Pieces of Wrecked Ship
Narrative Native Dining
Narrative Native Dining is a collaborative food project that explores historical moments where different cultures intersect, shaping new perceptions and culinary variations. Through the practice of critical fabulation - combining historical documentation with speculative reinterpretation - we delve into overlooked histories and how these encounters may have influenced Dutch food culture.
Curated by NOR & Hsin Min Chan. (Since 2024)
Ferments, 2026.
Photographed by Ernst Zomer.
Is it possible to recreate the flavour from memory when being in a different environment, with limited ingredients, in a different timeline?
After the crash of De Sperwer on Jeju Island on 16 August 1653, Hendrick Hamel, a VOC bookkeeper, could not return to the Netherlands. What was meant to be a brief landing stretched into thirteen years and twenty-six days in Joseon (present-day Korea), between Jeju Island and the South Jeolla region. Hamel’s life shifted between confinement and limited integration; he endured famine, relied at times on begging and labor, and survived on royal subsidies.
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The crash of De Sperwer on Jeju Island on 16 August 1653.
When he finally escaped Joseon, he carried little: no ingredients, no written recipes. Back home, he wrote a brief report on his stay and on Korean customs, clothing, and daily habits. In his report, he mentioned the presence of flour and good-quality salt, used differently than in the Netherlands.
(Historical archive)
The crash of De Sperwer on Jeju Island on 16 August 1653.
When he finally escaped Joseon, he carried little: no ingredients, no written recipes. Back home, he wrote a brief report on his stay and on Korean customs, clothing, and daily habits. In his report, he mentioned the presence of flour and good-quality salt, used differently than in the Netherlands.
(Historical archive)
Back home, Hamel tried to reproduce the flavors and techniques he remembered. While wheat was precious in Joseon, it was abundant in the Netherlands; salt was used in small amounts for fermentation rather than in large quantities to preserve fish. Shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish, nashi pear, and most importantly jang (장)—fermented sauces responsible for the umami in Korean cuisine—were not available. He replaced them with cep mushrooms, kohlrabi, apple, carrot, and sea salt. As it is custom in Korea to have side dishes, he let vegetables ferment in water with salt. The dish he ended up making were noodles, recalling that he had eaten them only on special occasions, during village festivities, or when invited to dine with officers.
(speculative narrative)
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Chili peper was consider as poison in the time Hamel lived in Joseon (former Korea). Kimchi in 17th century was not spicy but was fermented vegetables with salt and water.
(speculative narrative)
Chili peper was consider as poison in the time Hamel lived in Joseon (former Korea). Kimchi in 17th century was not spicy but was fermented vegetables with salt and water.Design Dining Event: Crossing Trables #9 at FENIX Migration Museum, Rotterdam (The Netherlands) (March 2026)
Photographed by Ernst Zomer.
(from the left) ZiYi Lian and Rossy Liu from Collective To be Cooked, ShiSoH, Matilde Stolfa, Hsin Min Chan, Jian Da Huang from NOR. Photographed by Ernst Zomer.
<Narrative Native Dining> Menu graphic design by Jian Da Huang.
The research focuses on imagining what might exist beyond the archive. By speculating on histories that were never fully recorded, the project seeks to recognize immigrant narratives that are often absent from dominant historical accounts.
Five expatriate designers and collectives in the Netherlands were invited to develop food design projects, drawing from the research on the ‘historical junctions’ between their home countries and the Netherlands. This dining experience featured six vegetarian courses, paired with drinks, presented in a dynamic and interactive way.
Photographed by Ernst Zomer.
<Exotic as Species> by Hsin Min Chan.
Photographed by Ernst Zomer.
<Idrovore - Water Eaters> by Matilde Stolfa.
<Pieces of Wrecked Ship> by ShiSoH.
<A century of Flowing Peanuts> by Collective To Be Cooked.