As an Asian American who only speaks English, has lived in America my whole life, and has spent my entire life in predominantly White institutions, from a young age I felt disconnected from my heritage. The one aspect of my culture that I always felt connected to however, was food. I have loved Asian food my whole life, and eating Chinese and Taiwanese food always made me feel more in touch with my heritage. Once I started cooking, I learned some family recipes like my mom’s Taiwanese beef noodle soup, as a way of being able to carry on the tradition in the future.
My grandparents —
Cooking has been an important part of my life, and my family’s as well.
My Yé Ye(爷爷):
My paternal grandfather, or my yé ye(爷爷) I believe is the physical embodiment of the American dream. Growing up in a small village in Fuzhou, China, he traveled to the United States when he was around my age, with little money, and no idea how to speak English. But through hard work and a fair amount of luck, he has made a name for himself. He started flipping burgers and washing dishes at a restaurant in Manhattan, and worked his way to eventually owning multiple restaurants all over New York City.
Taiwanese Braised Beef Noodle Soup(牛肉麵)
My mom has been making 牛肉麵 since I was a kid, and it was always my favorite. I remember coming home from school, I could always tell when we had niu rou mian even before I got to the door, since I could smell it the moment I stepped out of the elevator
This braised beef soup recipe originates from Taiwan around the mid 1900s. It was made after refugees fled from China to Taiwan and wanted to preserve the flavor of their home. 牛肉麵 was born as a result, an innovative dish with inspirations from traditional mainland Chinese cuisine.
Steamed Spare Ribs With Black Bean Sauce(豉汁蒸排骨)
Steamed spare ribs, or 豉汁蒸排骨(chǐzhī zhēng páigǔ), is one of my favorite dishes to have whenever I eat dim sum. Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine where many different small plates of food are eating, with the most common dishes being many different types of dumplings and buns. Spare ribs are one of my dad’s favorite dim sum dishes, and probably my favorite too. I didn’t really eat them until I was around 15 years old, but they quickly became the one I most looked forward too. This preparation of spare ribs has been around for centuries, and was a popular dish among Chinese Peasants. It has evolved to become a fan-favorite dim sum food.