Chapter 1
The family table in East Asian cinema
Chapter 2
Class, status, and street food across Asia
Chapter 3
Food as a tool for healing and memory
Chapter 4
Culinary history and cultural preservation
YOUR GOAL
Master of Food in Asian cinema
Ch 4 · Culinary history and cultural preservation
choko Food in Asian Cinema
When the master chef lost his taste, his Sunday feast spoke for his silent heart.
choko Lee Isaac Chung's 2020 film 'Minari' explores how growing native Korean vegetables in Arkansas represents survival, identity, and roots for an immigrant family.
BETA
choko Match dishes to movie scenes to discover how Asian filmmakers use food to tell stories.
Fun Fact
Minari symbolism: Water celery (minari) is famous for purifying the water and soil around it, mirroring how immigrant families revitalize their new communities.
Glossary
char siu (noun)
A classic Cantonese style of sweet and savory barbecued pork. Roasted to perfection with a sticky, caramelized glaze, this comforting ingredient often stars in Asian films as the ultimate soul food.
A classic Cantonese style of sweet and savory barbecued pork. Roasted to perfection with a sticky, caramelized glaze, this comforting ingredient often stars in Asian films as the ultimate soul food.
Quiz
Which historical Korean dynasty is depicted in the massive hit food drama 'Jewel in the Palace'?
choko Wong Kar-wai's 2000 film 'In the Mood for Love' uses solitary noodle runs and Western-style steak dinners to evoke colonial isolation and repressed desire.
Glossary
tradition (noun)
The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. Ang Lee’s 1994 film Eat Drink Man Woman documents elaborate Taiwanese banquets to safeguard disappearing historical recipes.
The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. Ang Lee’s 1994 film Eat Drink Man Woman documents elaborate Taiwanese banquets to safeguard disappearing historical recipes.
Quiz
In Stephen Chow's 1996 martial arts comedy 'The God of Cookery', what simple dish allows the protagonist to win the final competition?
Quiz
What type of meat is used to make the 'char siu' in the climax of 'The God of Cookery'?
Quiz
In 'Jewel in the Palace', food is treated not just as sustenance, but as which of the following?
Quiz
In which US state does the immigrant family in the 2020 film 'Minari' attempt to start their farm?