S2E71: The mystery of Chongqing grilled fish’s origin story - and why it matters

About this episode

The episode explores the cultural significance and origin dispute of kaoyu, a grilled fish dish from Chongqing, China.

The stakes are high. A region’s association with a popular dish is increasingly big business, as the Chinese eat out more. 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…

People in this episode

Host: Li Xueying

Guest: Aw Cheng Wei

Topics covered

• culinary origins
• food culture
• regional disputes
• Chinese cuisine
• identity
• grilled fish

Keywords

• chilli crab
• kaoyu
• Chongqing cuisine
• food identity
• culinary standards
• mala peppercorns
• Chinese chillies
• grilled fish war

Mentioned in this episode

Products: kaoyu

Places: Chongqing, Wanzhou, Wushan, China, Yangtze River

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