
Low Carbon Digital Cookbook
低碳唐人街食谱书
Click on the different buttons below to explore the various low carbon recipes developed by East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) communities in collaboration with a data scientist and special edition low carbon recipes developed in collaboration with celebrated ESEA chefs and food writers. Understand the carbon footprint impact of food through its processes from ingredients, cooking techniques to food sources. Experiment with cooking the dishes at home yourself while assessing the impact of your own cooking on the climate. The Low Carbon Digital Cookbook is a digital companion piece to Low Carbon Chinatown, a project by Ling Tan.
Low Carbon Chicken Rice By MiMi Aye
低碳鸡饭
Low Carbon Chicken Rice
"Chicken thighs are a good choice, because they are basically a by-product of the more popular chicken breast which means less waste (they’re also cheaper for the same reason). Thighs also cook more evenly and quickly than whole chickens. Some of the ingredients can be home grown, e.g ginger and spring onions"
Servings | 多少份: 4 people
Taste | 味道: "It tastes exactly like the traditional dish! | 味道和传统菜一模一样!"
Recipe's Carbon Footprint Impact | 食谱的碳足迹影响
与传统食谱相比,每份的碳足迹:
Traditional Chicken Rice
Low Carbon Chicken Rice
Traditional Sweet & Sour Pork
Traditional Wonton Dumpling Soup
Low Carbon Sweet & Sour 'Pork'
Low Carbon Wonton Dumpling Soup
Example of a traditional chicken rice recipe - Link
Key Ingredients | 关键成分
8 small or 4 large chicken thighs (about 1 kg), with skin and bone




The reserved chicken trimmings




6 long red chillies, roughly chopped



22. 2 spring onions, whole, trimmed and finely chopped



Ingredients Or Steps That Might Incur Lower Carbon Footprint
可能导致较低碳足迹的成分或步骤

Made in UK
英国制造

Home Grown 自产自销 / Local Produce 本地产品/ Made in London 伦敦制造

Original ingredient but reduced amount
原始成分但减少量

New Ingredient
新成分

Use Electricity
使用电器

New step with lower carbon footprint 能够降低碳足迹的步骤













– Food photography by Uyen Luu and styling by Sam Dixon –
Key Steps | 关键步骤












British-born to Burmese parents, chef and writer MiMi Aye is well-used to adapting recipes and dishes to give a taste of her motherland Myanmar (formerly Burma) using whatever techniques and ingredients are available. Her award-winning book ‘MANDALAY: Recipes & Tales from a Burmese Kitchen’ was chosen by The Observer, The Financial Times, The Mail on Sunday and Nigella Lawson as one of their Best Books of 2019. With bylines in TIME, The Guardian and The Independent.
Low Carbon Sweet & Sour Pork By Uyen Luu
低碳咕噜肉
Low Carbon Sweet & Sour Pork
"I will do cauliflower instead as pork has such a high foot print and usually when I make this, no one misses the pork."
Servings | 多少份: 2–4 people
Taste | 味道: "It tastes exactly like the traditional dish! | 味道和传统菜一模一样!"
Recipe's Carbon Footprint Impact | 食谱的碳足迹影响
与传统食谱相比,每份的碳足迹:
Traditional Chicken Rice
Low Carbon Chicken Rice
Traditional Sweet & Sour Pork
Traditional Wonton Dumpling Soup
Low Carbon Sweet & Sour 'Pork'
Low Carbon Wonton Dumpling Soup
Example of a traditional sweet & sour pork recipe - Link
Key Ingredients | 关键成分
1 tablespoon light soy sauce




2 tablespoons cider vinegar





2 free range eggs, beaten in a shallow bowl









2 spring onions (scallions), sliced
Ingredients Or Steps That Might Incur Lower Carbon Footprint
可能导致较低碳足迹的成分或步骤

Made in UK
英国制造

Home Grown 自产自销 / Local Produce 本地产品/ Made in London 伦敦制造

Original ingredient but reduced amount
原始成分但减少量

New Ingredient
新成分

Use Electricity
使用电器

New step with lower carbon footprint 能够降低碳足迹的步骤













– Food photography by Uyen Luu and styling by Sam Dixon –
Key Steps | 关键步骤





Uyen Luu is a Vietnamese food writer, photographer and author of `Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food To Cook At Home” (published by Hardie Grant) and “My Vietnamese Kitchen”. Uyen is also a food photographer.
Low Carbon Wonton Dumpling Soup by Shu Han Lee
低碳馄饨汤
Low Carbon Wonton Dumpling Soup
"Instead of usual pork and prawn, we use a vegan filling of tofu, leek and carrot. Tofu’s a super versatile ingredient and takes on flavour like a sponge. Leek, when stir fried first, gives us savoury depth and aroma. Carrot gives us the sweetness and colour you would normally get from prawns. We also use UK made wonton wrappers rather than imported wrappers."
Servings | 多少份: 8 (assuming 5 wontons each!)
Taste | 味道: "It tastes exactly like the traditional dish! | 味道和传统菜一模一样!"
Recipe's Carbon Footprint Impact | 食谱的碳足迹影响
与传统食谱相比,每份的碳足迹:
Traditional Chicken Rice
Low Carbon Chicken Rice
Traditional Sweet & Sour Pork
Traditional Wonton Dumpling Soup
Low Carbon Sweet & Sour 'Pork'
Low Carbon Wonton Dumpling Soup
Example of a traditional wonton dumpling soup recipe - Link
Key Ingredients | 关键成分

200g block of firm tofu






1 L chicken stock (homemade, or use 2 Knorr stock pots and 1L water)

Ingredients Or Steps That Might Incur Lower Carbon Footprint
可能导致较低碳足迹的成分或步骤

Made in UK
英国制造

Home Grown 自产自销 / Local Produce 本地产品/ Made in London 伦敦制造

Original ingredient but reduced amount
原始成分但减少量

New Ingredient
新成分

Use Electricity
使用电器

New step with lower carbon footprint 能够降低碳足迹的步骤













– Food photography by Uyen Luu and styling by Sam Dixon –
Key Steps | 关键步骤





Shu Han is Hokkien Chinese in heritage, born and raised in food-obsessed Singapore. She moved to the UK twelve years ago and found herself missing the flavours of home. That was the start of her food journey, as she learnt to cook the food she grew up with, often using British seasonal ingredients. Shu has since written a cookbook 'Chicken & Rice: Southeast Asian Recipes from a London Kitchen' (Fig Tree, Penguin Books) and founded @rempapaspiceco, bringing Southeast Asian spice pastes to home kitchens everywhere.
Carbon Footprint Impact Of Food
食物的碳足迹影响
The data below shows the carbon footprint rankings of ingredients, food sources and cooking methods that are often used in popular Chinese dishes such as Chicken Rice, Sweet and Sour Pork and Wonton Dumpling Soup. Working with data scientist, Raphael Leung, the data were gathered to encourage participants involved in the Low Carbon Chinatown Workshops to think of inventive ways to reduce their meal’s carbon footprint. Click on the different buttons to explore the various carbon footprint information.
Carbon footprint data used here draws from several sources and is meant simply to provide a general understanding of relative impact.

Low Carbon Chinatown is a project by Ling Tan and produced by Kakilang. The low carbon Pop-Up Structure is designed by Ling Tan and designer Usman Haque, both trained as architects, supported by structural engineers Atelier One, fabricated by Gary Campbell and production managed by Nick Murray. Special thanks to Data scientist Raphael Leung, Food writers MiMi Aye, Uyen Luu and Shu Han Lee.
