Sometimes, I wish humans were as simple as food. Life would be much more pleasant if we can easily fuse cultures together like we do with food in California, don't you think?
In the age of Korean tacos and tuna tartare, it is difficult to believe that people are *still* racist, or, in this case, nationalist, against others. The subject came up after a long-winded day of work, and Don and I were talking about how Japanese people are incredibly discriminating. I mean, I'm sure every nationality has its fair share of discriminating assholes, but being half Japanese myself, I have to admit that Japanese people are pretty bad.
Take a look at Don's dad for example. Pappa is a Korean man who was born in Japan, but Japan has denied him of his citizenship because he has Korea in his blood. Japanese-origin Koreans are called zai-nichi, or "those who reside in Japan" - they are stilled considered outsiders. Which is unfair because white people and black people can totally become naturalized and adopt Japanese names. As a result, Pappa and Don have different last names (Mamma is Japanese, so Don is granted Japanese citizenship and a Japanese last name).
The same goes for my parents. Dad was often denied jobs during his college days in Japan because he was a gaijin (foreigner), so he had to make ends meet with odd-end gigs like busing at a tranny cabaret (he has a lot of interesting stories from those days). If you're a gaijin, it's hard to get a lease for an apartment without a guarantor. You also have to carry around you alien identification card wherever you go.
My Japanese grandfather's family never approved of my parents' marriage, because marrying off to a gaijin was apparently, a disgrace. It's not like Dad's side of the family were too thrilled either, but at least I saw them at Tet (Chinese New Year). I've never even met my Japanese grandfather, although I did catch a glimpse of him when my Baachan was hospitalized for her last cancer battle.
And all of this sounds, well, weird to me because Japanese people are really good at "borrowing" other countries' foods and making it their own. Curry comes in instant blocks now. Ramen and gyoza are considered Japanese food (it's actually Chinese-origin). And kimchi can be purchased at any 7-11 kiosk nowadays.
"Everything is clashed, then jacked!" I told him. After a day of dealing with sovereigntist fucks, dinner was the last thing that I wanted to think of. Don very well knew of this - so after listening to my huff and puff, he ended the conversation with his usual "well, there are some Japanese people who aren't that bad. And everyone's a little racist," in his usual soothing, soft-spoken voice. Then he pulled out jarred kimchi from the Korean market, some mirin from the Japanese market, a carton of eggs that I purchased at Whole Foods, and whipped up a big helping of buta kimchi-don.
In the end, none of it really matters in California. Our parents brought us to this ethnic mish mash of a state for a reason - it's up to us how we deal with it. I get all riled up about it, but it's such a waste of time and energy.
Sometimes I forget that, and that's why I keep him around.
Buta Kimchi Donburi
serves 2
1/2 cup raw sliced pork
1 clove garlic, chopped
A. 1 tbsp sake
A. 1 tsp oyster sauce
A. 2 tsp gochujang (Korean hot bean paste)
A. a dribble of sesame oil
A. 1/2 tsp mirin
2/3 cup kimchi
some oil
some chopped scallions
2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
2 eggs
some water
1. Mix A together to create a sauce.
2. Heat the wok on high. When hot, pour some oil, throw in the gar lic. Let it fry till it starts to smell good.
3. Throw in the pork, and stir fry quickly so that the meat won’t clump. When it changes color, throw in kimchi.
4. Stir fry until the pork looks fully cooked, and you see some browned edges.
5. Move all contents to one side, and then pour mix A into the empty side of the wok. Let it make a szzzzzz sound, and then stir fry to mix. Take off of heat and set aside.
6. Lazy poach some eggs. Rub a little oil on the inside of a small bowl, and crack open an egg. Add a table spoon of water and microwave ten seconds at a time, until desired doneness.
7. Fill a large bowl with rice. Cover with shredded napa cabbage, then a healthy helping of the stir fry, then top with lazy poached eggs. Drizzle some Kewpie mayonnaise over the mess. To nom, mash everything up with a large spoon, much like a bibimbap.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I think much of the problem has to do with Japanese education and indoctrination for children. It’s fine to be patriotic, but it can easily be taken to an extreme. For example, the Chinese are upset about Japanese whitewashing of war atrocities in Nanjing. But then again, there are plenty of American tragedies not in American textbooks.
Very interesting bit about Japan’s culture and idea of ethnicity. I do agree with you. As a Korean person who’s spent time in Japan, I certainly get weird looks from people when they realize that I’m not Japan, but really a Korean-American. I think change takes time, but I do believe that it’s also still very much inherent in Japanese people that they consider their race, culture, and language to be superior. It’s not unique to them though, Koreans and Chinese each think their race/language/food/culture is superior, but it’s all very myopic and nationalistic. Ultimately I think something like food can be used to bring cultures together, to reconcile peoples, and remind us that there’s beauty in culture.
Not *Japanese
aaron, this is true. when everyone was reading the hobbit, our parents bought us the rape of nanking as well as books on korean comfort women. things they never mention in history class! naturally, we grew wary of history texts.
matt, it is horrible. but at the same time, yes, asians as a whole have a superiority complex of some sort. i hope that the current fusion trend will make border-breaking much easier for the upcoming generations… till then, i will be noshing on delicious pork kimchi bowls
I agree with Matt. There’s a pervasive kind of nationalism in Asia that’s really different than the overt racism we see in the US. As Japan’s aging population shrinks though it will be interesting to see how those attitudes change. I was born in Japan, but grew up here, so my Japanese was never so good and I always got the sense that people were only nice to me because they thought I was mentally handicapped or something.
The irony is that most Japanese aren’t really Japanese, just like most American’s aren’t actually Native to this continent. I recently had a DNA test done, and it turns out my fathers side descends from Ainu (which are the native inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago), and on my mom’s side, we’re actually a Chinese minority (not Han) prevalent in SE Asia.
Maybe i’m just idealistic, but I’m all about bringing about cultural change and understanding through food. If you look at the world of Japanese food, unless it involves grilled dried fish or rice, it’s probably something that was imported from another country at some point.