In a bustling kitchen in Macao, a chef stirs a sizzling wok, the aroma of spices and sizzling soy sauce filling the air. At the heart of this culinary scene is Minchi, a beloved dish of fried minced meat and diced potatoes, crowned with a perfectly fried egg. For Macanese, this dish is a symbol of comfort, a reflection of the city’s rich history and cultural fusion.
Restaurateur Manuela Sales da Silva Ferreira is on a mission to preserve the culinary legacy passed down through generations, ensuring her grandmother’s recipes—like Minchi—remain a part of Macao’s future. At her restaurant, Restaurante Litoral, Ferreira serves up traditional Macanese dishes, blending Portuguese and Chinese flavors that have evolved over centuries.
Since the 1999 handover of Macao from Portugal to China, the city has become synonymous with its vibrant casinos and nightlife. However, as the city continues to modernize, some worry that the distinctive flavors and traditions of Macanese cuisine may be fading away, especially as long-established eateries close and restaurant owners retire.
Macao’s unique culinary heritage is a product of its historical role as a Portuguese colony, combined with Chinese ingredients and cooking techniques. Unesco has recognized the city as “home of the first fusion food,” where Western and Eastern culinary traditions have blended over centuries, influenced by ingredients from Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Mozambique, Goa, and East Timor.
Ferreira’s connection to this culinary heritage is deeply personal. Her paternal ancestors arrived from Portugal more than 400 years ago, and after moving abroad in 1995, she found herself drawn back to Macao. Concerned that the city’s food traditions were at risk of being lost, she decided to open a restaurant dedicated to preserving Macanese recipes.
“At that time, I was already married with children, and even my children didn’t know what Macanese cooking was,” Ferreira said. “If I don’t do something, this cuisine will disappear.”
Her restaurant became her platform to keep the recipes alive. Ferreira believes that Macanese food has always been a product of home cooking, where Portuguese wives adapted their culinary traditions to local Chinese ingredients, while Chinese wives used Portuguese cooking techniques to recreate dishes for their interethnic families.
One of Ferreira’s favorite dishes is baked crabmeat, a recipe she learned from her mother. In Portugal, the dish traditionally features crabmeat mixed with cream and pickles, served cold. But over generations and across oceans, the recipe has evolved into a hot, baked version served in crab shells—a perfect example of the fluidity of Macanese cuisine.
Macao, a small city on the southeastern coast of China, has a population of just 684,000, with ethnic Chinese making up 89.4% of the population, and Portuguese, Portuguese-Chinese, and other mixed-heritage residents comprising only 1.9%, according to the 2021 census.
Miguel de Senna Fernandes, a prominent figure in Macao’s mixed heritage community, underscores the importance of preserving Macanese identity. He traces his own Portuguese roots back to 1750, when his ancestors first arrived in the region. For Fernandes, Macanese people—descendants of Portuguese administrators and Chinese locals—have historically served as cultural bridges between East and West.
But with time, Fernandes warns, language, religion, and identity are at risk of being forgotten. To prevent this, he believes it is crucial for Macanese people to embrace their distinct cultural heritage and ensure that their unique legacy is passed down to future generations.
“We are from Macao,” Fernandes said. “We are different from the Chinese, but we should embrace the differences.”
As Macao continues to grow and change, its culinary traditions—blending Portuguese, Chinese, and other global influences—offer a vital link to the city’s past and an opportunity to preserve its multicultural identity for years to come.
Related topics
