YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

20/03/2014

What makes a person Australian or Chinese?  Is it a passport?  Or perhaps genes?  Well cultural identity was defined a lot more sensually at my meeting with Hills Chinese Women Association last week: apparently the smell and taste of food form the root of a Chinese person.

 

At their weekly meeting at Castle Hill, the women were asked to narrate on the cultural significance of food in their daily experiences – from the perspective of both a Chinese background, and from the perspective of a migrant in Australia.  This workshop series is part of our Love Food Hate Waste program, and aimes to work together and educate participants on how to reduce and avoid food waste. The Hills Shire Council has requested and funded this particular project.

The exchange became lively when different ingredients were mentioned.  Rice is of course an important symbol; but so is soup, essential in Cantonese households.  Someone said it is an extension of maternal love, passed down through the generations.  To make good soup you need to have patience, know your ingredients, and what suits your loved ones’ current state of health.

Life in Australia means embracing new ingredients and customs.  Aussies must have a sweet tooth because desserts have a lot more sugar here.  Many observed that veggies and fruits are abundant and cheap, whereas meat here is different because more are sold as frozen products and less as fresh slaughters.  All the ladies appreciate the safety and quality standards of food here, a bonus for healthy living.  They tackled the food waste problem head on by learning from each other how to better avoid spoilage, over-purchase and excessive preparation in our workshop.  Local artist Angela has joined the Hills women to document their love of food, which will be continued in our next two workshops.

By Louie Leung (Cantonese Educator)