CNN –
In China — the land of hot noodles, steaming rice and warm soups — a new and unlikely food trend has swept the country’s social media platforms in recent weeks.
People have been sharing images of foods that most would consider incredibly boring, like raw carrots in cheese crust, two-ingredient sandwiches and no-dressing salads — all united under a single hashtag: #bairenfan.
Translation: #Whitepeoplemeals.
You are unlikely to find depictions of roast turkey or cheeseburgers by looking at the images attached to this hashtag. What you’ll find are unsavory images of plain, cold, prepared dishes that require little or no cooking time — the kind of foods many Westerners traditionally associate with lunch.
The trend really took off in May, when people started posting photos and videos of these simple meals to social media platforms in China, although posts using the hashtag have been around since last October.
In one such video, a woman unpacks a plastic bag of lettuce and a bag of ham on a train in Europe. She bundles them up, adds mustard and starts eating.
Other posts include photos of raw vegetables and simple sandwiches — think a single slice of bologna sandwiched between two pieces of white bread — shared with them by international colleagues or spouses of Chinese netizens.
As the trend spread, Chinese netizens around the world started sharing their own experiences of these minimalist dishes, making #bairenfan one of the hottest phrases across various platforms and local media in the last month.
The photos begged the question: do people in China really think that Caucasians eat this all the time?
“I think it’s important to recognize that perception is an evolving concept,” says British-Chinese chef Andrew Wong, third-generation owner of London’s two-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant A. Wong.
“China is full of western cultural references – art, philosophy, fashion, food. Given the history of China’s relations with the West, this happened in a relatively recent and short period of time. It takes time to get used to understanding the reasons behind some things, and that includes certain foods.”
In this case, it only took weeks for the trend to develop. At first, most of the posts shared in China were full of ridicule and disbelief.
“My Australian colleagues have taken the ‘nothing ruler’ spirit to the extreme when eating white people. Last time it was a slice of bread. Now there are two carrots. The only ceremonial effort was putting them in a lunch box,” wrote a user on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media site.
Another user shared a lunchbox photo of two carrots with some baby spinach, expressing concern that its owner could “generate enough energy” with so little food.
Others complained that after eating such meals they felt empty and soulless.
And then the trend hit Twitter, with English-speaking users sharing their own photos and videos using the hashtag #whitepeoplemeals. (One such tweet has been viewed 4.3 million times in the last 3.5 weeks.)
Many Twitter users Those beyond the Chinese community found the hashtag incredibly true.
“Well, there’s no arguing about that,” said one user.
Recalling her own experience in the United States, a Japanese Twitter user said: “I was a bit surprised when I was an exchange student in the United States and saw people bringing only vegetables in ziplocks for lunch.”
Back in China, when the hashtag went viral around the world, some media reports expressed surprise at how quickly the international community embraced the stereotype.
Multiple media outlets reported that a new trending topic had emerged – #Whitepeoplemeals discovered by white people – summing up the light-hearted reactions from users around the world.
But that was not the end. Another group emerged from the dark corners of the internet to show their support for these simple meals, and a new hashtag — #Bairenfanyeshifan or #whitepeoplemealsmatter — emerged on social media platforms in China.
Some said eating such foods would help them lose weight. Others looked at the matter from a more serious perspective, claiming the trend reflected the lifestyle and plight of today’s society.
A post on 163.com, a Chinese blog/media site, explored the parallels between these simple meals and the current mindset of tired workers “silently quitting” — the idea of simply slowing down progress at work, rather than increasing it Literally quitting a job in China.
The post thanked the boring and dreary meals for “maintaining their lives” without requiring much effort, especially during lunch at work. In other words, the no-hustle approach depends on how little they care about their careers.
Another plus point highlighted in the post: unlike full Chinese meals, these don’t make you drowsy, so you avoid the urge to take a nap while you’re at work.
Malaysian-born chef Edward Voon is the founder of Auor, a French-influenced fine-dining restaurant in Hong Kong. He says the trend highlights cross-cultural differences.
“When I was young, I never thought about making a sandwich as I was always surrounded by Peranakan, Malaysian and Hokkien cuisine,” he tells CNN Travel. “I never put my hands in a salad back then.”
His only childhood memory of eating anything resembling a “white man’s meal” was a boiled egg and canned tuna.
Auor
“Diversity is an important part of my culinary philosophy,” says Malaysian-born chef Edward Voon, owner of Auor, a French-inspired restaurant in Hong Kong.
“When I was a kid, there was no western food at home because the older generations in my family didn’t have a taste for it,” he recalls. “It was a tradition to gather around the table over Asian dishes, as was the case in most families at the time, and the happy get-together, where everyone shared plates of steaming hot, delicious home-cooked food and engaged in lively conversation, was the.” Trigger for my career as a chef.”
Even the very first meal he tried to make — at four years old, when he was fed up with the fried eggs and chicken curry his mother made for him — wasn’t cold.
There were fried beans and potatoes.
“I almost burned down my house,” says Voon. “The pan caught fire and I poured water on burning oil. Oops. But seriously, it could have been disastrous. I guess I’m pretty resilient as the incident didn’t scar me for life (mentally or physically) and I was able to continue my adventures in the kitchen.”
In that case, it might have been safer to make a sandwich.
In London, Chef Wong considers himself lucky to have grown up in a family of Chinese descent but surrounded by family members, friends and colleagues from different backgrounds and cultures. He emphasizes that any new culture and experience can be misinterpreted or exaggerated, and that includes food.
“Culturally, when it comes to food, there are more similarities than differences. Something I learned even more as a chef,” he says.
Quick and easy lunches have a long history
Not only are many Chinese put off by the sheer lack of taste and tiny portions of these so-called #whitepeoplemeals, but they also express surprise at uncooked food in general. That’s because traditional Chinese medicine has long dictated that our bodies respond better to hot food and drink.
What some of the viral posts don’t mention, however, is that these simple cold foods are mostly only eaten at lunchtime. And there’s a historical reason for that, says Megan Elias, a food historian and director of gastronomy at Boston University.
“In the mid to late 19th century, as the Global North became urbanized and industrialized, markets emerged where people could sell lunches to factory workers and office workers,” she tells CNN.
“By standardizing lunchtimes in factories, people had less time to eat, and urbanization meant they might be far from home and unable to cook. In America in particular, lunch trucks and fast food cafes emerged to provide cheap and easy lunches that people could eat outside or in their offices.”
Elias has written several books on food and culture, including Lunch: A History.
She says sandwiches have become the de facto lunchtime option in these wagons and stores because in a limited amount of time you can “pack a variety of flavors in one pack without the risk of spilling or having to reheat things.”
“As the world gets smaller (and busier), eating convenient cold food, whether it’s sandwiches, salads or Asian snacks, has become second nature.”
Malaysian-born chef Edward Voon
Elias says her lunches are similar to those posted under the hashtag “Meals for Whites” — but often include dishes from other countries.
“I usually eat a small cold lunch so I don’t get tired, and it contains something savory and something sweet,” says the historian.
“Like an onigiri and a macaron, or a small sandwich and a cookie. And always an espresso.”
Chef Voon says he now understands the beauty of sandwiches and they grace his lunch break from time to time.
“As the world gets smaller (and busier), eating convenient cold foods, whether they’re sandwiches, salads or Asian snacks, has become commonplace,” he says.
“As a chef, I love to combine the diverse flavors of Asia with the riches of nature from all over the world. Cold store groceries have their place in our busy modern lives…but you can’t beat the social and sensory delights of a freshly prepared meal at home or at a fine restaurant.”
Although he prefers warm, savory dishes whenever possible, he doesn’t like the idea of stereotyping anyone.
“I don’t like the term ‘white food,’ even if it’s used in jest,” says Voon. “Diversity is an important part of my culinary philosophy and it is impossible to make generalizations based on race, country or culture.”
Chef Wong takes a similar stance, comparing food to language.
“It’s deeply rooted in the culture, in the terroir and even in political and historical events,” he says. “It’s easy to get misunderstood or exaggerated as people learn something new or something they’ve never experienced. It’s easy to miss the nuances or take something out of context.”
As a nutritionist, Elias thinks the “eating for whites” trend may serve more than just a stereotype — it could actually help challenge other hackneyed cultural beliefs.
“I view the recent trend of classifying white food as boring and unattractive as an attempt to decolonize American eating habits by rejecting what is usually touted as the ‘norm’ for American food,” she says.
“It allows some xenophobic people to see their own eating habits as ‘exotic’ or weird, which is a good way to decenter the white.” Ultimately, though, people like what they like.”