THE TASTE OF MEMORY. 7 1/28/2021

It was with great sadness that we heard the news of Corky Lee passing due to complications caused by COVID-19. Corky was a force to be reckoned with, a giant in the Chinese American community and an enthusiastic supporter, photographer, journalist and documentarian of Asian American life. Corky was the self-described “undisputed unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate.” Our deepest condolences to Karen Zhou, his family and many many friends. 

 

Warming up our imaginations at the beginning of class, our students shared mimes of kitchen actions, such as chopping food, flipping eggs, turning on taps and washing dishes. Their outstanding artwork, completed for homework, featured favorite snacks. Seniors shared their stories while we all commented on their pages. Stella drew Chinese New Year snacks to remind her of the new year’s atmosphere which is dampened due to the pandemic. She wishes everyone a healthy and happy New Year! Sook Fong drew the snack she bought on her way home from school, which cost 2 cents, with the money her mother gave her. She entitled her work “Something Old Something New”, reflecting the nuts and crackers she eats now. 

 

Lao Yu’s page is called, “Don’t Forget Where You Came From”. She used the shape of her grandmother’s hat to place her writing because she remembered how hard she worked in the fields picking potatoes along with her grandmother. Her favorite snacks now are peanuts and potatoes, and she makes potato cookies.  “Mom’s Flavor” is the title for Jing Wei’s page in which she drew her mother’s favorite snack, Sagima. Being poor when they were young, she fondly remembers her mother’s tender smile as she cut Sagima up into small pieces so everyone could have a taste with their tea. Her second snack is chocolate wafers, which her friend brought when visiting after her arrival in the USA. Jing Wei would share walnut cookies with her guests and although they are now apart due to current restrictions, eating these snacks makes her feel that they are together, “Long Lasting Friendship”.

 

“Searching the flavor of my childhood memory” is JuLisa’s title for page which tells the story of the 60’s when snacks were luxuries and a reward after a hard day’s work. She feels they were cherished more because of this. One drawing is of a double popsicle which she would break in two to share with one of her many siblings. They were poor when they were young, but her memories are sweet like the unforgettable taste of this snack sandwiched between two soda crackers. A colorful sweet taste remembered from her childhood were belly button cookies, which she now knows are called precious flowers cookies. She also drew a cream soda which was a very popular drink in Hong Kong when she was growing up. “Remembering Sweet Childhood” is Pun’s title for her page, which also includes belly button cookies as well as animal crackers and boiled cookies, which her mother served her and her 3 sisters. She always has candies with her now in case her throat is dry. 

 

Ruping eats snacks and drinks milk while looking out her window now because she’s forced to stay indoors due to COVID. Hui Fen enjoys soup dumplings and turnip cake, which is famous in Jiangnan. So Sim reminisced about the ‘60s when friends and family would get together to make snacks from whatever materials they could find. 10 years ago, she learned how to make the curved comb shaped Taosan cookie. Her granddaughter loves them, so she makes a batch every 2-3 months and freezes them. Now she enjoys steamed cupcakes with her tea. Margaret shared her love of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, coffee and pistachio, hard or soft, on a cone or a spoon, eaten with potato chips. Ever since the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory opened in 1978, she spent hot summer nights and autumn breezes picking out green tea, taro, ginger, lychee, mango, red bean, coconut and black sesame … licking these ice creams from Bayard Street to Columbus Park.

 

The next page focuses on spices and sauces which our seniors use regularly, where they source them, what dishes they enhance and any cooking tips they can share. Fermented black bean sauce, cilantro, mandarin peel, black pepper, garlic and golden curry powder were all popular. Pun also shared with us another use for cinnamon sticks as a cure for diarrhea. Ru Ping shared her husband’s book of glossy photos of the many dishes he has made. 

 

For this next page, students were asked to consider its composition, what is the intended focus and layering images. Spica and Karen shared their example pages and inspiration was drawn from Margaret’s artwork in which she drew the outline of a central image directly onto the cardstock creating a type of silhouette, which worked to form a basis for storytelling. Let’s see what imaginative responses our students send us this week.