{"id":35,"date":"2018-03-04T11:30:34","date_gmt":"2018-03-04T19:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/?p=35"},"modified":"2018-03-04T11:30:34","modified_gmt":"2018-03-04T19:30:34","slug":"food-mirroring-identity-in-diamond-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/2018\/03\/04\/food-mirroring-identity-in-diamond-grill\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Mirroring Identity in Diamond Grill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Food is not only essential for survival and life, it is essential for culture. People use food to symbolize different ethnicities, to celebrate birthdays, and to share everyday experiences. Food is also a large part of many holidays, such as Thanksgiving, where people often indulge in turkeys<\/a> and pumpkin pies<\/a>, and Hannukah, where people often have latkes<\/a> and sufganiyot<\/a>. Diamond Grill, written by Fred Wah, often includes food to symbolize culture and identity. Throughout the book, Wah incorporates many different aspects of food, such as their scents, how they taste, their colours, and some recipes. Combined, these anecdotes tell the story of Wah\u2019s mixed identity of being a Chinese-Canadian.<\/p>\n

Throughout Diamond Grill, it is apparent that food forms a cultural bridge for Wah and his family. In his book, Wah describes feeling a constant pull in two directions – being Chinese and Canadian. This blend of identities is symbolized through his text, by the use of a hyphen, and through the description of the Diamond Grill restaurant, by the doors to the kitchen, where the seating is largely Canadian, and the kitchen is largely Chinese. In his Afterword, Wah writes about the hyphen, and how it is \u201ca real problem for multiculturalism\u2026 it\u2019s frequently erased as a reminder that the parts\u2026 are not equal to the whole,\u201d although Wah may believe that both parts are equally important to his identity (178). Wah also recounts the struggle of the \u201cinbetweenness\u201d that he has encountered in his life, and uses food to symbolize that in his work (179).<\/p>\n

Mirroring Wah\u2019s identity of \u201cinbetweenness,\u201d is the food that he enjoys making and eating (179). Food is often used for comfort and familiarity, and throughout Diamond Grill, Wah highlights his constant nostalgia towards food and his family\u2019s recipes. An example of this is on page 67, where Wah emphasizes the absence of Chinese food when he leaves home, and how it is \u201can absence that gnaws at sensation and memory\u201d. As food is both individual to taste and cultural, it is easy to tweak and modify to one\u2019s liking, while keeping its original aura and character. Wah often challenges ideas of purely Chinese or purely Canadian recipes, and often adjusts them to his liking. An example of this is Wah\u2019s Chinese recipe for Tomato Beef. Wah sentimentally describes both his and his sisters love for Tomato Beef, and reveals the cherished recipe. After stating the recipe, Wah ends with \u201cspoon over top of rice and pick out pungent chunks of ginger and hide under bowl,\u201d exemplifying his distaste for ginger, a crucial part of the authentic \u201cgingery winter dish\u201d (44). Wah also highlights his father\u2019s offence when he does not eat the ginger in Chinese cuisine, and states that \u201cginger becomes the site of an implicit racial qualification\u201d (11). Fred Sr.\u2019s disapproval of his sons taste in traditional food may have caused Wah to feel isolated and pushed further away from his Chinese heritage and culture.<\/p>\n

Food is an important part of cultures and traditions, and therefore an important part of the people who embodies those cultures and traditions as well. The \u201chyphenated\u201d dishes serve as a reminder to Wah and his family of his mixed identity.<\/p>\n

Work Cited<\/p>\n

\u201cHanukkah Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts).\u201d Marthastewart, https:\/\/www.marthastewart.com\/314744\/hanukkah-sufganiyot-jelly-doughnuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to Make Crispy Perfect Latkes Every Time.\u201d Toriavey, 18 Feb. 2018, https:\/\/toriavey.com\/how-to\/how-to-make-crispy-latkes\/.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuicy Thanksgiving Turkey.\u201d Allrecipes, https:\/\/www.allrecipes.com\/recipe\/166160\/juicy-thanksgiving-turkey\/.<\/p>\n

\u201cOld Fashioned Pumpkin Pie.\u201d Simplyrecipes, https:\/\/www.simplyrecipes.com\/recipes\/suzannes_old_fashioned_pumpkin_pie\/.<\/p>\n

Wah, Fred. Diamond Grill. Edmonton: NeWest, 2006. Print<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food is not only essential for survival and life, it is essential for culture. People use food to symbolize different ethnicities, to celebrate birthdays, and to share everyday experiences. Food is also a large part of many holidays, such as Thanksgiving, where people often indulge in turkeys and pumpkin pies, and Hannukah, where people often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54426,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/nogagoldman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}