April 23, 2008
Los Angeles, CA
I just finish reading “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles” this evening by Jennifer 8 Lee. A friend turned me onto it, as there is a 6 degree of separation between Ms Lee and I and my thought that Ms Lee might be interested in Wok the Dog.
So naturally being addicted to research as I am, I picked up her book and gave it a good read.
Needless to say, when a book starts with a quote from the New York Times “Mott Street Chinamen Angry – They Deny They Eat Rats” how could you go wrong?!!! She made me laugh aloud many times over – and often she made feel like the humor she shares are a private joke between us (two strangers with friends in common) – not just because the humor is poignant but also because we have similar upbringings.
At one point towards the end of her book, she say “this book began as quest to understand Chinese food. But 3 years, 6 continents, 3 countries, and 42 states later, I realize it was actually a personal journey to understand myself.” Sometimes I think that is part of the mission of Wok the Dog as well. Our efforts to understand ourselves and this mix bag of cultural heritage whether its a pot of stew, a plate of salad or a bowl of stir fry, we are all trying to understand ourselves and the world at large through the very basis of food.
By the way – Chinaman do eat rats! I have seem dried rat jerky for sale in Guangzhou.
