Kim Hew-Low
Alison Roman and the NYT’s Treatment of Asians and Asian Cuisine
Every bowl of chop suey drove a wedge between Chinese food and its context – that is, Chinese people, Chinatown, and even the specific culinary practices that led to its existence. These specifics, of course, mattered little to the average American diner, since Chinese food was never about Chinese producers but rather, white consumers; specifically, about enriching their bodies, their pockets, and eventually, their social identities.