Jess: "I think food transcends a lot of barriers that people have. It's a great way to educate and expose people to new cultures.”
Chatting with Jess Wong is hungry work.
She explains in mouth-watering detail a traditional way of roasting a whole pig Cantonese style.
Her dad’s a bit of an expert at it – she remembers him being the go-to man in the community during her childhood in Manawatū.
A “pig in a pipe” – that’s what celebrity chef Al Brown calls it.
“Basically, it’s like a big brick oven, shaped like a solid tube,” Jess says.
“They get the pig and they hang it in the pipe and roast it at 300 to 400 degrees for an hour.”
The end result?
“It’s all crispy on the outside, it’s all juicy on the inside…It’s delicious.”
Jess's father's whole roast pig stars in one episode of Sik Fan Lah!
Jess reckons food is a universal language. It speaks to people of family, gathering together, and traditions. And it’s a tasty way to digest a culture.
“I think food transcends a lot of barriers that people have. It's a great way to educate and expose people to new cultures.”
Jess is on a mission to put this theory to the test. She’s been on a road-trip around Aotearoa, gathering food stories from Kiwis of Chinese descent.
She’s a co-producer of Sik Fan Lah!, a six-part series set to be shown on TVNZ in early 2023, thanks to funding from NZ on Air. Sik fan lah translates to “come and eat” in Cantonese.
“It’s kind of like when mum has finished cooking and she’ll yell it to call everyone from across the household to come and eat dinner.”
The show, a concept Jess came up with, explores the spectrum of Chinese identity across the motu, through a universal love of food.
Each episode follows a host in their home town, as they talk about food they love, food that takes them back to their childhood, and food that’s played a part in how they identify. Her father's whole roast pig starring in one episode.
“There's lots of adventuring, lots of eating, lots of cooking, and lots of talking about what it means to be Asian in New Zealand.”
It’s the food that’s key to diving in deep.
“In an Asian family, we’re not always very upfront in talking about our stories, about trauma, about what’s happened, our history – that sort of thing,” Jess says.
“But you'll get it when you're eating.”
Jess says she took her Chinese culture for granted as a child but now recognises the important role it played in her upbringing
Jess is a third-generation Chinese New Zealander – it was her great-grandparents that left mainland China for a new life downunder.
“We’re a very foodie family…We love food, we love cooking, we love eating.”
But it’s about more than what’s served up on the plates in the centre of the table.
“When you're eating at a table, that’s when your family will talk, will communicate that they love you, through food.”
Busy in post-production for Sik Fan Lah! for now, Jess isn’t sure of exactly what comes next for her.
But she does know it will involve storytelling of some description.
“Storytelling is what I love doing.”
“I think it's really important to be telling stories, especially in New Zealand, as a way of broadening people's horizons and, also, creating a sense of humanity in everything we do.”
Jess’ dad’s specialty whole hog roast was a staple at annual events in the Chinese community in Palmerston North – it was on the menu at Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival, and Ching Ming, she says.
“So dad, and some of the other uncles, not necessarily related, would get the pig the day before from the butcher. They would dress it, they would marinate it, leave it overnight, and then the next day take it down to one of the market gardens that had an oven – there’s still one or two functioning.
“They have this tradition where they heat up the oven that would roast it and then sit there and eat their congee for morning tea.
“If you were one of the lucky people that were there when the pig comes out, you might get a first taste of it.”
It was just as much a part of her Kiwi childhood as a feed from a hangi, a Christmas trifle or a sausage in bread may be for someone else.
“I think it’s important to recognise that migrants throughout the generations have played a massive part in creating what can be considered as Kiwi traditions.”
And, within those migrant stories, there is a range of experiences too – and that’s something that’s been apparent in the making of Sik Fan Lah!, she says.
“It became really apparent how diverse and multifaceted it is to be Chinese…Everybody has different stories, whether they came here five days ago or 100 years ago.”
Growing up, her cultural heritage was something she took for granted, Jess says.
“I didn’t really appreciate it.”
But, in recent years, it’s something she’s been more purposeful about.
“I've realised how important it is to have an understanding, to have an appreciation for my culture and heritage, and to give back to my community.”