3.13.2008

asian pop talks food, identity, culture

Congratulations to Jeff Yang, whose second son Skyler Jordan Yang was born two weeks ago. Jeff's latest "Asian Pop" column is another good one, thinking about food, identity and culture: Food is love. He talks with Jennifer 8. Lee about her new book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, which I've talked up quite a bit now.

It's one of the better, more in-depth discussions I've read about the book. While most reviews focus on food factoids like the non-Chinese origins of the fortune cookie, and the complete absence of General Tso's Chicken anywhere in China, what I truly loved about the book were its observations on how what we know and love as Chinese food has played a part shaping American identity and culture. The only thing is, reading the book and reading about the book always makes really hungry.

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