I love Chinese food — fried rice, chow mein, and dumplings included — but I also love stir fry noodles, braised brisket, and fried egg with soy sauce. When I brought those last three foods lovingly contained in a thermos to elementary school, my eyes were met with scrunched up noses and curious glances from my peers. I can’t remember their exact words, but the feelings of shame and embarrassment that came with my flustered cheeks have stuck. I remember tossing out the lunch my dad had so carefully prepared for me, and being glad that I was at least able to hide my clenched fists in my long sleeves while I made fun of my own lunch so I could fit in. I’m not sure if I was more ashamed of my own culture or ashamed of the fact that I was ashamed.
From then on, I’ve had recurring feelings of shame of my own heritage. Maybe the food that we ate was kind of “weird” and “gross” and “smelly.” But, flash forward to many years later, I see these foods that I was shamed for now trending in popular American restaurants. It’s frustrating to see people trying foods of cultures in a feeble attempt at exoticism, especially if they have once scorned the foods of another culture.
There’s also Americanized cultural restaurant chains. There’s nothing wrong with eating at Panda Express or Chipotle. I, too, enjoy my share of orange chicken and burrito bowls. But, those chains are also driving out the local authentic restaurants run by immigrants. There are many people who would pay $10 for a dinner at Panda Express, but not cheaper for a meal from an authentic Asian restaurant run by immigrants. The very people that talk about being “cultured” in eating “exotic” foods might actually be perpetuating the cycle of immigrant hardships.
Then, there was the #StopYulin2016 twitter trend over the summer that voiced opposition against the Yulin Dog Meat Festival held in China every summer. During this festival, people eat dog meat and lychee, and the criticism of it stems from the brutal treatment of dogs during the festival.
However, many of the people condemning this festival weren’t vegetarians or vegans. So maybe dogs are more adorable and fluffier than cows, but dogs are of no more importance than farm animals. It is also hypocritical for people to focus on animal cruelty that wasn’t even in their own country, especially if they themselves eat meat. Animal cruelty takes place in almost every country across the world, but China was the sole scapegoat for animal cruelty. Different cultures eat different foods, and condemning them for such is the same thing as when my peers condemned me for my “weird” lunches.
It’s great to enjoy all kinds of foods, whether it’s from a chain or an authentic restaurant, but people should make more of an effort to learn the history behind the foods they consume. The lunch that my dad had prepared for me in first grade represented his love for me and the fact that I would always have a piece of home with me if I ever got homesick at school.
So then, what was there to be ashamed of? My grandma had preserved those recipes from her mother who had passed away when she was young. Those recipes were some of the only recollections of her mother that she was able to hold onto when she was sold into another family. Those recipes were then passed onto my dad who had tasted the love and then tried to recreate that for me. Surely, the food that my parents make serves as a reminder of their home away from home too. It’s taken me a while, but when I think of my family’s resilience, I feel very proud of my culture, its food, and the history behind it. I hope people will be a little more open-minded when considering other cultures’ foods, even if they aren’t currently trending.
