We were thrilled to be part of A & E Network Asia, History Channel’s“The Food That Built Asia” 6-episode documentary about the history, key people, and important moments behind Asia’s greatest foods.
We were on three episodes: Singapore’s Chili Crab, Malaysia’s Nasi Lemak, and Thailand’s Pad Thai.
Culinary Diplomacy: Food that builds a nation
We talked about culinary diplomacy and how a food becomes a national dish, what they tell about culture, heritage, and people of a nation, as well as how the dish accompanied changes of other food items.
Culinary diplomacy is the crafting of positive images through one’s food that would then lead other political players to think favorably of a nation. This concept is similar to tourism branding and food-marketing. Both tourism and food marketing evoke positive feelings and attract consumers, but what is distinct for culinary diplomacy is how it creates a sense of identity for a nation itself.
Food can help a nation set itself apart from others, which is especially important for middle powers.
Singapore’s chili crab: deep-fried mud crabs in a sweet, spicy chili sauce
- The legend goes that in the 1950s, Madame Cher Yam Tian created the first rendition of the chili crab dish. Her husband would catch crabs off the coast of Singapore and she would steam them for dinner. He asked her to find new ways to cook crab, so she developed a chili sauce so good that it started attracting her friends and neighbors to their home. Her recipe was distinct for the use of bottled chili sauce and tomato sauce. Her chili crab push cart grew to a basic restaurant with two tables to a full-fledged restaurant along East Coast to meet the demand. Madame Cher’s legacy and recipe continue at the family-run Roland Restaurant in Marine Parade Central.
- Why chili crab? Chili crab represents the history of Singapore and its multicultural people. The chili sauce is made from Malay spices with sambal and ingredients with belacan (dried shrimp). Western influence is with the bottled chili and tomato sauces. Some chefs today use the Maggi brand of ketchup, an Indian version that is spicier and more savory than other ketchup brands. The cooking technique is Chinese. Later iterations of chili crab serve it with steamed or fried mantou buns, which are of Chinese origins.
- How to eat chili crab– First, pull out the crab meat from the shell for the tender, sweet crab meat. Then dunk it into the chili sauce made from tomato paste, chili sauce, and egg. Drag that pillowy fluffy bun through the sauce, like surfing in the ocean. The bite is a juicy, soaked bun from the sweet sour chili sauce, and the tender crab meat. It’s messy though so some restaurants like Jumbo Seafood provide plastic bibs and gloves for you.
- As customers’ tastes change, so do the dishes. For example, chili crab has become richer and spicier. The recipe later evolved to include more sugar, soy, salt, and an egg yolk.
Malaysia’s Nasi Lemak: coconut rice with boiled egg, peanuts, ikan bilis, cucumber, and sambal
- Nasi lemak is a Malaysian dish of rice cooked in coconut milk and served with sambal, halved hard-boiled egg, roasted peanuts, sliced cucumber, and small fried anchovies. Nasi lemak means “fatty rice” (nasi- rice; lemak- fatty) because of the cooking of the rice in a rich coconut milk. The rice is also cooked with pandan, which gives it a wonderful fragrant vanilla scent, and also makes it distinct from Indonesia who also has their version of a coconut milk rice.
- Nasi lemak, whether at food stalls or fast food, is accessible economically and adaptable to religious dietary restrictions and social contexts. It is the ideal example of food that builds common cultural representations.
- Global fast-food chains like McDonald’s look for ways to localize their products. So while McDonald’s is recognized around the world for its iconic yellow arches, and standard items- McFlurry, McNuggets, Big Mac, Happy Meal, McDonald’s offers local products that are adapted to the particular country and culture. For Malaysia, McDonald’s features Nasi Lemak McD.
- In 2010, the Malaysian government launched Malaysia Kitchen for the World campaign to increase international recognition. Promoting its country through food is called gastrodiplomacy. The campaign sent Malaysia chefs to set up restaurants abroad to achieve a multicultural and vibrant country image. Having people eat Malaysian cuisine would attract visitors to Malaysia. Although the program was short-lived, the campaign did help spread Malaysian restaurants to New Zealand, London, Los Angeles, and China.
Thailand’s Pad Thai: Stir fried rice noodles with eggs, peanuts, shrimp, tofu, and bean sprouts
While rice noodles have been in Thailand for centuries, brought from the Chinese, Pad Thai “noodles of Thailand” was created in the 1930s. The new Prime Minister of Thailand Phibunsongkhram known as Phibun wanted to unite the nation, which was then known as Siam.
- Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation not to have been colonized (in contrast to Burma, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore). Because of this, Thailand has a continuity of social, political, economic and cultural structures uniquely Thai.
- At the same time, Thailand was surrounded by British and French colonies. Nationalism was based on avoiding colonization. Phibun was intent on creating a national image of a strong and unified country that would deter plans of colonization.
- Phibun aimed to create a unified national identity that would bring his people together and show that the country was strong. Phibun issues cultural mandates as part of his nationalism plan. These included changing the name of the country from Siam to Thailand (meaning Land of the Free), a new national anthem, and a national dish- Pad Thai.
Pad Thai represents the nation but most of the ingredients come from other parts of the world: Mung beans were grown in India. Peanuts and chili peppers come from South America. Stir-fried noodles come from the Chinese. Tamarind from North Africa. Chili flakes are perhaps the only local ingredient.
Pad Thai is the known Thai dish and is basically a requirement on any Thai restaurant menu in the USA. We certainly love to order it. So, what makes Pad Thai so craveable?
- saltiness from either fish sauce or soy sauce,
- sweetness from palm sugar, and
- sourness from tamarind juice and lime, which is squeezed on at the end
- Also, typical to Thai cuisine is an abundance of fresh herbs served alongside – Thai basil, cilantro, mint, which add freshness
While Pad Thai features global ingredients, it has been constructed politically and culturally to represent the Thai national dish.
Trailer for “The Food That Built Asia”
Here’s a trailer for the show:
Behind the scenes!
