An FOB feeling happy after reading Eddie Huang’s Fresh Off the Boat
It starts with the food bullying that I feel I can relate to Eddie Huang‘s story. Cleverly, he begins the book with dimsum, so that got my interest, but he talked about dimsum for less than 2 pages. The food bullying though, where his classmates said that his food smelled bad, that he wanted the white kid lunches, that’s where my memories came back. The bully for me wasn’t in school and wasn’t by the kids. Comments, always by adults and mostly white females, that the food my mom made made the house smell bad, or the stuff I eat or drink that they haven’t heard of, much less tried, is “gross”, are this pet peeve of mine that I can’t forgive. Sure, they may not be intended to hurt me or anyone specifically, but they’re never well-meaning. They are too minute to confront the speaker about, so I have no way to tell the speaker that she’s disrespecting my whole culture. They are the papercut stings that you feel every time you wash your hands.
Eddie Huang and I don’t have anything in common, except we both being born to Asian parents. He grew up liking basketball, seeing himself in hip hop lyrics, doing drugs (and selling them), working in restaurant kitchens, getting in fights and juvenile in high school and probation in college. I grew up doing literature, math and science competitions. He lives in the East Coast. I live in Texas and the Bay Area. He is a celebrity. I am one of many of the model minority. Unlike him, I didn’t have classmates bully me for being Asian, because lucky for me, I wasn’t in America until late high school. In Vietnam, at least in those days, when you make good grades, your classmates don’t hate you, the cool kids are not the ones that play football or are in the cheerleader team (there’s no such thing as cheerleading in Vietnamese schools), and there’s no nerd that talks only about science or Star Trek in an annoying, obsessive way that makes a bad name for everyone who actually likes to study and get good grades. So at Humble High, I joined a group of class-loving friends at lunch, we sat by the library, then I went to college wanting to be a Physics professor. In American terms, I’m a big nerd. But I can’t feel one bit related to or represented by Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory. That show is a cheap attempt of boxing all science students and scientists into this inaccurate, overblown stereotype of what a scientist looks and acts like. Not a single real physicist that I know fits into the Sheldon box. However, a few students that I’ve taught, who make themselves fit into that box because they want to be scientists, fit the box like a cat. Shows like BBT make teenagers mold themselves into erroneous molds without ever knowing the correct mold, if there’s even one.
So yes, we shouldn’t fit ourselves into molds, and I’m a bit afraid of trying to fit myself into the Asian mold right here by relating to Edie Huang’s story simply on the ground that we’re Asians.
I feel worried every time there’s an Asian in the news, because most of the time only bad news make it into the news. When my mom saw the news about a drug dealer who happens to be Vietnamese American, she felt ashamed. When news about the Virginia Tech shooting and more recently, the UCLA shooting, came out with just the vague description of the shooter being Asian, I felt ashamed. Then I felt relieved that they weren’t Vietnamese, but still ashamed that they’re Asian. When Asian girls act promiscuously as if they’re trying to prove a point that they’re not the Asian-good-girl type, I feel ashamed. I feel ashamed for every Vietnamese who eats dogs or cats. Just fitting into the model minority image isn’t enough, I feel responsible for every action made by every Asian that doesn’t fit into that image. Why? Because I’m afraid that if we don’t fit into the model minority mold, they’ll make up another mold, a stinky-food-eater K-drama-watcher hip-hop-dancer-wannabe Tinder-hookuper mold, throw us all in, box us up and never let us out. I shouldn’t be ashamed though. Those people with actions that I don’t agree with don’t represent Asians (they don’t intend to represent anyone but themselves), they’re no more Asian than me, and certainly no less American than our presidents.
Yet, why do I feel such familiarity when Eddie Huang said that he felt at home at his friend’s house because he’s Filipino, that the American Thanksgiving dish that he liked the most to bring home to convince his mom of American food was green bean casserole (I think this is a pure coincidence, what culture influence can there be?). I see Kristen’s pen mark underlining every sentence that I feel related to, they must have resonated with her too, and that brings me comfort. Why do I like it when I take off my shoes at the door at Rashmi’s house (not because I enjoy the act of taking off shoes, but because Rashmi’s family is Indian, and we do the same at home)? Why do I like grocery shopping in Oakland Chinatown, just to look at the sauces, dried squid, rambutan, bok choy, sea cucumber, unidentifiable roots, Asian pears in styrofoam nets, when I don’t buy anything? The thing is, I feel comfortable seeing, eating, doing, thinking the stereotypical things that we see, eat, do, and think. Stereotypes are based on truths. Sure, one or two hundred people may deviate from the stereotype in one form or another, but 99% fit the stereotype for that form, and the 1% that deviate may actually fit the stereotype in another form. I’m not studying to be an engineer or a medical doctor, but I’m good at math. My parents don’t work in the restaurant business, but I love food (and still want to run a restaurant at some point). The stereotypes and our experiences with them, good and bad, connect us.
Publishers Weekly say “Huang reconfigures the popular foodie memoir into something worthwhile and very memorable”, and it makes me think they didn’t read past 20 pages of the first chapter. Labeling the book a foodie memoir is wrong. It’s not about food, Huang is not a foodie, and it’s not about him being a foodie. He’s a restauranteur, a popular food personality, a chef, but his memoir is not about his life in any of those jobs. It’s about him growing up in America and becoming successful as an Asian kid who didn’t fit (and didn’t want to fit) into the stereotypical image of Asian kids in America. It wasn’t like he was thinking the whole time, “oh I gotta be different, non-stereotypical”, either. He was just a kid growing up. Fresh Of The Boat is a coming-of-age nonfiction. He tells it as it was, real, unpolished, neither grammatically nor politically correct. He’s good at food, and he’s Asian, but neither is the whole picture. The point of the book is that he, just like everyone else, went through many experiences that a lot of us happen to be able to relate to. (The laughs are on you too, though, Eddie. You tried so hard to figure out what you were and you didn’t want to just take the easy path, conform and be typical, but you actually did everything a typical Asian does: you did your homework, you helped out at your family business, you cared about being a good student, you want your parents to approve of you, you went to law school, and as you pointed out in the book: you succeed by going into the restaurant business. Like you said, “You can take a Chinaman out the paddies, but he will still put MSG in all your food.” The difference is you’ve done other things too.)
You don’t have to be an American-born kid from Taiwanese immigrant parents to relate to the narrative. A lot of people can relate: immigrants, people whose parents used to argue a lot, kids who get bullied in school, smart kids, basketball lovers, hip-hop fans, kids who get into troubles, kids who have to stand up for themselves and their brothers, youngsters who sell drugs, people who work in the restaurant business, people who don’t care for pretentious labels, food, diplomatic talk, etc., college students who don’t see the point of fraternities. Fresh Off The Boat is so awfully relatable, that’s why it’s so good.
That’s not to say you’d be disappointed if you dive into this book looking for some yummy time. The food is the cornstarch in the sauce to bind his book together, as expected from an Asian, we tell stories and discuss business while we share foods. Huang shares his recipe on some meat, and there’s abundant talk of the night market in Taiwan and the shops to hit in New York. The food stuff doesn’t really start until page 190 though, and every sentence rings home: “… that summer in Taipei, I looked around and saw myself everywhere I went. Pieces of me scattered all over the country like I had lived, died, burned, and been spread throughout the country in a past life. Here I was coming home to find myself again in street stalls, KTV rooms, and bowls of beef noodle soup. All the things instilled in me from a young age by my family and home, rehydrated and brought to life like instant noodles. They never left, they just needed attention.” This is how I feel when I am in Chinatown in Oakland, the strip malls near the Lion Supermarket, the food courts in San Jose, and Japan.
It’s not all melancholy either. There are *many* funny comments, here are just a few:
[…] Chinese people don’t believe in psychologists. We just drink more tea when things go bad.
[…] Initially, my recipe was for Chairman Mao’s red cooked skirt steak over rice, but the network asked for something handheld. I didn’t get it and said that rice usually goes in a bowl. I mean, that’s pretty fucking handheld, but they didn’t go for it. So… I did what every culture does when Americans can’t understand something: I put it on bread. From banh mi to baos to arepas to Jamaican beef patties, it takes a little coco bread to make the medicine go down.
[…] Asians don’t use the oven for anything but holding Jordans.
And a few more that represent Huang’s current voice as he’s known for and what Kristen, I, and others who genuinely love food and not the Food Network or I-go-to-culinary-school-and-I’m-here-to-redefine/reconstruct/revolutionize-your-palate hipster version of food want to say but don’t have a voice to say:
There’s a difference between bastardizing an item and giving it the room to breathe, grow, and change with the times. When Chinese people cook Chinese food or Jamaicans cook Jamaican, there’s no question what’s going on. Just make it taste good. When foreigners cook our food, they want to infuse their identity into the dish, they have a need to be part of the story and take it over.
[…] The most infuriating thing is the idea that ethnic food isn’t already good enough because it goddamn is. We were fine before you came to visit and we’ll be fine after. If you like our food, great, but don’t come and tell me you’re gonna clean it up, refine it, or elevate it because it’s not necessary or possible.
White American chefs, if you had just got to “elevate” something, if you stay up at night thinking about what to “refine”, take it out on your food. Burgers, hot dogs, funnel cakes, apple pies, pumpkin pies, steaks, barbecue, baked potatoes, you’ve got tons to work with. If you say that your food is good as it is, which is fair, then what gives you the right to say that our food needs to be refined?
I love America. I really do. It’s my home now. When I’m out of the country, I miss it. I’m infuriated by the Vietnamese way a lot of times, and I like the independent, confident, I-do-what-I-do-and-don’t-you-dare-lecture-me American ways. I’m American, Vietnamese, both, neither, generic Asian, etc., the identities switch around so often, sometimes by choice, most of the time that’s just how things go with the first- and second-generation immigrants. I don’t have one fixed identity, and that’s fine, nobody does. I want to be American sometimes and I’m mad at America sometimes, but most of the time, I love the country, the way you can be yourself here, a lot of the people I met. Maybe I’m making a gross assumption here, but seeing that I agree with 60% of the book (the other 40% I don’t have a clue because it’s about basketball and hip hop), I think Huang the Book Writer does too (maybe not the other personas of Huang’s, but this one does). He gets it. Then he says it loud and clear. That makes me happy. So, American or not, FOB or not, you should get the book, not that the mad famous Eddie Huang could care less about you or I would get make a profit from this post, but chances are you’ll see your thoughts voiced out in there too.
I am constantly thought about this, appreciate it for posting.
1Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful information. I absolutely love your web page. Thanks again for allowing me to comment on your web page. I hope more interesting posts from you in the near future.
2you might have a fantastic blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my weblog?
3Thanks so much for providing such valuable article. I truly enjoy your site. Thanks again for allowing me to comment on your web page. I look forward to more engaging articles from you soon.
4I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thanks again
5I love the efforts you have put in this, regards for all the great blog posts.
6Good day! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
7Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thanks
8Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
9수원출장안마 셀럽의 출장마사지 코스와 가격, 선입금 없는 현장 결제 방식을 안내합니다. 영통·광교·인계동·권선동·장안구 등 방문 가능 지역과 예상 도착 시간
10수원출장안마 셀럽의 출장마사지 코스와 가격, 선입금 없는 현장 결제 방식을 안내합니다. 영통·광교·인계동·권선동·장안구 등 방문 가능 지역과 예상 도착 시간
11Great paintings! That is the kind of info that should be shared across the internet. Shame on the search engines for now not positioning this put up higher! Come on over and seek advice from my site . Thank you =)
12Just had a punt on betgorila. Not bad at all! Good odds and the site’s pretty responsive. Might stick around here for a bit. Take a look: betgorila
13The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
14Pretty component to content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to claim that I acquire in fact loved account your weblog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing for your augment or even I success you get right of entry to consistently quickly.
15Its great as your other posts : D, regards for putting up.
16This design is incredible! You certainly know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
17Hi there! I just want to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you might have here on this post. I might be coming again to your weblog for more soon.
18Thank you for sharing this wonderful content. I really like your blog. Thank you for providing a space for me to comment on your website. I hope more engaging articles from you in the future.
19This really answered my problem, thank you!
20I really appreciate you for sharing such interesting content. I really like your site. Many thanks for letting me share my thoughts on your blog post. I look forward to additional interesting updates from you in the near future.
21There’s noticeably a bundle to find out about this. I assume you made certain good factors in features also.
22I would like to thank you for posting such great post. I absolutely love your site. Many thanks for letting me share my thoughts on your article. I look forward to more informative publications from you in the near future.
23Very interesting topic, thanks for posting.
24Thanks so much for providing this valuable article. I really like your site. Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to comment on your website. I hope more informative publications from you in the future.
25I’ve recently started a web site, the info you offer on this web site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work.
26Порносайты востребованы как безопасный инструмент посмотреть взрослый развлечение без обязательных визитов и избыточного риска.
27Подобные ресурсы лесбиянка фото загрузить открывают дискретный режим доступа к форматам и дают возможность взрослому посетителю лично настраивать удобный режим досуга.
С точки зрения взрослой аудитории такой формат простая возможность отдохнуть дома и не переходить посторонние зоны.
Нужно учитывать, что взрослые платформы рассчитаны исключительно для достигших 18 лет и призваны учитывать нормы конфиденциальности и добровольного решения.
I consider something truly interesting about your site so I saved to fav.
28Lovely site! I am loving it!! Will be back later to read some more. I am taking your feeds also
29Hi my loved one! I want to say that this article is amazing, nice written and come with approximately all vital infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this .
30Many thanks for posting this wonderful content. I truly enjoy your site. Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts on your article. I look forward to more interesting posts from you in the future.
31Some truly prize blog posts on this internet site, saved to my bookmarks.
32Many thanks for publishing this valuable post. I truly enjoy your blog. Many thanks for providing a space for me to comment on your article. I hope additional interesting updates from you in the coming days.
33I like what you guys are up also. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my web site 🙂
34Thanks for your marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and will come back later in life. I want to encourage yourself to continue your great job, have a nice afternoon!
35I enjoy what you guys are up too. This sort of clever work and reporting! Keep up the good works guys I’ve added you guys to my personal blogroll.
36I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. You have ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
37I don’t even know how I stopped up here, but I assumed this post used to be good. I don’t realize who you might be however certainly you are going to a well-known blogger for those who aren’t already 😉 Cheers!
38Many thanks for posting this interesting post. I love your website. Thanks again for providing a space for me to comment on your blog post. I hope additional interesting updates from you in the coming days.
39Thanks for helping out, good information. “The surest way to be deceived is to think oneself cleverer than the others.” by La Rochefoucauld.
40Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog. A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.
41Some really interesting information, well written and generally user pleasant.
42늑대닷컴을 검색하며 궁금했던 웹툰 정보와 작품 찾는 방법을 정리했습니다. 연재·완결 구분, 무료 회차와 미리보기 차이, 주소 정보 확인 기준, 모바일 이용 팁과 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하세요.
43구미오피를 검색하며 구미 지역 일반 마사지·스파를 알아보는 분들을 위한 안내입니다. 프로그램 선택, 관리 시간과 비용, 시설·위생, 주차, 예약 전 확인사항과 자주 묻는 질문을 정리했습니다.
44구미오피를 검색하며 구미 지역 일반 마사지·스파를 알아보는 분들을 위한 안내입니다. 프로그램 선택, 관리 시간과 비용, 시설·위생, 주차, 예약 전 확인사항과 자주 묻는 질문을 정리했습니다.
45Hello very nice blog!! Guy .. Excellent .. Superb .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m glad to find numerous useful information right here within the submit, we need work out extra techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
46포항오피 검색어의 맥락과 온라인 정보 확인 기준을 정리했습니다. 광고성 표현과 후기의 출처, 게시물의 최신성, 개인정보 보호 방법, 포항 공공정보와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하세요.
47포항오피 검색어의 맥락과 온라인 정보 확인 기준을 정리했습니다. 광고성 표현과 후기의 출처, 게시물의 최신성, 개인정보 보호 방법, 포항 공공정보와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하세요.
48Hi this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
49I am curious to find out what blog platform you are using? I’m having some minor security issues with my latest blog and I’d like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any suggestions?
50