for the foodies - adventures in chinese food
"everywhere, chinese restaurants are often people's 1st contact with what asian people and culture are about."
- fr an APA feminist historian
in chiapas, my host family were huge fans of chinese food. there were local stores that sold random things--including a dairy store that sold fresh chinese chow mein noodles imported fr guatemala.
mexican host mother: "will you cook us chow mein? ... [when i'm cooking chow mein] oh, you're not using cactus? when we order from the local restaurant there is cactus in chow mein."
me: "i'm not sure we have cactus in china. but i know my mother doesn't make us chow mein with cactus. i'm making it the way my mother would make it. perhaps cactus is an addition for the locals?"
mexican host mother: "oh, quite possible. i didn't ever think about that. but it makes sense."
in a costa rican chinese food market:
i ask the cashier lady: "where are the noodles you use for chow mein?"
cashier lady: "you can use the dry ones over there."
me: "but those are usually for soup"
cashier lady: "that's all we got. you should use those."
me: "no one sells fresh noodles?"
cashier lady: "no, why bother? those fan-guey (white people) don't know any better. they'll eat anything!"
me: "oh, but i have to eat it. i'm sorry, i'm the daughter of chinese immigrants from san francisco. i don't know how to use dry noodles bc i'm used to fresh ones."
cashier lady: "oh, you're spoiled! here, we just import the dry ones. use them. it will be fine. no one will know!"
[note: so apparently all the locals were known as white people, regardless of skin color]
- fr an APA feminist historian
in chiapas, my host family were huge fans of chinese food. there were local stores that sold random things--including a dairy store that sold fresh chinese chow mein noodles imported fr guatemala.
mexican host mother: "will you cook us chow mein? ... [when i'm cooking chow mein] oh, you're not using cactus? when we order from the local restaurant there is cactus in chow mein."
me: "i'm not sure we have cactus in china. but i know my mother doesn't make us chow mein with cactus. i'm making it the way my mother would make it. perhaps cactus is an addition for the locals?"
mexican host mother: "oh, quite possible. i didn't ever think about that. but it makes sense."
in a costa rican chinese food market:
i ask the cashier lady: "where are the noodles you use for chow mein?"
cashier lady: "you can use the dry ones over there."
me: "but those are usually for soup"
cashier lady: "that's all we got. you should use those."
me: "no one sells fresh noodles?"
cashier lady: "no, why bother? those fan-guey (white people) don't know any better. they'll eat anything!"
me: "oh, but i have to eat it. i'm sorry, i'm the daughter of chinese immigrants from san francisco. i don't know how to use dry noodles bc i'm used to fresh ones."
cashier lady: "oh, you're spoiled! here, we just import the dry ones. use them. it will be fine. no one will know!"
[note: so apparently all the locals were known as white people, regardless of skin color]