First, let me start off by saying that was probably my favorite TED Talk yet. It had an element that I personally enjoy: stories behind food. This is a bit random, but stories are fun and food is good, so why not have both? Anyways, this was a key aspect to her presentation. She gave the story behind fortune cookies, behind chop suey, behind General Tso’s chicken. This enhanced her presentation because people like stories. Do you ever read the little stories on Vitamin Water labels? I do, because they are fun. Stories engage audiences; history engages an audience, especially when it’s a story that they would never thought about researching themselves. These stories also revealed hidden facts about the food. Like that fortune cookies are Japanese. When I was young, I assumed they were Chinese. Later on, my brother told me they were American, but I still never thought about finding out for myself. But Lee presented the story behind them, and the proof to back her up. Now that I look into it I easily could have found this out, since (obviously) there is a Wikipedia article on it. And of course, because the story was about food, I was immediately enthralled. One thing, though, is that I wish she could have talked about what real Chinese food is. I am just left wondering what authentic Chinese food is, but I guess she is encouraging the viewer to find this out themselves.
But then again, why does what Lee is saying matter to the world? I personally think her findings about Chinese food matters, but what she actually is doing does matters. She is encouraging people to think about the stories behind not just food, but ideas and products; she’s encouraging people to find out the history of ideas, of items, because what you do know might not be the whole truth. How many of you thought that these food items were actually Chinese? I bet many of you. That’s really her point: that people need to find out the history behind what they think is fact.
Personally, it’s amazing the variety of “Chinese” dishes there are. Cuban, French, Mexican, Italian, British, etc., its like “Chinese” food is an ingredient. There are so many different takes on it, and all are good and believable (except for the fried gelato (gelato is actually Italian, possibly Egyptian). This also impacts the way I think about Chinese food. Now, I have a new temporary goal: to find a restaurant that serves authentic Chinese food. Not American Chinese food, but Chinese Chinese food. She has inspired me to go on my own hunt for true Chinese Cuisine.
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