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. These restaurants focused on different styles of Chinese cuisine, like Hunan(Xiang), Szechuan and hotpot. While he doesn’t own restaurants anymore, he still loves to cook for my family, and will always stop by to bring us food when he visits.
He never visited back home when he was young, but his favorite food is fuzhounese fish balls, probably the most famous dish from the city. Fish balls are not too dissimilar from dumplings. They have a meat filling, but instead of dough, the outside is fish paste. To make the fish balls, fish in ground up, seasoned and combined with some sort of binder, usually a starch. The meat filling is added and the fish paste is wrapped around it to form a sphere, before it is boiled or deep fried. Fish balls are a very popular hot pot food, and my ye ye’s favorite.
My Ah Ma:
When my maternal grandmother, my ah ma, visits, she always cooks something for me and my sisters, whether its stir-fried pea shoots(Dòu Miáo 豆苗), rice porridge(congee) or a whole fish. She has been cooking for almost all of her life, and while she doesn’t have any restaurant experience, she is an amazing cook. Her skill lies in her ability to make a meal out of anything, and still have it be delicious.
