I totally agree with your reflection on the cultural fluidity of foods and how you connect all those dishes from all over the world. Love your videos and I'm surprised that your channel is not (yet) way bigger!!
Thank you so much for your comment and support! I started this channel not long ago, but I am confident it has a bright future and will be way bigger in the near future! Stay tuned to my next video!
Really interesting video. It's always funny how foods that have their origins in a humble peasant dish can become so precious, gatekept and fancified where people maintain there is only one correct way to make them and that one must purchase expensive imported products to do so.
Great video, I love this presentation style the amount of research and your outlook on food/ culture and how authenticity should be taken with a grain of salt.
Video idea: A video on the history of culturally significant cookware in Popular Cuisines. For Chinese cuisine: its the bamboo steamer and the wok. For Indian cuisine, its the kadai (its where the word curry is theorised to have come from) - basically an iron wok made without handlbars, and the idli (Indian ricecake) steamer. Fun fact the present day idli is theorised to have come from Bali, Indonesia in the 7th or 8th century hundreds of years after India introduced the earlier version of idli to them. Think of it like Bali adopting an indian ricecake, modifying it and exporting it back to india in a different format that becomes so popular that it replaces its predecessor and becomes the norm.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing. This could be an example of how a food, originally from one place, was adapted, evolved, and shaped by another culture before being 'imported' back to its birthplace and becoming popular. We have a Southern Indian food truck here selling idli, but I had no idea it had connections with Indonesia and was adopted and evolved by Indonesians at some point.
@@savorthrutimewithSJ Well the ancient Chola empire (that ruled Tamilnadu province of India where Idli is said to have originated) used to also rule over parts of Indonesia, Cambodia and Philippines. Cultural exchanges were quite common. Another example could be the HK egg tart which is originally Portuguese but now know in ML China as HK tart.
@@parker4406 The egg tart was initially adopted in Macau because of Portuguese colonization. Later, chefs in Hong Kong re-created and shaped it into the egg tart we are familiar with today. Since Hong Kong gets more international visitors and is more famous and diverse than Macau, it's often called the 'HK tart.' Macau's version still keeps that Portuguese flair. Source: I've had tarts in Hong Kong, Macau, and Portugal before.
@@parker4406 The crust of the Macau tart is quite crispy, similar to the Portuguese egg tart, versus the crust of the HK tart resembles the firm and crumbly bottom layer of fruit tarts you often see in Europe and America. My guess is that the crust got modified, probably due to British colonization. Also, the Macau tart usually has a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, which is also a Portuguese influence, versus you don't see this sprinkle of cinnamon in the HK tart. For the Portuguese-colonized area of west india, are you referring to Goa?
@@parker4406 I always wonder why the Portuguese put cinnamon on it because the spice isn't native, and they don't often use cinnamon in their cuisine. Now that I think about it, it is very likely because of the Indian influence! Cinnamon was brought back to Portugal from India, and they used it in their desserts! The oldest egg tart store in Lisbon isn't far away from the statue that memorializes the age of discovery.
It's tradition (authentic) vs non-tradition (non-authentic), which can then become tradition (authentic) for that region. For example, Trinidadian Pelau is based on the Indian dish Pulao. But they're drastically different. Trinidad Pelau is basically a bastardization of Indian Pulao. It basically only retains the rice and meat aspect. But now, Trinidadian Pelau has set rules for it to be regarded as authentic even though its technically not authentic. I think i explained this horribly but I'll probably clarify in the future.
@@savorthrutimewithSJ non authentic version of indian pulao - trini pulao. Trini pulao with centuries of being eaten and cooked in Trinidad now has a 'standardised' taste.
Sorry, but today, sometimes we have different or even better ingredients available than snails and rabbits. The originators of paella would be turning in their graves if they witnessed their descendants being snooty about a dish created by and for humble people.
