BackStory Asia

The story behind the things you thought you knew.

Why is nasi lemak wrapped in a banana leaf? Why is pho a breakfast soup? How does gold thread get into songket? Each episode is a short documentary about one Asian food, object or tradition. We follow where it began, how it travelled, and the surprises along the way.

We start in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand. Then we travel across Asia.

Many of these things are shared across borders. We think that is the best part. Many families, one dish.

New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
Longer stories and sources: backstory.asia

Our pictures and narration are made with AI. Our history is researched and sourced. If we get something wrong, tell us in the comments and we will pin the fix.