The Golden Peninsula — Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia was widely known as the “Golden Peninsula” during the reign of the Ancient Greek, which the term “Gold” refers to the wealth locals (Esterik, 2008). It is because of the good strategic point of Southeast Asia as it has good eyes for trader’s routes. The Golden Peninsula lies between the east of India and South China, narrowing off the islands of South-Indonesia and Philippines, linking on the said course, it can be considered that the most notable angle of Southeast Asia is its diversity due to relations between neighbouring countries, and most of all- due to voyages and influences brought the colonizers.
Diversity in Southeast Asia mainly involves the culture where, the food culture cab be anchored, traders and Southeast Asians appeared to have similarities and foreign influences when it comes to cuisines around the world. The Southeast Asia today consists of the countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Vietnam, Cambodia Malaysia, Island of Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia and the Philippines. Southeast Asia had chains of significant variations when it comes to food and land cultivation- there can be an upland, lowland, inland, coastal, wet rice, root crops, and even irrigated rice- with those differences it can be used and recognized as a good thing especially in organizing the diversity when it comes to ethnic groups, the languages, political systems, most of all- the variation of food culture.
The inclusion of mixed with Western food styles was made during the start of the voyage in finding spices, where Southeast Asian countries were visited and even colonized. A journal entitled, “Travels of Marco Polo” in 192, it was a Chinese histories and the best source of information about what happened in Southeast Asia, centuries ago. The said journal was highly considered as the carrier of clues and evidences about food and meals of Southeast Asia. Just as how Malay food tastes like Indonesian Food, and same food ingredients were observed in Lao, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Looking through the ancient time, prehistoric days was originally considered as the first food culture of Southeast Asia. In 10,000 BC, hunter gatherers survived on root crops, wild plants and animals, fishing in fresh and salt waters, where stone was mainly used as utensil. It can be concluded that food mainly depends on what they seen and what are available in the surrounding. In 3,000 BC, the plant and animal domestication has begun, the inclusion of rice, domestication of pigs, dogs, and chicken was recorded in the life of the Southeast Asian, and improved their thinking and living as the pottery, metallurgy and bronze started to exist. During the 800 BC, the Khmer Kingdom of Angkor was founded where the wet-rice cultivation begun for rice cultivation. It can be observed that the first few eras were mainly influenced by each other’s reign or the influences and power by the neighbouring Southeast Asian countries.
In addition, India has inclined the irrigated wet-rice cultivation I Cambodia and I Southern Vietnam as during the founding of the Khmer Kingdom. Before French in Vietnam , cuisine was already developed by China, especially when it comes to Wontons and wheat, noodles, chili pepper that are present in the Ming Dynasty, but the coming of French because of the arrival of catholic missionaries, they introduced several ingredients like as asparagus and potatoes. Also, the same thing happened of how Indonesia was affected by the Dutch civilization. Indonesia and the Netherlands have established a diplomatic relationship where it began during the Spice Trade and the Netherland had established the Dutch East Indies Company, and they became the Dutch’s biggest colony, where they were influenced by most of their marks and that includes the foods and Indonesian cuisine. As for the influenced of the Spaniards in the Philippines, the Spanish colonizers ruled the country for over 333 years, but before the reign of the Spaniards, Philippines had already their own culture and food styles, yet the coming of the Spaniards, have elevated and added the sense of culture, religion and spice, especially the food and cooking styles of the Filipinos.
Moreover, the next age bands completely changed, as it was not just being rules by SEA countries, thus the entrance of the European started. In 1511, the Portuguese take Malacca to control the spice trade, where this had evaded some region of Southeast Asia. In the year 1602, the Netherland East India Company founded to take control in the spice trade. And in between 1600–1700, the Spanish galleon trade between Mexico and Manila trades Mexican silver in exchange for Chinese silk and porcelain and the Columbian Exchange of food crops, where during those times the SEA countries was modernized by the traders bringing their customs, traditions and even food culture.
Amidst of the improvement and great change- both positive and negative, the biases toward better known food culture cannot be tamed. It could be some issues tackling rice-based meal rather than root-crop based, also hitting upon how each Southeast Asian countries serve and enjoy their delicacies. Ishige in 2008, in his article, “The Dietary Culture of Asia”, stated that culinary arts of the world’s various peoples are a cultural heritage developed over the centuries, the best way of enjoying the food of each ethnic groups will be the same manner as how they usually do it”. Like how the Indians used their fingers, Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea made use of chopsticks. Regardless of what food and culture you belong, it is always the best choice is to embrace and appreciate for it fruit of history.
