"OH, HOW THE TIMES HAVE CHANGED... OR NOT"
Racism has been a prominent issue throughout history and the world, and while steps have been made in promoting equality and mitigating discrimination, it is still a prevalent problem that needs to be addressed. One group that continues to suffer the adverse effects of racism is Asian Americans, however, many tend to forget about the xenophobic treatment Asian Americans receive because of the common misconception that Asian Americans are the “model minority,” creating unconcern for their prejudice and mistreatment. One way people have attempted to fight the stereotypes about and negative attitudes toward Asian Americans and their culture is through literature, specifically cookbooks, which serve the dual purpose of teaching recipes for unique foods and presenting cultural and historical facts that challenge the stereotypes and assumptions made about the group. In the 1950s, when anti-Chinese feelings resurfaced due to the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Red scare, cookbooks were a great means to fight anti-Chinese racism and to share foods with whites; writing about Chinese food during this time gave the literature political significance as acceptance of an ethnic group is often linked to acceptance of their native foods.[1] To review the success of these cookbooks, we can look at more recent Chinese cookbooks to see if the intent of the content has changed. In examining Benedictine Sisters of Peking's The Art of Chinese Cooking (1956) and Martin Yan’s Chinese Cooking For Dummies (2001), I noticed many obvious similarities and differences in the format, content, and presentation between the two Chinese cookbooks and the question that surfaces is how do these similarities and differences reflect how non-Asian Americans’ perception and treatment of people of Chinese descent have changed or remained the same over forty-five years? While attitudes have improved, the public are more inclined to continue discriminating against the Chinese because of well-established racist opinions of them, which is why cookbooks published today are very similar to those published earlier in the century since we are still trying to achieve the same goals older cookbooks failed to accomplish.
The Art of Chinese Cooking is an example of literature that sought to debunk stereotypes and assumptions held by white Americans, but its Americanized recipes and stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese foods and culture failed to convey authenticity, which was sacrificed for the audience’s appeal. In the foreword, it is immediately stated that the recipes were “selected with the availability of ingredients in mind, and you should be able to prepare them in any part of the Western world… the type used in good Chinese homes, not necessarily in restaurants.”[2] The Benedictine sisters say that their recipes are authentic because unlike restaurants that are catered to a wider audience, true Chinese families would make these dishes; but they contradict themselves by stating that they chose the recipes that have been simplified to accommodate its audience, Westerners. The list of ingredients and cooking equipment are not very specific or diverse, which dismisses the significance of using specific ingredients that make each dish unique and “tames” the recipes. “Tame” recipes are intended to attract white readers who are otherwise wary of authentic dishes because these adapted foods reassure whites that Chinese foods are not that unusual, disputing the stereotype that Chinese foods are too different to be eaten so neither Chinese people nor their food can be assimilated into American society.[3] |
[1] Sherrie A. Inness, “‘Unnatural, Unclean, and Filthy’: Chinese-American Cooking Literature Confronting Racism in the 1950s," Secret Identities: Race, Gender, and Class at the Dinner Table, (Gordonsville, VA: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 44. [2] Benedictine Sisters of Peking, The Art of Chinese Cooking, (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1956), vi. [3] Inness, 52. |