#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Yao Zhao of 50 Hertz Foods

Yao Zhao, founder of 50 Hertz Foods

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I was born and raised in Chongqing, a mega city of 31 million people in southwest China. It’s such a unique place that deserves its recent popularity, for its flavourful food and magical realistic urban design (it’s true that commuter trains do go in and out of residential buildings). I carry my CQ pride around the world. 

What does home taste like?

A bowl of Chongqing small noodles (xiǎo miàn, 重庆小面), tangy, spicy, and in-your-face numbing and aromatic, hastily slurped on a plastic stool by the pavement.

Share a food memory:

I visited my mum in Chongqing in 2018. She made a smashed cucumber salad (拍黄瓜) and drizzled green Sichuan pepper oil at the end. The iconic combination of floral aroma and tingling sensation was a visceral reminder of my upbringing in Chongqing, and later inspired me to found my company, 50Hertz.

The secret Chinese ingredient is:

Green and red Sichuan pepper oils. While dried Sichuan peppercorns offer remarkable flavors, they must be ground and prepared, with a possibility that coarse fragments give an unpleasant mouth feel. The oil on the other hand is more convenient to use and preserves the flavor and potency much longer. You can just drizzle it on anything.

Favourite Chinese vegetable:

Red rapeseed shoots (红菜苔). They are rare to find outside of the Sichuan, Chongqing and Hubei region, with a hint of bitterness and succulent mouthfeel. Like all my green veggies, I like them stir fried spicy (炝炒) with dried chili peppers, red Sichuan peppercorns and a good amount of garlic.

What's a Chinese recipe everyone should learn?

Dumplings. They are easy to make, bound to comfort and please, and it's a fun activity to wrap dumplings together with family and friends, even over Zoom!

Who's your Chinese food legend?

Li Ziqi, elegant and down-to-earth (literally!)

Chef Wang Gang, hardcore and no-nonsense.

Fuchsia Dunlop, for understanding Chinese food better than most Chinese do, and telling it to the world.

Dream dinner party guests:

Anthony Bourdain, Fuchsia Dunlop, Peter Hessler, Jiayang Fan, Hanya Yanagihara, and James Riley. All together or one-on-one, conversing about modern China and its relations with the world, food and adventures, love and friendship, and next vacation destinations!

MSG: yay or nay?

Yay for sure. Umami from Glutamate is an elemental flavour. To deny MSG is to deny parmesan or mushroom. However, I found myself not drawn to synthetic MSG powder since living outside of China. I add umami from making my own chicken or pork bone stock, and my excessive use of parmesan cheese.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

Chinese food is my connection to my roots, and now also my love letter to the world. Having traveled, tasted and lived all over the world, I believe its complexity will claim a greater place in the culinary world. And some Chinese ingredients will strike a chord with world foodies and go beyond Chinese kitchens!