In the earlier post, “101 methods of cooking rice”, we used Chinese and Vietnamese dessert rice dumplings to explore the multi-faceted roles a particular rice dish can have, establishing distinctions between cultures but at the same time connecting them. Now, we will discuss another type of rice dumpling, specifically Nonya Rice Dumplings. Using this dish, we will further examine the notion of cultural hybridity and that it is not merely a blending of cultures but a reconstituting of them (Chua & Rajah, 1997). But before we begin discussing Nonya Rice Dumplings, let’s first explore the historical context of Peranakan food in general.
Peranakan cuisine is the consequence of the cultural hybridization of Chinese and Malay cuisine resulting from inter-ethnic marriages between Chinese migrants and local Malays. The dishes involve combining ingredients and preparation methods from both cultures, creating a unique fusion. The Nonya Rice Dumpling is one such example.
Most Chinese rice dumplings contain ingredients such as glutinous rice, pork, and mushroom that are wrapped and steamed in bamboo leaves (Eastern Rice Dumplings, 2003). The Nonya version is largely similar, except in the use of Pandan leaves, which is adopted from Malay cooking. But wait a minute? Didn’t we just say Peranakan cuisine is a merge of Chinese and Malay culture? Why then the presence of pork, a taboo ingredient in the Malay culture? This hence illustrates the notion of how cultural hybridization is not merely the combining of 2 cultures, but the reconstituting of them. What was originally a Chinese-Malay culture has been reconstituted and typified to become a “marker of Chinese ethnicity” (Chua & Rajah, 1997 ), despite its obvious Malay heritage. As can be seen, membership into a social group is very much a social construct, and is not an essentialized necessity resulting from historical context. Just because of a single ingredient in this rice dish, pork, the Malays are to a certain extent excluded from a culture they had a role establishing. Because of that one ingredient, culinary interaction has become asymmetrical, with the Chinese being able to bridge over to the Malay culture, but not the other way around. Once again, like the coconut milk in Che Troi Nuoc, we see how a single ingredient in a rice dish, can form a distinction between 2 cultures.
References
Eastern Rice Dumplings. (2003). Retrieved 15 March, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.erdsg.com/dumpling_varieties.htm
Chua, Beng Huat & Rajah, Ananda. (1997). Hybridity, ethnicity and food in Singapore.
Singapore : Dept. of sociology, National University of Singapore.
Peranakan cuisine is the consequence of the cultural hybridization of Chinese and Malay cuisine resulting from inter-ethnic marriages between Chinese migrants and local Malays. The dishes involve combining ingredients and preparation methods from both cultures, creating a unique fusion. The Nonya Rice Dumpling is one such example.
Most Chinese rice dumplings contain ingredients such as glutinous rice, pork, and mushroom that are wrapped and steamed in bamboo leaves (Eastern Rice Dumplings, 2003). The Nonya version is largely similar, except in the use of Pandan leaves, which is adopted from Malay cooking. But wait a minute? Didn’t we just say Peranakan cuisine is a merge of Chinese and Malay culture? Why then the presence of pork, a taboo ingredient in the Malay culture? This hence illustrates the notion of how cultural hybridization is not merely the combining of 2 cultures, but the reconstituting of them. What was originally a Chinese-Malay culture has been reconstituted and typified to become a “marker of Chinese ethnicity” (Chua & Rajah, 1997 ), despite its obvious Malay heritage. As can be seen, membership into a social group is very much a social construct, and is not an essentialized necessity resulting from historical context. Just because of a single ingredient in this rice dish, pork, the Malays are to a certain extent excluded from a culture they had a role establishing. Because of that one ingredient, culinary interaction has become asymmetrical, with the Chinese being able to bridge over to the Malay culture, but not the other way around. Once again, like the coconut milk in Che Troi Nuoc, we see how a single ingredient in a rice dish, can form a distinction between 2 cultures.
References
Eastern Rice Dumplings. (2003). Retrieved 15 March, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.erdsg.com/dumpling_varieties.htm
Chua, Beng Huat & Rajah, Ananda. (1997). Hybridity, ethnicity and food in Singapore.
Singapore : Dept. of sociology, National University of Singapore.
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