General Information:
- Genre: Material Lore – Christmas dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: E.S.
- Date Collected: November 8, 2020
Informant Data:
- E.S. is a ’22 at Dartmouth College, raised in San Jose, California. She currently studies Economics, French and Psychology. Her parents are from China, but she has been in the US her whole life.
Contextual Data:
Social Context
- She first participated in this Hot-Pot-eating tradition at Christmas during 2004. Her sister, father, and mother were also at the event. Every time they eat Hot Pot, they would eat thinly sliced lamb, fried tofu curd, spinach cabbage, fish balls, stuffed fish balls, and a personal dipping sauce. At the end of the meal, they would wrap it up with glass noodles.
- To her, Hot Pot always gave her a cozy, sheltered and safe feeling because the Hot Pot would always steam up the windows. E.S. said that she could not imagine feeling the same with other foods during Christmas.
- E.S.’s parents don’t place much significance on Christmas, so for them, it is not a serious holiday. However, for the family as a whole, it is definitely a nice opportunity to spend time together. Even though they don’t follow the gift-giving tradition, they make sure that they spend quality time as a family. Because Hot Pot requires the eaters to cook the food themselves, the long cooking time provides E.S. and her family with more time together.
- As a second-generation Chinese American, it was interesting for her to see the food that her parents ate in China growing up. She appreciated participating in their culture and also views this tradition as a tribute to her parents and ancestors.
Cultural Context
- Because Hot Pot is a Chinese dish, it is important to understand the background behind the dish. Hot Pot is a simple, no-frills dish that is simply a variety of ingredients put into a soup. Historically, many people could only afford simple ingredients for Hot Pot.
- Not all people who celebrate Christmas are religious, or believe in Jesus. Hot Pot might surprise people because it has no religious significance. Nevertheless, it is a very important family custom for E.S.
Item
- Hot pot consists of a broth cooked in a large pot at the center of the dinner table. The pot is shared by all members, and people can just reach into it as they please. Traditionally, different meats (thinly sliced beef and lamb, fish balls, seafood, etc.), vegetables (bok choy, cabbage, spinach, mushrooms), and noodles (ramen, udon, pasta) are cooked in the broth.
Transcript for Interview Clip
Y.H. (collector): Alright so let’s get started. My first question is how you would describe yourself, maybe in one to two sentences.
E.S. (informant): Ok so I’m a ’22. I live in San Jose, as you know. I’m studying Economics, French and Psychology at Dartmouth. Both my parents are from China but I was born in the US.
Y.H.: Great. So this project is about collecting traditional foods eaten during Christmas. Does your family have one?
E.S.: Yes we do.
Y.H.: Can you tell me a bit more? what is the food you eat and when was your first time eating eat.
E.S.: So the food we eat is Hot Pot, which is like a broth where we throw random things in, cook it, and then everyone eats from the same pot. We usually eat it with thinly sliced lamb, fried tofu curd, spinach cabbage, fish balls, stuffed fish balls and a personal dipping sauce. And when was the first time I had it? Hmm. I got to think about this one. I think it was in 2004? I’m not really sure because I have been eating it for a long time.
Y.H.: Did eating Hot Pot make you feel a certain way? Or what was significant about it to you?
E.S.: I also feel cozy, sheltered and safe feeling because the Hot Pot would always steam up the windows. I could not imagine feeling the same with other foods during Christmas. My parents don’t really celebrate Christmas in the traditional way so for them, it is not a serious holiday. However, to the family as a whole, it is definitely a time to spend together. Even though we don’t have a traditional gift-giving, we make sure that they spend quality time together. Because Hot Pot requires the eaters’ to cook it themselves, it gave us a lot of time. However, for me personally, it was interesting to eat the food that my parents ate when they were in China. I really appreciate participating in this culture and also see this tradition as a tribute to my parents and ancestors.
Y.H.: Great. And overall, do you think that there is any cultural or background knowledge that someone would have to have to appreciate Hot Pot the same way you do?
E.S.: I mean, Hot Pot is a Chinese dish so you probably would need to know Chinese culture. It represents the only types of food that most people could afford in Chinese history. Also, I think that we eat Hot Pot instead of other foods because we still celebrate “Christmas” without eating “Christmas” dishes, so probably someone who isn’t Christian yet still celebrates Christmas would understand.
Collector’s comments:
- Hot Pot is also a big tradition in my family. However, for us, we usually eat Hot Pot during New Years and not Christmas. Nevertheless, I understand the significance of coming together around the dinner table and catching up on each other’s lives. We also take the opportunity to tell each other short sayings such as wishing each other good fortune or good education.
Collector’s Name:
Yilin Huo