Origin of Nasi Tumpeng • Telling the History of Indonesia with One Dish

Nasi tumpeng is a unique Indonesian dish with a distinctive presentation - a cone of rice in the middle with a variety of side dishes arranged around its base and served on a round tray. No utensils, nasi tumpeng is best enjoyed by hand.

The dish has deep spiritual roots and significance. In my opinion, it is the most Indonesian dish - not due to its pervasiveness as it is mostly found in Java, but because it has been around for the longest time in Indonesian history. 

(Indonesia's Tourism Ministry in 2014, named nasi tumpeng a national dish along with soto, rendang, satay, nasi goreng, and gado-gado.) 

World's First Noodles • History of Lanzhou La Mian | Who Invented Noodles? 兰州拉面历史 · 喇家遗址 · 齊家文化

Many of us have seen Chinese chefs hand pull slender strands of noodles from a lump of dough like a magic trick.

Swee Kee • Original Most Famous Singapore Chicken Rice Ever & Forever 瑞记鸡饭的神话

There are and will be many famous chicken rice brands in Singapore and around the world but none will be or will ever be as famous as the original Swee Kee 瑞记.

Many brands can be famous, some even legendary, but only rarely will one reach a mythical level like Swee Kee 瑞记.

Singapore Immigrant History in a Cup of Hainanese Coffee • Nanyang Kopi 南洋咖啡 • 海南咖啡

Coffee or kopi as it is known in Malay in Singapore is like our lingua franca - the beverage that binds the diverse ethnic communities of Singapore (and also Malaysia).

History of Asam Pedas · Legacy of Malacca Sultanate Melting Pot

Asam Pedas is one of my favourite dishes. In Malay, asam means sour and pedas means spicy (hot) - sour and spicy hot accurately describes this dish's taste profile.

Alternate History on the Origin of Japanese Curry • Spoiler Alert - Oldest Recipe that wasn't from Britain or India

Curry rice or kare raisu カレーライス is relatively new in Japanese food culture but is already considered one of her national dishes, up there with ramen, sushi, tempura and other culinary icons.

Harappa Brinjal Mango Curry • World Oldest Vankaya Mamidikaya Dish that Crossed 5000 Years & Continents

Did you know that the brinjal and mango curry you ate at the Indian restaurant, your friend's house, or learnt to cook from cookbooks / social media go back over 5000 years? It can be traced back to the Indus Valley, one of the cradles of human civilisation along with contemporaries at the Nile River Delta and the Yellow River Basin. 

Roots of Greatness of Cantonese Cuisine 广府菜

What makes 粤菜, the cuisine of Guangdong Province, one of the Eight Great Cuisines of China? 

The one word answer is diversity. 

Guangdong has diversity of food ingredients and a melting pot of many different culinary traditions. 

*Guangdong cuisine 粤菜 is the cuisine of Guangdong Province which includes Cantonese cuisine, Hakka cuisine and the cuisine of Chaoshan (Teochew), etc. This article is about Cantonese cuisine 广府菜, the cuisine of the Pearl River Delta which includes the cities of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. 

History & Where Did Khao Soi of Chiang Mai Really Come From? Links with Khao Swe & Khausa ข้าวซอย

Khao soi, a form of curry noodle, is an icon of Chiang Mai which is rarely found outside of northern Thailand.

Oldest Known Curry Laksa Recipes • 160 Years Old From Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

Meta AI images of curry laksa from the East Indies Cookbook 1866

These three curry laksa recipes are found in Oost-Indisch Kookboek (East Indies Cookbook) which was published in Dutch in 1866 in the city of Semarang, Java.

History of Bergedil • Fried Potato Patty Loved throughout Maritime Southeast Asia

Every time I have mee rebus, mee soto, nasi lemak, nasi ambeng, etc., I'll throw in a bergedil, whenever it is available.

History of Yang Zhou Fried Rice • World's Most Famous Chinese Rice Dish 扬州炒饭的历史

Frying rice in China goes at least as far back as the Sui dynasty (581 - 618). Most cities in the rice culture (southern) region of China have their own version of fried rice dish - China is a fried rice paradise, literally. 

How did Yangzhou fried rice become China's and the world's most famous fried rice dish? 

Curious Origin of Kueh Pie Tee or Top Hat

I love kueh pie tee which is a common dish in Nyonya restaurants and homes. But, I always thought it a bit odd as the crispy cup or top hat as it is sometimes called doesn't seemed to be an Asian or Southeast Asian thing. The fillings are similar to Hokkien popiah and the sambal is clearly from the Malay archipelago. But, where did the crispy cup come from?

I have been wondering how kueh pie tee became a quintessentially Nyonya dish. 🤔

History & Origin of Tempura 天ぷら • Lasting Legacy of a Brief Japanese - Portuguese Encounter

Most of us have tasted tempura, the iconic Japanese fried vegetable, fish, and seafood dish. Many of us like it but some of us may be surprised that the Japanese learned to prepare this dish from the Europeans, Portuguese specifically.

And, it was fairly recently in historical terms. 

Just some 500+ years ago. 

Why Does Thai Cuisine Have So Many Portuguese Sweets? Tragic History of Thailand's Queen of Desserts Maria Guyomar de Pinha

When you enjoy foi thong, the popular Thai sweet dessert of golden threads of egg yolk cooked in sugar syrup, you are keeping alive a 400 year old connection with the Ayutthaya kingdom (1351 to 1767).

Chinese Have Been Eating Raw Fish for 3000 Years 吃鱼生有三千年的历史

Photo Credit: Raw sliced carp by Idalingi Flickr

✍ 16 Feb 2024. Chinese have been eating raw fish since almost 3,000 years ago.

History of Sweet & Sour Pork · Ku Lou Yok 咕嚕肉的歷史

Ku lou yok known as sweet and sour pork in English is a Cantonese food icon found across the world in various versions. Ku lou yok is a flexible dish that can take on many tweaks without losing its authenticity or identity.

History & What is the Difference between Tang Yuan & Yuan Xiao? 湯圓 元宵的歷史

The Chinese tang yuan 湯圓 (also known as yuan xiao 元宵) is a glutinous rice ball filled with jaggery (cooked sugar) or red bean paste, or sesame seed paste and cooked by boiling in water usually sweeten with jaggery. 

Tang yuan or yuan xiao is traditionally made and eaten during 元宵節 Lantern Festival and 冬至 Winter Solstice. Today, they are eaten as a dessert at anytime during the year.

How Much Do Lord Ganesha Love Sweets?' Legends of Ganesha's Sweet Love

Lord Ganesha, the Hindu elephant-faced deity, the Remover of Obstacles is a sweet lover. 

History of Kangidan / Seijō-kankidan · 1,000 Year Old Japanese Sweet for Lord Ganesha 清浄歓喜団

Japan's oldest sweet, the over 1,000 year old kangidan / seijō-kankidan 歓喜団 has a surprising but mostly forgotten history.