Kathryn Pauline connects her roots with the flavours and produce of Hong Kong through recipes on her blog, Cardamom and Tea
Whenever I tell people I’m a Middle Eastern recipe blogger living in Hong Kong, they usually respond by saying, “It must be hard to find Middle Eastern ingredients there. Where do you get things like tahini and pomegranate molasses?” They’re certainly onto something, and right to ask—pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and let me tell you about how I’ve started resorting to ordering five-kilo tubs of tahini from a restaurant supply company (and be prepared for me to try to sneak a jar into your bag on your way out the door).
But my real answer usually surprises people. While these pantry staples are important for many dishes, produce is the real heart of the Middle Eastern food I grew up with. And, lucky for me, there is a ton of overlap between Cantonese and Middle Eastern fruits and veggies. As long as I don’t mind packing my suitcase full of my favourite brand of burghul whenever I visit my family, and as long as I don’t mind paying through the nose for a bottle of orange blossom water here and there, I’m perfectly content to wander the wet markets every day like a kid in a candy shop.