A Bite of Memory
There are various kinds of delicacies in the world, and each with its own unique flavor. I lived in China for about twenty years. Before coming to US, I never really thought about the role that food played in my life.. Every time I tasted them, it was a treat. I used to like having hot pot with my friends on holidays or drinking a cup of milk tea while reading. Since I have been studying in the US, eating real Chinese food has became my obsession. Almost every day I wonder how I can eat Chinese food. Therefore, eating Chinese food became my memory.
When I was in China, I used to like eating delicious food to relieve my emotions like when I am sad or angry. Delicious food can relieve my pressure because it can stimulate my taste buds and make me feel happy. I used to eat some delicious fried dough sticks and soybean milk at the roadside breakfast place before I went to school. These two foods together have a very unique flavor, like coconut milk, and they could keep me energized in the morning. However, in the 18 months, that I have been studying in the US, I haven't been able to fully adapt to the American style of food. Fortunately, when I ate medium rare steak and rich mushroom soup, it made me felt my eyes were opened to a new and wonderful world, and it made me feel happy.
In addition, the most important part about Chinese food is taste, so seasoning is the most important part. One month after I came to US, I tried to cook some Chinese food at home. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the real taste because Chinese food usually uses a lot of seasonings. However, when I went to a lot of markets in the US even the Chinese markets, I could only find some of seasonings which are necessary for making real Chinese food. When I making chicken soup, if I only add some salt, scallions and ginger, no matter how long it is cooked, the soup is just plain chicken soup. If I add some star anise to the soup, the soup will have a mellow taste, and chicken soup will get better. In addition, sichuan pepper is a very common condiment in Chinese food, not only does it enhance the taste of food, but it also masks some of the bad smells. If I like to eat lamb, but I don’t not like its bad sheep smell taste, just putting some sichuan peppers into the cooking, the bad smell will be hidden. Therefore, spices are indispensable in Chinese food.
Besides, most street food in China taste really good. I used to eat street food in China everyday when I was in high school. When I tried to find some delicious street food in the US, I didn't find anything that I was satisfied with. Actually, there are some delicious street food like Mexican street food. Nonetheless, I still find the street food in China more appealing. Therefore, eating became only a necessary part of survive for me. Therefore, sometimes I just chose some fast food. When I went to a fast food restaurant, I only see food that fills me up, not food that attracts me. And also, I could just stay at home a few days, and only eat pasta and drink water. However, this made me miss the food in my hometown very much. Because in China, there are many kinds of street food and they are delicious. In this way, I could bring all kinds of delicious street food to home and enjoy them when I was in China.
In fact, there are many delicious foods in the US, but I can't quite get used to it. Before I adapt them, Chinese food appear in my mind every day and even in my dreams. If given the chance in the future, I will cook more Chinese food like Chinese BBQ and Hotpot. And then, I will invite my friends to my home to enjoy the feasts. In this way, there will be more foreign people know that Chinese food is really delicious in the world. When more and more foreigners start to be attracted by Chinese food, I guess they will understand how important delicious food is in my life.
Hi Jimmy, I agree with you. Chines food are very delicious and there are nothing can instead of them in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI also like my country's food more than food from the U.S. It doesn't mean that food from the U.S. here is not good but because I'm used to eating my country food since I was born.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Chinese food is not my traditional food, I like it more than American food because it is more similar with my traditional food. For example, both cultures drink tea, and eat rice with several dishes.
ReplyDeleteHi Jimmy, your title is interesting! When you mention the breakfast in China, soybean milk reminds me of steamed vermicelli roll. I really miss the rich breakfast in my howntown city. Although the Chinatown also has that breakfast of Guangdong style, it is different.
ReplyDeleteThis picture made me hungry 😩😋 By reading your essay I remembered about my country’s food. I think people always miss their childhood food more than others. I liked your body paragraphs that I could picture.👍🏻
ReplyDeleteHello Jimmy. I am glad to hear that you have a lot of good food in China. There is not doubt, especially because i like eating chinese food. My roommate was chinese, and she used to cook a lot of chinese food at home. I like your essay, and I also understand that eating real chinese food has became your obsession, because it is really hard to find colombian food in Chicago as well.
ReplyDelete