On the MenuHong Kong has how many rice varieties? One woman’s drive to celebrate them all
An ambitious decade-long effort to catalogue and preserve Hong Kong’s many local rice types has led to a new book and exhibition
I often think that we take rice for granted. It is seen as a boring blank canvas for a far more exciting palette of flavours coming from side dishes and main proteins of myriad tastes and textures.
In some circles, rice is villainised, painted as a low-value carb that offers calories, a food coma, and not much else.
We often forget that rice was once a luxury – a fact I was reminded of recently when I saw a well-preserved rice ration card, issued during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II.
The card belonged to the family of Dora Wu, the chairperson of The CC Wu Cultural & Educational Foundation Fund, who has been the driving force behind an ambitious decade-long project to cultivate, explore, document and preserve Hong Kong’s local rice varieties.
The effort has culminated in the publication of the recently published Hong Kong Rice Catalogue, which details 35 distinct rice varieties – from the skinny Lo Shu Ngar (“mouse’s tooth”) to Hong Kong white glutinous rice, an evolution of a Taiwanese variety.
At the same time, “Sowing the Seeds for Hong Kong Rice Research”, an exhibition showcasing the team’s efforts over the years, is currently taking place at Our Gallery in Wan Chai’s CC Wu Building until May 3.