Latest news with #Chung
RTÉ News
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Emma Chung: How to make Chinese food easily at home
It was Shanghainese spring onion oil noodles that catapulted Emma Chung to TikTok success four years ago. "It's a fragrant oil that you make by frying spring onions and mixed with noodles, it's really easy! It's five ingredients in the whole dish," says the now Hong Kong-based chef and content creator. "I just casually posted, not even telling anyone." Chung, 28, who posts under @ had spent her life in food already, though, working as a recipe developer for a food box company and teaching at London's School Of Wok. With Hong Kong parentage, she moved to Shanghai at the age of five. "So I actually lived more in Shanghai than I did in Hong Kong, however, I've always felt really tied to my Cantonese roots, to my Hong Kong family." Her food is heavily influenced by both areas. "They're really different," says Chung. "I would say Shanghainese food is a little bit sweeter overall, we use more dark soy sauce, so dishes tend to have that dark brown colour. Because it gets quite cold in the winter, it's heartier than Cantonese food, it's quite filling, you've got braised meats, delicious noodles and rice dishes. "In Hong Kong, dishes are lighter in flavour, a lot of seafood, dishes are often steamed." Chung remembers her grandmother ("the best cook I've known") rustling up all her meals on a small electric stove in a tiny kitchen, with tools hung everywhere and meat drying at the windows. "The dish I miss the most when I'm away from home is her stir-fried greens. I also really remember her doing a whole steamed fish in a massive wok. They'd be 20 of us [eating] in this tiny flat and this boiling hot dish of steamed fish coming out." Chung's debut cookbook, Easy Chinese Food Anyone Can Make, aims to prove that forgoing your local takeaway in favour of home cooking is a lot more simple and accessible than you might think. Think easy weeknight dinners like ketchup prawns, to takeaway classics like sweet and sour pork and beef chow fun, and sticky mango rice for pudding. So what's her advice for beginners to the cuisine at home? Get four basics in your pantry According to Chung, all you need is a light soy sauce, a dark soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce. "A light soy sauce is going to be very salty, it adds a bit of seasoning. Dark soy sauce gives it that lovely golden brown colour – when we think of a really delicious stir-fry noodle that has a dark brown colour, that's what's giving it its colour. Sesame oil has a really delicious nutty taste. "Oyster or mushroom sauce [for a plant-based alternative], they taste really similar, adds a nice salty taste to your food that's different to a light soy sauce. From those few basic sauces, you can make so many different types of dishes, says Chung. "When I go to my grandmother's kitchen, when I look at her pantry, she's literally got four large bottles." Stop buying packet supermarket stir-fry sauces "It's just a mixture of sesame oil, light or dark soy, maybe sugar, maybe a few other things to make it taste a little bit better. I would say if you just had those basic ingredients yourself, it's going to taste a lot better, a lot fresher, and probably be a lot healthier than when you buy those packaged ingredients with things that you don't even know what's in it – same as if you were buying like a jar of pasta sauce from the aisles. "Start with a little bit [of each thing] and you can always add a little bit more." It's likely to work out cheaper in the long-run too. Start with fried rice – but don't over-stir A Chinese fried rice dish is usually made of "the most basic of ingredients", says Chung, "some maybe you already have at home – it's an amazing way to transform a very simple ingredient, or leftovers. "I always have lots of different things lying around the fridge, like a half-chopped courgette, or like the end of a spring onion. It's a great way to use what you already have and transform it into something that tastes really different. "If you get that technique right (you don't necessarily need a wok), it can go from a kind of average fried rice to really, really good fried rice." Chung, who taught at London's School of Wok for many years, says the pan needs to be very hot – and not to mix it around too much. "I've taught many fried rice dishes. Almost every class had some kind of fried rice. What I saw all the time were just people constantly mixing it, and when you mix it so much, it's almost like you're breaking the grains of the rice. And so that's why it gets wet and a little bit mushy." "With risotto, they encourage you to continually stir it because you want to break up the grains of rice, you want to kind of release some of that starch. But in the fried rice, that's not what you want. So I would say actually the best tip is to actually not do so much and just let it cook in the pan." Make your own dumplings – with minimal pleats Chinese dumplings or wontons are easier to make than we might think, says Chung. "Making any type of dough, whether you're baking or making pasta, can seem daunting. But I think once you try it a few times, and then you get familiar with how the dough feels – it becomes really easy." In Chinese restaurants, you'll see wontons with many pleats, she notes, but that's just "a plus". "The most basic dumpling, when you go to dumpling stalls in Shanghai, they're doing the most basic fold because they have to make a hundred a day. They're not going to bother sitting there making 10, 12, 14 pleats on each dumpling, they're just squeezing it, sealing it shut and then moving on to the next one." Her best tip for filling dumplings is to cook a little bit to taste it, before putting the rest of the mixture inside. "Like you would if you were making meatballs at home to make sure the seasoning is right. Just cook off a small bit." Chop everything before you start cooking "With Chinese food, everything happens quite quickly. Often, things are being stir-fried within 10-15 minutes. So I would say, make sure you have everything that you need ready and measured out right by you for the very beginning. And if you need garlic, ginger, spring onions or peppers, have that all already chopped."
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Ray Chung's Email About Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau ‘Absolutely Disgraceful'
Article – RNZ Wellington-based MPs condemn the councillor's email about the mayor and say they feel 'embarrassed' to be from the Capital. Wellington-based MPs have roundly condemned councillor Ray Chung's email about Mayor Tory Whanau, and felt 'embarrassed' to be from Wellington. Labour leader and member for Remutaka Chris Hipkins said Chung's comments were 'absolutely disgraceful' and it was 'undoubtedly true' that women in politics were subjected to more abuse than men in politics. 'Women of colour are subjected to a degree even more of abuse, denigration and disrespect, and it isn't acceptable,' Hipkins said. 'Regardless of someone's party political affiliation, regardless of whether you agree with them or not, there are ways to have these debates that still actually respect the person, and I hope that we can get back to that.' Hipkins said social media played a role and people felt more emboldened to make comments from the 'protection of their own living room'. 'When you're sitting at home in your living room, commenting on other people's social media posts or engaging in this sort of debate, ask yourself the fundamental question, 'would I say this to the person if they were standing right in front of me?'' 'If the answer to that is no, why are you writing it down?' he said. Hutt South MP Chris Bishop said he felt 'embarrassed as a Wellingtonian' and the whole affair was 'pathetic'. 'It really saddens me that local government in, what is New Zealand's second biggest city and a really important city, and my hometown, has descended into this level of ridiculousness,' Bishop said. 'The city has really big challenges around housing, around transport, around fiscal rectitude, and we spent the last week talking about everything other than those issues.' Bishop said Chung was a 'rogue' councillor acting in the 'most weird way possible'. Asked why Wellington struggled to put up credible right-wing candidate, Bishop said he thought there needed to be some 'soul searching'. Speaking to Labour in the debating chamber, Bishop said he told media six weeks ago mayoral and former Labour MP Andrew Little was a 'solid' candidate and would most likely win the election. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said it was the 'most stupid, silly email'. Labour's Wellington Issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the comments were 'absolutely disgusting' and ultimately, Wellingtonians would make up their own mind's about Chung's mayoral hopes. 'The bigger issue is, who on earth is going to vote for this guy?' Verrall said. 'It's so important that Wellingtonians and other New Zealanders feel that there's good representation on offer to them. For the vast majority of elected people, you see people diligently going about their job. Ray Chung is well way out of line with norms in terms of how other politicians behave.' Labour's Ginny Andersen said the email was 'unprofessional' and 'unneeded'. 'It's good that he has, I understand, apologised to Tory Whanau. That sort of politics is not necessary.' Andersen said she was seeing an increase in personal attacks on female politicians and Chung's behaviour looks like 'gutter politics'.
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Ray Chung's Email About Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau 'Absolutely Disgraceful'
Wellington-based MPs have roundly condemned councillor Ray Chung's email about Mayor Tory Whanau, and felt "embarrassed" to be from Wellington. Labour leader and member for Remutaka Chris Hipkins said Chung's comments were "absolutely disgraceful" and it was "undoubtedly true" that women in politics were subjected to more abuse than men in politics. "Women of colour are subjected to a degree even more of abuse, denigration and disrespect, and it isn't acceptable," Hipkins said. "Regardless of someone's party political affiliation, regardless of whether you agree with them or not, there are ways to have these debates that still actually respect the person, and I hope that we can get back to that." Hipkins said social media played a role and people felt more emboldened to make comments from the "protection of their own living room". "When you're sitting at home in your living room, commenting on other people's social media posts or engaging in this sort of debate, ask yourself the fundamental question, 'would I say this to the person if they were standing right in front of me?'" "If the answer to that is no, why are you writing it down?" he said. Hutt South MP Chris Bishop said he felt "embarrassed as a Wellingtonian" and the whole affair was "pathetic". "It really saddens me that local government in, what is New Zealand's second biggest city and a really important city, and my hometown, has descended into this level of ridiculousness," Bishop said. "The city has really big challenges around housing, around transport, around fiscal rectitude, and we spent the last week talking about everything other than those issues." Bishop said Chung was a "rogue" councillor acting in the "most weird way possible". Asked why Wellington struggled to put up credible right-wing candidate, Bishop said he thought there needed to be some "soul searching". Speaking to Labour in the debating chamber, Bishop said he told media six weeks ago mayoral and former Labour MP Andrew Little was a "solid" candidate and would most likely win the election. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said it was the "most stupid, silly email". Labour's Wellington Issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the comments were "absolutely disgusting" and ultimately, Wellingtonians would make up their own mind's about Chung's mayoral hopes. "The bigger issue is, who on earth is going to vote for this guy?" Verrall said. "It's so important that Wellingtonians and other New Zealanders feel that there's good representation on offer to them. For the vast majority of elected people, you see people diligently going about their job. Ray Chung is well way out of line with norms in terms of how other politicians behave." Labour's Ginny Andersen said the email was "unprofessional" and "unneeded". "It's good that he has, I understand, apologised to Tory Whanau. That sort of politics is not necessary." Andersen said she was seeing an increase in personal attacks on female politicians and Chung's behaviour looks like "gutter politics".
The Spinoff
a day ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Chaos on Courtenay: Inside Ray Chung's unruly, incomprehensible campaign rally
The controversial mayoral candidate's rally devolved into a mess of yelling, finger-pointing and claims of assault. I'm not sure where to start. I'm not even sure I understand what I just witnessed. On Tuesday night, Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung and his oxymoronically-named party Independent Together hosted a campaign rally – the final event in its Zero Rates Roadshow – at The Grand on Courtenay Place. By the end of the night, it deteriorated into the political equivalent of chimpanzees throwing their faeces at each other. It was an online flame war playing out in real life. It's always a risky proposition for a politician to host a large public campaign event while actively in the throes of a high-profile scandal. Chung has been at the centre of the media spotlight after revelations that he sent emails to three council colleagues spreading salacious and unverified rumours about Wellington mayor Tory Whanau having a drug-fuelled sexcapade with his neighbour's son. I had attended another Independent Together event the previous night in Miramar, and it went mostly according to plan; deep in suburbia, surrounded by close supporters. It was a different situation entirely in the centre city, a dark and mysterious realm full of young lefties and overly opinionated public servants who were driven to madness aeons ago by excessive consumption of oat milk and the hypnotic powers of the bucket fountain. The majority of the crowd were supporters of Independent Together, but about a quarter of the room showed up intending to disrupt, or at least watch the chaos unfold. Better Wellington campaign director Alistair Boyce laid out the plan for the evening: he would explain Independent Together's five 'campaign pillars', then each candidate would give a short speech, then a Ray Chung campaign video, a speech from Chung, and finally, they would open the floor to questions. The speeches mostly went to plan. The candidates stayed on script, almost identical to the previous night, though some seemed rattled by the larger and less agreeable crowd. Then came the time for the Q+A. The yelling began immediately. A man near the front bellowed at Chung, 'Will you apologise? Will you apologise?'. The crowd chanted back at him, 'Out, out, out'. A woman standing behind the yelling man stood up and started clapping in his ear. Judy Rohloff, who founded Wellington Rates Revolt and seemed to have appointed herself as Chung's enforcer, marched towards him and wagged a finger in his face. The poor security guards of The Grand looked completely lost. 'You may want to leave of your own accord,' Boyce said, but the man stayed seated. Before the hullabaloo had quietened down, three more people were on their feet and shouting. A woman in a red shirt and an N95 mask tried to ask something, but I couldn't hear it because she was drowned out by a man screaming: 'Take your mask off! Get out of here! Mask off!' She walked to the front of the room, raising her arms and clapping as the crowd roared abuse at her, then left. She seemed to be protesting a specific cause, but I have no idea what it was. Boyce directed the next question to an older woman who asked a long question about Chung's email controversy. The crowd yelled back and forth, 'Sit down', 'No, let her speak'. She stuck to her guns and eventually concluded with something along the lines of 'how are you going to persuade voters that you are a person they can trust?'. Boyce didn't want Chung to address it: 'Can we talk on the pillars?' Ignoring the pleas of his campaign director, Chung agreed to answer the question: 'That happened a few weeks after I was elected. We'd been to a lot of presentations about how we should have integrity on council, how we should not do anything to embarrass the council and all of these things. So when it happened, I didn't know what to do, so I asked three of my trusted colleagues, people I knew before I was on council for many years. That's why I sent it out, almost three years ago. Yep, you're absolutely right, I shouldn't have done it…' Just as Chung started to admit personal fault, Boyce cut him off. 'Ray's acknowledged that and he's apologised on the video for it, can we move on please? Please sit down.' (The video that Chung's campaign video released addressing the controversial emails notably did not contain an apology.) There were a couple of friendly questions from supporters. One person asked Chung about how he would ensure the council's chief executive wouldn't undermine his policies as mayor. Chung gave a slightly rambling answer, and again Boyce spoke over him to explain Independent Together's policy more succinctly. A woman at the back stood up. 'I have a question for Mr Chung.' 'No, no, wait your turn,' Boyce said as the crowd booed her. He directed the next question to a man holding a clipboard. Fifteen seconds later, the back of the room erupted with a scream: 'You did that on purpose, asshole.' It was the same woman. 'Look at my seat, it's wet,' she declared, holding her folding chair above her head. She pointed accusingly at a man in a suit whom she claimed had poured a drink on her. 'Look at him, he wet my seat!'. The crowd chanted 'out, out, out'. She held the chair aloft again. 'This is assault! This is assault! Look at him, he's the assaulter.' A man behind me called out 'good job, buddy'. Rohloff marched towards the chair-holding woman and scolded, 'shut up, you're a nutjob'. Another voice called out: 'Is this how you want to treat women, Ray Chung?' Security once again tried to intervene but couldn't decide what to do after competing sides of the crowd started bleating their case. A woman standing behind the ordeal asked, 'Are you all actors? Are you all actors?' (If they were, it was a thoroughly entertaining performance.) The moment there was a slight lull in the noise, an older woman stood up and started repeatedly demanding Chung take a stance on Israel: 'Will you declare Wellington an apartheid free-zone? Will you?' The rumble from the crowd grew louder. Rohloff confronted her, demanding she leave, this time with Historic Places Wellington chair Felicity Wong as reinforcement. 'No, I'm waiting for an answer,' she said, standing firm. All semblance of a Q+A session was abandoned. The entire room was talking at once, multiple people were on their feet yelling their questions, statements and abuse. All seven candidates were on their feet, huddling with Boyce, unsure what to do. Another woman stood up in the front row, turned to face the crowd and gave an impassioned speech with lots of arm waving. 'Apologise to the women of Wellington,' she demanded at the top of her lungs. Her furore didn't seem directed at Chung, though, because most of the crowd roared in support. 'If we had any common sense you lot would get in,' she said, directed to the candidates, followed by something about women's toilets. A young woman in a keffiyeh had been trying to ask a question all night and, realising that the meeting was about to implode, took the moment to project above the crowd: 'I have a question for Ray Chung.' The crowd jeered back 'No', 'no', 'go away' but she continued, 'what are three policies that you would enact as mayor to ensure a respectful code of conduct among the council.' There was a momentary stunned silence at the realisation that it was actually a decent question. Boyce didn't want to allow it: 'can we draw the questions to the pillars that we are campaigning on please?' She continued: 'Please answer the question, I feel like that's a really fair question to ask.' Chung looked lost and turned to Boyce for support. Rolhoff grabbed the mic and jumped to his defence. 'Have you never, ever made a mistake?' she asked. The rest of her speech was drowned out by more shouting, but the crowd applauded when she finished. She hugged Chung and Wong, and Boyce regained control of the mic. 'Thank you for attending, please vote Independent Together, please vote Ray Chung for mayor.' Half of the crowd jumped to their feet in applause. The rest continued yelling at each other. I sidled away home while the cacophony of arguments continued. What did I learn? Nothing, really, except that this year's local body elections are going to be really, really, unbelievably stupid.
The Star
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Hong Kong star Gillian Chung reveals she struggles with body dysmorphia
Cantopop star Gillian Chung has experienced repeated cycles of weight gain and loss over the years due to hormonal imbalance. Photo: Gillian Chung/Instagram Hong Kong singer-actress Gillian Chung has long struggled with weight fluctuations caused by hormonal imbalance. According to Singaporean news portal 8days, the 44-year-old has experienced repeated cycles of weight gain and loss over the years. In a recent interview with Hong Kong media, Chung – one half of the Cantopop duo Twins – said she had to undergo significant weight loss for her role as a cancer patient in the film Good Goodbye . She described the process as an immense challenge, adding: 'As I'm getting older and my metabolism is slowing down, losing weight really isn't easy for me.' The singer also revealed that she struggles with body dysmorphia, sharing: 'It's not that I'm insecure about my looks, but I have body dysmorphia.' The interview quickly went viral online, with many netizens expressing their support for Chung and commending her honesty about her health struggles. Others also reassured the singer that the size of her body doesn't matter, as long as she's healthy and happy. 'Gillian has been plump and thin, but she has never been ugly,' one netizen commented. Another added: 'Thank you for sharing about your anxiety. Celebrities are just like us.' Last December, Chung's weight became a topic of online discussion after netizens commented that she appeared 'rounder' during a concert in Singapore, according to Hong Kong news portal Dimsum Daily. Amid the online chatter, her bandmate Charlene Choi stepped in to defend her, stressing that as long as Chung's happy and healthy, that's all that matters.
