The sweet potato is now one of the most popular root vegetables in the world.
It was first introduced to the Chinese by the Father of Sweet Potato of China, Ting Jing Loong (1543-1619)of Changle. He was a high ranking official who started a business in Luzon Island. Having a critical mind he found the sweet potato of Luzon drought tolerant and easy to plant. In spite of the ban imposed by the Spanish Government on the export of sweet potato, he managed to smuggle out the vines. He twisted the potato vines into absorbent rope and smuggled them back to Fuzhou for cultivation.
The Foochows migrated to Sibu, Sarawak in 1901, under a programme signed by Wong Nai Siong, the charismatic Foochow leader and the Rajah Brooke of Sarawak.
One of the most important crop the Foochow pioneers brought to Sibu was the sweet potato among other vegetable seeds, fruit tree cuttings and natural rice seeds because the Foochows are basically agriculturists. When time became better, some of them returned to China and brought the yellow beaked duck and the hardier serati to Sibu. The Foochows being rabbit eating people also introduced rabbits to Sibu. ( Source : Oral Stories of the Lau Kah Chui family of Sibu)
During the Japanese Occupation, the sweet potato saved many lives as it could be planted without the Japanese soldiers knowing and when rice could not be grown openly and in wide expanse of land. The Japanese had a rice tax which was very prohibitive at the same time. Many survivors of the Japanese Occupation like my mother still cannot bear to look at sweet potatoes because of their trauma.
Besides the sweet potato the Foochows also relied on the Melanau for sago starch which they cooked with some vegetables. This helped them "fill their stomachs".
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