Array
This story complements the Culinary Journeys TV series, airing monthly on CNN International. See more of the show here: www.cnn.com/journeys. Share photos of your own Culinary Journeys on Instagram with the hashtag #CNNFood for a chance to be featured on CNN.
It’s either a match made in culinary heaven or a recipe for a dining disaster.
Take one chef, famous for creating delicate, miniature landscapes out of the food she puts on a plate.
And take one iconic imperial Chinese dish that owes its existence to the rich and beautiful landscape in which it was created.
That’s the scenario when feted Hong Kong chef Vicky Lau, owner of the Tate Dining Room, joins CNN on a Culinary Journey to Hangzhou, south of Shanghai, to learn how to cook the classic Longjing tea river prawns.
Guiding her are Colin Cheng, chef at Hangzhou’s standout 28 Hubin Road restaurant, and tea master Wan Jiachun.
From the go, it’s all about the landscapes.
“Wok-fried Longjing tea with river prawns adopts something from the mountains and something from the water in Hangzhou,” says Cheng. “It’s the dish to represent Hangzhou.”
Before she can fire up a wok, Lau is sent to learn about the two main ingredients.
First stop: picking tea leaves in Longjing tea village, close to Hangzhou’s West Lake.
So far so good, until Lau suggests playing with a recipe developed over centuries as she tours a plantation with Wan.
Her idea of pairing tea with tomatoes gets short shrift from the master.
“I object,” he says.
As a tea master, it’s no surprise Wan is against the idea. Longjing tea, a specialty in Hangzhou, is considered one of the most prized tea leaves in China.
The best leaves – those picked from 18 shrubs chosen for an ancient emperor Qianlong – were auctioned up to $43,000 for 100 grams, equivalent to the weight of half an apple.
