Donghua Li is a living legend in Switzerland, a well-known personality with a distinguished past. Discover the stories behind the dishes that connect him to his roots and how they continue to inspire his life today.
I grew up in Chengdu, which was much smaller back then than it is today. My mum often cooked for us and I can still vividly remember the different dishes from my hometown. I particularly remember going to my mum's house for dinner with my colleagues at the weekend. We were all still children back then and we were always especially happy to be together. When I was 16, I travelled with the national team to Beijing for training. We ate in the big canteen with athletes from other sports like volleyball and table tennis. There were all kinds of dishes from different countries, just not as spicy as the cuisine in my home town of Sichuan.
When I came to Switzerland at the age of 21, I missed Chinese food, especially Sichuan cuisine. As it was difficult to find home cooking, I often cooked with friends to get an authentic flavour. Mapo tofu is a dish that my mum often prepared for me when I was a kid. Every time I eat it, I think of my hometown, my mum and those childhood days.
I've lived in Switzerland for 36 years and I'm very happy that there are more and more Chinese restaurants and that the locals are also getting to know and appreciate Chinese cuisine. Every time I go out to eat, I order mapo tofu and I also tell my Swiss friends the story about this dish.
