Engages,

Ruby White Other tongue 餓 ghost kitchen

Dates: Food collection: Wednesday 16 October, 12-8pm

PREORDERS CLOSED


Preorders: Wed 2 Oct - Thurs 10 October
Food collection: Wed 16 Oct, between 12pm - 8pm
Collect From: Bus Projects, Ground floor/7 Little Miller St, Brunswick East VIC 3057


Other tongue 餓 ghost kitchen is a takeaway food service and honoring of birthing, menstruating bodies and for people that require healing and/or comfort.


This food has been informed by 坐月子 Zuo yue zi postpartum cuisine (specifically Hakka dishes) and Chinese medicine philosophy, as well as the food I ate during my fourth trimester. I don’t consider this to be a traditional or a modern interpretation of Chinese confinement cuisine, it is simply my way of cooking and intended to bring primordial heat and healing to you or a loved one.


When I designed this menu I was taking into consideration my own limitations as a fulltime carer of our 1 year old, and thinking about what kinds of food and services people already have access to. I wanted to make food that you wouldn’t necessarily make for yourself, especially if recovering from birth, surgery or illness. All the dishes have a medicinal quality to them.


Purchasing the full menu for a friend or family member means they have a few meal options. The congee and pork can be frozen. All items are dairy free.


Kitchen and support provided by Shop Bao Ngoc.


$1 from every dish purchased across the two events will be donated between Refuge Victoria and Aviva (Christchurch Women’s Refuge).


( 1 ) 擂茶 Lei Cha - contains peanuts, sesame and soy


*vegetable toppings are subject to availability and may be different to what is shown in the photograph


擂茶 Lei Cha is a vegan Hakka dish supposedly originating in from the Three Kingdoms period. The preparation, plating and absence of meat suggests that it is informed by buddhist practice. It is simple and methodical to prepare, however each vegetable is sliced and cooked individually, which is time consuming. The “tea” has a minimum of seven herbs blended together. Some people may find that the tea has a bitter taste, this is normal. Bitterness is an essential part of Chinese cuisine, it cleanses the palate and is also believed to help remove toxins from the body.


This isn’t traditionally listed as a postpartum food, I assume in part because it is normally made with tea leaves, but I wanted to make a version of this dish, without caffeine, as it is so abundant in colour, texture and vegetables.


( 2 ) 鸡鸭三米粥 Chicken and duck three rice congee - contains sesame and soy


I took inspiration from 薑雞酒湯 a Hakka dish of poached chicken in wine but wanted to make it into a version of congee which is one of my ultimate comfort foods. Red dates are a common postpartum ingredient as they are high in iron and believed to promote blood circulation.


This is a sticky-sweet-savoury congee made with a rich chicken and duck stock. Aromatics in the soup include ginger, ginseng root, ganangal, Solomon’s seal, root of the Holy Ghost and white pepper. The sweetness comes from fermented rice, red dates and goji berries. The stickiness from glutinous rice and collagen from the two birds.


( 3 ) 猪脚姜 Hakka braised pork (large side dish) - contains soy


Pork braised in black vinegar and lots of ginger. A collagen rich stew to replenish 氣 qi and warm the body. Add this on for extra protein to the lei cha or congee. Alternatively it can be eaten with plain rice and steamed vegetables (not included)


Some recipes call for this dish to be prepared with equal ratios of pork to ginger when making it for postpartum purposes, my mum made this version for me in my fourth trimester and it was.. hard to eat (sorry mum). My version is more balanced, but it is still quite intensely flavoured.