Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure

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Travel Documentary hosted by Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang, published by BBC in 2012 - English narration

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Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang cook their way across China in a visually rich culinary journey against the backdrop of ancient and modern Asia. Beyond a culinary odyssey, this will be an emotional homecoming, a cultural adventure, and an anthropological and historical road trip. Ken and Ching travel over 5,000 miles across this vast sub-continent, taking in both the ancient and the modern. Over four episodes they explore contrasting destinations along China's most significant trade routes. Beginning in the vibrant capital of Beijing, they explore the city that China has presented to the west and the rural villages outside of Beijing. After travelling through China's spicy Sichuan heartland, they explore the influence of minority cultures in Yunnan and the mystical northern city of Kashgar. And finally, in an emotional climax, Ken and Ching return to their ancestral homes to reveal the secrets of a Southern China we rarely see. Produced by Keofilms.

[edit] Part 1.

Their journey begins in Beijing, the country's imperial capital for 800 years, where quintessential Chinese dishes such as noodles, dumplings and Peking duck are now being showcased with a new culinary confidence. Ken and Ching cook for world-class chefs in the city's most celebrated restaurants before visiting ordinary Beijingers to learn traditional cooking methods. They also travel to the village of Chuandixia, where ancient traditions are being celebrated and preserved.

[edit] Part 2.

They explore the effects of sweeping modernisation in China's fastest growing city, Chengdu. It is the capital of Sichuan province, where the locals cling on to their identity through food. Here, in one of the culinary capitals of the country, they explore the complex spices that set Sichuan food apart and make it the most memorable of all Chinese cuisines. And in a desire to get under the skin of the city, they explore the back streets in search of the most authentic dishes and traditional snacks. They also visit homes and restaurants to banish the gloomy Sichuan climate with some hot and fiery cooking.

[edit] Part 3.

Ken and Ching leave the country's megacities and venture across China's vast western frontier to encounter a nation few know. From the tropical jungles of Yunnan to the deeply divided Muslim city of Kashgar, their journey exposes them to the culture and cuisines of the country's ethnic minority groups, who make up almost 10 percent of the population.

[edit] Part 4.

Ken and Ching make an emotional return to their ancestral homes, the climax of their entire journey, before reuniting for their final meal in Hong Kong. They start first in the dim sum capital Guangzhou to explore the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine, the food most familiar to the west, before heading their separate ways. Ching travels across the south China sea to Taiwan where her food journey began at her grandmother's knee, while Ken cooks for relatives he hasn't seen for more than 23 years.