One Christmas in Sydney, my aunt Susan made roast turkey stuffed with glutinous rice – the type that's cooked with dried shiitake mushrooms, preserved Chinese sausage and dried shrimp.
It made perfect sense; it felt no stranger than eating a big slab of ham during summer.
I was delighted recently to discover that other families give their Christmas feasts a Chinese spin. For example, when Deb Low was growing up in Melbourne, her family marinated turkey with 'five spice' and served it with roast potatoes and veggies.
Low says, "We'd have this with steamed fish, steamed drunken prawns, roast ham and rice. Then any leftover ham and turkey would reappear in fried rice and congee, and mum would use turkey carcasses to make a broth."
Cathy Pak-Poy grew up in Adelaide and remembers there was always a big Cantonese spread for Christmas dinner.
A Christmas banquet of Chinese-Australian families is quite the spread. Source: Supplied
"The uncles were generally banished to cooking the steamed pork with shrimp paste outside, because of the smell," Pak-Poy says. "Only half the kids would eat it, but I loved it."
There was straight-up Chinese food, but also Chinese-influenced food.
"Even if lamb chops found their way into the barbecue, they'd be well-coated with hoi sin sauce," says Pak-Poy.
This was served with lots of roast pork and chicken, seafood (often steamed fish and always prawns) and ham.
Even if lamb chops found their way into the barbecue, they'd be well-coated with hoi sin sauce.
"As the parents, uncles, and aunts left us, the next generation took over with some new Chinese variations, but the pork, chicken, seafood and rice fundamentals continue…sometimes with more chilli than before."
On the table was perhaps a surprising addition: preserved Chinese sausage. "When we were little, in Adelaide, it was very difficult to get lap cheong, so on the rare occasions we had it, it was pretty severely rationed. Now it's always regarded as a special treat."
LAP CHEONG RECIPE
Cantonese steamed chicken with lap cheong and black beans
Meanwhile, Michael Chong, whose great-grandfather arrived to Australia from China in the 1830s, says Christmas lunch during his childhood in Melbourne had similar Chinese influences. It's no surprise, really, given his mum is esteemed TV chef Elizabeth Chong.
"When I was growing up, it was mandatory to have Chinese roast duck, Chinese roast pork, Chinese roast chicken, but we also had ham on the bone, lots of salads, potatoes (and, of course, rice)," Chong says.
"My dad made a trifle every year, and my grandad [William Chen Wing Young, who popularised the dim sim in Australia] made the best half-Chinese, half-English plum puddings." They were steamed in small Chinese rice bowls and served with hot custard.
"These days, we do it buffet-style and everyone brings a plate. My mum's version of her mum's roast chicken is everyone's favourite, and we will also buy Chinese roast duck, crispy roast pork, ham and prawns, and maybe a few oysters."
My mum's version of her mum's roast chicken is everyone's favourite, and we will also buy Chinese roast duck, crispy roast pork, ham and prawns, maybe a few oysters.
Salads are important these days since about a third of the Chong family is either vegetarian or vegan.
"Veggies could be stir-fried green beans with garlic, various roast veggies, and at least a couple of creative salads," Chong says.
Israeli couscous with pomegranate was a recent winner.
"Desserts will nearly always be western…pavlova, trifle and lots of fresh fruits like cherries, mangoes and watermelon."
In recent years, Chong made a vegan pavlova for his two daughters, their partners and their children. "No egg whites, but made from chickpea water," he says.
Pavlova feat. lychees. Source: Supplied
One thing stays the same, though: the happy marriage of Chinese and Western flavours; in Chong's vegan trifle, you'll find lychees.
Photo credit: Michael Chong.
'The Mostest' is an SBS Food column that sees comedian and food enthusiast Jennifer Wong be your guide. Read as she goes searching to uncover who we are as cooks, who we are as eaters and what we enjoy most. Expect history, incredible tips, must-make recipes and anecdotes all surrounded by food. Love the story? Follow the author here: Twitter , Facebook , Instagram .
CHINESE-AUSTRALIAN FARE
The 47-year-old event that ensures everyone gets to eat lunch on Christmas Day
