The WORST episodes of Flavorful Origins
Every episode of Flavorful Origins ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Flavorful Origins!
Delve into the delectable world of Chaoshan cuisine, explore its unique ingredients and hear the stories of the people behind its creation.

#1 - Salted Flour
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/20/2019
Zha, an old custom, is an assortment of dried fermented vegetables or fish served as side dishes, made with ancient methods of food preservation.

#2 - Sour Fruits
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/18/2019
Besides being an appetite stimulant, tart fruits like lemon and sour papaya can be added to shredded chicken, carp or a sauce for dousing live shrimp.

#3 - Sa Piě
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/11/2019
Sa is a culinary tradition that pairs cold meat or raw vegetables with a versatile sauce that is often mixed with pig blood curd.

#4 - Nan Piě
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/10/2019
A local wild berry features in nanpie, which refers to different types of flavorful pastes made from mashed vegetables or fish.

#5 - Hardy Banana
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/17/2019
Wrapped in leaves with sticky rice or spiced fish, the Musa basjoo -- a banana found in Yunnan -- can make for a sweet snack or a savory dish.

#6 - Lacquer Seed Oil
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/12/2019
Derived from the fruits of the Chinese lacquer tree, qiyou is an oil used to cook eggs, congee, pork stew, roast chicken and even bee larvae.

#7 - Pickled Vegetables
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/16/2019
Salted and partially dried, the sow thistle can be pickled and stir-fried with pork to lend a sour, crunchy flavor, or added to white radish stew.

#8 - Beef Meatballs
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/11/2019
Inheriting the techniques of pervious generations, makers of Chaoshan beef meatballs dedicate hours of hard work to achieve perfect texture and flavor.

#9 - Ham
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/13/2019
Found in local moon cake fillings, Xuanwei cured ham can be thinly sliced, steamed, cooked with egg, stewed or served as cold cuts.

#10 - Olives
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/11/2019
In Chaoshan, olives are preserved in distinct ways and appear in a variety of dishes, including fresh juices and meat soups.

#11 - Tofu Cake
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/11/2019
Garlic, fat, liquor and fermented bean curd. The traditional tofu cake is a baked pastry boasting a rich taste profile and centuries of history.

#12 - Rice Cake
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/19/2019
The er, a flattened rice flour cake, can be baked into a sticky snack, sliced and stir-fried with vegetables or julienned into noodle-like strands.

#13 - Fish Sauce
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/11/2019
Indispensable to Chaoshan cooking, fish sauce is traditionally made by salt-curing and fermenting hilsa herring, but new methods have cropped up.

#14 - Yusheng
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/2019
Enjoyed with vegetables and dipping sauce, yu sheng (freshly sliced raw fish) is a delicacy with a long history in Chaoshan.

#15 - Brine
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/11/2019
Cinnamon, anise and galangal are among the spices that go into Chaoshan brine, a key ingredient in braised offal, goose head and hot pot.


