Blog 8: Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan

Yulieth Hassan

Professor: Draegan

Blog 8 

Fish Cheeks, by Amy Tan

What does Tan’s mother try to show her by cooking an authentic Chinese dinner, including Amy’s favorite dishes, for the non-Chinese minister and his family? To what does the title refer? 

I believe Tan’s mother is trying to show her how important it is to be proud of your roots, where you came from, no matter how they appear to others.  I also believe that she is trying to tell her daughter that food is an important part of her culture, and she should always remember that. Tan’s mother, by preparing a big Chinese meal, is showing the minister and his family her great cooking skills. I believe Tan’s mother is very considerate of her daughter’s likes and dislikes, by cooking her favorite dish, fish cheeks. This clearly shows me that the mother took her time and was considerate of what exactly to prepare for her family and not just for the minister and his family.

The title of this essay is “Fish Cheeks”. I understood the author was referring to this particular time of her life where her secret about liking “fish cheeks” – a part constituting the head of the fish, came out in the open during Christmas dinner.

What are some of your favorite holiday’s foods and how would they appear to someone from a different culture?

My favorite holiday meals are from my native home country, Colombia. During Christmas time, we Colombians have our biggest celebration, just like Tan’s mom. I personally cook many of dishes for special occasions such as my children’s birthdays, when a guest is visiting from another culture, or just for pot luck. In Colombia I prepare different dishes like: sancocho, a chicken soup prepared with vegetables with green plantains being the main ingredient. Enpanadas, are also one of my favorite dishes.  They are a deep fried pastry that is stuffed with either shredded chicken or beef and a little bit of yellow potatoes and herbs. I also love to prepare the typical Colombian tamales which are prepared with all three meats chicken, beef, and pork and wrapped in fresh green plantain leaves. A very traditional dish that is served during Christmas time is made with figs stuffed with sweet milk cream.

I am sure if I prepared these dishes for someone from another culture, he may not understand why this much food is served. I will explain to him how important is cooking, from scratch, every meal is to us. That is an important cultural thing that we grow up knowing and is being taught to one generation after the other. I feel that it would be easier to explain my culture and our foods to someone who have heard, or have been to Colombia, as compared to someone who has not. For anyone not with my cultural background, I would expect them to be a bit hesitant and be asking more questions about the different foods and the ingredients.  In general, people from a different cultural background would also be open to experiencing different foods – this is human nature.