Chiu Chow Cuisine Seafood, ducks and geese are much favored by the Chiu Chow people, who originate from the country around Swatow. Their cuisine has been influenced by that of the Fukienese people in the adjacent province. Stronger, earthier tastes are the preference. Garlic and vinegar sauce is a palate-pleasing dip for the region's spicy goose. Tangerine jam is the sweet companion for steamed lobsters.
Fish is complemented by broad bean paste.
Yet the Chiu Chow people perfected the cooking of two of south China's more expensive and subtle ingredients - sharks' fins and birds' nests. Both dishes are evidence of the coastal people's seafaring traditions. The sharks were caught throughout the South China Sea, and the most preferred supplies still come from the waters off the Philippine islands. Centuries of emigration, in response to South China's over-population, brought the Cantonese and Chiu Chow peoples to many places throughout Southeast Asia, and then throughout the world. Hong Kong is not just an Asian crossroads and meeting point.