Hong Kong Style Barbecuing fun

If you grew up in North America, you probably have had the chance to roast marshmallows over an open flame. Here in HK, they take that fun one step further and have devised their whole BBQing experience around the 'sitting around the campfire' idea.

I've experienced quite a few BBQ methods in my day:

1. In the west, generally there is a BBQ grill(burning either charcoal or gas) and one or two people (usually male) is/are in charge of BBQing the food for the entire party. Big chunks of meat, fish and seafood are grilled and people eat in a (relatively) civilized way with fork and knives on plates.

2. In mainland China, there is a small grill, usually a rectangular box and a couple of people are huddled around the grill BBQ for everyone. The big thing with mainland Chinese BBQing is meat on a stick or kebabs: lamb, beef, pork, chicken.


3. In Hong Kong, BBQing is a lot like hot pot. Everyone plays a part in cooking their own meal. As you can see from the picture, each participant is given a pitchfork especially made for individal BBQing and food is speared and cooked over hot coals. The main foods that are BBQ'd include meat/fish balls of all kinds, chicken wings/leg, sausages/hot dogs, squid, prawns, bread, etc. You can basically cook anything that can be pitchforked.

Of the three BBQ styles, I think I like the HK way best. It's the most fun, most communal and just like sitting around the campfire while camping you get a chance to chat, tell jokes and sing (if you wish) while you're waiting for your chicken wing to cook. It also trains those who can't cook to learn how to recognise when meat is fully cooked. So it behooves you to cook meat well without burning the outside!

Even if you don't live in HK, I highly recommend getting some friends together and trying this BBQing this way wherever you live. If you can't find the pitchforks in the picture in your nearby BBQ store, improvise and use tree branches or some other device for your pitchforks!