Food Culture in Southeast Asia PENNY VAN ESTERIK Food Culture around the World Ken Albala, Series Editor GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Van Esterik, Penny. Food culture in Southeast Asia / Penny Van Esterik. p. cm. — (Food culture around the world, ISSN 1545–2638) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–313–34419–0 (alk. paper) 1. Cookery, Southeast Asian. 2. Food habits—Southeast Asia. I. Title. TX724.5.S68V36 2008 394.1'20959—dc22 2008020224 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2008 by Penny Van Esterik All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008020224 ISBN: 978–0–313–34419–0 ISSN: 1545–2638 First published in 2008 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The publisher has done its best to make sure the instructions and/or recipes in this book are correct. However, users should apply judgment and experience when preparing recipes, especially parents and teachers working with young people. The publisher accepts no re- sponsibility for the outcome of any recipe included in this volume. All photos are by the author unless otherwise noted. In gratitude to those who fed me, taught me to cook, and ate with me—in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. This page intentionally left blank Contents Series Foreword by Ken Albala ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv Timeline xxvii 1. Historical Overview 1 2. Major Foods and Ingredients 19 3. Cooking 39 4. Typical Meals 53 5. Eating Out 79 6. Special Occasions 95 7. Diet and Health 111 Glossary 127 Resource Guide 131 Selected Bibliography 135 Index 139 This page intentionally left blank Series Foreword The appearance of the Food Culture around the World series marks a de- finitive stage in the maturation of Food Studies as a discipline to reach a wider audience of students, general readers, and foodies alike. In compre- hensive interdisciplinary reference volumes, each on the food culture of a country or region for which information is most in demand, a remarkable team of experts from around the world offers a deeper understanding and appreciation of the role of food in shaping human culture for a whole new generation. I am honored to have been associated with this project as series editor. Each volume follows a series format, with a chronology of food-related dates and narrative chapters entitled Introduction, Historical Overview, Major Foods and Ingredients, Cooking, Typical Meals, Eating Out, Spe- cial Occasions, and Diet and Health. (In special cases, these topics are covered by region.) Each also includes a glossary, bibliography, resource guide, and illustrations. Finding or growing food has of course been the major preoccupation of our species throughout history, but how various peoples around the world learn to exploit their natural resources, come to esteem or shun specific foods and develop unique cuisines reveals much more about what it is to be human. There is perhaps no better way to understand a culture, its values, preoccupations and fears, than by examining its attitudes toward food. Food provides the daily sustenance around which families and com- munities bond. It provides the material basis for rituals through which x Series Foreword people celebrate the passage of life stages and their connection to divin- ity. Food preferences also serve to separate individuals and groups from each other, and as one of the most powerful factors in the construction of identity, we physically, emotionally and spiritually become what we eat. By studying the foodways of people different from ourselves we also grow to understand and tolerate the rich diversity of practices around the world. What seems strange or frightening among other people becomes perfectly rational when set in context. It is my hope that readers will gain from these volumes not only an aesthetic appreciation for the glories of the many culinary traditions described, but also ultimately a more pro- found respect for the peoples who devised them. Whether it is eating New Year’s dumplings in China, folding tamales with friends in Mexico, or going out to a famous Michelin-starred restaurant in France, understand- ing these food traditions helps us to understand the people themselves. As globalization proceeds apace in the twenty-first century it is also more important than ever to preserve unique local and regional traditions. In many cases these books describe ways of eating that have already begun to disappear or have been seriously transformed by modernity. To know how and why these losses occur today also enables us to decide what tradi- tions, whether from our own heritage or that of others, we wish to keep alive. These books are thus not only about the food and culture of peoples around the world, but also about ourselves and who we hope to be. Ken Albala University of the Pacifi c Preface I don’t think of myself as a food writer but instead as a nutritional anthro- pologist who writes about both food and Southeast Asia. It is difficult to work in the region and not write about food because that is what is impor- tant to Southeast Asians and, thus, should be equally important to ana- lysts. I came to know Southeast Asia through its food—first Thai food in the 1960s then Lao and Malay food in the 1990s, interspersed with tastes of Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam. I am acutely aware of the need for more research in the latter countries before broader connections to island South- east Asia can be made in future publications. The most difficult problem I faced in writing this book, other than select- ing what foods and meals to feature, was removing my food voice from the story. For food is an intensely personal product, deeply embedded in senses and memories. Forty years ago, chiles were terrifying irritants that threatened my adjustment to Thailand; now they are an addiction. I recall my trepida- tion the first time I purchased food from street vendors, having been told to expect dirty, unpleasant food, and finding only tasty and safe creations. The only time I had a seriously upset stomach in Thailand, caused by what the Thai call an “eating mistake” ( kin phit ), was when I craved Western food and ate in high-end hotels. Unlike many food writers on Southeast Asia, several of my experiences come from eating in village homes and temples. For me, the smell of chiles and garlic hitting the oil and the thump of mortar and pestle early in the morning as women prepared flavor pastes, will forever sig- nal rural village mornings. I hope this book captures something of the range of meals in the region, from padi fields to palaces. This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I owe a great debt of gratitude to the unnamed and unknown cooks whose food I ate in markets, street stalls, and restaurants throughout the region, particularly to those who didn’t assume they had to adjust the spices for a foreigner. I am very grateful to Naomi Duguid for advice on food and recipe writing, Lisa Drummond for her expertise on Vietnam, Thanes Wongyannava and Kanit Muntarbhorn for sharing with me their historical research on Thai food, and the staff of the WABA (World Al- liance for Breastfeeding Action) secretariat in Penang for introducing me to Malay food. My greatest debt is to my husband John, whose knowledge of Southeast Asia informs every chapter. Thanks to my recipe tasters and testers including Fred and Anne Grant; Julie Martin and Leo, Dylan, and Tim Posgate; Garth Elliot; Fran Grant; Karen Whitewood; Barb Hopkins; Pam and Wayne Somers; Vera and Ainslie Yellery; Cynthia Webster; Ken Little; Teresa Holmes; Daphne Winland; Steve Gaetz; Naomi and Sophie Adelson; Albert Schrauwers; and David Murray. I’m grateful to my Greenwood editor, Wendi Schnaufer, for her excel- lent problem-solving skills and overall support, and to Ken Albala for persuading me to take on what seemed like an impossible task—writing this book. This page intentionally left blank Introduction Southeast Asia was known to the ancient Greeks as the Golden Kher- sonese, the “golden peninsula” lying east of India and south of China, tapering off into hundreds of islands to the south, best known to us as In- donesia and the Philippines. Today, as in the past, the peninsula acts as a barrier and a bridge between India and China, as it lies across trade routes between those two more populous and powerful regions to the east and north. “Golden” refers to the wealth locals and sojourners derived from Southeast Asia’s strategic position across trade routes. Outsiders have defined Southeast Asia as Further India or Greater India—the Indian subcontinent on a smaller scale; geographers called it Asia of the Monsoons; farther west, terms like Little China or Indochina stressed connections with China. All these terms deprecate the important individuality of the region. In the Second World War, the allied forces labeled the space between India and China the Southeast Asian theater of war. 1 Historical sources suggest that Southeast Asians themselves made no use of a regional category like Southeast Asia. Thus, there is no record of an indigenous concept that we can conveniently borrow to avoid using colonial, military, or imperialist terminology.