Q+A with Clarissa Wei, Podcaster and Food Writer

"People sort of saw it as ‘Oh, look at this exotic cuisine.’ But I could come at it from more of a, ‘here's what's in it, here's the cultural background behind it, here's more context than you would normally get.’"

In 2020, Clarissa Wei, a Taiwanese-American born and raised in southern California, decided to move to Taiwan. She longed for the slower pace and access to nature that Taipei City offers.

I first met Clarissa as a volunteer at her small farm just outside of Taipei city; she grows local crops like sweet potato leaves, taro, and turmeric that she uses in her own cooking. Recently, she’s taken a particular interest in food ecology and sustainability, which is the subject of her new podcast from Whetstone Radio, Climate Cuisine, which recently hit #1 in the U.S. in Apple Podcasts’ food category.

“As a gardener, the things that I grow are completely different than what I would think would be in accordance with the seasons. The podcast is really challenging people to eat based on what grows well in their climate,” she says.

Despite all the pitching and late payments, Clarissa prefers the flexibility and freedom of freelance life. She tried a few full-time jobs and quickly realized it wasn’t for her. “When you’re at a full-time job, you more have to be a team player in a way and just focus on advancing whatever product we’re working on, whether or not that’s a video publication or a newspaper. And as a freelancer, I feel like I get to be more story-focused,” she says.

With that freedom, she’s had the opportunity to create over a hundred videos about the food of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for the South China Morning Post, and write for publications like Vice, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, and many more. In 2023, she’ll publish her cookbook Made in Taiwan with Simon Element.

I caught up with Clarissa about food, identity, freelancing, and elevating Taiwanese voices in international media.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

 

SH: What interested you in writing about food?

Clarissa Wei: I don’t think I went into it consciously. Initially, it was a niche that I could occupy as a young 19-year-old where I had something to say by virtue of having grown up with Asian food, and the fact that people who wrote about Asian food…the content out there was very one-dimensional and flat. People sort of saw it as ‘Oh, look at this exotic cuisine.’ But I could come at it from more of a, ‘here’s what’s in it, here’s the cultural background behind it, here’s more context than you would normally get.’ And then I just sort of occupied that space by accident, because those were the pitches that went through. 

And now, 10 years after that fact, I think I’ve stuck with it because it’s just a way to get the conversation going. It helps bridge different cultures. I think if you talk about food, people are interested in it no matter where you are in the world, whereas as you talk about politics, people sort of shut down. And everyone loves food. I know it’s a huge cliche, but it’s just a really fun topic as well that doesn’t require a lot of controversy. 

 

SH: Was it a surprise that you kind of circled back to writing about your own identity?

CW: Yeah, I do think about that a lot. It’s like if I wasn’t Asian, would I be writing about Asian food, or am I pigeonholed into this? Is this a conscious decision? And I think lately I’ve been leaning into it more, seeing it from the perspective of, there’s so much information about Asian food. Just the other day I was thinking about rice and how there are four different types of varieties in Taiwan, and they have different properties. And no one really talks about how they’re used in different desserts. Just all these little rabbit holes that I think the world could benefit from if they knew more about, and no one’s occupying that space. So why not be that person who occupies that space? 

But that hasn’t always been the case. Sometimes it’s like, ‘why do I have to be the one to always write about Asian food? Why can’t I do something else?’ And I think people like us, we can. But it might take a lot more work to write about other things, or it might be more competitive. My strategy as of late is to just lean into it more.

SH: Was getting into food sustainability and ecology a natural progression that came from exploring food?

CW: Yeah. For me, I never really sat down and strategized about my career. I think in terms of being a journalist, I’ve always just written about things that interest me or that piqued my interest. And I think when you start with food, in the beginning, it was restaurants, and then you get into ingredients, and then you get into where those ingredients come from. And because you’re interviewing and talking to so many experts, I just came to a natural conclusion that there’s so much more than what is on the plate. There’s also how things are produced and those conversations need to be had. 

SH: Transitioning to some of the other stories you’ve done recently, you did a really cool piece with Vice about a cosplaying legislator. Because of the constant focus on the cross-strait relationship in big media outlets, has it been more difficult to pitch stories that are just about Taiwan and its culture?

CW: I think if anything, people want that cultural angle. With cross-strait tensions, you see the same stories all the time, right? And if you have something a little bit different, then people are interested. I think this cosplay legislator was a really good example because she was one of the main protesters during the Sunflower Movement. But she’s also a great character and has this great hobby, and she photographs really well. So I think the stories which can tie into the modern political climate and be newsy in a way, but has somewhat of a light, cultural appeal, those are the stories that work really well in terms of pitching. And those are stories I really like to do as well because it shows people a different side of Taiwan. 

But if it’s just pure cultural things that have nothing to do with anyone outside of Taiwan, yeah, that’s a little bit harder to pitch. I think by nature of writing for American outlets or international outlets, you always have to relate back to the reader somehow. It can’t just be a completely out of the blue thing, or else who will read it?

SH: Have you seen any shift in recent years, any more of an interest in writing about Taiwan beyond the cross-strait relationship? 

CW: Yeah, for sure. I just think people have a better idea of what Taiwan is because of the cross-strait tensions, because it’s been more in the news. And also in Asian food in general. This is weird to say because I am someone who is Asian American, so [Asian food] has always just been in my life. So I haven’t thought about it like this, but in recent years have more interest in Asian food, or how it is presented in Asia. So that’s really exciting as a writer to be occupying this space, and it really has happened recently. Which is a bit unexpected, but I’m happy and grateful for it.

SH: All that being said, what do you wish the international media did a little better? 

CW: I think it’s looking for the human side of stories. I think when people report on countries that are far away from America, or people they are unfamiliar with, people tend to go for the most dramatic stories, or cross-strait tensions. But there are so many human stories that aren’t covered. So just to humanize these people. That’s why I love doing the cultural stories. You put a face and a name and just some humanity to these people versus just some countries far away sparring.

SH: Your new book will focus on ‘Taiwan’s unique culinary identity despite China’s refusal to acknowledge it.’ What do you hope to accomplish there, and what’s going to make your book different from other cookbooks?

CW: The whole premise of it is that Taiwan’s cuisine stands on its own, and that’s true from a very micro level as well. How our soy sauce is produced currently is a remnant of the Japanese colonial era. Our vinegar, for example, is more similar to Worcestershire sauce in production than it is to Chinese black vinegar. Our pantry looks completely different. And while Taiwan is made up of immigrants from China, those immigrants have been here for hundreds of years, like my family. Because of that, it’s developed its own unique food culture. In the broad conversation of Taiwanese food, it’s often grouped into Chinese cuisine because it’s convenient, there’s a lot of overlap and similarities and it’s in the same umbrella category of cuisine. And because of the political ambiguity of Taiwan, a lot of people just assume it is part of China and oftentimes it’s just grouped into the provincial maps as a province of China. 

While certain dishes have origins in China, they have evolved so radically over the span of decades, sometimes even centuries. They really just deserve their own stage. So I hope for this to be a celebration of the culture versus just focusing on you know, how we’re not China.

SH: It sounds like there’s going to be recipes, of course, but it’ll also include a lot of your research and journalism.

CW: Exactly. For a lot of the dishes I find vendors who specialize in them and get their stories to bring some of the humanity into these dishes, to show people that these are real people. Taiwan isn’t just another player on the chessboard for cross-strait politics or game theory. These are people who are really proud of their recipes and they’ve been developing them without any influence from China for hundreds of years.

SH: In your research, is there anything you found that has surprised you so far?

CW: Yeah, just how unique our cuisine is. For example, the black pepper bun that everyone loves. In China, that iteration is only made with pork and scallions. But in Taiwan, they started incorporating black pepper because southeast Asian immigrants brought black pepper [into Taiwan]. And then there are also dishes that don’t exist in China anywhere else in the world except for Taiwan. It’s like, wow, these dishes are really unique to this island. And again, it goes back to this theme of being present and just really focusing on where you are in the world, and realizing how unique every location is.

SH: Any final words of wisdom for other journalists or freelancers?

CW: For anyone who’s starting out, just focus on who you are and where you are in the world. When I was in journalism school, I felt this immense pressure to be someone who I was not. I majored in politics, and I interned for all the big news media publications, and I felt like I had to fit the stereotype of a journalist who is into news and wanted to live in a big metropolitan city. And then the more I just followed my own curiosity and tried to discover my own roots, and became more present in focusing on where I was or who I was, that’s when the really interesting stories came. Because I had a reference and I really cared about those stories. So I think that’s the big tip I’ve learned over the decade to really, just be yourself. And follow your own curiosities instead of trying to be someone else and be someone who you are not.

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