From a preserved fish sauce called kê-chiap in southern China, the world’s favourite sauce evolved; tomatoes only entered the recipe in the 19th century. Americans added the sugar. From a preserved fish sauce called kê-chiap in southern China, the world’s favourite sauce evolved; tomatoes only entered the recipe in the 19th century. Americans added the sugar.
From a preserved fish sauce called kê-chiap in southern China, the world’s favourite sauce evolved; tomatoes only entered the recipe in the 19th century. Americans added the sugar.
Lisa Lim
Opinion

Opinion

Language Matters by Lisa Lim

When China invented ketchup in 300BC, and how it morphed from a preserved fish sauce to sweet tomato gloop

The name of the world’s favourite sauce originated with Min Chinese, entered the lexicon in Indonesia, and from there was eventually absorbed into English via British India; along the way the sauce evolved dramatically

Lisa Lim
Lisa Lim

Updated: 6:27pm, 25 Jul, 2017

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From a preserved fish sauce called kê-chiap in southern China, the world’s favourite sauce evolved; tomatoes only entered the recipe in the 19th century. Americans added the sugar. From a preserved fish sauce called kê-chiap in southern China, the world’s favourite sauce evolved; tomatoes only entered the recipe in the 19th century. Americans added the sugar.
From a preserved fish sauce called kê-chiap in southern China, the world’s favourite sauce evolved; tomatoes only entered the recipe in the 19th century. Americans added the sugar.
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Lisa Lim

Lisa Lim

Lisa Lim has worked in Singapore, Britain, Amsterdam and Sri Lanka, and until June 2018 was Associate Professor and Head of the School of English at the University of Hong Kong, where she still holds an Honorary position. She now is Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney. She is co-editor of the journal Language Ecology, founder of the website linguisticminorities.hk, and co-author of Languages in Contact (Cambridge University Press, 2016).