Some people express a desire to eat food from their cultural background as it’s a way for them to get in touch with their heritage. Eating this food enables the person to remember past experiences of when they consumed the food with family members (presumably of the same cultural background) and reminds them of ‘where they came from’. It gives some people familiarity and a sense of belonging. Many people find strength in knowing that they have a ‘sense of culture’. I must admit, during/after Chinese New Year, I was guilty of some of this.
I made vege wontons with a bok choy, tofu and chive filling. I mixed the recipes from several magazines, including a Women’s Weekly cookbook. Amazingly tasty – using real ginger, garlic and good quality sauces are essential. It was a bit difficult to steam them, but lessons I learnt from this:
- Oil your steamer – otherwise your won tons will stick to the steamer
- Remove excess air from the won tons when you wrap them, otherwise they will explode in the steamer
My (asian) friend and I made chicken and pork won tons another night as a post CNY celebration – the recipe was her mum’s. Delicious. It encourages me to ask my mum for her old wonton recipe.
On the note of ‘getting in touch with one’s cultural background’ many people (ethnic and not) have criticised me for my choice to not speak Chinese. They suggest that I should be ‘ashamed’ as I have ‘lost a part of my culture’. This essentially makes me ‘less Chinese’ than someone who can speak Chinese…
The final result, served with gai larn - some sort of Chinese green vegetable you'd often find in yum chas.
In my opinion, people should not think ‘culture’ as a way to reconnect with their traditional heritage but people should think of ‘culture’ as a developing, contemporary and changing concept. There is a new culture of first- and second-generation ‘ethnic’ people in Australia and overseas – some are confused about whether they are more Anglo-Saxon or [insert name of heritage], some resist one or the other culture and others just live based on what’s convenient.
In a passive-aggressive fashion, if I am ‘less Chinese’ than another person:
- So what – are you challenged by the fact that a Chinese person has chosen to not adopt all features of his/her heritage? Are you challenged by a person who is not a ‘whole’?
- Chinese-Australian or Australian-Chinese is a culture in itself. Consider that before you make a judgement that I lack ‘culture’
