CulturalFest Revisited for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
The 2021 CulturalFest International Expo - an all-online event - featured 35 “virtual booths” with photographs, writing, art, music, recipes, and more from volunteer contributors around the world. In this series, we’re re-publishing some of the content included in the booths so that our community can continue to enjoy it even though the event is over. In honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, FIUTS is featuring content from the Chinese-American CulturalFest page that highlights some of the unique and diverse culture of Chinese-Americans.
Chinese American media
Contributed by Michelle Wu
There's a lot of Chinese American media out there! I watched a lot of cartoons that showed this type of culture when I was growing up. Here's a sample platter of some of those shows:
Watch the these shows yourselves! Link will take you to official Youtube channels.
Ni Hao, Kai-lan
American Dragon: Jake Long
Pucca
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
Extra Bonus:
There are also a lot of Chinese American characters in general! A popular one is Chun-Li from Street Fighter
Food & Recipes
Chinese-American snacks
Contributed by Jaden Wang
If you ever go shopping at an Asian grocery store, you are bound to find a variety of flavorful snacks from various cultures. Many Chinese-American families will stock up on these popular treats. Here is a recommendation list of ‘classic’ Chinese-American snacks that you could try!
Savory: Rice crackers, jelly cups, Yan Yan, shrimp chips, hot peas, sachima, Wangwang Mini Mantou
Sweet: Yakult, Haw Flakes, Pocky, Choco Pie, Hello Panda, wafers, ice pops
Candy: Guava candy, Lucky candy, White Rabbit candy
Books and Stories
Contributed by Samantha Novak and Kailey Ulland
ADULT
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet centers around the Seattle’s Panama Hotel and tells two parallel stories of Henry, a Chinese-American and Keiko, a Japanese-American.
Interior Chinatown - Willis Wu sees himself as a side-character in his own life, until he stumbles into the spotlight and discovers the hidden side of Chinatown and his own family’s legacy.
Girl in Translation - after the move from Hong Kong to Brooklyn, Kimberly Chang must translate her language, as well as her identity between her two worlds.
KIDS AND YOUNG ADULTS
American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang about 3 characters whose lives unexpectedly come together.
Disclosure: FIUTS is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Easy Scallion Pancake Recipe
Contributed by Jaden Wang
This pancake recipe is much simpler than other recipes that can be found online, but it is a recipe that I have grown up eating and making. It is great to enjoy on its own or as a complement to other dishes!
Ingredients (makes around 12 pancakes):
2 cups all-purpose flour
0.5 tablespoons salt
2 cups water
1 green onion (optional)
1-2 tablespoons oil for pan-frying
Preparation:
1) In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. (If you would like your pancakes to be saltier, you can use up to 1 tablespoon of salt.)
2) To form the batter, incorporate the water into the flour and salt mixture. (I like to pour in half a cup of water at a time rather than all at once so that it mixes more easily.)
3) Continue mixing the batter until there are no more lumps.
4) If desired, thinly slice the green onion and mix it evenly into the batter.
Pan-Frying:
1) Place the pan on the stove and turn the stove on to medium heat.
2) Using a spatula, lightly coat the pan with some oil.
3) When the pan has heated up, ladle the batter into the pan in circular shapes. To keep the roundness of the pancakes, it helps to hold the ladle steady when pouring and let the batter flow outwards on its own.
4) Let the pancakes pan-fry for around 4-5 minutes. Do not move them during this time.
5) The pancakes will be ready to flip when the edges change color and when the batter in the center appears dry. They will also be easy to move with the spatula.
6) After flipping the pancakes, pan-fry for another 4-5 minutes. If you would like a darker color on the pancakes, feel free to keep flipping the pancakes until you have reached your desired doneness.
7) Transfer the completed pancakes to a plate and repeat the pan-frying process for the rest of the batter. Between every 2-3 batches, you may need to re-oil the pan.
8) Enjoy!
Contributors Corner
“Hi, I’m Michelle! I was born in the US but I lived in China for 4 years. I identify with both American and Chinese, but I do think there is some additional spice when you combine the two. Here, I hope you’ll be able to see some things that I think are uniquely Chinese American! - Michelle Wu
“My name is Jaden and I am Chinese-American. I have grown up in the United States, though my family is mostly from China. Although Chinese-American culture has a lot of similarities with Chinese culture, there are some aspects that are unique and interesting that I would love to share with everyone!” -Jaden Wang