Try your hand at making one of Hong Kong's best-loved dishes

Sorrowful Dish was created by a chef in the 1990s for the movie The God Of Cookery. — Hong Kong Tourism Board

If you're a fan of Stephen Chow, you would probably remember one of his most popular movies from the 1990s, The God Of Cookery. In the film, Chow plays a celebrity chef aka the "God of Cookery", who gets conned by his own apprentice, and a business partner. He loses all his restaurants, his fame and worse, his credibility.

To regain all that, Chow teams up with lowly street vendors to come up with simple, delicious fare that everyone can enjoy. His new venture becomes a success, and his friends encourage him to join a competition to reclaim the title of God of Cookery.

His rival? His former apprentice.

One of the dishes Chow's characters makes in the movie is called "Sorrowful Rice", which is basically just barbecued pork and vegetables on white rice, and topped with a sunny-side-up egg. This dish was created by Chef Dai Lung from Hong Kong's Chop Chop restaurant. Chow had commissioned him to create the dish for his movie, asking for something very simple yet extremely satisfying.

After the movie's release, Sorrowful Rice became very popular in Hong Kong and was served in many eateries from high-class restaurants to humble street stalls.

At the Hong Kong Food & Wine Virtual Festival 2020 (Nov 11 to Dec 15), Dai Lung made an appearance at one of event's masterclass programmes, presenting his Sorrowful Rice. His masterclass took place on Nov 22, but you can watch a recording of the session on the Hong Kong YouTube Channel.

Meanwhile, the list of ingredients you need to make the dish is on the event's official website.

Though it seems like a simple meal, it does take a bit of skill to make it as the meat has to be perfectly spiced and the sauce that comes with it has a delicate combination of dark and light soy sauce, sugar, purple onions, oil and seasoning.

Some of the other masterclasses available on the YouTube channel are Braised Fish Maw Superior Soup by Chef Wong Wing Keung of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Ah Yat Fried Rice by Chef Wong Lung To of Forum Restaurant and Crispy Egg with Mushroom Soup by Chef Vicky Lau of TATE Dining Room.

There are numerous other live masterclasses you can join in the event, featuring some of Hong Kong's top chefs like Ronaldo Shao, Ferran Tadeo and Manav Tuli.

Other programmes and events in the festival include on-site food tours at selected spots in Hong Kong, and virtual wine tasting and appreciation sessions.

Chef Dai Lung of Chop Chop restaurant in Hong Kong with his popular Sorrowful Rice dish. — Hong Kong Tourism Board