2021 marks 30 years since Joe and Alice Or established Southern Wok on our Kensington campus – that’s 30 years of serving up delicious meals that have been described by many international students as ‘a taste of home’!
Joe was born in Guandong, China. Prior to coming to Australia, to support his family, Joe swam from China to Macau and then caught a boat to Hong Kong where he took up a position as an apprentice chef. He worked in Hong Kong for 3 years and then arrived in Australia in 1975 where he spent 12 years honing his skills in various Chinese restaurants.
Alice was born in Malaysia and joined Joe in Australia in 1987. Together they opened Sun Sung Restaurant on Anzac Parade. Both Joe and Alice have been local to the Kensington area since arriving in Australia and have witnessed many changes over the years.
Throughout these years, Southern Wok has been the setting for many significant memories. Staff member Alisa Tian calls it ‘the place of luck’ after meeting her husband, Ken Miyagawa, there 15 years ago while they were both students. During graduation season, students head to Southern Wok to introduce family members to Joe and Alice and to share memories of the many delicious homestyle meals that have helped them get through uni.
Joe and Alice continue to go above and beyond, customising dishes based on a customer’s needs and tastes, and creating a home away from home for so many. We would like to thank them, for being such an integral part of our UNSW community.
Particularly for our offshore students, Alice has provided us with a recipe that is a favourite for many students – steamed chicken with ginger and shallots. Joe and Alice hope to welcome you to Southern Wok in person in the future but, in the meantime, they hope you will enjoy making, and devouring, this UNSW special!
Ingredients:
Method:
Poach Chicken in a slow boiling water for around 20 minutes depending on size of chicken
Cut up vegetables to desired size
Cut up ginger, shallots and chili into very thin julienne slices
Immediately transfer chicken to an ice bath and wait till chicken has cooled down completely
Debone chicken marylands
Reheat the chicken by submerging in hot water for a few minutes
While waiting for chicken to reheat, blanch vegetables
Cut up chicken to desired size and place above vegetables
Add oil to a hot pan and add ginger, cooking it until it turns a nice golden brown, turn off heat and immediately add fried shallots, chilli and shallots. Mix well and add on top of chicken
Add soy sauce to dish
Serve with hot rice