Manifest Destiny! Also, Lo Mein.
Okay, enough of the mockity mock.
It's hard for me to come up with home-cooked things that I was brought up to love because, well, I was raised on Chinese take-out. Rarely did my mother or father have time or energy to cook for me (they both worked like CRAZY while I was growing up, and I was already a finicky eater).
I was thinking about that today, what I might have taken for granted growing up the way I did. How our "staple" meals can shape way we view food. I am somewhat familiar with the kinds of traditional "home-cooking", be they northern or southern in origin. But that doesn't mean I've had them. When I was in college, a friend of mine from Westchester threw a Thanksgiving dinner and made sugar squash, among other squashy dishes. I just kind of boggled and was like, "Is this what everybody else eats? Is it a goyim thing? Why are you eating what I would use as a table decoration?" It's not any of those things of course, but a difference in upbringing. The real reason I never had squash on Thanksgiving is much simpler: my mother hates it.
When I was abroad in China, people I met were amazed that I, (as an American), was so familiar with Chinese food and could use chopsticks. Someone told me I didn't hold them like a Chinese person would, but I could still manipulate them properly (I hold them like two pens parallel to one another). To this day, I'm the one of the few people at the table who can eat rice without a fork or spoon.
It was hard to explain that being from NYC meant a lot of exposure to Chinese food and culture, among MANY others. I don't know if that's just a misconception over there, that we are only familiar with American cultures and traditions. Truth is, the foods that are viewed as "international" can get assimilated & americanized very quickly in the melting pot. Actually being in China, explaining to my hosts that I knew what I doing because I've been doing it since I was about 8 years old, was such an odd experience. I'd mistakenly assumed they knew about the strong presence of Chinese immigrants in NYC. And it was either a language barrier, or they honestly didn't know Chinatown existed. That stunned me.
Phew. So while I have never eaten fried steak, I can pick up a dime using chopsticks! But hey, you gotta work with what'cha have :D
***
dark_reaction, I am totally posting the mix tomorrow when I have the strength of mind to write it all up. Sleeeeeeep now.
It's hard for me to come up with home-cooked things that I was brought up to love because, well, I was raised on Chinese take-out. Rarely did my mother or father have time or energy to cook for me (they both worked like CRAZY while I was growing up, and I was already a finicky eater).
I was thinking about that today, what I might have taken for granted growing up the way I did. How our "staple" meals can shape way we view food. I am somewhat familiar with the kinds of traditional "home-cooking", be they northern or southern in origin. But that doesn't mean I've had them. When I was in college, a friend of mine from Westchester threw a Thanksgiving dinner and made sugar squash, among other squashy dishes. I just kind of boggled and was like, "Is this what everybody else eats? Is it a goyim thing? Why are you eating what I would use as a table decoration?" It's not any of those things of course, but a difference in upbringing. The real reason I never had squash on Thanksgiving is much simpler: my mother hates it.
When I was abroad in China, people I met were amazed that I, (as an American), was so familiar with Chinese food and could use chopsticks. Someone told me I didn't hold them like a Chinese person would, but I could still manipulate them properly (I hold them like two pens parallel to one another). To this day, I'm the one of the few people at the table who can eat rice without a fork or spoon.
It was hard to explain that being from NYC meant a lot of exposure to Chinese food and culture, among MANY others. I don't know if that's just a misconception over there, that we are only familiar with American cultures and traditions. Truth is, the foods that are viewed as "international" can get assimilated & americanized very quickly in the melting pot. Actually being in China, explaining to my hosts that I knew what I doing because I've been doing it since I was about 8 years old, was such an odd experience. I'd mistakenly assumed they knew about the strong presence of Chinese immigrants in NYC. And it was either a language barrier, or they honestly didn't know Chinatown existed. That stunned me.
Phew. So while I have never eaten fried steak, I can pick up a dime using chopsticks! But hey, you gotta work with what'cha have :D
***
dark_reaction, I am totally posting the mix tomorrow when I have the strength of mind to write it all up. Sleeeeeeep now.