dish consists of chicken coated in piri-piri sauce, either as a base or marinated during the grilling process, which is then topped with a thick sauce made from mixed chili, coconut cream and peanuts.

The marinade’s origins are anything but ordinary – it is associated with African cuisines but was only developed after being brought to the continent by Portuguese traders – and it now covers a local East Asian dish .

According to Boileau, Macanese cuisine was shaped by the experiences of Portuguese explorers and settlers, as well as their ability and willingness to adapt to new geographic and social landscapes.

“Macanese cuisine can be considered a Creole cuisine, influenced by several contributing cultures but which has developed a unique and cohesive identity,” she says.

It is this use of unusual combinations of ingredients from Chinese, Portuguese, Malay, African, Indian and other culinary traditions – as well as the combination of different cooking techniques such as stir-frying and slow cooking – that defines Macanese cuisine .

And then there is the sense of ceremony, evident in the Portuguese and Macanese tradition of big cat – “fat tea” – which dominates the afternoons in the region. “It is a celebratory meal, which typically includes a wide range of dishes and is closely linked to cultural notions of hospitality,” explains Boileau.

Catholic holiday celebration meals and group snacking were also essential parts of the development of Macau’s culinary traditions. It is for these reasons that de Jesus describes Macau cuisine as “home cooking, prepared by housewives”.

Boileau agrees and reveals: “Macanese cuisine is generally made up of traditionally home-cooked dishes, so it should be considered more of a comfort food rather than a fancy restaurant dish.

“It comes from the peasant cuisine of Portugal, where simple ingredients were transformed by skillful cooking,” she continues. “Nose-to-tail eating is familiar to the Chinese, and it was also the way early Europeans ate, out of necessity.”

Such an approach may require a certain open-mindedness from visitors.

“Today’s diners aren’t always comfortable with offal or other basic ingredients. Flavors also tend to be bold, complex or involve interesting combinations,” adds Boileau.

Despite – and perhaps because of – its rich and warm heritage, there are reasons why Macanese cuisine is not more celebrated and ubiquitous.

“There aren’t many cooks who can do it properly,” de Jesus attests. “It’s difficult to learn and there’s not a lot of money at the moment. There hasn’t been enough promotion either – it’s only now that the cuisine is recognized worldwide. I hope the government can do more to promote it.

The reputation of this cuisine was boosted in 2017 when Macau was recognized as a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO.

While the (hopefully temporary) closure of Cozinha Aida and the March 2021 death of Aida de Jesus herself come as a blow to the local scene, major efforts are being made to preserve Macanese cuisine in the city.

“Macanese cuisine is one of the enduring links to a time and place that cannot be recaptured and to a culture that is inevitably eroding,” Boileau explains. “So in a sense, it embodies to some extent the nostalgic feeling, or saudade, expressed in Portuguese fado music.”

“The fact that Macanese gastronomy has been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage will hopefully help ensure its survival. »