I found these advertisements from Thailand in the 1930s for Worcestershire sauce.
Worcestershire sauce is a condiment which was created in Great Britain in the nineteenth century. It’s essentially fish sauce which has been flavored with other ingredients. It was created by people in Great Britain who were supposedly trying to reproduce some flavors that they had tasted in India.
With that historical information in mind, it is interesting to view these advertisements. The unstated message in the images of these advertisements seems to be that this is a product which is Western, and therefore, modern. So if you want to live a modern, Westernized lifestyle, you should eat Worcestershire sauce.
What then is interesting is that this “Western” sauce that they are eating is one which was invented by Westerners to recreate the flavors of Asia, and is at its core a fish sauce, which of course was, and still is, the most common condiment in Thailand.
Perhaps it was thus to trick consumers, that this brand was named in Thai, “Chicken-Brand Sauce.”
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Great articles as usual!
This one in particular makes me want to make one of my favorite drinks w/ what could have been worcestershire sauce’s inspirations: what do you think – Bloody Mary w/ kecap manis, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind paste, and/or chilli paste?
Sounds good! I wonder though, if we need to dress like the people above when we use Worchestershire sauce, how should we dress if we drink a Bloody Mary with these alternatives?