2,000-year-old curry dish unearthed in Vietnam, shocking recipe

According to Ancient-Origins, this is the oldest curry discovered in Southeast Asia and also the oldest outside of India.

The research team from the Australian National University (ANU, Canberra - Australia), the Center for Archaeology of the Southern Institute of Social Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam) and Sun Yat-sen University (Zhuhai City - China) made this interesting discovery while excavating at Go Sau Thuan - An Giang province, belonging to the Oc Eo cultural relic complex.

Khai quật được món cà ri 2.000 tuổi ở Việt Nam, công thức gây choáng - Ảnh 1.

Curry is now a famous dish around the world thanks to its unique flavor - Photo: ANCIENT ORIGINS

Through analysis of plant remains and 717 starch grains recovered and extracted from 12 ancient stone grinding tools discovered at a site belonging to the Oc Eo culture, they found traces of rice, turmeric, ginger, tree roots, sand ginger, galangal, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon.

To the surprise of scientists, the spices were so well preserved that the nutmeg still smelled fragrant despite being 2,000 years old.

More specifically, the starch granules from turmeric and ginger showed signs of breaking, indicating that these spices had been finely ground.

All of these elements point to one familiar dish: Curry.

This is further confirmed by the fact that next to it is a set of authentic curry preparation tools including a mortar, stone pestle, and a 75cm long anvil-like tool used to grind spices, similar to those excavated in India.

Khai quật được món cà ri 2.000 tuổi ở Việt Nam, công thức gây choáng - Ảnh 2.

Curry spice processing tools excavated in Vietnam - Photo: Nguyen Khanh Trung Kien/SOUTHERN INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

In addition, according to Dr Hsiao-chun Hung from ANU, the research team leader, many of these spices were not available in Vietnam 2,000 years ago, suggesting they were imported to make curry.

The site lies amid ancient canals in the southwestern Mekong Delta, believed to have been a prominent trading port in ancient times.

Khai quật được món cà ri 2.000 tuổi ở Việt Nam, công thức gây choáng - Ảnh 3.

Monuments in Go Sau Thuan seen from the air - Photo: Nguyen Khanh Trung Kien/SOUTHERN INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

It has long been believed that India had a strong influence on Southeast Asia, including similarities in architecture, language, religion... in some regions. This 2,000-year-old curry shows that this influence extends to cuisine .

The first evidence of curry originated in India over 4,000 years ago.

The most interesting thing is that the ingredients used in this ancient curry dish have been almost completely preserved after 2,000 years, and are still indispensable spices in Vietnamese and Southeast Asian style curry today.

In addition, the ancient Oc Eo people also added something to their curry recipe that Indian curry did not have: coconut milk, which thickens and adds flavor to the curry broth. This recipe seems to have spread far and wide and is now used in many Southeast Asian countries.

In addition, this also shows that the Oc Eo site - an early port city - was also an important point in the complex maritime trade network of that period in the region, known as the "Silk Road on the Sea", including a vibrant spice trade.

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