The Making of Macau’s Fusion Cuisine

Book excerpt: In The Making of Macau’s Fusion Cuisine: From Family Table to World Stage, Annabel Jackson argues that Macanese cuisine cannot be seen as a unique product of Portuguese colonialism in southern China. Instead, it needs to be understood in the context of Portugal’s culinary footprint in Asia and beyond. She contends that the culinary cultures of other Portuguese colonies in Asia and Africa also influenced the cuisine in Macau. Macanese cuisine plays a role in evoking a sense of Macanese identity within Macau as well as in the Macanese diaspora. As the Macanese have increasingly defined themselves as an ethnically and culturally distinct group, their cuisine has growingly been seen as a critical identifier of cohesion and difference. The book shows how Macanese cuisine is moving from being an everyday production of food in a domestic setting to something more symbolic and ceremonial. It also argues that the practice of recipe sharing, historically controversial among the Macanese, is now viewed as an important process. Drawing on information gathered through interviews and surveys, the book is a fascinating study of the history and development of Macanese cuisine, one of the oldest fusion cuisines in Asia. ‘Annabel Jackson has more than enough knowledge to share with the readers many insights and interesting stories, which are embedded in history and cultural interactions among various ethnic groups in Macau and beyond. Given the fact that Macau has become the city of gastronomy, this book brings in rich information and knowledge for locals and visitors to “taste” and to remember.’ —Sidney Cheung, The Chinese University of Hong Kong ‘Annabel Jackson’s study of the development of Macanese cuisine and its role in evoking a sense of Macanese identity within Macau and the Macanese diaspora should contribute to the growing interest in the study of food and foodways within cultural and postcolonial studies. Written in a lively and engaging way, it achieves a good balance between the use of primary sources and theoretical references to buttress its arguments.’ —David Brookshaw, University of Bristol