Stories from our Elders: the chef who taught 37,000 Australians how to cook
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What early memories does Elizabeth share about her childhood in Melbourne’s Victoria Market?
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All this week on Conversations, we're bringing you stories from elders, from older people, people who've clocked up a fair few years on earth and learnt a thing or two along the way. Today it's the story of Elizabeth Chong. Now in my family, when someone's feeling a bit poorly, my wife makes Hainan chicken rice. It's from an old family recipe from Singapore and it's essentially poached chicken with sliced tomato and cucumber with dark soy, crushed garlic and chilli. That's accompanied by rice that's cooked into chicken stock. And there's this subtle perfection in chicken rice. When it's done well, you understand how fine it is and why people get so obsessed with it. Now over the course of her life, Elizabeth Chong did more than anyone else to introduce Australians to the glory of Chinese cuisine.
She spent the last 60 odd years cooking and teaching and preaching about the beauty of Chinese food. Elizabeth Chong was actually born in China, but her family has roots in Australia that date back to the 1850s. She grew up near Melbourne's Victoria Markets. And her father masterminded the rise of the dim sim in Australia. Yes, the deep fried dim sim. Elizabeth has taught more than 37,000 Australians how to cook Chinese food. Her first book, The Heritage of Chinese Cooking, was an instant classic, blending food with history and culture. I spoke to Elizabeth a few years ago when she'd recently turned 90. Hello, Elizabeth.
Hello, Richard. Hello. That was a lovely introduction. Thank you very much for it.
Oh, of course. Like I say, chicken rice is the comfort food in our family.
Can I share a story about chicken rice with you now?
Please.
I remember being in Singapore on business and staying at the Oriental Hotel. And I was about to order the usual, you know, American breakfast or English breakfast. And I saw a businessman eating on the table over the road with something on a tray. And I looked at that and I said to my waiter straight away, can I have what he's having instead? And he brought it over, and it was my first introduction to chicken rice. And I was absolutely bowled over by the beauty of it. And I heard afterwards that's one of the best places then was that you can have chicken rice. And you're right when you say when it's done perfectly, you can't find a fault with it. It's just beautiful. And since then, I have been addicted to it, so addicted that I met a student
who hailed from Singapore, and he said, next holiday, would you like to have a holiday in Singapore at my mother's house? And she, you know what she did? She went and engaged Fatty Chan, I think was his name, who was the greatest exponent of chicken rice to her house. She was so influential. And he gave me a private lesson on how to cook chicken rice. And I still have it in a little place here in Collingwood. I still go there for my chicken rice.
I think the whole issue, Elizabeth, of who makes the best chicken rice is deeply contentious. I went to the town of Malacca in Malaysia, which is not far, a couple of hours out of Kuala Lumpur, which is where the old spice trading city from
the
spice trading is. And there's like a bunch of chicken rice places and all of them say, we have the
best
chicken rice in the world here. And the other one says, no, we have the best chicken rice in the world here. But it's a glorious thing. The fineness of the broth seems to be really important here. You've got to skim all the fat off it don't you that's the key isn't it that really good broth
it's the chicken it's just silky and the rice is flavored with the garlic and the ginger and the chicken broth and it is just it's just the most beautiful and so simple in its outward appearance but to make it it just requires that little bit of extra skill
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What early memories does Elizabeth share about her childhood in Melbourne’s Victoria Market?
0:00–7:25
2
How did Elizabeth’s family’s migration story shape her identity and cooking heritage?
7:25–14:14
3
What is the origin story of the Australian dim‑sim and how did Chinese and Greek migrants collaborate?
14:14–19:44
4
How did Elizabeth meet her husband Norm and what challenges did their marriage face?
19:44–26:43
5
Why did Elizabeth decide to turn her love of cooking into a public teaching career?
26:43–34:58
6
What cooking philosophies does Elizabeth credit for her success – freshness, balance and simplicity?
34:58–42:00
7
How has Elizabeth’s work changed Australian perceptions of Chinese cuisine over six decades?
42:00–49:54
8
What does Elizabeth see as the future of Chinese food in Australia and her lasting legacy?
49:54–51:36
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Conversations
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