East Asian Families, Food, and Rituals

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I was fortunate to have chosen to write a summary for this topic since Prof. Jung Kim was kind enough to provide us with excellent notes on her seminar. 🙂

Here are some interesting points on what was shared in class today:

The literal meaning of foodways is "the eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical period."
In East Asia, the main reasons for eating are:

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed the movies and the seminar. I'm definitely going to rent the movies before the school year begins again. Also, the food rituals, it was great to learn about some history behind certain rituals and foods through the readings. My family eats a lot of the rice dishes that Jennifer mentioned today in class. We also integrate Brazilian dishes into our holidays, so it's an interesting mix of foods when my family meets up.

Thanks for the summary Miriam!

Geny

[Anonymous]

Miriam,
I can't speak for all people in Chinese but when my mom went to China to visit relatives (about three years ago), she said she spent most of her time there eating and talking. I would assume (but I could be wrong) most families converse during mealtime. Otherwise, what would they do (of course besides eating). I guess I would find that a bit boring.
I thought it was quite amusing when Professor Kim mentioned that Koreans greet others by asking them, "Did you eat rice yet?" I talk to my mom at least once a week on the phone, she ALWAYS asks right away...did you eat rice yet? Of course, I would answer telling her what I ate (even though it doesn't always include rice). Just something amusing to share with all of you. [Edit by="mchu on Aug 11, 11:14:17 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I found the different ways that people look at food very cool. When we talk about "Oriental Medicine," we often associate it with China more than with some of the other Asian countries. When professor Jung-Kim talked about Chinese food, she was sure to mention that the Chinese people associate their nourishment with medicine. They eat for medicinal purposes. The ideas about using food to regulate tepmerature in order to maintain good health were completely new to me.
I loved the part of the lecture about Japanese food. Japanese is one of my favorite types of food anywhere and I thought I knew a lot about it, but I really learned some new things. Particularly when it came to holidays and rituals. Next time I see my aunt, I'm going to ask her if she knew about people choking on rice cakes!
Kathleen

[Anonymous]

It was interesting to learn that the fortune cookie originated here in California! Isn't it funny that Americans think Chinese food is what we see in the Chinese restaurants, when in reality much of it is Americanized Chinese food. However, Shirley informed me that much of what we think is Chinese tradition today is really not practiced that much in China. She told me that in China much of the older traditions are slowly being dropped, and that she did not recognize a lot of what the professors spoke about practice in China today! Isn't that interesting?
Miriam

[clay dube]

Where was the fortune cookie invented? This may be as controversial as locating the invention of the ice cream cone. According to one Chinese American historical society it was likely invented in Los Angeles in 1918, though production was first mechanized in San Francisco. Please take a look at:

http://www.chcp.org/fortune.html

[Anonymous]

Chop suey is also another "possible" food created in America. Check out the website:

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/progress/suey_1

[Anonymous]

I am beginning to link sites to my China Internet page. I am certainly going to add the fortune cookie one. I'm trying to think of a project, where students can even make some classroom version of a fortune cookie. We have a sink, but no stove in the classroom. I've been thinking of making paper mache forture cookies. The students would write their message, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then cover it with some type of paper mache (paper, water and flour) figure. Once the figure drys they could paint it. Anybody have any other ideas? Also, please let me know if you have any other 6th grade fun sites. Thanks.
Lynne

[Anonymous]

From Belinda:
I enjoyed the seminar on food and rituals. I recognized some of the traditions that my family holds: cleaning for the new year, giving money to children, eating medicinal soups to regulate one's heat or coolness for goo health. I grew up in San Francisco, my parents were born in China, but grew up in the U.S. I think many customs and traditions of Chinese Americans vary wildly, depending on their family. Where my father's side of the family keeps the porch lights on for Chinese New Year and burn incense and "toy" paper money for our ancestors, my mother's side of the family observes none of these traditions. Now that I'm living away from my parents, I find that I don't follow many of these traditions. I never learned how to MAKE those medicinal soups (much less buy their ingredients), and even though it would be easy for me to leave the porch light on for New Years, I'd rather save power. Some traditions will be passed on, some will not. I think that is what happened with my parents and grandparents.

A note about food: the variety is bewildering, even when it comes to regional dishes. The main dish that makes a meal Chinese? White rice!

[Author]

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