A Taste for LIfe

The Hong Kong-born, Buncrana-raised former head chef of Soder+Ko and creator of ChanChan sauces reveals his unlikely devotion to Haribo

Kwangi Chan on his love for tonkotsu ramen and Haribo Star Mix

What did your mother make you?

Home-made Chinese soups and stews.

The meal you will always remember?

I will always remember our dinners with my granddad before he passed away. We would all make and eat Chinese dumplings together. I miss those days.

Your defining food experience?

Eating in DiverXO in Madrid, which has three Michelin stars. Chef David Munoz cooked Asian and Spanish fusion food. One of my best meals to date.

First dish you ever cooked?

Roast Peking duck, aged 13.

What is your comfort food?

In Ireland, my comfort food is a baked potato with a knob of Irish butter. In Hong Kong, it’s a bowl of congee, a flavoured rice porridge.

What is your hangover cure?

I don’t drink at all, because I have an intolerance to alcohol. I’m missing an enzyme that breaks down alcohol, like nearly half of the Chinese population. With or without a hangover, it would be a duck spice bag from Duck on Fade Street.

What do you drink?

On my trips to Hong Kong, I love the iced coffee with coffee-jelly bits at the bottom. It’s a bit like a bubble tea; so nice.

You can only eat three things for the rest of your life, what are they?

Irish grass-fed beef; tonkotsu ramen

[tonkotsu is a broth made from boiling pig bones]; and Cantonese dim sum.

What’s the nicest smell in the world?

Picking up a ripe mango from the markets in Hong Kong. It’s the most amazing smell; it makes you want to take a bite.

How important is food to you?

Food is my life. I can be creative with it, I work with it every day, I enjoy eating it, and it brings friends and family together.

What’s always in your kitchen?

Dried rice noodles, ChanChan street sauces, and Donegal rapeseed oil.

Favourite restaurant in Ireland?

We’re in a food revolution at the moment, and picking a favourite is hard, but I love Ciaran Sweeney in Forest & Marcy on Leeson Street; Pickle by Sunil Ghai on Camden Street; and Mickael Viljanen in the GreenHouse on Dawson Street.

Abroad?

DiverXo in Madrid — and there’s a street stall in Hong Kong that does amazing spicy Szechuan potato soup noodles.

What’s your sweet treat?

Fresh-baked Portuguese egg custard tarts, still warm. They are amazing!

What do you refuse to eat?

Stinky tofu in Hong Kong street-food stalls. I always say I need to try it, but the smell puts me off.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I’ve a thing with Haribo Star Mix — I have them in the house and in the car!

What’s your signature dish?

Steamed hake with ginger and spring onions, and wok Asian greens.

Are you careful about what you eat?

Yes and no. I try to keep a healthy balanced diet mostly, but I’m a sucker for some chipper chips.

What’s your perfect family meal?

My wife, Michelle, cooks a perfect roast chicken with buttered broccoli, buttery mash potato and a roast gravy from the juices. Lily, our four-year-old, and I just love it. Kwanghi Chan appears appears at this year’s Taste of Dublin, inspired by NEFF, which returns to the Iveagh Gardens from June 14 to June 17. Tickets from €15, available now from tasteofdublin.ie In conversation with Sophie White

“I try to keep a healthy balanced diet mostly, but I’m a sucker for some chipper chips”