A whirlwind tour of Chaoshan cuisine

In stark contrast to its roll-out of celebrity chef shows like Ugly Delicious and Chef’s Table, Netflix barely promoted the new Chinese-language food series Flavorful Origins prior to its launch this week — there wasn’t even a trailer cut for this new series. But in terms of its format and scope, there’s nothing else in the Netflix catalog quite like it. If you’re a fan of docuseries like Ugly Delicious or Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, there’s a good chance you will find something that piques your interest in this exploration of regional Chinese cuisine.

The show is broken up into 20 episodes, each around 12 minutes long, exploring specific dishes and cooking techniques found in the Chaoshan region of the Guangdong province — the most populous part of China, and location of Shenzen and Guangzhou. Most of the cooking in the show is done in homes, at streetside stands, and in small, family-run restaurants. Although some of the foods featured here are found throughout other regions, Flavorful Origins goes to great lengths to point out how Chaoshan preparations are unique to this area.

With its sweeping soundtrack, glossy food footage, and use of drone photography, Flavorful Originsfeels a bit like Chef’s Table at times. But the big difference here is that the focus is never on the life of the chef, but rather the life of the dish. You see the farmers picking the ingredients out in the fields and orchards. You see the chefs marinating, chopping, braising, and frying. And finally, you see hungry diners — including a number of chubby-cheeked babies — eating these delicacies at the end of the journey from farm to table.

Everyone who watches Flavorful Origins will surely have a different set of favorites. The episodes “Tofu Cake,” “Hu Tieu,” and “Brine” are my picks, because they feature the foods I craved most while watching. But I was also fascinated by the processes depicted in “Marinated Crabs,” “Olives,” and “Fish Sauce.” My only quibble is that at times the food photography seems a bit salacious — I’m thinking particularly of a shot in “Hot Pot” where the camera zooms in a giant hunk of freshly-sliced beef to show that its muscles are still throbbing. Flavorful Origins is, perhaps, the food porniest thing you can stream on Netflix right now.

There’s no wrong way to navigate this series, but I think a good approach is to watch the episodes about the dishes that most appeal to you, and then go back and stream the rest if you’re interested. Or, alternately, this is a great show to have on in the background as you prepare a big feast, since its dedication to craft and technique might inspire you.

All 20 episodes of Flavorful Origins are now streaming on Netflix.