Why Hong Kong has the Fujianese to thank for sweetcorn

Now in season at wet markets, sweetcorn has recently become a more popular – and thus widely available – vegetable. Small holdings in the New Territories increasingly farm it; sweetcorn’s vertical growth ensures a good return for the amount of ground the crop needs – even more so with modern heavy-yield hybrid varieties.

But the local product only accounts for a small amount of the sweetcorn consumed here; as with most other vegetables, much of Hong Kong’s market supplies come from the mainland.

Sweetcorn and maize were introduced to China from Central America, via the Spanish colony of the Philippines and the Portuguese outpost of Macau.

From there, they spread to the rest of maritime Asia. Other “new world” foods were also pioneered; probably the most important such crop being the yam. Yams grow well in poor soil and their roots and leaves helped quell hunger, famine and consequent social unrest. Tomatoes were also introduced, as were guavas, papayas and aubergines.

The Fujian ports of Amoy (Xiamen) and Foochow (Fuzhou) had close trading links with Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, as did Formosa (Taiwan). Little-remembered today (mainly for political reasons), Spanish links to Taiwan pre-date any significant ethnic Chinese colonisation of that island.

Manila, in particular, had close ties with Amoy and Foochow, and many Chinese families had extended branches in both locations, and still do. Chinese migrants often intermarried locally and today’s sizeable Filipino-mestizo community (which comprises much of the Philippines’ political and economic elite) has a substantial Chinese heritage.