Chicken Ain't Meat

My family (minus my sister and I) doesn't really understand what being a vegetarian means. When vegetarians say they don't eat meat, my mother thinks that they only don't eat pork, beef, lamb--all the red meats. Chicken is not "meat." Chicken is chicken. Fish is fish. Seafood is seafood. Those things are not meat. They are their own food groups. But most definitely not meat. An example of a common misunderstanding is shown below:

Mom: Oh, let me feed you and your friends the foods!
Viv: Okay, but X doesn't eat meat.
Mom: That's okay. I will make clam chowder.
Viv: Clam chowder has clams in it.
Mom: That's not meat.
Viv: Yes, it is. Clam is meat.
Mom: No it's not! It's seafood!
Viv: Meat is anything that's alive!!
Mom: But clams are seafood!
Viv: Okay, X doesn't eat seafood!
Mom: Oh, okay.

It's not that my family (and a lot of other Chinese families) don't understand what vegetarianism entails. It's more like, there are different terms in different languages that define the different types of "meat." Whereas in English, meat encompasses poultry, red meat, seafoods, and whatever other living things, in Chinese, the word for "meat" is rou, which--even though it is translated into "meat" in English--is processed in Chinese people's minds as red meat. Or, maybe it isn't? This is something that confuses me as a 2nd-generation ABC. I sometimes understand Chinese terms in the context of English, which gives me a warped and sometimes incorrect idea of what certain words mean. I think everyone in my family who was actually born in China (Mom, Dad, grandparents, etc.) thinks of rou as "red meat," but in my and my sister's mind, rou is synonymous with all meat. There's also separate words for chicken (ji), fish (yu), and seafood (haixian). Whereas in English, all those subcategories fall under the larger category of "meat," in Chinese, they seem to me to be distinct categories, and not necessarily all falling within the umbrealla term "meat."

That's my explanation for it. It has to do with language, but a lot also has to do with miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Food is generally an uncomplicated pleasure, but in the context of being a 2nd-generation Asian American, one can't help but run into awkward or confusing situations with language and consequently, foods.

At least it still tastes the same in all languages. =)

Home Cookin'

People always ask me what I eat at home. I usually reply with "just Chinese food," but I think that most people have a very weird relationship with or idea of what Chinese food is. To the uninitiated, Chinese food is the stuff that comes in those cute little take-out boxes, or Panda Express 3 entrees for $8 type of thing. Sweet and sour pork. Kungpao chicken. Chop suey.

That's not what I eat at home. My grandmother laughs when we talk about Americanized Chinese food. There's this saying in Chinese, when referring to Americanized Chinese food, which translates roughly to, "Oh, it's for the purpose of tricking foreigners." For those who read Chinese characters, it's pretty much "騙外國人." What she means by this is pretty elitist, actually. It entails the assumption that "we" are in the know when it comes to food, and that the uninitiated aren't privy to our secrets so we can make a profit off the "ignorance" of "foreigners." Every culture and people has its quirks and its prejudices, and this is just another example. I find it funny, appropriate, and even justified, albeit not quite PC. Isn't the idea ironic, though? Chinese families baaaallin' off the ignorance of the MAN. Haha! I suppose it's a way to work the system, yeah? You beat us down, so we find our ways to fight back!

Why am I writing this? Too many family secrets are being revealed...

Anyway, back to home foods. Everyone in my family cooks. Cooking is not a gendered activity in my house; whoever is home and available will do the cooking, which means my mom cooks when she's home, or my dad cooks when he's home. Cooking is something everyone should know how to do, my parents believe. In this respect, I am still incompetent and have much to learn.

So, usually we always have a bowl of rice. Medium-grained Kokuho Rose variety. None of that long-grained trash. I'm serious. Once you've had short- or medium-grained rice, you won't want to go back to that long-grained stuff. It's not versatile enough.















In addition to a bowl of rice, we'll have several side dishes. Usually one meat dish and three or so vegetable dishes. This is a story in itself which I will entertain you with later. Chinese people have a different definition of what is "meat," which makes it difficult for some older Chinese people to understand what exactly vegetarianism is. That's another story for another time, and I promise I'll entertain you with it because it's pretty funny. But here's a very small sampling of some typical foods and side dishes I eat at home:















This is "red-cooked" eggs and pork, with all the delicious fat still attached on the pork. It's also got this vegetable that's scattered around it called, well, I don't know right now, but I'll find out later. Red-cooking is basically stewing with a lot of soy sauce and sugar. In general, Shanghainese food uses a ton of sugar and soy sauce. This is a typical dish that uses this method of cooking very well. The egg and the pork soak up the flavor very well, making each mouthful a burst of tasty yum.















Snow peas. Very tasty and crunchy. I like them for the crunch. Loud munch! Can you hear it?















This is red-cooked chicken sitting on a bed of snow peas. This is my favorite way of eating chicken legs. Oh, wait. I like fried chicken too. Hmm, this is hard. Well, I'll make a compromise and say that this is my favorite way of eating chicken at home. Soy-sauced and slightly sweet, and the meat just falls off the bones. Oh, but the plating usually isn't this nice. My family doesn't really care for beautiful plating arrangements; I just decided to randomly do this for this one picture, but this is a rarity. We're all about the taste and flavor and less about presentation. No frills eating.

This means we'd probably lose in the presentation category on Iron Chef. Oh wells.

I need to take more pictures for the home-cooking sections, but this is it for now. We usually end our dinners with a bowl of soup, but I don't have any pictures or any soup on hand, so that's for another day.

So, yes. Lessons learned in this post:

1. Lots of soy sauce and sugar
   
2. Meat and vegetables and rice
   
3. A bowl of soup
4. Chinese people have a different definition of meat
5. We don't care about food presentation
6. We are tricky and like to fight the MAN
   

For next time, a brief entry on my family's ideas on what "meat" is, and a step-by-step lesson on how to make soymilk in your home. My family recently got into this health-conscious fix for various reasons, and making organic soymilk by hand (literally! literally squeezing beans!) has become a weekly activity.

Eat up!

Peace, love, and grilled-cheese wontons!

Pho-reaking delicious!

One of my favorite joints for a simple bowl of pho or Vietnamese food in San Francisco is PPQ Restaurant on 19th Avenue and Irving in the Outer Sunset. You can always locate it as you're walking down Irving St. because it's got a cardboard cut-out of a large cow standing in front! Suh-weet! They straight up tell it like it is. I like that. Honesty.

So, this joint serves up your standard Vietnamese fare, including bowls of pho, vermicelli and rice plates, egg rolls and spring rolls, and other noodle plates. The prices are very reasonable, ranging from $5-$8 for a generous entree, and the atmosphere is casual.

It's pretty fun to go here with large groups, because it's one of those kinds of joints. I also like taking tons of pictures at Vietnamese restaurants because the presentation of the foods is AMAZING and beautiful. Pretty plating and also, because many dishes normally use lots of herbs and vegetables, you have a natural infusion of bright leafy colors. Lots of green! Which is my favoritest of colors, as one can tell by my wardrobe.

Some select pictures of recommended dishes:














Five-spice Chicken with imperial rolls. I've never had this, but apparently, this is one of the signature dishes at PPQ.















I swear, there's actually more to this dish than just peanuts and vermicelli noodles! This is a vegetarian dish with nuts, silver noodles, mint leaves, herbs, and the veggie works! But yes, from the picture, it certainly does look frighteningly too nutty.















When I discover a certain food that I like at a particular restaurant, I tend to become a creature of habit and order that dish over and over again. This is one of my favorite dishes at Vietnamese restaurants, and I often get it because I know it will be stellar wherever I go. Charbroiled pork with egg rolls and chopped peanuts on top of vermicelli with a bowl of fish sauce! The charbroiled pork is cooked to perfection, with just the right amount of charred taste and tenderness. The egg rolls are always perfectly crispy. I've never had a bad egg roll in this dish. It's a safe and tasty choice! MMM! And at PPQ, it's #15! I recommend!

Now, let's sing a song!
T to the
A to the
S T E Y
Food
YOU TASTEY
T to the
A to the
S T E Y
Food
YOU TASTEY

ANYWAY.

Another good thing about PPQ is that it's located on Irving Street, which many consider to be the "New Chinatown." Not nearly as crowded or historical as San Francisco's Chinatown, Irving Street is where the local Chinese-American community go to get their hair cut, to eat out and grab a cup of tapioca (naw, we don't call that stuff "boba"! that's only for the SoCal crowd), to buy their groceries. There's a good mix of cute accessory and stationary shops, grocery stores (Sunset Super on 25th and Irving), Asian and fast-food restaurants, hair and nail salons, many bakeries, and even a Bay Area/Frisco merchandise and clothing store. The local high school kids at Lincoln and Lowell High Schools also come here to hang out and eat afterschool too, so expect to see lots of loud crowds of happy kids.

After you fill yourself up with a hearty lunch at PPQ, you should definitely stroll down Irving and grab yourself some tapioca and walk the calories off.

Walk it off!

Peace, love, and bullet-proof marshmallows!

Little Paris

Literally a hole-in-the wall on Chinatown's Stockton Street, Little Paris Coffee Shop serves up a mean sandwich, with the works! And at $2.50 to $3.00 each, it's definitely a bargain! Each six-inch sandwich is filled with a generous helping of cilantro, a combination of hams, radishes, carrots, and other goodies that typify a Vietnamese Sandwich. The French bread is warmed up for you, and as the woman behind the counter hands you the sandwich, it is still warm, crispy, and fresh. One of my favorite things to do on a sunny San Francisco afternoon is to take the 30-Stockton bus down Stockton, hop off in front of Little Paris, grab a sandwich, and stroll down Stockton Street to pick up random groceries and goodies, eventually reaching North Beach, home of Little Italy and even more food sights.
















Little Paris Coffee Shop
939 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108

The best part, besides the deliciousness, is the location! Stockton Street is the real Chinatown, where locals come to buy groceries and get the best deals. Tourist Chinatown is one block down on Grant Avenue, but Stockton Street is where the real living--and eating--happens.

Shanghai, baby!

So, during the summer of 2006, I went to Shanghai on a school grant to conduct thesis "research." I ended up spending much more time exploring the city and its culinary tradition than on academic fieldwork.

My culinary experience of Shanghai last summer was a combination of everything, and I fully recognize that this was only possible because I was a privileged American using American dollars in China. I experienced a diverse array of street food, food court meals, home cooked meals with fresh ingredients, and expensive multi-course meals in the most expensive of five-star restaurants. For the typical American visiting Shanghai, or any other Chinese city, your American dollars will buy you a five-star dining experience; but my advice would be to sample the street food and smaller joints for a more diverse sampling of the local cuisine. Here's a few pictures of foods I enjoyed while in Shanghai:















This pancake-like creation is called "chung bing" and is a thicker, more dough-y version of a standard Chinese green onion pancake. Some versions of this food are slightly sweet too.















The basement floor of most malls in Shanghai have giant food courts with many different types of Asian cuisine, ranging from Chinese dim sum and snack foods, to Korean BBQ and soondooboo, to Japanese sushi. Each stand's displays of food are enticing, and coupled with the fact that a typical hearty entree will run about $3 (25-30 yuan), you can try as much food as your stomach can handle. This particular food court was located in the downtown Xujiahui district in the Meiluocheng shopping center. I highly recommend the Korean bibimbap stand.















The Asian bakeries in America cannot compare to the gourmet bread stores in Asia. This chain, called BreadTalk, sells pastries and breads filled with a variety of savory and sweet fillings, ranging from red bean and mung bean to hot dog and green onion. Mmm, a delicious snack! This particular bakery, if I remember correctly, was located in the Xujiahui district, in the Meiluocheng shopping center, but there are chains all over the city.















This was just really interesting to look at. I think it was for a fruit smoothie stand at the mall.















Making tea is an art which I am not well-versed enough in to talk about extensively here. My commentary, though, is that tea is a soothing drink on a hot Asian summer day.















Oh, look at me! I'm such a cute little pretty bun! What could be inside??















Oh, not so pretty and perfect anymore! Oh, but it was worth it! I have never, in my life, eaten such a wonderful veggie bun. This particular bun consists of a light, thin dough skin, with just the right amount of chewiness. The inside consists of spinach and small bits of mushroom and tofu. There's a small stand, a hole in the wall, called Guangmingcun, on Huaihai Lu, which sells these delectable treats for only a few cents a bun. They're freshly made each morning, and you should make sure to go early because they only make a limited amount and they sell out fast! The day before my sister and I left Shanghai, we took the bus to this stand and bought several dozen of these things to bring home to the States! They were worth it! Comes in red bean variety too, but the vegetable bun is a must-eat!















If you go to the less "developed" areas of the city, you will see fruit stands everywhere. Just beautiful.


















Sometimes, you can get the most interesting and unique foods when you leave the actual city. This concoction consists of rice, various pine nuts, mochi balls, and this strange red fruit which I don't know what to call in English. We ate this in a little rivertown about half an hour outside of Shanghai called Qibao, literally translated as "Seven Treasures."















Another edible treasure from Qibao. Giant tangyuan, or glutinous rice balls filled with your choice of black sesame, peanut, or meats. Several of these will make a filling meal and won't hurt your wallet either--they're only a few cents each!















The flavors of Lay's potato chips in China are really...strange, to say the least. Strange, as in AMAZING. Flavors like Beijing duck, Korean kimchi, French chicken, Hokkaido grilled crab, or Mexican Tomato Chicken. Of course, in reality, each flavor really just tastes like different types of "salty," but it's cute that they try to give these chips a multicultural feel. :)















*Props to Betty Wang for this picture.

And, of course, I had to include a picture of a Shanghai specialty, xiaolongbao, literally translated as "little dragon bags." How cute! Each succulent pork dumplings is filled with a burst of flavorful pork broth and a juicy piece of pork. To ensure that you don't squirt yourself or lose the precious broth, dip your dumpling in vinegar first, place the dumpling in a soup spoon (so that it collects the broth in case it spills), and then take a small bite from the side of the dumpling, suck out the broth carefully, and then eat the whole dumpling. Eating xiaolongbao is an art! Unless you rather prefer stuffing each dumpling whole into your mouth and letting the hot juices explode in your mouth, scalding your insides. Your choice.

Happy eating! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

The Start of Something New

This is the obligatory first post, because I feel strange about immediately writing about foods before an introduction of sorts. I suppose this will do for now.

Food not only brings me delicious instant gratification, but is also intertwined with my family history, happy memories, community building and friendship. I come from a family of very good cooks, although I didn't realize this when I was younger and only gradually recognized this as I grew older and left for college. We've got three generations under the same roof, three generations worth of stories, experiences, and recipes. But since we're Chinese, we don't write anything down. That's something that Americans invented. So, I grew up watching my family cooking, picking up certain tricks of the trade and time-honored "recipes" not through scraps of paper, but through watching and, sometimes, participating.

Making wontons and jiaozi dumplings out of scratch was a monthly occurrence. On her days off, my mom would knead dough and mix up a batch of meat and vegetable filling as I would watch from the sidelines. My dad can also whip up a mean meal as good as any amateur chef. It's amusing watching him get a kick out of baking cakes and making green onion rolls; he never lets anyone else "help" during the cooking process, fearing a less competent soul will ruin his creation. So, long story short, everyone in my family cooks, and I grew up learning that to be a competent person, I had to 1) learn how to cook, and 2) enjoy eating.

Holidays were another story, occasions during which both my immediate and extended family unleashed their culinary skills. That's another reason why I like food. Just like certain songs or objects are evocative of memories or childhood, food is so evocative of the best times of my life. Think about it. The celebrations and holidays you shared with family; the lunches shared with friends during school while sitting on the bench; the midnight runs to greasy spoon joints to cure those munchies; the dates you've shared with your loves; the picnics, barbecues, cookouts, bonfires, oh how I could go on forever! Think back to your happiest moments with family and friends, and I'm sure many of those memories are characterized by a common thread: the sharing of food.

This obsession with food started when I discovered the Food Network in the summer before my junior year of high school, and I started thinking about food not as just something to eat, but as a philosophy of life. Over the last few years, I've very often talked about food, sporadically wrote about food, occasionally taken pictures of foods, but this is the first time I've decided to do something more with food. As I'm leaving a familiar chapter of my life--the schooling phase--and embarking on the next, unknown chapter, I've been told repeatedly to be proactive in life, to take risks and actually start doing new things. This is a move in the direction of starting new things. I've wanted to write about food for a long time, and it's about time I start this--and having just finished college and with all this new free time, I think it's the best time to start.

So... I like food, and I like writing, and this is my way of sharing my love with you.

Cheers!