A Rice Journey

As a significant staple in the Asian household, rice is an inexhaustible source of culinary diversity. After the investigations across Southeast Asia, the Maritime Creation Studio used the idea of traveling from one place to another in this project, hoping to analyze food and foodways that constitute the regional cultures and also to find out how the starchy seeds feed our body and nourish our mind.

During the international travel restrictions, writers and photographers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia were invited to look into rice dumpling, a rice dish with many different variations across the continent and western Pacific archipelagoes. In addition to typological analysis of food forms, production, and consumption, participants have also visited food markets, street vendors, and gourmets. After a thorough survey of attitudes, beliefs, and practices surrounding this rice dish, they hoped to present a picture of the foodscape and its dynamic relationship with traditional and contemporary culture.

A talk was given on the 28th November, in which Chief Editor Harry Ke talked to Editors Hsu Li-Chen and Ma Hui-Yu about this research project on food culture and their continuous endeavors to document food culture.