A Fan of Chinese Food

Food is a very important energy source for me. If I eat well, then I will feel well and do well. I always carefully select my daily recipes based on what is healthy for my body and what tastes good. I may prepare different kind of cuisines, yet I only find Chinese food to be delicious and healthy. In comparison, a turkey sandwich may give me a three-hour energy boost, but Chinese food will be more likely to provide six hours durability. The food must be prepared in its traditional way, the way how my mother used to do it in China; in fact, my body is so sensitive to it that I hardly find something better to replace it with. My eating habit is as finicky as a bird that doesn’t like pellets but only eats insects. Therefore, changing my eating habits has been the most difficult thing that I have encountered living in this country because my taste buds are programmed to favor Chinese food.

American food is popular for its variety of fast food, which traditional Chinese people claim causes stomach upset and gas. I still remember the time that I had my very first American meal was back in elementary school. For lunch, I could choose from a slice of pizza or a big spoonful of macaroni and cheese. Without any idea how they would taste, I picked the one that was the smallest in size. The pizza was only half the size of the macaroni, but with a lot of tomato sauce on top. Soon, I regretted as I took my first bite of the pizza. The sauce was very heavy, salty and acidic, and it blended together into a weird taste in my mouth. Shortly, after my failure to swallow the second bite, my body quickly reacted. My stomach was in pain, and I could barely stand upright. It was so impressive that until now I still refuse to eat pizza or anything with tomato sauce.

Chinese food had rapidly adapted into the American culture and gained a nickname from me as Chinese American food. I was so delightful when I realized many Chinese restaurants near where I lived; however, they are not the type of Chinese food that I have been looking for. I worked for several Chinese restaurants here, and I realized they prepare food very differently than in China. There are dishes called egg foo young, with brown starchy gravy that is made from lard; and ‘brown’ fried rice that is cooked with great amount of soy sauce. These kinds of Chinese food should be called Chinese American Style food. In my hometown, we rarely use more than half teaspoon of soy sauce in cooking. People believe it will change the skin color to an ugly dull yellow. We also would not use corn starch for meat as it would destroy the nature nutrition and the taste. Moreover, MSG is another health killer that the restaurants use for seasoning the food, as regularly as salt and sugar to make food taste better. There might be some restaurants that prepare healthy Chinese food, but most of the Chinese restaurants here only care about the taste that would attract more business.

I have thought about cooking for myself every day, but it seems very difficult with a lack of ingredients, time, and a good kitchen. I also have a hard time finding ingredients that I am used to. In China, I lived nearby the sea, so there is a wide selection of fresh seafood. Also, vegetables and meats are fresh and cheap. We don’t freeze food that often even though we have refrigerators. Besides, I am a full-time student and working long hours at a part-time job, so I have no time for cooking as well as housework. Every time I cook something, I would only cook food that doesn’t have a strong smell or smoke because I am living in the basement which only has one small window in the kitchen. It’s hard to get rid of the odor. I don’t want to open my window for fresh air because I will be freeze from the cold weather. Surely, cooking at home will always be healthier than eating out; yet, it is just very inconvenient for me.

It has never been easy to find something that I like to eat. Even in China where there are many ingredients and seasonings, the food might not taste just as I like. No matter how hard I tried to search for the same ingredients that I used back in China for cooking, food here still tastes different. Since I am big fan of Chinese food, I always believe good food gives me energy to face my everyday challenges. American food is not a suitable choice, and carry-out food from Chinese restaurant is not healthy. Even more, I am unable to cook every day. And all this has made living in this country hard. I have often pondered and thought that it might not just the problem with the food here. More accurately, I miss my hometown so much that I don’t want to give up its unique culture, where I always feel I belonged. Despite the great distance a bird has traveled away from home, it will eventually return to the nest where it first hatched out from the egg.