How Macau birthed the world’s first fusion cuisine, mixing Portuguese and Chinese traditions

Vintage engraving from 1851 showing a view of Macau. Photo: Getty Images

• Classic dishes like minchi, tacho and galinha a Africana have not travelled further because 'there are not many cooks who can do it properly'

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

Today, many of the millions of annual visitors to Macau make a point of trying local dishes such as the ubiquitous pastel de nata - in its original form, that is, unlike the pastry so widely enjoyed across Asia that even KFC offer their own take on the local egg tart. Or minchi, a dish made with minced pork or beef, and understood even in Hong Kong to describe a dish that bears a resemblance to the Malay dish nasi lemak.

"[Macanese cuisine] is a fusion of Malaccan, Chinese and Portuguese foods and eating traditions," explains Manuel AntOnio de Jesus, owner of the recently closed Macanese restaurant Cozinha Aida and son of the late Aida de Jesus, the celebrated "godmother of Macanese cuisine" who owned and operated the renowned RiquexO restaurant.

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Culinary historian Dr Janet Boileau confirms that Macau's particular local cuisine owes much to the city's unique history.

"It is closely linked to a cultural heritage and way of life," she says. "The cuisine changes as access to ingredients changes, and cultural context changes."

Visit any authentic Macanese restaurant and a glance at the menu makes clear how local dishes mix different culinary traditions.

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

Galinha a Africana is another local favourite. The dish consists of chicken coated with piri-piri sauce, either as a base or marinate during the grilling process, which is afterwards covered in a thick sauce made from blended chilli, coconut cream and peanuts.

The marinade's origins are anything but ordinary - it is associated with African cuisines but was only developed after originally being introduced to the continent by Portuguese traders - and now it coats a local dish in East Asia.

According to Boileau, Macanese cooking was shaped by the experiences of Portuguese explorers and settlers, and their ability and willingness to adapt to new geographical and social landscapes."

"Macanese cuisine can be considered a Creole cuisine, one that is informed by several contributing cultures but which has developed a unique and cohesive identity of its own," 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 Portuguese and Macanese tradition of cha gordo - "fat tea" - which dominates afternoons in the territory. "It is a celebratory meal, that typically involves a wide range of dishes and is closely tied to cultural notions of hospitality," Boileau explains.

Meals in celebration of Catholic holidays and social snacking were other vital elements in the development of Macanese dining traditions. It is for these reasons that de Jesus describes Macanese cuisine as "home cooking, made by housewives".

Boileau agrees, revealing, "Macanese cuisine is typically made up of dishes traditionally cooked at home, so it should be thought of more as a comfort food rather than fancy restaurant food.

"It evolved out of peasant cuisine in Portugal, where simple ingredients were transformed by skilful cooking," she continues. "Nose-to-tail eating is familiar to the Chinese, and it was also how early Europeans ate, out of necessity."

Such an approach may require visitors to be open-minded.

"Modern diners are not always comfortable eating offal or other humble ingredients. Flavours also tend to be bold, complex or involve interesting combinations," Boileau adds.

Despite - and arguably, because of - its rich yet homely heritage, there are reasons Macanese cuisine is not more celebrated and ubiquitous.

"There are not many cooks who can do it properly," de Jesus attests. "It is difficult to learn and there is currently not much money in it. There also has not been enough promotion - only now is there some recognition of the cuisine around the world. I hope the government can do more to promote it."

The cuisine's profile received a boost in 2017 when Macau was recognised as a Unesco Creative City of Gastronomy.

While Cozinha Aida's (hopefully temporary) closure, and the death in March 2021 of Aida de Jesus herself are 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 a culture that is inevitably being eroded," Boileau says. "So in a sense it embodies to some degree the nostalgic feeling, or saudade, expressed in Portuguese fado music.

"The fact that Macanese gastronomy has been recognised by Unesco as intangible cultural heritage will hopefully help to ensure its survival."

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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