CHEF EMMA CHUNG GIVES LAUREN TAYLOR EXPERT TIPS FOR DELICIOUS EASTERN DISHES

IT was Shanghainese spring onion oil noodles that catapulted Emma Chung to TikTok success four years ago.

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“It’s a fragrant oil 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.

Emma, 28, whose social media handle is @iam.chungry, has worked as a recipe developer for a food box company and taught at London's School of Wok.

Her parents are from Hong Kong, but 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 Emma. “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.”

Emma remembers her grandmother (“the best cook I've known”) rustling up all her meals on a small electric stove in a tiny kitchen.

“The dish I miss the most when I'm away from home is her stir-fried greens. I also remember her doing a whole steamed fish in a massive wok. There would be 20 of us [eating] in this tiny flat and this boiling hot dish of steamed fish coming out.”

Emma's debut cookbook, Easy Chinese Food Anyone Can Make, aims to prove that forgoing your local takeaway in favour of home cooking is easier than you think.

She offers ideas for weeknight dinners like ketchup prawns, and takeaway classics like sweet and sour pork, with sticky mango rice for pudding.

So what are her top tips for beginners at home?

DAN DAN NOODLES (Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS