Audio Series: Jenny Lau and Miranda Brown

Jenny Lau speaks to Miranda Brown, a cultural historian of China who specialises in historical recipes, about the history of sugar in Chinese foodways. What is the role of sugar in Chinese cooking beyond adding sweetness? What were types of sugar available and cooked with in pre-modern China? Why does the sugar flavour profile of China cuisines vary from region to region? How did the movement of Chinese diaspora also drive the movement of sugar? And should we be concerned about the increasing global tolerance and desire for sweetness?

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Photo Credit: Ming Tang-Evans

Jenny Lau is a writer, community organiser and luncheon club chef at the East and Southeast Asian Community Centre in Dalston. She created Celestial Peach in 2018 as a platform to tell stories about Chinese food in the diaspora, and the people and cultures behind it. Her debut non-fiction book An A-Z Of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included) is an anthology that uses food to explore who we are and how we relate to the world. @celestialpeach_uk

Photo Credit: Randolph-Macon Lec

Miranda Brown, native San Franciscan, teaches Chinese studies at the University of Michigan, where she also directs the Honors program. She publishes on all aspects of Chinese history, especially its premodern food culture. Her book, Dumpling Therapy, an exploration of food history and heritage in the Chinese diaspora, will be published by St. Martin's Press. She also blogs about Asian food history at chinesefoodhistory.org (instagram @mirandadbrown)