Psych 18

The origin of the well-known fried rice is from China going back since 4000 B.C. After some time nomads spread it to Southeast Asia such as Indonesia and Malaysia creating variant types of fried rice. Typically Chinese people do not eat fried rice they prefer white rice, steamed and no salt. They actually love that instead. They will have different dishes with well-seasoned meat, chicken, seafood and will always have white rice on the side. So where does fried rice come in place? Fried rice is not a main meal in China it is hardly eaten in restaurants like it is here. There are also variations of fried rice and other countries have learned to create their own fried rice. Usually countries with immigrating Chinese people have adapted to their style of cooking therefore have learned to make the infamous fried rice. China is a country which back in the day had different rankings in social class. This is where Fried rice was born. There were the peasants who would work in the fields for long hours a day, would be exhausted, and not make much money to feed their families. But there were a few things they always had such as leftover rice, soy and a few leftover vegetables. The mothers would cook these all together so there family would have something to eat and it also created bigger portions so there would be enough for everyone. Fried rice was peasant food and it was not common for higher class Chinese people to eat it because they could afford to have separate dishes. The Chinese culture till this day does not really consider fried rice as a main dish because of its origin. It was definitely invented by them but because of the history behind it it’s not really something they would usually order. This would mostly apply to the older generations where food showed their social class and reminded them of what they could afford. Also, I’ve eaten out to Chinese restaurants about 3-4 times in these past two weeks and wanted to find out myself if this was in fact true. I usually order a combo fried rice, a combo chow mein, and sweet and sour pork. What I found out by the waitress is that it is not even “real” Chinese food. To my surprise fried rice and chow mein have a similar history of being peasant food and sweet and sour pork (red sauce dipped in pork) is American made. I hardly pay attention to the people surrounding me and I noticed all the Asian families had at least 4-5 different entrees and all had a serving of white rice next to them. It all made sense now. I’m sure people no longer eat by necessity but by choice. Realizing this was amazing because it would have never crossed my mind that in the Chinese culture food had a huge impact with social status. I had the waitress recommend me different dishes and I was very satisfied. However, even though fried rice is a Chinese food fried rice has spread out to different parts of the world. I know specifically of Latin America, Peru. As a child when I went to visit Peru for the first time my family asked me if I wanted to eat Chinese food. My first reaction was “Do you guys even have Chinese people here?” To my surprise in the capital of Lima, Peru there is a little China which they call China Town. I was shocked to see actual Chinese people there. Some Chinese people looked mixed with Peruvian and others did not. I felt like the Chinese people in Peru were more Chinese than the Chinese in the US actually. Their Chinatown was no comparison to the one we have in the Bay Area. It was much more authentic. They indeed served fried rice. This is the reason why I choose this particular food. The waitress was Peruvian- Chinese. She spoke better Spanish then I did. I could not pay attention to the menu. All I kept doing was staring at her and looking around. Her family had immigrated to Peru when she was only a baby and her and her family owned that restaurant. Her mother spoke very limited Spanish but you can tell she acculturated to her new host country Peru. I ordered their fried rice but instead they called it “Arroz Chaufa”. It was the same thing yet I tasted the different spices and felt the Peruvian feel to the food. I loved it. That was the only main difference because they still had the rice, soy sauce, vegetables and meat all mixed together. It was just the seasoning that made it taste a little different. Lastly, the difference between Chinese- Americans, Chinese, and Chinese- Peruvians is that there is no “real” difference. Their food may taste a little different but for the most part I learned that there culture follows the Alternation Acculturation. They view both cultures as equals and can alter his/ her behavior to fit the context at least for the younger generations. They do not leave their Chinese culture aside yet embrace it and still find a way to adapt to their new host family. Fried rice is a dish I see in both of my cultures being Peruvian-American that’s why I choose this delicious dish.