Jin Mangmang and Ji Shoushun in the kitchen (Photo: Róbert Hegedüs)
Tamás Velkei
05/01/2024 19:18
Jin Mangmang and Ji Shoushun, like many other Chinese nationals, started looking for work in Hungary years ago. The couple came to Europe from the city of Wenzhou, a city of nine million people in the province of Zhejiang. They had a shoe wholesale business, which was profitable for a long time, but after competition increased, the business became less prosperous. Their son, Ji Yicheng, says his parents lacked "foresight", as winter styles had to be ordered in the summer, but the couple were less able to see this. They closed the shop.
For a year and a half they had been unable to find suitable work, which was not good for their well-being. The younger Ji, meanwhile, followed his parents, completed the missing classes at primary school in Hungary, then studied hairdressing (which he loves, he still has a hairdresser's today), learning Hungarian very well. On one occasion Hungarian public media MTVA was looking for a Chinese anchor for their foreign language news programme, Ji applied and was chosen for the job. It was at M1 News that he met Maria Lopatto, Masha, who had moved from Moscow to Budapest after graduating from university.
Two birds with one stone
While Ji's parents were looking for a job, the two young people travelled to China, where they had a brilliant idea. In China, it is common for families to run tiny gastronomic manufactories, usually with one or two dishes as their main profile. It is interesting that the Chinese call these monofood units restaurants in the same way as they call elegant restaurants. They concluded that they had long wanted to be caterers anyway, so what if they opened a similar bistro in Budapest? This would be killing two birds with one stone, as they would not only be realising their own dreams, but also providing work for their parents. Jin Mangmang was known in the family to be a good cook, and she was particularly good at making Chinese dumplings (jiaozi in Chinese). So it was decided that jiaozi would be the main profile of the downtown place. According to Masha, it is simple but great food, and it's easy to communicate.
Ji and Masha both like to explore new flavours and dishes, and have travelled all over Hungary, a habit that gave the place its name: Zhu & Co. means pig and his partner, because, like the pig, they love to eat, they say with a laugh. Moreover, in the Chinese language, zhu is used as a nickname, similar to what we say to our loved ones when we say bunny rabbit. The pigs appear in many parts of the restaurant, and the pig's nose has been incorporated into the restaurant's logo.
Jiaozi in five flavours
But back to the jiaozi, originally a favourite dish in the north of China, from where it later spread to other provinces in the country. Today, it is so popular that it is on the table of almost every family during the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is a time when everyone has a role to play, with grandparents mixing the filling and children stretching the dough. The difference is in what the jiaozi is filled with.
At Zhu & Co, you can taste five flavours, all based on a family recipe. Two of them are the legacy of Ji's mother, Jin Mangmang, who has been making them with great routine for a long time. But what filling to put in the others, the family asked the question at the launch. They called everyone in the family, gathered a number of recipes that they had prepared, and chose three of them. Available are pork with pickled vegetables, pork with celery, prawns, and two vegetarian versions, one with courgettes and eggs, the other with mushrooms and glass noodles.
The dumplings are made behind a glass wall so guests can follow the process. Each has a different colour. Originally they were one colour, but it was difficult for guests to tell which was which, so for a while now they have been colouring the dough with beetroot and spinach juice and squid dye.
"We didn't want to adapt the bistro to the tastes of the people here, many did, and they became the so-called Chinese buffet that we know today and can find in many places," Masha explains. They also don't make a gluten-free version because they stuck to the original recipe, which calls for wheat flour. There are no chicken jiaozi either: although Hungarians love chicken, they don't make chicken stuffing in China.
At Zhu & Co., the only change from authentic Chinese monofoods is that soup is available, and jiaozi is included. They also offer wonton, a soupy dumpling without soup, with different sauces. Aside from pickles (smashed cucumber is also a family recipe) and desserts, the only other exception is the coriander beef, which Zhu & Co. featured at this year's Gourmet Festival.
Changed roles
Ji Shoushun ran the shoe wholesale business as the head of the family, but he couldn't cook. In the new family business, however, he learned from his wife. For the common good, he now knows how to make dumplings, while accepting that roles have changed - something that is common in a Chinese family, says his son Ji. The thriving restaurant has had a positive effect on the family, parents don't stress as much as they used to, Ji's mother is liberated, creating recipes that are not only loved in the neighbourhood, but Michelin-starred chefs have become regulars.
"We're not professional caterers, mum was a housewife, dad a trader, Masha a journalist, me a hairdresser, but we knew exactly what we wanted to offer people. We saw that many Asian places were working, but they were not well thought out, they had no style, no effective communication alongside them. We planned every step of the way, we knew what we wanted to achieve: not to be an average Chinese restaurant, Zhu and Co. is a friendly bistro, a sincere family business," Ji Yicheng points out.
His father, Ji Shoushun has already learned several Hungarian (as well as English and Russian) expressions to better communicate with guests. What is this if not success?
The author is a historian and journalist
Ingredients:
- 250 gr minced pork
- 150 gr finely shredded Chinese cabbage
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Noodle bases (available in Chinese shops)
Preparation:
Mix the minced meat, finely chopped cabbage, grated ginger and garlic in a large bowl. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Take a pastry sheet and place a small spoonful of the meat filling in the middle. Moisten the edges of the pastry with water, then fold in half and press down carefully to seal. You can use your fingers or a fork.
Repeat this process with the other sheets of dough until the filling is gone. In a large frying pan, heat a small amount of oil over medium heat. Place the dumplings in the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes until the bottom is a nice golden brown. Pour a little water (about 1/4 cup) into the pan, cover and cook the dumplings for another 5-7 minutes until the water evaporates. When both sides of the dumplings are nice and golden brown and crispy, serve them with a little soy sauce.