Family food culture, local food memories, workers’ table stories, and personal relationships with food.
I. Assembling the Culture Room Eight years ago, I created a piece centred on naturally fermented yoghurt, drying yoghurt starter cultures onto fabric. I was never particularly keen on drinking yoghurt; back then, I mainly made it because I saw natural fermentation as a potential medium for artistic expression. Consequently,…
As long as we draw breath, we cannot get by without the everyday essentials of firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Across cultures, whether East or West, the culinary terms ‘rice’, ‘flour’, and ‘oil’ are ancient words, carrying well over a millennium of history. Since humanity entered the agricultural era, their…
A Word from Foodthink Today marks the first day of the National Day holiday. I wonder if you’ve already hit the road? Recently, Foodthink’s “Eat Well” initiative invited readers to share their home fermentation methods and experiences. We’ve summarised three secret tips and identified one category that is particularly prone…
Would you spend tens of yuan in a restaurant on a portion of frozen broccoli that might well be older than your child? — We’ve recently learned that this seemingly absurd scenario might actually be the case. Pre-prepared meals are quietly taking over our dining tables. From restaurants to takeaways,…
Foodthink Says From yellow wine and fermented black beans to pickled vegetables and soy sauce, people have long turned to the tangy, aromatic, and mellow depths of fermentation to find the warmth of home and the resilience of life. Across the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, fermentation is woven even more tightly into…
The dream of a lazy foodie is to build a self-sufficient, low-maintenance garden: a sustainable food forest that yields an abundance of produce while demanding minimal labour. Back when I studied permaculture in Taiwan, I was properly introduced to the concept of a “food forest”. I had encountered the term…
I’ve always been drawn to this lyric: “We should have our moments of joy, happiness, and clear skies.” I’ve never quite managed to emulate Lao Lang’s unhesitating plea to “give me your pure, innocent smile.” After navigating periods of heaviness, sorrow, and gloom, one comes to truly understand how essential…
I. A Journey That Began with Bananas Bananas have been one of the plants I’ve encountered most frequently over the past year of travel. From Africa to Brazil, I’ve seen and eaten countless varieties along the way—fried in oil, stewed with tomatoes, pan-fried in butter; as long as an arm,…
Foodthink Says “Digital pickled greens” primarily refers to the short videos, variety shows, classic dramas, novels, and indeed any entertainment content accessed via smartphone while eating. It is widely believed, particularly among younger generations, that this digital accompaniment serves to relieve the loneliness and boredom of dining alone. Yet the…
The gardenias are just beginning to bloom in the mountain ravine. My flowers have finally opened. June 16, a month ago, marked the anniversary of Evil Man Valley. By 2025, it will be the fourth. The modest patch at the front of the house provides more than enough for self-sufficiency,…
