Ching Shih at the table

On board the Red Flag Fleet, meals are not served as starter-main-dessert but revolve around an invariable base: a large bowl of rice (飯, faahn) that satisfies hunger, accompanied by small savory and strong dishes (餸, sung) — fish, pickled vegetables, fermented sauces — meant to 'make the rice go down'. Hot tea circulates from morning to night. Meals follow the rhythm of the tides and watches, frugal at sea, lavish at anchor.

On a fleet of 80,000 mouths at sea for weeks, salt is king: dried fish, fermented shrimp paste (蝦醬), salted soybeans (豆豉) and fish sauce concentrate flavor and preservation into every grain of rice.