BBC and The Guardian Chinese dish recipes showcased with a side of joss paper and funeral envelopes

With Chinese New Year around the corner, UK media outlets The Guardian and BBC decided to publish recipes around dishes during the festive period. Unfortunately, the image accompanying the recipes showed joss paper, ancient Chinese coins and an envelope given out at funerals (吉儀) to go with recipes. 

On BBC's website, the recipe "Lo mein with scallops and Tenderstem broccoli" offered by chef and founder of School of Wok Jeremy Pang detailed how to make the dish with just seven steps. The finished dish, however, was accompanied by a red packet and an envelope given out at funerals, which even contains the name "吉儀" on the surface of the envelope. Traditionally, in Chinese custom, attendees of a funeral will receive the envelope after the ceremony.

In Hong Kong, the host of the funeral normally uses a white envelope containing a piece of tissue and candy, as well as a coin. Attendees are told to spend the money and eat the candy as soon as possible after receiving the envelope, while the tissue is used to wipe away tears. 

Meanwhile, The Guardian's "Pork and crab dumplings with spicy sour sauce" dish featured a side of longevity joss paper for decorative purposes. Joss paper is traditionally burnt by the Chinese to pay respects to the departed and for ancestral worship. They can also be used during the worship of deities in Chinese folk religion. The feature has also caught the attention of the Twitter-verse, with Vivienne Chow, a correspondent for art market website, artnet, tweeting about it.

BBC Food has since responded to Chow on Twitter, saying it is "very sorry for this error". "We have taken down the image and will investigate the situation further and review our processes to put more rigorous checks in for styling," the media outlet said.

https://twitter.com/VivienneChow/status/1482737317550903300

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to The Guardian for comment. At the time of publication, the media outlet still has the image alongside the recipe. 

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