Cana Hauerland

08 July 2008

Hungry for a True Classification of Asian American Immigrants

            After discovering that Asian American Immigrants are “arguably the least homogeneous of all racial groups and possess an unusually wide range of social characteristics” in my first posting, I decided to discover a way to classify Asian American Immigrants according to their true identity hidden under one large label (Teranishi 2). This true identity rectifies itself through several contexts; however, a clue hard for any American to overlook is a difference in culture; food culture, something that touches lives of Americans daily.

            Americans have re-discovered their taste-buds and healthy lifestyles through Asian food, but is it all just one food category? Based on the ingredients and labels of the food, this is not the case. USA Today inquires, “What exactly does the term “Asian” encompass?”, and receives an answer, “In the food world, the term ‘Asian’ includes specialties from many Asian countries, but the biggest ones are Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine” (“Asian” 8). Let us briefly and individually explore these food cuisines to define one of the heterogeneous cultural characteristics of Asian American Immigrants and to celebrate their differences!

            Beginning with the Thai-Asian American Immigrant food culture, some of their unique dishes are Basil Beef, Green Curry Chicken, and Tom Kai Gai (a traditional Thai soup of lemon grass, chicken, coconut milk, and fish sauce). Los Angeles is “home to some 40,000 to 50,000 Thai Restaurants – the largest concentration outside of Thailand” (Terry 16). The first Thai Buddhist Temple in the Unites States, Wat Thai Temple, allows people to feast on foods “from family recipes handed down over two and three generations” (Terry 16). Some of these traditional Thai foods served at Wat Thai Temple include spicy salads and velvety curries. The small Thai Spring Roll is also a favorite of many with its veggie filled contents although it's much different than the large Chinese Egg Roll.

            Chinese food is overtaking the American favorite of pizza as “consumer’s top choice” (Whittmore 63). It's most popular dishes known to Americans are Peppered Steak, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Egg Drop Soup. These Americanized dishes may be found in "suburbs and working-class neighborhoods", but Chinatowns in America contain the cultural foods of "steamed fish rellies" and other foods that have "the original flavor of the fish" especially the fish's head and tail (Lu & Fine 540).  Chinese-Asian American Immigrants enjoy their fish steamed while the Japanese prefer it raw.

Sushi, the raw American favorite, is "taking on the burger!" (Arndt 20).  Japanese food chains are spreading across America like wildfire.  Americans enjoy a venture to try Mexican, Italian, Chinese, American, and now Japanese.  The rapidly growing Japanese-Asian American Immigrant culture contains food favorites such as spicy tuna rolls and chicken teriyaki.  The rise in Japanese food "reflects a change in American appetites" as more people of the dominant culture attempt to eat healthier (Arndt 20).

Vietnamese is another healthy food choice and also finds a home in America with "restaurants across the country" (Claiborne C3).  According to the State Department, in 1986 "almost 500,000 Vietnamese Immigrants" resided in America, but consider the number tripled today (Claiborne C3). Vietnamese-Asian American Immigrants are popular for their celebration dish, Cha gio, which is rice paper filled with ground pork, soaked cellophane noodles, black fungus, garlic, chopped chives, and crab meat. The Cha gio Roll tastes very different when compared to the food rolls created by their neighboring cultures.  

As one can read, and even taste, Asian American Immigrant food is easily distinguishable among the different cultures. The differences found in food cultures may also be applied to the difference in class, language, immigration status, and several other dimensions of Asian American Immigrants. Therefore, why does confusion still arise in defining Asian American Immigrants as one entire ethnicity in America? The color code is a huge factor. For example, after three years in China my father arrived in the states speaking fluent Mandarin, the number one language in China. Our family decided to dine at China-Ko, a favorite Chinese restaurant of ours. Our waiter was a nice, young, and attractive Asian American Immigrant and my father assumed he spoke Mandarin. He asked the waiter, "您好嗎", which is pronounced, "Ni how?", and translated to English means, "How are you?".  A Chinese-Asian American Immigrant friend of my father's informed him that the young waiter was not like herself, but a Vietnamese-Asian American Immigrant who did not speak Mandarin. Perhaps a sub-culture label before the Asian American Immigrant title is necessary to properly define these fascinating immigrants and credit them for the individuality they deserve.

Works Cited

Teranishi, Robert. "Yellow and Brown: Emerging Asian American Immigrant Populations and Residential Segregation". Equity & Excellence in Education. ESBCO. Alfred R. Neumann Lib., UHCL. 2004. <http://libproxy.uhcl:2057>.

 Author Unknown. "Asian flavors swirl across USA". USA Today. 23 Sept. 2005. ESBCO. Alfred R. Neumann Lib., UHCL. 8 July 2008. < http://libproxy.uhcl:2057>.

Sara, Terry. "Thai Food with a California Twist". Christian Science Monitor. 4 Dec. 2002. EBSCO. Alfred R. Neumann Lib., UHCL. 8 July 2008. <http://libproxy.uhcl:2057>.

Whittemore, M. "Catering to Changing Appetites". Nation's Business. Jan. 1992. EBSCO. Alfred R. Neumann Lib., UHCL. 8 July 2008. <http://libproxy.uhcl:2057>.

Arndt, Michael. "Sushi Takes On the Burger". Business Week Online. 7 Feb. 2007. EBSCO. Alfred R. Neumann Lib., UHCL. 8 July 2008. <http://libproxy.uhcl:2057>.

Claiborne, Craig. "Vietnamese Restaurants: Room to Grow". New York Times. 6 June 1986. EBSCO. Alfred R. Neumann Lib., UHCL. 8 July 2008. <http://libproxy.uhcl:2057>.