Chinese Food: Potstickers
I was flipping through the “Food” section of the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday, November 5th, 2003, and came across an enormous picture of a potsticker. The article about “Potstickers” caught my attention. I thought, so what? Is there really a history behind the famous dumpling? Surprisingly, yes. The article began with an introduction of how Amy Tan, the famous author of The Joy Luck Club, makes potstickers with her sisters in remembrance of their mother. They gradually linked into the history of the potsticker with a legend that many culinary chefs know today: A chef to a royal household left a pot of dumplings on the stove too long and discovered the bottoms had burned. The chef thought this would mean his head, but his smart son decided to present the dumplings to the emperor himself. When the emperor asked why the dumplings were burned, the son quickly explained it was a new recipe for something called potstickers. The emperor liked the crunchiness of the browned bottoms and a new dish was born.
The article then continues on to the significance of the potsticker. Martin Yan, cooking show host, says “The potstickers are special because of the succulent filling inside and a crispy bottom outside. People also like the play of the dumpling with its dipping sauce.” The article ties back to the introduction of Amy Tan and her connections with the potsticker. She also states the potsticker is an equalizer to all; people rich or poor can eat the most glorious pot sticker for “they transcend class and money.” Tan continues to make potstickers in her mother’s memory. The pot stickers are great for entertaining a party and culinary schools are now teaching how to make the dumplings. The article also provides a recipe and illustrations in addition to seven columns on how to prepare them. On the Bottom of that article was another article by Olivia Wu, titled, “A Family That Rolls, Fills and Crimps Together Creates More Than Just Dumplings.” This article talks about the significance of one family and how making potstickers brings them together like playing a board game would.
The article was captivating because my family and I do the same thing! I was reminded of how the potsticker relates to me.
She talks about how she felt ashamed about her culture and the food. In Amy Tan's essay, she had a crush on boy from the minister's family named Robert. They were invited to have Christmas Eve's dinner at Tan's place. Tan was curious about how the minister's family would react when they saw Chinese food instead of traditional turkey and mashed potatoes. She was thinking to herself that what Robert will think about the evening. The minister's family arrived and started digging in on the appetizers. Tan was embarrassed to sit with them at the table because the minister's family was surprised. But as the evening prolonged, Tan's father said “Tan, your favorite" as he served the fish cheeks to her (Tan
Originally the narrator admired her father greatly, mirroring his every move: “I walked proudly, stretching my legs to match his steps. I was overjoyed when my feet kept time with his, right, then left, then right, and we walked like a single unit”(329). The narrator’s love for her father and admiration for him was described mainly through their experiences together in the kitchen. Food was a way that the father was able to maintain Malaysian culture that he loved so dearly, while also passing some of those traits on to his daughter. It is a major theme of the story. The afternoon cooking show, “Wok with Yan” (329) provided a showed the close relationship father and daughter had because of food. Her father doing tricks with orange peels was yet another example of the power that food had in keeping them so close, in a foreign country. Rice was the feature food that was given the most attention by the narrator. The narrator’s father washed and rinsed the rice thoroughly, dealing with any imperfection to create a pure authentic dish. He used time in the kitchen as a way to teach his daughter about the culture. Although the narrator paid close attention to her father’s tendencies, she was never able to prepare the rice with the patience and care that her father
Reading Catfish and Mandala reminded me of my cultural closeness through food. Due to being bi-ethnic I learned how to cook food from both my ethnicities, however there were times when I found myself acting like a foreigner towards certain dishes. A prime example was when I had Chitlins or pig intestines. I had eaten menudo, thanks to my Hispanic mother and this was the first time I had Chitlins, an African American dish via my paternal grandmother. Unlike Menudo, which to me has an appetizing smell and taste, Chitlins were a gray stringy putrid smelling dish. Remembering the utter dislike I obtained from that African American dish, reminded me of Pham’s experience with Vietnamese food. While there are some dishes people can’t stand, most usually embrace a dish from their culture and that helps ease some of the pain or discomfort.
This oppression of the Third Estate along with the financial problems that fell on the common people would lead to the French Revolution. Overall, the people of France revolted against the monarchy because of the unsuccessful estate system and the inequality it led to, because of the new enlightenment ideas that inspired them, and because of the failures of the monarchy.
Schlosser sets off chapter 5: “Why the Fries Taste Good,” in Aberdeen, Idaho at the J. R. Simplot Plant where he introduces John Richard Simplot, “America’s great potato baron,” (Schlosser 111). Simplot dropped out of school at 15, left home, and found work on a potato farm in Declo, Idaho making 30 cents an hour. Simplot bought and turned profit on some interest-bearing scrip from some school teachers and used the money to at 600 hogs at $1 a head. He feed the hogs horse meat from wild horses he shot himself, later selling them for $12.50 a head. At age 16 Simplot leased 160 acres to begin growing Russet Burbank Potatoes. In the 1920s the potato industry was just picking up as Idaho was discovered to have the ideal soil and conditions for successfully growing potatoes (Schlosser 112). Soon Simplot was the “largest shipper of potatoes in the West, operating 33 warehouses in Oregon and Idaho,” (Schlosser 113). During World War II Simplot sold dehydrated potatoes and onions to the U.S. Army. By the time he was 36 he “was growing his own potatoes, fe...
Mintz, Sidney W. Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions into Eating, Culture, and the Past. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. [secondary source]
The title itself made me begin to drool. Who wouldn’t want to know the secret behind not ever using the oven for baking cookies? So, I clicked on the link and it was not what I was expecting to be honest. I imagined it would be a middle aged mom, baking with her young children. But to my surprise, it was a young adult in her home kitchen. She had five people
In the story, "Fish Cheeks" it talks about how Amy Tan's Chinese family invites an American boy's family over for dinner. Amy Tan wants to impress him and thinks that he wont like the food her mother made even though it is her favorite food. She can tell that he doesn't like the food and she is embarased. So, Amy wants to fit in.
A main theme throughout “Coming Home Again” is the connection that cooking authentic Korean food brings the mother and son together. This connection became apparent early on when the author mentions that, as a child, he always stood beside his mother while she was cooking so he could absorb her techniques (3852). The author briefly described one of Korean meal—kalbi—that he watched his mother make. Kalbi is butchered short rib seasoned with Korean spices and sauces; Lee states:
This statement by Druckman portrays the belief that women cook for the emotional experience while men cook for the technical experience. Research conducted by Marjorie DeVault (1991) suggests wives and mothers cook as a way to show their love to their family. Similarly, research by Cairns, Johnston, and Baumann (2010) discusses women’s emotional responses to cooking for their family and friends. Both studies highlight the emotion and nurture women feel as they cook for others. The studies’ discussion about the nurturing aspect of cooking demonstrates the traditional feminine belief that women cook in order to nurture their families as discussed by Friedan (1963) and Hochschild
In “Fish Cheeks,” by Amy Tan, Amy Tan and the minister’s son are the two main characters. Amy Tan is a Chinese woman and the minister’s son is a white American and Amy Tan is embarrassed that the minister’s son is going to not like her because of the different foods that Amy Tan eats because he might not be used to it. Amy Tan is trying to teach us to be yourself and to never forget who you are or where you come from. The theme of “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan is One shouldn’t be afraid to show his or her love for his or her her culture because of what others think and the author establishes this theme through her use of the following symbols: miniskirt, minister’s son, and how her relatives use the chopsticks.
...important impact in Diana's life. However, for Diana the relationship with food is different from that of her father's. For Bud, food is a way to relate to the way he used to live, “… he cooks and croons in Arabic to the frying liver and onions songs about missing the one you love.” For her family, food was always a reason to make them feel better, and to relief life pressures. For Diana, it is a way to find herself. Moreover, for Diana, and despite all of the challenges that she encountered, food and cooking are used as a tool in which she expressed herself. A tool to share her good times, and bad times. She used food as comfort, a peace offering, and a way to find herself. Therefore, her simple and enjoyable to read stories came to be a wonderful mix between her life story, and food recipes. Especially for those who consider food to be more than something to eat.
It also stated that thew citizens of a country should have power in how the government was run. These ideas created a burning desire for change in the hearts of the French commoners. They were inspired by success of the American Revolutions and wanted the same basic rights that the Americans had received. These rights included equality and liberty. The French wanted to get rid of royalty and create a government where the power came from the consent of the
French revolution, a greatest event of modern times which left France and other countries shocked because of its huge effect. It influenced the whole human society and gave a message of liberty, equality and fraternity. French revolution was a movement which took place in 1789 till 1799; it was a violent and bloody revolt that caused a lot of brutal events in the history such as the execution of King Louis the XV1 and his wife Marie Antoinette. It also destroyed the whole generation of the king’s family as his youngest son suffered and died, his daughter lived a brutal life. The French revolution launched a region of terror that killed thousands of people and inspired almost all European countries like Italy and Russia. It was to throw down monarchy and government an d bring republic. The causes that formed French revolution were the differences between the three social classes (first estate clergy, the second nobility and the third commoners), the injustice in tax for instance the third estate had to pay a lot of tax while the first and the second estate paid low or none. The prices on the bread were so high that a minimum wages person could not afford and had to survive without food. France most of the population was the commoners but still they were discriminated and owned less land. The other causes were the weak government, crises, leaders, ideology and discontent in France. People also thought that everything that happened in France was because of Marie Antoinette (King Louis the XV1) as she was a foreigner from Austria and also they thought she was a lesbian type as her relationship with women was weird. These all factors left France with a huge destruction of life time
When it comes to designers and their work, within the aesthetic theory they usually perceive themselves as originators and will forever avoid being a follower. On a critical writing essay by Chuck Byrne and Martha Witte about understanding deconstruction they state, “most are loath to admit that they are influenced by much of anything other than their own inner creative resources.” (Bierut, Drenttel, Heller, Holland 1995: p115) Designers today and experimentation, what advantages do they have now that they couldn’t before? Chuck Bryne and Martha Witte also state “Today, the technological changes taking place in typography have been brought about by the personal computer. Relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use desktop publishing equipment and software have given those designers choosing to take advantage of them direct control over typographic arrangements which were previously dependent upon expensive typesetting techniques or laborious handwork. The ability of the computer to allow variations at low cost gives the designer the freedom to experiment until the page seems “right”, whereas previously, tried-and-true formulas were necessary in orde...