Pen Cai (盆菜)

kkboy1 · February 12, 2015

PrettyUgly · October 31, 2015

A very low class food but evolved to be such a high class and auspicious food for CNY, offering at ancestors alta and all sorts of gathering.

Reminds me of 聚寶盆 and even a pail collecting all the dinner remnants.

With SG weather, it is very easy for the food to become 'chow sng' because the food is immediately layered after cooking and there is not enough space to breathe.

Just my two cents.

歷史

盆菜歷史的源頭有好幾個版本，全與南宋君臣逃難至香港及華南一帶相關。一說是文天祥被元兵追殺，橫渡伶仃洋，逃亡至現時深圳一帶，由於天色已晚，而眾將士又飢腸轆轆，當地村民同情他是忠臣，用僅存的豬肉、蘿蔔，加上現捕的魚、蝦造飯，但卻沒有足夠碗碟，只好拿木面盆盛菜，將士圍盆而食，這就是盆菜的起源。另一說則是，南宋末年，元朝軍隊南下，宋帝昺聯同陸秀夫、張世傑等人南逃避難。當他們路經東莞縣烏紗以及香港新界錦田一帶的圍村時，得到村民盛情款待。但在倉猝之間，村民找不到足夠的器皿盛載食物，只使用木盆菜餚放在一起，發展成盆菜。從此之後，每逢大時大節，村民都會享用盆菜。而現時新界原居民祭祖時的「食山頭」亦以盆菜為主。