“Chinese” Food
It was a
dark, rainy afternoon when we found ourselves surrounded. They had us contained
on every corner. They lined the sidewalks as far as we could see. The culprit?:
Chinese restaurants. But what is Chinese food? Since Chinese immigrants have begun
living in New York, the definition of Chinese food has taken on an Americanized
meaning. Overwhelmed by the array of restaurants, we found ourselves in a game
of hopscotch, jumping from one restaurant to another while battling prices and
legitimacy. We settled into a restaurant we found adequate for our hunger of
both Chinese culture and Chinese cuisine. We recited prices and compared the
financial consequences of ordering the roast pork omelet on rice versus the
wonton soup but found ourselves scarfing down both dishes, anyway (we deserve
this!). Our group finished up eating, paid, and went on our way with our fortune
cookies in hand. We walked down the street knoshing cheerfully on our Chinese
snacks, completely ignorant that fortune cookies are not, in fact, of Chinese
origin. Jennifer 8. Lee, journalist for the New York Times, recounted the
moment she discovered that fortune cookies were not originally spurned by
Chinese chefs—the moment her idea of her Chinese culture shattered. Jennifer
created a slideshow on the New York Times website explaining that fortune
cookies are actually a product of Japan. Japanese bakers in America would sell
snacks which looked like larger fortune cookies but did not taste as sweet;
however, when World War Two hit the U.S. and Japanese-Americans were ostracized
from society, Chinese restaurants were able to franchise this delicious, proverbial
cookie. While visiting the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), it would become
apparent that fortune cookies are not the only falsified culinary attraction.
Shana, our tour guide at the MOCA, asked us to define chop suey. This was the
first time a CITYtermer had nothing to say. She quickly interjected the awkward
silence with an answer none of us were prepared for: there is no recipe for
chop suey—it is a lie. While there are many rumors defining its origins, one
thing is for sure: chop suey is merely a glorified dish of leftovers. One night
a group of rowdy American teenagers strutted into a Chinese restaurant past
closing hours demanding they be fed. With nothing left so late at night, the
chef simply put all the leftovers of the day’s meal into one pot, cooked and
served it. And so came chop suey. Chop suey made it big during World War Two,
and by the 1950s, La Choy’s Chop Suey cans were being eaten in many households
of small town suburbia. Chop suey then became known as the patent Chinese dish in
America, although knowing its origins, we understand that chop suey was not
Chinese at all—it was the fanciful idea of what Chinese- Americans ate, and
Americans wanted a taste of that culture. Chinese immigrants in New York only
succumbed to this monopolizing product because being an immigrant was difficult
and did not pay well. Rather than holding onto their culture, Chinese
immigrants satisfied the needs of the modern-day American. They were willing to
place success over a strong preservation of culture, thus embodying a very
American vision of how success is measured in money and not by sense of self.
Chinese immigrants came to America ready for a new way of life, and although
the Chinese may believe that Chinatown is the perfect way of sustaining their
culture and their views, it is really only a way of sustaining the language. In
the words of a young Jennifer 8. Lee, “If fortune cookies are not really
Chinese, then am I really Chinese?”
Very interesting article. I particularly liked when you stated, "Chinese may believe that Chinatown is the perfect way of sustaining their culture and their views, it is really only a way of sustaining the language". I agree with this statement after reading this article. Although, I am still wondering if there are any genuine Chinese restaurants in New York City or is there no market for them? Also, do the Chinese themselves like the Americanized food they serve?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of what a "genuine Chinese restaurant" is has become entirely vague and ambiguous because of this Americanization of Chinese food. Not only has America infused its way into Chinese food, but there are also restaurants in Chinatowns which serve what people call "hyphenated food" such as Cuban-Chinese food. Eugene Anderson, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Riverside, and author of "The Food of China," even said that Chinese food is defined by a flavor principle of soy sauce, ginger, garlic and green onions and methods including stir-frying and steaming. He added that once you get too far away from those rules, it is no longer Chinese. But then our group asked if genuine Chinese food could really be boiled down to these few and specific rules! All in all, Chinese food is really difficult to find. As to whether or not Chinese people themselves like the Americanized food they serve, I am not sure. In terms of consumption, at least, I do not know Chinese-Americans' preferences. In terms of the money they make, we concluded that Chinese chefs do not really care what they are serving so long as it is popular with their customers so they can make a good profit.
DeleteThis idea of assimilating through cuisine is one that is present in many different immigrant groups, even if not mentioned (for example, we found that korean restaurants have a similar idea, and texmex, while delicious, is completely different than mexican food from mexico) why do you think groups that so definitely hold on to their cultural languages (both Korean Americans and Chinese Americans have over 60% of their populations not proficient in English). Why is it that food changes? Might it have something to do with economics? Like you say, "they were willing to place success over a strong preservation of culture." The connection between money and assimilation is one that is curious...
ReplyDeleteI think for one thing that if Chinese people immigrate to America when they are older, when they are adults, it's a lot more difficult for them to learn the language. In terms of why the percentage of non-proficient English speakers is so much higher in Chinese communities, I hypothesize that it's because Chinese is not one of the romantic languages--Chinese is about as different from English as you can get. But perhaps you have other guesses as to why this statistic is so high?
DeleteYou basically answered your own question about food. Food is a hot commodity for three reasons: 1) everybody needs to eat, 2) having food from your home country is comforting to eat and easier to make, and 3) tourists would enjoy eating Chinese cuisine if they were looking for a "Chinese" experience. It's all about the moulah.
And yeah, I agree that the connection is curious. Do you think that this has to do with Chinese values? I would say so, but I'm wondering if you had thoughts on that.
I agree with Summer in that it's all about catering to the customers. Because Chinatown has become so toursity, and less genuinely Chinese, the restaurant industry must adjust to this to stay economically competitive. While tourists say they want the "genuine" experience, I believe that people tend to stray away from foods that are completely unfamiliar to them-they want some resemblance to their everyday food.
Delete"fortune cookies were not originally spurned by Chinese chefs"
ReplyDeleteDo you mean "spawned" instead of "spurned"?
I would bet that even though certain dishes like chop suey and fortune cookies are false Chinese fare, there are lots of authentic Chinese foods that they cook and sell in Chinatowns, hence how alien the dishes looks to us when we visit Flushing, for example.
Also is Jennifer's middle name "8," as in the number eight? Does that have an explanation?
Yes, I meant "spawned." Sorry.
DeleteYou can read the response I gave to Claire's comment in terms of authentic food. There are definitely places which sell "authentic" (or what people's relative opinions of what authentic food is) cuisine, but we would argue that is still, in part, a cause of American tourism and,in part, customers wanting "authentic" food. It's whatever sells, really.
And yes, Jennifer's middle name is the number "8". Her father majored in mathematics and was a huge math enthusiast. Jennifer ended up being one, too.
Oh and the number 8 is lucky in Chinese culture, also.
DeleteThis idea is really interesting to me, because it brines up the question of what a label really means? I think it is cool that the Chinese-American population have created their own little identity, partly a mixture of traditional Chinese and American culture, but also this whole new "3rd thing." What's to say thats not a bad thing, but merely a creative adaptation? I, agree, it is very hard to know where these lines are though, but I think it would be interesting if we just looked at this for what it is and didn't try placing it into a pre-marked box...?
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what you said! I personally believe that trying to define, categorize, and/or organize Chinese food and culture in America isn't at all a necessary thing to do. It is what it is, and for many Chinese immigrants, it is what it is so long as it makes money. I don't think this new, Americanized, third culture is a bad thing in the slightest, and I don't think many Chinese immigrants are very irritated with this quasi-assimilation process, either. They're even benefitting from it!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though America offers capitalist benefits for all immigrants (which I suppose is why they come :)
ReplyDeleteThe Senegalese in America have occupations that cater to their community (food vendors, stores with West African movies & clothing, hair braiding salons). They also come to the U.S. to make bank to send back to their families at home & in turn this improves Senegal's economy more than our own.
PART 2....
Which holds more value? ---- Sustaining authentic eateries or embracing America's ability to dump everything in the "melting pot." In one of your other articles you talk about the origins of Chinatowns: another government venture to capitalize on ethnic communities.
Is there a solution? Should there be a solution? Is the fundamental American value of any culture to rack a cash flow off of other people's whims? Do we manipulate our identities for personal gains?
... Just some thoughts
I don't think there necessarily has to be a solution, and I'm not sure if I buy a fundamental American value to be as malicious as racking a cash flow off of other people's whims. I wouldn't say that Americans aren't entirely selfess--the Korean group (I think) stated that Americans tend to focus on the individual whereas Koreans, in their case, focus on the community. So I would say that Chinese immigrants have embodied the "individual" mode of thinking and that they have assimilated in that sense, yes. I wouldn't say they were manipulated by themselves or by others. Manipulation implies that they did not fully have control over what they were choosing--Chinese immigrants were not forced to capitalize on their tourist-y aspects and were not forced to take part in quasi-assimilation. I believe, however, they were largely indifferent towards their Americanization because of the promise of personal gain.
DeleteSome great thoughts! Really made me think!
So what you're saying is that no one should really care what the Chinese-Americans are eating.
DeleteNo, you fool. it's important and interesting to look at because for this ethnic group their culture has changes, and now their eating habits have to. its good to see how americanization is reflected in different immigrant cultures.
DeleteBut Summer, would you not agree that the Chinese are benefitting off of the touristy aspects of their Chinatowns and other sites? they are recieving a serious income to sell their culture to the rest of America, no matter how bias that may be. Or, perhaps the fact that we expect them to be selling their Chinese-ness causes them to actually sink lower in the hierarchy of the class system, because Chinese things are all that chinese immigrants are expected to do.
Deleteanyone else hungry for Chinese food?
DeleteWow, this certainly blew up since I last posted. I can't tell if all these anonymouses are the same person talking to his or herself or they're different people or what...
Delete1st anon--There are things larger than that to take away from this article...
2nd anon--Thanks, man. Whoever you are. I agree.
3rd anon--I would certainly agree that the Chinese are benefitting off of the touristy aspects of their Chinatowns. I wouldn't say, though, that Chinese sink lower in the class system. Chinese immigrants aren't necessarily expected to be poor. I mean, a Chinese stereotype is that they are incredibly hardworking people (Father Joseph even confirmed this in our meeting), so even though you may not necessarily see much upward mobility within the Chinese community, you don't see any "sinking" either. Why? What do you think all Chinese immigrants are expected to do?
Is the fundamental American value of any culture to rack a cash flow off of other people's whims? Do we manipulate our identities for personal gains?
ReplyDeleteThese are very interesting and intriguing questions that you put forth. I think that there are many instances of the case where "the fundamental American value of any culture to rack a cash flow off of other people's whims". For the sake of this article, Chinatown is a proper example of this kind of thing. I think if I were to visit China it would be a very different kind of place as apposed to what Chinatown is. Could you imagine what would happen if some other nation made a place called, Americatown? I think it would be amazing to visit this place and look at the truths and lies about an American culture that we would uncover.
That's exactly what i was thinking about! What would be in "Americatown"?? By creating a "town" would we be closing the way a culture is perceived by pinning it down to one characteristic?
Delete