AKA infinite ways with a packet of instant noodles.
Georgina Quach, a journalist and archivist, makes her personalised ramen for Anna and Lucy, and considers the importance of comfort in the food she makes, as well as how her Vietnamese heritage informs the savoury flavours she uses in her cooking.
Chef and Chinese food creator Chin Taylor reflects on assumptions of how takeaway food is made and how they affect people's perceptions of the work that goes into it – and how MSG fits into this. Chef and author Tim Anderson talks about dashi, and fermentation expert and food scientist Dr Johnny Drain goes deeper on the science behind why umami is so important in a water-based cuisine like Japan's. And SongSoo Kim, head of sourcing and development at the restaurant group Super 8, talks about the complexity of umami.
In To Be Delicious, Dr Anna Sulan Masing explores MSG - and more broadly umami - through the lens of East and South East Asian food heritage and diaspora food culture in the UK. From fritters to instant ramen, fermentation to takeaways, these five episodes open out the conversation around MSG and find a breadth of new ways for us to think about its usage within cooking, and its importance within cultural heritage.
Credits:
Hosted by @annasulan
Produced by @dearlovelucy & @annasulan
Original theme music by @midorijaeger
Podcast artwork by @npl_illustration
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
The series is completely editorially independent and was made possible, along with Anna's wider research, by support from the European Committee for Umami and Ajinomoto.
Anna's book, Chinese and Any Other Asian: Exploring East and South East Asian Identity in Britain is out now! Order here.