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Henry Chung, Who Helped Bring Hunan’s Flavors to America, Dies at 98 Henry Chung, Who Helped Bring Hunan’s Flavors to America, Dies at 98
(2 days later)
Henry Chung, who brought the lessons of Chinese cooking from his grandmother’s rural kitchen to the United States, where he opened one of the first American restaurants to specialize in spicy Hunanese cuisine, died on April 23 in San Francisco. He was 98.Henry Chung, who brought the lessons of Chinese cooking from his grandmother’s rural kitchen to the United States, where he opened one of the first American restaurants to specialize in spicy Hunanese cuisine, died on April 23 in San Francisco. He was 98.
His death was confirmed by his granddaughter MacKenzie Fegan.His death was confirmed by his granddaughter MacKenzie Fegan.
When Mr. Chung was growing up on a farm in Tao Hua, a village outside Liling, in southern Hunan Province, food preparation was a two-woman job: His mother, Wang Shao Yi, chopped the ingredients, then added wood to the fire as his grandmother, He Xiang Tao, had instructed.When Mr. Chung was growing up on a farm in Tao Hua, a village outside Liling, in southern Hunan Province, food preparation was a two-woman job: His mother, Wang Shao Yi, chopped the ingredients, then added wood to the fire as his grandmother, He Xiang Tao, had instructed.
The elder woman “loved to use fresh ginger, hot pepper, black beans, black pepper, garlic, scallions, vinegar and good white wine as flavor builders,” Mr. Chung wrote in “Henry Chung’s Hunan Style Chinese Cookbook” (1978).The elder woman “loved to use fresh ginger, hot pepper, black beans, black pepper, garlic, scallions, vinegar and good white wine as flavor builders,” Mr. Chung wrote in “Henry Chung’s Hunan Style Chinese Cookbook” (1978).
“She was often choked by strong smells and she would say, ‘This is a mighty good dish!’ ” He added, “Her cookery was early injected into my blood.”“She was often choked by strong smells and she would say, ‘This is a mighty good dish!’ ” He added, “Her cookery was early injected into my blood.”
But turning his grandmother’s teachings into a restaurant would take many years, immigration to the United States, numerous jobs and the urgings of his wife, Diana Chung, to pursue work that he would truly savor.But turning his grandmother’s teachings into a restaurant would take many years, immigration to the United States, numerous jobs and the urgings of his wife, Diana Chung, to pursue work that he would truly savor.
Finally, in 1974, when he was in his mid-50s, he started Hunan, a tiny restaurant on Kearny Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where he introduced diners to hot, peppery Hunanese food, a departure from the milder Cantonese cuisine that many Americans were more accustomed to.Finally, in 1974, when he was in his mid-50s, he started Hunan, a tiny restaurant on Kearny Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where he introduced diners to hot, peppery Hunanese food, a departure from the milder Cantonese cuisine that many Americans were more accustomed to.
One diner dazzled by Mr. Chung was Tony Hiss, a staff writer for The New Yorker, who was walking by the restaurant on Thanksgiving in 1976 and lured in by its rich aromas. A few weeks after eating Mr. Chung’s onion cakes and chicken and garlic sauce, he declared in the magazine that Hunan was “the best Chinese restaurant in the world.”One diner dazzled by Mr. Chung was Tony Hiss, a staff writer for The New Yorker, who was walking by the restaurant on Thanksgiving in 1976 and lured in by its rich aromas. A few weeks after eating Mr. Chung’s onion cakes and chicken and garlic sauce, he declared in the magazine that Hunan was “the best Chinese restaurant in the world.”
In a telephone interview, Mr. Hiss said: “Henry was such a warm, sweet and charming guy and so devoted to his grandmother’s memory. Each dish was more interesting, astonishing and unusual than the next, and all simply prepared.” Mr. Hiss subsequently edited Mr. Chung’s cookbook and wrote the introduction.In a telephone interview, Mr. Hiss said: “Henry was such a warm, sweet and charming guy and so devoted to his grandmother’s memory. Each dish was more interesting, astonishing and unusual than the next, and all simply prepared.” Mr. Hiss subsequently edited Mr. Chung’s cookbook and wrote the introduction.
In the interview, Mr. Hiss said that one challenge of their collaboration was getting Mr. Chung to translate his instinctive cooking into recipes. “I’d ask, ‘How much salt?’ And he’d say, ‘Enough!’ ” Mr. Hiss recalled. “So I bought some graded spoons, spread them out and said to him: ‘Pick one. How much ginger? How much soy sauce? How much chili sauce?’ ” In the interview, Mr. Hiss said that one challenge of their collaboration was getting Mr. Chung to translate his instinctive cooking into recipes. “I’d ask, ‘How much salt?’ And he’d say, ‘Enough!’” Mr. Hiss recalled. “So I bought some graded spoons, spread them out and said to him: ‘Pick one. How much ginger? How much soy sauce? How much chili sauce?’”
People clamored to eat at Hunan, partly because of Mr. Hiss’s praise. Mr. Chung moved from his original spot to a larger space in 1979 and later opened several more restaurants around San Francisco that are known as Henry’s Hunan. His son Howard said in an interview that some less adventurous customers were shocked by the garlic, spice and ginger of his father’s dishes and demanded something tamer.People clamored to eat at Hunan, partly because of Mr. Hiss’s praise. Mr. Chung moved from his original spot to a larger space in 1979 and later opened several more restaurants around San Francisco that are known as Henry’s Hunan. His son Howard said in an interview that some less adventurous customers were shocked by the garlic, spice and ginger of his father’s dishes and demanded something tamer.
“If someone said, ‘I want moo goo gai pan,’ he’d say, ‘That’s Cantonese!’ ” Howard Chung said. “I was a waiter for many years, and people would walk out. They’d ask for dishes we didn’t have. They’d say, ‘That’s not what we had in the Midwest.’ ” “If someone said, ‘I want moo goo gai pan,’ he’d say, ‘That’s Cantonese!’” Howard Chung said. “I was a waiter for many years, and people would walk out. They’d ask for dishes we didn’t have. They’d say, ‘That’s not what we had in the Midwest.’”
After the restaurant critic Craig Claiborne of The New York Times ate at Hunan in 1979, he called it the “most talked about restaurant in San Francisco” and said the food was “either gently or violently palate burning.” Mr. Claiborne was fond of fiery foods.After the restaurant critic Craig Claiborne of The New York Times ate at Hunan in 1979, he called it the “most talked about restaurant in San Francisco” and said the food was “either gently or violently palate burning.” Mr. Claiborne was fond of fiery foods.
In his cookbook, Mr. Chung rhapsodized about spices, writing that “Hunan people can live without meat, but they cannot live without hot peppers.”In his cookbook, Mr. Chung rhapsodized about spices, writing that “Hunan people can live without meat, but they cannot live without hot peppers.”
He was born Chung WuShiung on Sept. 9, 1918, to a peasant family in Hunan Province. He was about 2 years old when his father, Chung Wei Yi, a soldier, died, leaving him to be raised by his mother and grandparents. At age 8, he was married in an arranged ceremony to a girl four years his senior. They had three children and later divorced.He was born Chung WuShiung on Sept. 9, 1918, to a peasant family in Hunan Province. He was about 2 years old when his father, Chung Wei Yi, a soldier, died, leaving him to be raised by his mother and grandparents. At age 8, he was married in an arranged ceremony to a girl four years his senior. They had three children and later divorced.
“He would tell us, ‘I was a boy, she was a woman, and I didn’t know what was going on,’ ” Ms. Fegan said. “He would tell us, ‘I was a boy, she was a woman, and I didn’t know what was going on,’” Ms. Fegan said.
At National Central University in Chongqing, in neighboring Sichuan Province, he met Hwang TehYung, a star volleyball player and hurdler. They married after they graduated, and both later Americanized their first names.At National Central University in Chongqing, in neighboring Sichuan Province, he met Hwang TehYung, a star volleyball player and hurdler. They married after they graduated, and both later Americanized their first names.
His career course appeared to be set as a civil servant and diplomat. After World War II, China’s Nationalist government sent him to Japan (where he developed a love for bacon) and then to Houston, to work in a consulate office. When the Nationalist government was defeated in the Communist revolution and retreated to Taiwan, it summoned him there, but he refused to return.His career course appeared to be set as a civil servant and diplomat. After World War II, China’s Nationalist government sent him to Japan (where he developed a love for bacon) and then to Houston, to work in a consulate office. When the Nationalist government was defeated in the Communist revolution and retreated to Taiwan, it summoned him there, but he refused to return.
“My mother said, ‘You can go back, but I’m staying,’ ” their daughter Sophia Chung Fegan said. “My mother said, ‘You can go back, but I’m staying,’” their daughter Sophia Chung Fegan said.
In Houston, and later in San Francisco, he opened several businesses, including a dry cleaner, a shoe repair store, a custard shop, a hamburger joint and a Chinese restaurant that did not specialize in Hunanese food. When he found a job at China Airlines, his son Howard remembered thinking, “Finally, some continuity and certainty.”In Houston, and later in San Francisco, he opened several businesses, including a dry cleaner, a shoe repair store, a custard shop, a hamburger joint and a Chinese restaurant that did not specialize in Hunanese food. When he found a job at China Airlines, his son Howard remembered thinking, “Finally, some continuity and certainty.”
But then came Hunan. Diana Chung, who died in 2003, told her husband to do something he knew about and loved.But then came Hunan. Diana Chung, who died in 2003, told her husband to do something he knew about and loved.
In addition to his son Howard, his daughter Sophia and his granddaughter MacKenzie, Mr. Chung is survived by three other children from his second marriage, Stephen, Marty and Linda Chung.In addition to his son Howard, his daughter Sophia and his granddaughter MacKenzie, Mr. Chung is survived by three other children from his second marriage, Stephen, Marty and Linda Chung.
From his first marriage, he is survived by a son, Meng Qio Chung, and two daughters, Meng Jiao Chung and Meng Tao Chung, who all immigrated to the United States in the 1980s after being mistreated during the Cultural Revolution because of their father’s former ties to the Nationalist government.From his first marriage, he is survived by a son, Meng Qio Chung, and two daughters, Meng Jiao Chung and Meng Tao Chung, who all immigrated to the United States in the 1980s after being mistreated during the Cultural Revolution because of their father’s former ties to the Nationalist government.
Mr. Chung’s survivors also include 27 other grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and 21 great-great-grandchildren. Many of them have worked in the restaurants. “I was a tiny hostess when I was 9 or 10,” MacKenzie Fegan said.Mr. Chung’s survivors also include 27 other grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and 21 great-great-grandchildren. Many of them have worked in the restaurants. “I was a tiny hostess when I was 9 or 10,” MacKenzie Fegan said.
Looking back on his grandmother’s life, Mr. Chung recalled in his cookbook how deeply she had believed in him. “The fact is,” he wrote, “she is still helping me, because she gave me the recipes in this book. And when you cook some of them, she will also be helping you.”Looking back on his grandmother’s life, Mr. Chung recalled in his cookbook how deeply she had believed in him. “The fact is,” he wrote, “she is still helping me, because she gave me the recipes in this book. And when you cook some of them, she will also be helping you.”