Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they’re based in.
Disputes over where popular dishes originated are common across Asia. The world-famous butter chicken is fought over by two restaurants – one that started out in Peshawar, now in Pakistan, and one in New Delhi, India. In Southeast Asia, neighbours Singapore and Malaysia have also tussled over chicken rice.
It is little wonder that China, given its geographic scale and the incredible richness of its regional cuisines, has its own internal food feuds.
Kaoyu, or grilled fish, is a regional speciality of Chongqing, made with freshwater fish from the Yangtze River and spices such as mala peppercorns and Chinese chillies.
The dish’s commercial success, both inside and outside of China, has raised questions about its true origin story, with two regions in Chongqing, Wanzhou and Wushan, laying claim to it.
In this episode, host Li Xueying asks Chongqing-based correspondent Aw Cheng Wei to share his journey in tracking down where kaoyu came from, and to get to the heart of why food is so important to the Chinese.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:23 How Chongqing’s cuisine reflects its local environment and culture
4:39 Popularity of the kaoyu dish across China
5:59 Beginning of the dispute over the dish’s origin
8:46 Government efforts to preserve authenticity through industry standards and culinary schools
10:31 The complexities of culinary origin disputes across China and beyond
13:40 China’s attitude towards food
15:42 Food’s power to connect and what it means for China
Read Aw Cheng Wei’s article here: https://str.sg/6y3x
Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x
Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz
Host: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg)
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
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