Fortune Cookies in China & Explaination of General Tso’s Chicken

2 Responses to “Fortune Cookies in China & Explaination of General Tso’s Chicken”

1. Rob on January 29th, 2010 3:14 am

   Read the original article and found it a bit pejorative in tone. And… when I say “a bit”.. I mean “very”.
   Exact same thing happens with all cuisines in every country.
   Order a pizza in Tokyo and prepare to be served squid legs and mayonnaise on a toasted flour tortilla.

   Conclusion: American “White” (Why only White again???) people don’t know crap about authentic Chinese food.

   Agreed.

   Counter-point: Willing to bet that Chinese people don’t know crap about authentic American food either (don’t laugh, it exists.. quite a lot of dishes actually you’d be amazed to find out are American creations).

   This kind of stuff is always going to happen and I think we all need to get over it. When I get the “Oh you like Hamburgers because you are American” thing when I’m introduced to a Japanese person, I’m not going to bother educating him on the issue.. He doesn’t care.. When my Australian friend gets “Kangaroos! Koalas!” from the same said Japanese person, he doesn’t let it bother him. Just smiles and says “Yes… Kangaroos…”

   The connection she tries to draw between the misinformation related to food and the effects it has on perpetuating stereotypes is, in fact, spot on.. but again.. who cares really? It happens everywhere and, I would argue, to a much higher extent in the homogeneous nations of Asia.

   It’s tempting to take the condescending attitude like Ms. Lee does and go on and on about the ignorance of “white” Americans and what not but at some point, you need to either just accept that people are going to think what they are going to think. It is commendable to fight for equal rights and to eliminate discrimination but you can’t win the battle on thoughts and opinions. Those will only change with time and higher levels of integration.

   I’m White.

2. finechinaguy on January 29th, 2010 11:10 am

   I totally agree and its not just “White,” its all who are ignorant of it, but alas its the generalization of being American that screams “White”. But we do need analysis and questioning as does all things if we want to break the mold. Most people wouldn’t care and I find that sad, because we don’t care or take the time to learn, we are ignorant of such things and the perpetual cycle is continued.

   My point is more importantly about the history of the food itself which I find fascinating.

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