“Hey guys! Today I’m making my quick and easy eggy eggplant!”

I stop my midday TikTok scroll and tune in out of curiosity – it looks delicious. I get halfway through the video, and it dawns on me that the dish looks awfully familiar. What was seemingly a normal venture down my FYP soon escalates into a downwards spiral. 

Okay, I’m being dramatic. It was just a shock to see a dish my mum made me a million times in a random video like this. I scroll through the comments and many others make the same connection – this was just tortang talong (egg-fried eggplant, best served with soy sauce and hot rice), a ‘poor man’s dish’ originally from provincial Philippines. 

The video’s creator ignored comments pointing this out, and only replied to ones praising the dish. I know it’s just eggplant fried in a bit of egg, but perhaps my Pinoy pride is getting the better of me.

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This isn’t the first time – it’s happened to many well-loved cultural dishes. ‘Cowboy caviar’, which is really just pico de gallo from Mexico, ‘spa water’ is aqua fresca, also from Mexico – the list goes on. 

Late last year, ‘smashed cucumbers’ – a loose take on ‘oi muchim’, a Korean banchan cucumber salad – made the rounds, and TikTok user Soogia1 made an interesting point.

@soogia1 Giving credit should be just as easy as getting credit. #culturalappropriation #givecredit #oimuchim #oikimchi #thisisnotyours ♬ That’s Not My Name – The Ting Tings

“If the food is not credited to the people it came from, it looks like the person who’s talking about it created it. As things like this gets shared over and over again, the further it gets away from its origins.”

They go on to point out that these recipes often become watered down versions of themselves, stripping them of both their flavour and cultural value.

Don’t get me wrong, I love TikTok. It’s a massive platform that has the entire world in a chokehold – food industry included. I love a good silly dance and aesthetic food shot as much as the next person, but something just doesn’t feel right about these kind of videos – ones that take classic cultural dishes and repackage them as anything but.

I know TikTok is a hyper global and hyper influential platform. I know content and ideas can be super relative, and that multiculturalism and collaboration really flourish online.

I happily acknowledge that these trends get foodies and non-foodies alike to experiment in the kitchen, and expose them to new and exciting foods.

I would just personally like to see credit where credit is due. We have the whole world in our pockets – surely we can mention that Cowboy Caviar is really just Mexican pico de gallo. 

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