Dominica Yang is a woman of many talents. She has a degree in Russian studies, founded interior design company DYY Ltd, and pursued vastly contrasting careers as a photographer and garment manufacturer. But what Yang is best known for among family and friends are her delicious dinner party recipes. With two cookbooks already published in tandem with good friend Claudia Shaw – Delicious and Too Delicious – Yang goes solo for her latest release, Dominica's Bo Bo Ho – From My Kitchen to Yours. "I decided to do this one on my own because I'm on the committee of the Hong Kong Red Cross Redevelopment Project and this is my contribution. Claudia and I still want to work together on other culinary projects," says Yang.
Yang invited us into her kitchen recently as she prepared two favourite recipes from her new tome: the apricotorte and bouillabaisse chinoise. Yang explains how she created the cake recipe for husband of 24 years, WWF Hong Kong chairman, Trevor Yang. "I came up with this because he doesn't like hazelnuts, which tortes are traditionally made with, so I adapted it by using almonds instead," says Yang. She wanted to call it the "Trevor torte," but her husband vetoed that idea. When it comes time to photograph the completed torte, Yang gasps as the side falls off while she's transferring the pastry onto a serving plate. "Don't worry, I can stick it back on," she says nonchalantly. "The jam is like glue." And she's right, once the side is "stuck" back on, the light and citrusy torte looks flawless.
The second dish is Yang's interpretation of bouillabaisse. This classic French fish stew originated in the port city of Marseilles and is traditionally made with various kinds of fish and shellfish. "The twist is that I put clams in the soup so that the broth doesn't have that strong shellfish taste. I also add coriander, ginger and Chinese pickle to give it an Asian flair. All of the ingredients are then placed into a soup bag so that the broth stays clear and the fish doesn't break up and get nasty," she says. The light, clear and delicate draws out the sweetness of the clams and has subtle overtones of coriander. "I usually serve this as an appetiser, but you can also put vermicelli in the soup if you want to have it as a main." Her no-fuss approach makes her recipes appear easy to execute.
As fate would have it, old chum Martina Shaw arrives at Yang's house as we're wrapping up the interview and is just in time for a fresh slice of torte and a cup of tea. "I love to cook, but I don't have the same passion for it that Dominica has," says Shaw. Dominica simply smiles and slips off her striped apron, a gift from a friend at her last book launch, which has "Dominica" embroidered in big red letters across the front. If Yang can cook, so can you.
This excerpt was taken from Hong Kong Tatler's August 2011 issue.
