1. ‘Chinese Food’ in America: From Chop Suey to a Spoonful of Ginger Angela Y. Lin Chinese Lit 132. Professor Eileen Chow. May 10, 2002

2. An Outline Project Overview A Brief History Analysis and Discussion Concluding Thoughts

3. Project Overview In-class perspectives on Chinatowns Food as a social and cultural lens Focusing on the present Why cookbooks? Julia Child

4. A Brief History Chinese food in America and the invention of chop suey The evolution of Chinese cookbooks

5. A Brief History

6. Analysis and Discussion From ethnic cookbook to an ethnic identity Chinese in Chinatown vs. Chinese-American Assimilation vs. multiculturalism The ‘modern’ Chinese cookbook Narrative, authenticity, and roots Chinese philosophy

7. “Every Grain of Rice” In search of authenticity – personal narratives Emphasis on the family Mother-daughter relationships Cookbooks as photo albums Childhood memories and growing up Chinese- American

8. “Every Grain of Rice”

10. “A Spoonful of Ginger” Divulging Chinese “Secrets” Discovering Chinese philosophies Yin and yang Feng shui Reflection of a broader societal trend?

11. “A Spoonful of Ginger”

13. Concluding Thoughts Are Chinese cookbooks unique? Ethnic cuisine as reflection of current attitudes How perceive ourselves How perceived by others Cultural capital Changing the ‘American’ lifestyle The next generation…what now?

14. What Now?

16. Yan Can Cook…but Ming says: East meets West: “cutting- edge American cuisine.” What of Chinese-America? “Food is the best way for us to achieve world peace. We all need to spend more time at the dinner table.”

17. A Happy Ending Cultural, linguistic, and culinary integration: a centuries-old process And finally…the ‘dan tat’

18. Bon Appetit!