The National Museum of Taiwan History will host a traveling exhibition from Jan. 30 through June 2 that uses food and related patterns of culture and behavior to delineate the links between Taiwan and the hometowns of new immigrants and migrant workers from Southeast Asia.
The exhibition will introduce the common herbs, plants, and spices from Southeast Asia through the following four segments — "Southeast Asia's Climate and Its Geography of Production," "Features of Southeast Asian Cuisine," "Recreating the Taste of Hometown," and "A Future Connection with Southeast Asia" — to represent how people reconnect with their hometowns through the sense of taste and showcase the traditional cuisines and lifestyles of Taiwan's new immigrants from Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia generally refers to the land and the massive sea area of the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, south of the Asian continent. Recently, academics have begun using the terms "Archipelagic Southeast Asia" and "Peninsular Southeast Asia" to demarcate this part of the world. It is scorching hot in the tropics, and people there have relied on pungent seasoning to preserve food since ancient times. Cooking with potent spices also stimulates one's sense of taste and helps to work up an appetite.
The culinary methods of Thailand and Vietnam, both situated on the river plains, often involve ingredients like fish sauce, spice plants, fruits, fresh vegetables, and fish. In Archipelagic Southeast Asia, ocean trading and exchanging food between islands are important elements of the lifestyle, and local knowledge of spices mostly focuses on food preservation. For example, large amounts of turmeric, galangal, candlenut, cinnamon, cumin seed, and peanut are used in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Throughout history, the development of regional cuisine has always been connected with natural and cultural development. Southeast Asia’s new immigrants and migrant workers, by the way of food, have brought their individual hometown flavors to Taiwan. They are offering a better understanding of Southeast Asia through cuisine arts, and helping everyone to recognize an important element of Taiwanese society that is bolstering local communities, economic development, and cultural diversity.
"The Taste of Hometown: Southeast Asian Flavors" is curated by the Taipei-based National Taiwan Museum and was previously staged at the Ministry of Culture's headquarters in New Taipei City.
‘The Taste of Hometown: Southeast Asian Flavors’