Cooking from the heart

In a little over five years, Hong Kong-based Jordanian-Palestinian Alia Amer has successfully introduced Arabic cuisine to over 100 curious individuals through her online platform for authentic Arabic sweets and “Cook with Alia” classes.

The founder of Karam by Alia — named after Amer’s late mother and meaning “generosity” in Arabic — has come a long way for someone who had non-existent cooking skills when she arrived in the city with her husband more than two decades ago.

It took her preparation of shish barak — a Levantine dish of mini meat-filled dumplings cooked in a savory yogurt sauce — during her mother’s visit, and praise for perfecting the laborious dish, to set Amer on a new path.

“I’ve been living in Hong Kong for 26 years, and during that time I noticed that Chinese people rarely explored Middle Eastern cuisine,” Amer said.

“Whenever I brought traditional treats like baklava (filo pastry with chopped nuts, sweetened with syrup or honey), maamoul (filled cookies), or dates as gifts, my Chinese friends usually couldn’t eat them and would say they were far too sweet.”

However, things have changed dramatically, Amer said. Today, the same friends ask her for the very desserts they once avoided.

“Many of them have also developed a genuine love for hummus and falafel, and they’re now completely in love with my Dubai chocolate as well. When I host dinners at my home, my Chinese friends have become the biggest fans of Middle Eastern food,” said Amer.

At the heart of Amer’s intimate, hands-on, and interactive approach to sharing Middle Eastern flavors is her identity. Each dish she meticulously prepares is guided by heritage, time-honored techniques, and healthy, fresh ingredients, which she does not scrimp on.

For those who have yet to try Arabic cuisine, the passionate cook starts with her homemade falafels, pita bread made from scratch, and a mezze platter — small dishes either served hot or cold, usually considered appetizers, but could be as filling as a full meal.

Amer’s introduction of the mezze platter featured muhamara — a Syrian dish named for an Arabic word meaning “reddish”. It comprises chargrilled red peppers and a pinch of lemon, topped with walnuts and olive oil. The peppers are thoroughly blended, giving a creamy consistency.

Baba ghanoush, a famous Lebanese dish, which Amer said translates to “spoiled daddy”, consists of smoky eggplant with tahini, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice, topped with pomegranate seeds. Her version of hummus, also soaked in olive oil, is topped with roasted pine nuts.

Another visible dish on the table was Amer’s refreshing Gaza Salad, with olives being a predominant ingredient along with tomatoes and parsley.

She said she created the salad to showcase the Palestinians’ love for olives, particularly paying homage to an owner of an 800-year-old olive tree in Palestine.

“But I think what motivated me is the stress that Gaza was and is still going through that made me create this salad,” said Amer.

In the bigger picture, olive trees are an integral part of Palestinian identity and landscape.

The United Nations noted last October that up to 100,000 Palestinian families rely on the olive harvest for their livelihood. However, they are under constant threat amid continued settler violence in the West Bank.

According to data from the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, around 9,600 hectares of olive groves went unharvested in 2023, leading to over $10 million in losses for Palestinian farmers — a trend that continued into 2024.

One mouth-watering dish Amer was proud to serve was musakhan, her take on what is widely considered the national dish of Palestine. It is composed of roasted chicken baked with onion, sumac, and other Middle Eastern spices.

“I caramelized the onion for three hours,” she said, resulting in a tender, flavorful fall-off-the-bone chicken.

The Arabic fare was capped off with some baklava and a sample of Amer’s Dubai Chewy Cookie, referred to as Dujjonku in South Korea, which most recently took TikTok by storm.

When it comes to increasing the visibility of Arabic cuisine to the broader Hong Kong population, Amer is still finding her footing when it comes to marketing, and said opening a restaurant is not in the cards yet.

For now, she is happy organizing cooking classes for whoever is open and interested in trying something different. To date, she has hosted more than 50 classes at a rented kitchen and with some repeat participants.

“It’s clear that Chinese people are increasingly eager to try and explore more of our cuisine,” Amer said.

“This shift is also driven by the growing dialogue between China and the Middle East, as well as the rising number of visitors traveling to the region to explore new business opportunities.”

jan@chinadailyapac.com