In the previous article, we explored how wheat made its journey from the Middle East to China, eventually spreading across East Asia and Southeast Asia via the Silk Road. We saw how climatic conditions created a natural divide, with the northern regions of Asia embracing wheat and the southern regions predominantly relying on rice. However, this historical divide is no longer as clear-cut as it once was. Over recent decades, the line between wheat and rice consumption has become increasingly blurred, with wheat slowly infiltrating the diets of the South, reshaping food culture across the continent.

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The Spread of Wheat in the South

Traditionally, the Southern regions in Asia have been synonymous with rice. Rice is deeply ingrained in the cultures and cuisines of the Southern states in India, and Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

 

Yet, in recent years, wheat-based foods have begun to appear more frequently in these regions, driven by globalization, changing tastebuds, and the introduction of wheat-rich products from neighboring countries. One of the most significant examples of this is the spread of soy sauce - which contains gluten -  to Southeast Asian countries where fish sauce is more commonly used. In Indonesia and Malaysia, Kicap Manis is widely used as a variation from East Asian soy sauce - a dark soy sauce that is sweet and thicker than standard Chinese or Japanese soy sauce. 
 

Furthermore, wheat-based foods such as dumplings, buns (pau), and noodles from China, along with the Japanese penchant for wheat-rich foods like udon, ramen, and breaded tonkatsu, have made their way into Southeast Asian cities. Dishes like ramen have become widely popular in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, signaling a shift in the culinary landscape.
 

Wheat in the Traditional and Modern Diets

Perhaps one of the most striking changes has occurred in the traditional breakfast habits of people living in Asia. Historically, breakfast in most Asian countries were rice-based and very low in gluten traces; in Japan for instance, a traditional breakfast consists of white rice, fish, miso soup, and pickles. In Malaysia, people eat nasi lemak (coconut rice with sambal chilli, cucumbers and a fried egg or fried fish). In South India, a healthy and popular breakfast food would be idly, a soft steamed cake made from fermented rice and lentils. However, today, western breakfast items made from processed refined wheat (flour) and sugar dominate both in restaurants and in home kitchens in the form of white breads, muffins and waffles, increasingly replacing traditional Asian breakfasts. 

 

Beyond breakfast, lunch and dinner in Asia have also undergone a rapid shift in the past five decades. With the urbanization of Asian countries, fast and convenient foods such as instant noodles, frozen pizzas and ready-to-eat pasta meals have overtaken the kitchens of many Asian families. With less time to cook, fast food restaurants and convenience stores are popping up all across Asia, offering quick, affordable, wheat-laden foods from wraps to burgers, and fried chicken to kimchi ramen. 

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Pastries have also become a significant part of modern diets in Asia, as bakers have learned to work with modern wheat to create items with an Asian touch - tomyum flavored toasts from Thailand, an pan (buns with red bean filling) from Japan, pork floss buns from Singapore, otah bread (fishpaste slices) from Malaysia - and the list goes on. The wheat vs rice, north-south divide is blurring, with evidence showing that wheat seems to be winning the race, as consumption of rice per capita falls in countries such as Japan, prompting the government to run campaigns to boost the local consumption of rice (Honma M, 2024). 

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The Role of History: The Impact of World War II

The increased consumption of wheat in Asia can be partially traced back to World War II. After the war, farmers in the United States needed ways to get rid of stockpiles of surplus wheat. To manage the situation, the United States established trade agreements to allow food-deficient countries including Japan, to pay for US food imports in their own currencies instead of in US dollar. The US government also worked with Japanese officials, to introduce bread to school lunch programs in schools (Mercer, 2020).​
 

The Health Implications: A Rising Gluten Diet

As the consumption of wheat increases across Asia, particularly in countries traditionally low in gluten, health concerns are beginning to surface. The rise in wheat consumption is contributing to a higher intake of gluten, a protein that is relatively uncommon in traditional Asian diets. This shift has led to concerns about the long-term health implications, particularly with respect to gluten intolerance, celiac disease, and metabolic disorders. As wheat becomes more integrated into the diets of people who were not previously accustomed to gluten, some experts warn that the rise in gluten-related health problems could become a significant public health challenge in the region (Kash, 2023).

 

The inclusion of wheat-based foods in Asian diets have become normalized, making it harder to maintain the traditional rice-centric food culture. The export of US wheat, including the dwarf varieties that have a different quality of gluten, has spread throughout Asia, resulting in the blurring of the wheat vs rice, north-south divide that had defined Asia's diets for thousands of years before. What was once a clear culinary distinction between the wheat-loving north and rice-dominated south is now being eroded, signaling not only a shift in food preferences but also a broader transformation in Asia's culinary and cultural landscape. The centuries-old divide may no longer hold, and the health challenges such as non-celiac gluten sensitivity that come with this shift, are just beginning to unfold.

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Read Next: Gluten, Health and Chronic Illnesses

References: ​

1. Honma Masayoshi, "Japan's rice crisis shows the price of faulty food security policy", East Asia Forum, 18 October 2024 (Japan’s rice crisis shows the price of faulty food security policy | East Asia Forum)

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2. Steve Mercer, "A Legacy of Committment - Western Wheat Associates Develops Asian Markets", US Wheat Associates, 5 March 2020 (A Legacy of Commitment – Western Wheat Associates Develops Asian Markets - New US Wheat)

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3. Saba Kash, "5 Essential Facts on Gluten Every Asian Should Know", Medical Channel Asia, 21 September 2023 (https://medicalchannelasia.com/5-essential-facts-on-gluten-every-asian-should-know/).