How Cantonese soups create 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s food waste, and why cooking up change starts at home
Amid a rush to reduce plastic rubbish, Hong Kong’s mountains of food waste have largely been forgotten, according to an NGO, but chefs and environmentalists now have an action plan on the table
Every day Hongkongers throw away 450 tonnes of leftover soup ingredients – a weight equivalent to about 1,000 cows, according to a study by a local NGO. The unwanted dregs make up a hefty 40 per cent of all household food waste in the city.
The shocking figures were revealed last week by Food Grace which said the “colossal” problem was being forgotten amid the push to tackle other rubbish such as plastics.
But now a professional Cantonese chef is encouraging cooks to get creative instead of reaching for the rubbish bin.
Chung Chi-keung, head chef at J&T Restaurant in Wan Chai, known for its Cantonese cuisine, says most soup ingredients remain tasty for an extended period as long as they are cooked at the right temperature and correct length of time.
Chung and environmental campaigners have come up with a number of inventive solutions in response to Food Grace’s report.
The NGO’s findings are based on a survey of more than 600 Hong Kong residents which the group says highlights a desperate need for a coordinated campaign to tackle the issue.
