S1E36: Chinese sauces are popular in India; less so are their purveyors

The Straits Times Podcasts

The bitter aftertaste though, is the story of how Chinese Indians are struggling to fit in.

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.

There is a popular sauce in India, which involves massive amounts of green chillies, salt and Indian spices such as turmeric. And it is sold as a Chinese sauce, in Kolkata’s Chinatown.

From paneer chilli to green chilli, Chinese sauces, adapted for Indian taste buds, are very popular in India.

It is also a representation of how ethnic Chinese - their origins in Kolkata can be traced to the 18th century in India - have assimilated.

But that is not the complete story, for the community whose history has been fraught, from the fall-out from the 1962 war between India and China, to the after-effects of today’s border conflict.

In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with India correspondent Debarshi Dasgupta on the Chinese-Indian community’s hopes and fears.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:48 What are Chinese-Indian sauces

1:59 Indian influences

3:13 A story of decline and atrophy

8:10 A painful history

Read Debarshi Dasgupta's article here: https://str.sg/feZA

Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd

Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters

Host: Li Xueying ([e-mail])

Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani

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Capitole

1. Chinese sauces are popular in India; less so are their purveyors (00:00:00)

2. What are Chinese-Indian sauces? (00:00:48)

3. Indian influences (00:01:59)

4. A story of decline and atrophy (00:03:13)

5. A painful history (00:08:10)