The Authentic Chinese

I grew up in my father's Chinese takeaway during the mid 1970s in Wolverhampton.

He arrived in the UK from Singapore during the 1960s, coming to London for his first job in banking while studying economics. After some time, he realized he needed to earn more money to send back to Singapore.

One evening, as he was walking home through Soho after work, he paused outside a large Chinese restaurant and curiously glanced down into the basement and to the sound of the kitchen. A few days later, my father started training as a young Chinese chef in the basement kitchen of a Chinese restaurant in Soho.

He would describe the working conditions as tough with loud clatter of heavy woks and intense heat from the gas cookers. The kitchen was dimly lit and packed with rows of wok stations, each stood a trainee, head down, tossing and stirring copious amounts of fried rice and noodles. There was no time to rest or break once you entered the kitchen. No one dared speak!

Throughout my childhood, my father would show me how to prepare simple dishes. He would patiently guide me through each step of the process. Although I was too young to handle the wok, I was able to mix ingredients and learn.

From there, I learnt to cook at home or as I would put it "do it myself". I would make the "supervised" hot chocolate, toast and eggs for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch. Keeping the kitchen, clean and tidy as I worked till finished. I saw cooking as a way to independence and self-reliance. I learnt a valuable life skill that served me well throughout adulthood.

Later, during my teens I started working at my father's takeaway. I was surprised it was labelled as Chinese food. What is sold at the shop was certainly not what I had recognised as normal home-cooked Chinese food. For example, the humble beansprouts were not the norm, they were for very special occasions (usually guests). My job would be to pluck every singly root off each beansprout, a laborious task. The sweet and sour would be shredded ginger, sugar and vinegar with pan fried mackerel (why was the takeaway one red?) and where were the potatoes in the takeaway curry?! My father explained the practicalities of the menu as well as emphasising the importance of modifying of dishes to suit the customer.

Today at My Smart Kitchen, we go back to basics but in very different circumstances. Gone is the gloomy basement kitchen with copious heat from gas cookers. Today we have induction hobs which carbon steel woks adore. The electromagnetic field induces heat from the wok, resulting in a faster and more intense heat than what gas could ever produce. This is a far more energy efficient way to cook as well as keeping a pleasant ambient kitchen temperature.

Alongside silicone utensils, also makes for a more pleasant kitchen volume.

The advent of the air-fryer has elevated our fried foods to another level as well as offering a healthier alternative without compromising on crispiness and texture.

Traditional Chinese Takeaway dishes from the 1970s are making a revival with uncomplicated, straightforward ingredients. Sauces made from scratch with homemade pastes, bases and fragrant oil, using quality, everyday ingredients. No elaborate pre-made sauce jars or complicated ingredients needed.

The concept of "authenticity" becomes irrelevant when dishes are dependant on the quality of the ingredients and cooking methods used.