She promotes Chinese cuisine in Brazil (diaspora concern)

Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition

In 2015, a Chinese face appeared on the Brazilian reality show "I Want to Be a Chef." She passed five levels and six finals, passed the knockout competition with a beer duck, and finally won the third place, becoming a well-known Chinese chef in São Paulo and even in Brazil. She is Jiang Pu, a Brazilian Chinese, who has lived in São Paulo for 21 years.

When I first arrived in Brazil, I became acquainted with the chef

Jiang Pu moved to Brazil with her parents when she was 12 years old, and the first problem she faced when she first arrived was the language barrier. Jiang Pu said frankly: "In the first week in Brazil, I was sent to school by my father. At first I didn't understand anything, and the content of the class confused me. In addition to going to school in the morning, I also hired a tutor in the afternoon to tutor Portuguese three times a week. After two or three years, I was able to communicate with the locals and gradually integrate into the local society. ”

Because his parents were engaged in the trade of small commodities and often left early and returned late, the task of three meals fell to Jiang Pu. "There weren't many Chinese restaurants at that time, and even the shops that imported oriental ingredients, I remember there was only one in São Paulo. When I was a child, the common seasonings at home were difficult to buy here, and soy sauce was an expensive condiment. Jiang Pu recalled, "At that time, the standard of living did not allow me to eat out every day, so I could only tinker at home." ”

Videos, TV food programs, online short videos, etc. have become channels for Jiang Pu to improve his cooking ability. Gradually, she fell in love with cooking and became interested in the kitchen. After graduating from high school, Jiang Pu originally considered attending Le Cordon Bleu to learn culinary knowledge specifically and systematically. However, due to the fact that Brazil does not have a branch campus and the cost of studying in Europe is expensive, Jiang Pu temporarily gave up the pursuit of cooking.

After that, Jiang Pu graduated from the Department of Statistics at São Paulo State University, where he worked with data in the office. Because he didn't like the working atmosphere of the office, after working for a while, Jiang Pu decided to resign. In 2015, by chance, she saw the registration notice for the Brazilian version of "I Want to Be a Chef". With the encouragement and support of friends, Jiang Pu signed up for the competition. She said: "I just wanted to get a chance to show my face on TV to convince my parents to approve of my decision to pursue a career in cooking, but I didn't expect to end up in third place. ”

Sympathize with each other when we have been on the same stage

As a rare Chinese face in Brazil's local shows, Jiang Pu's calm and self-assured style in the face of tense matches has attracted attention. Jiang Pu said: "This is the consistent national characteristic of the Chinese nation, which is not afraid of danger and calm. There was a game where I was last out and had 30 minutes to wait. During this time, I wandered around and chatted with others. I also shared Chinese mahjong with them, simulating the action of playing mahjong, touching a card on the left and one card on the right, and the other players were happy. ”

Recalling the tense moments during the competition, Jiang Pu said: "In the final stage, there was a competition where the contestants were asked to make Wellington beef wrapped in puff pastry. While taking out the puff pastry from the oven, I accidentally dropped the whole puff pastry to the floor. Luckily, there were still some puff pastry leftovers left, and I raced against time to make a mini Wellington. That was a knockout tournament and with this small Wellington, I made it to the next stage. ”

During the recording of the program, Jiang Pu competed and communicated with many cooking enthusiasts on the same stage, and met a group of like-minded partners. Jiang Pu said: "The contestants really want to work in the catering industry and have a passion for food. At present, most of the contestants remain in the restaurant industry. We keep in touch, introduce each other's staff, suppliers, and organize large-scale catering events. ”

In 2016, Jiang Pu wrote a book in Portuguese about Chinese cooking, called "Jiang's Recipe and Life". Most of the Chinese dishes introduced in the book are simple and easy to use, and many readers follow the guide to make their first Chinese dish smoothly. Jiang Pu said: "At that time, most of the Brazilian recipes and books related to cooking did not have content about Chinese food, so I had the idea to publish a book. This book is a Chinese food enlightenment book, which can be bought for the price of a lunch, and has a certain audience. ”

Chinese cuisine wins favor

After the competition, Jiang Pu founded his own Chinese restaurant in 2017. The restaurant is named after "Chi", derived from the pinyin of the Chinese character for "eat". After 6 months of operation, the restaurant was selected as the 3rd best Chinese restaurant in São Paulo by the Brazilian magazine "See". In the 80th Brazilian Best Gastronomy Excellence Awards in 2018, "Chi" won the Best Restaurant of the Year award, and Jiang Pu won the Most Popular Chef Award as a chef.

In this regard, Jiang Pu said: "Brazilian young people have a high degree of acceptance of oriental culture, and my original intention to establish the restaurant is to break the stereotype of Chinese food in foreign countries. In foreign countries, most of the time Chinese food is associated with cheapness. Many Brazilian guests come to the restaurant and before they look at the menu, they say they want a yakisoba noodle. In order to better promote Chinese cuisine, I have improved many dishes such as pot stickers, fried noodles, Sichuan pepper grilled buds, spicy hot pot and so on. The restaurant adopts an open kitchen, allowing guests to see the whole process of making dishes, helping them understand the secrets of Chinese cuisine. ”

Unfortunately, "Chi" closed its doors in 2019 due to operating costs. Today, Jiang Pu works as a consultant for a Chinese restaurant chain in Brazil, where he is responsible for revamping menus and launching new products.

"Great recipe." "I think I made it." "This dish made with my family is so delicious." This is a message from many fans. Recently, Jiang Pu collaborated with the "Chinese Bridge" Club in São Paulo and the China-Brazil Social and Cultural Research Center to regularly launch short videos of Chinese food teaching on social media, sharing with 227,000 fans how to make Chinese flavors with local Brazilian ingredients. Wuren mooncakes, tomato scrambled eggs, tofu mousse and many other special dishes have won praise.

Jiang Pu has two daughters, both of whom are currently enrolled in a Chinese-Portuguese bilingual kindergarten. "Chinese culture has its own unique charm and way of thinking, so it is necessary for children to pass on Chinese culture." Jiang Pu said, "Next year, when my children go to primary school, I plan to devote half a day a week to let them study Chinese." In addition, every traditional Chinese festival, I will take them to make and taste traditional food to experience the vast and profound Chinese culture. ”

This year marks the 210th anniversary of Chinese immigration to Brazil. Jiang Pu, who has lived in Brazil for more than 20 years, said: "The overseas Chinese around me are actively working hard to create a positive image of China and introduce the current situation of China's development. In order to celebrate the 210th anniversary of Chinese immigration to Brazil, many celebrations were held in São Paulo, and overseas Chinese and Brazilian people participated in it to jointly understand the essence of Chinese culture. I think that in my children's generation, more overseas Chinese will be integrated into Brazilian society. (Yang Ning, Li Wenjie)

People's Daily Overseas Edition (October 28, 2022, 10th Edition)