Category Archives: Food

Entrée: Rooster

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition; Verbal Lore – folktale
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: G.P.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • G.P. is a 22-year-old senior studying computer science at Middlebury College and Dartmouth College’s dual degree program. He grew up in Jiangsu province, China, and went to college in the US. He normally celebrates the Chinese New Year with his family in Jiangsu province, which is along the east coast of China.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Roosters are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name. Rooster in Chinese is pronounced as “jī” (鸡), and in ancient China, the word “jī” (鸡) is the same as “jí” (吉), which means good. Many auspicious proverbs are related to “jí” (吉). For example,  “jílì” (吉利), which means good fortune, and “jí xiáng rú yì” (吉祥如意), which is used to wish people good luck. Additionally, roosters are traditionally considered an auspicious animal because of the many folktales associated with it.
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year, family members gather together to have dinner or lunch. The rooster is served as a main dish. It is cooked in many different ways, for example, chicken soup, boiled chicken, and calabash chicken, etc.

Item:

  • Roosters are eaten commonly during festivals. They are cooked in very different ways across different areas of China. In the southern part of China, people like to cook the whole chicken altogether as chicken soup. Chopped boiled chicken with salt and soy sauce is also common. In the northern part, roosters are often fried. For example, in the northwest part of China, calabash chicken is common. Roosters are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name. The name of the rooster is a homophone for good fortune.

Image File:

rooster

Calabash chicken (G.P. ordered this calabash chicken last year on the Chinese New Year’s Eve)

Transcript of Interview Clip:

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

G.P. (informant): We often make chicken soup during the Chinese New Year Eve. Although we also eat hens at other times, we deliberately choose the strongest rooster to make the soup during the Chinese New Year. The rooster is a symbol of prosperity and health. We often cook the whole rooster altogether, which symbolizes that good fortune is held together. 

S.T.: Is there any reason that rooster has such an auspicious meaning?

G.P.: The story that I heard is that rooster crows actually not in the morning but at the darkest time of the night. The morning comes following the crow of the rooster. At the darkest time of the day, monsters often come out to search for people to eat. The loud crow of the rooster is a way to drive away monsters and thus protect the villagers. Thus, the rooster is often considered an auspicious animal. 

S.T.: The name of the rooster in Chinese is probably also related to some auspicious words, right?

G.P.: Yes, I think the word rooster in Chinese is “jī” (鸡) which resembles “jí” (吉), which means good fortune. 

S.T.: Any custom when eating the rooster?

G.P.: The elders often eat the head and the rooster crest. The rooster crest symbolizes the “top.” Eating the rooster crest expresses the hope of becoming the best at whatever you are doing. The elders eat the head because they are the “head” of the family. The children often eat the legs of the rooster, since it represents that the children can “run fast” (become the best students) in their schoolwork. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • The rooster is an auspicious animal in traditional Chinese culture. In ancient China, people wake up and go to work when hearing the crow of roosters. Thus, the rooster is often associated with diligence.

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family also eats roosters during the Chinese New Year. We also have the tradition of cooking the whole chicken altogether. My family believes that the whole chicken represents the union of the family. This is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Dessert: Glutinous Rice Ball

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: S.G.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • S.G. is a 22-year-old senior studying engineering and mathematics at Vassar College and Dartmouth College’s dual degree program. He grew up in Beijing, China, and went to college in the US. His family is a traditional Beijing family, which practices many northern-China traditions.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Glutinous rice balls are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name and shape. For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, glutinous rice balls are typically eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served symbolizes family cohesion. The name of Glutinous rice balls, “tāngyuán” (汤圆), is also a homophone for union, “tuányuán” (团圆).
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year, family members gather together and glutinous rice balls often serve as a dessert at the end which is typically eaten together with the whole family.

Item:

  • Glutinous rice ball is a Chinese dessert that is a ball of glutinous rice flour and water that has been either boiled and served in a hot broth or syrup or else deep-fried.  Glutinous rice balls are traditionally eaten during Yuanxiao in the Lantern Festival and also serve as a dessert during the China New Year. It is pronounced “tāngyuán,” which a homophone for union “tuányuán.” Thus, the glutinous rice ball is a symbol of family reunions.  It is eaten in both northern and southern China, but in different areas, people may prefer glutinous rice balls with different fillings.

Image File:

riceball

Unfilled rice balls, cooked with osmanthus and sweet fermented glutinous rice (S.G. took this photo last year during the Chines New Year when he and his parents were eating dinner at a restaurant.)

riceballs

Sweet rice balls with sesame filling (S.G.’s family made this two years ago on the Chinese New Year’s day.)

Transcript of Interview Clip: 

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

S.G. (informant): My family likes to eat the glutinous rice ball, which is also called “yuanxiao.”  

S.T.: I like it as well. What flavor of the rice balls does your family normally eat? Sweet or salty? What fillings?

S.T.: We like to eat sweet rice balls with fillings such as sesame and sweet bean paste. When I go to the southern part of China, I often eat small rice balls with no filling. These rice balls are cooked with soup of osmanthus and sweet fermented glutinous rice.

S.T.: Why do you and your family eat glutinous rice balls? Any meaning or hope associated with it? 

S.G.: The glutinous rice ball is called “tangyuan” and “yuanxiao.” The name of it resembles the pronunciation of “tuantuanyuanyuan,” which means the union of the family. Eating glutinous rice balls expresses the hope that the family members are always united and bonded together.

S.T.: How do you normally cook glutinous rice balls? 

S.G.: We normally just throw the rice balls into boiling water and cook them for 15 minutes. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • Glutinous rice balls are often eaten during family reunions. Eating glutinous rice balls conveys a very traditional Chinese idea that family is an important part of one’s life. Instead of individualism emphasized in western culture, the Chinese people often prioritize the interests of the whole family.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The most renowned glutinous rice balls come from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, which is near my hometown. My family also likes to eat glutinous rice balls. Unlike people in the northern part, who often like the filled glutinous rice balls better, we eat the unfilled rice balls more often. Glutinous rice balls are a very common dessert nowadays. People eat it during important festivals, but it really can be eaten whenever they want. The fact that the round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served can help with family cohesion is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Dumpling

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: H.S.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • H.S. is 48 years old. She studied at Hangzhou Law school and worked in the field of law for years. At age of 30, She became a businesswoman. She grew up in the northern part of China and currently lives in the southern part (Zhejiang province, China). Because of her experience living in the northern part, she likes dumplings, which are more popular in the North. Her family likes dumplings as well: make and eat dumplings every year during the Chinese New Year.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Dumplings are eaten during the Chinese New Year almost in all areas of China. This dish is eaten mainly because of its auspicious name and shape. Dumplings in Chinese are “jiǎozi” (餃子) and are also called “交子,” meaning the transition from the old to the new. Thus, eating dumplings is a way to celebrate this transition. Also, the shape of dumplings resembles the shape of Chinese gold ingots. Thus, making and eating dumplings also expresses the hope of gaining wealth.
  • Social Context: On the Chinese New Year’s Day or the Chinese New Year’s Eve, family members gather together to make and eat dumplings together for the hope of gaining a good fortune, as well as to celebrate the transition from the old year to the new year. 

Item:

  • The dumpling generally consists of minced meat and finely chopped vegetables wrapped into a piece of dough skin. In China dumplings usually refers to boiled dumplings. Some people will place a coin or candy inside the dumpling in the hope of obtaining a fortune or having a sweet life, on the Chinese New Year’s Eve and special family reunions. 

Image Files:

dumpling

Dumplings are being cooked (Photo was taken when H.S. was cooking dumplings this year during the Chinese New Year.)

dumpling

Dumplings with pork inside (Photo was taken by H.S. when the dumplings were ready for eating.)

Transcript of Interview Clip:

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

H.S. (informant): My mother is from the northern part of China, so as I grew up, we love cooked wheaten food. We eat dumplings a lot, and during the Chinese New year, the dumpling is a must.  

S.T.: What kind of fillings do you put inside of dumplings and what kind of flour do you use?

H.S.: We normally use wheat flour and sometimes cornflour. There are lots of different fillings, like pork with different vegetables, beef, shrimp, sheep, eggs with vegetables, or even something weird like sea urchin…

S.T.: Why do you and your family eat dumplings? Any meaning or hope associated with it? 

H.S.: Dumplings are often eaten during family reunions. Eating dumplings express the hope that the family members are always united. The shape of dumplings resembles the shape of Chinese gold ingots. Thus, making and eating dumplings expresses the hope of gaining wealth.

S.T.: Any custom when eating dumplings? Any tradition that you do only during the Chinese New Year?

H.S.: We sometimes place a coin or candy inside of one or two of the dumplings. Whoever gets the dumpling with the coin is the luckiest one. He/she is believed to have good fortune and sweet life in the new year.

S.T.: Do you know any folklore that is related to dumplings, since dumplings are such a representative Chinese New Year dish?

H.S.:  I heard that if you don’t eat dumplings, your name will be removed with the world of the dead and the living. After you die, you will become a ghost that has nowhere to go.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Making dumplings is also a social activity, during which all the family members gather together and make the dumplings. Even someone may not know how to make dumplings, but the fact that everyone is making the effort to do it strengthens the tie between family members.

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family also likes to eat dumplings a lot. Every time I went back home after leaving for a while, my mother will make dumplings with me together. For me, dumplings are a symbol of family reunions. It is also interesting to hear that dumplings are also related to the afterlife. The dumplings symbolize the transition from the old to new and from life to dearth, which is like the liminality stage. The fact that we eat dumplings for the hope of gaining wealth because of the resemblance in shape is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Dry Noodles

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – Christmas dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: D.G.
  • Date Collected: November 11, 2020

Informant Data:

  • D.G is a ’22 at Dartmouth. He currently resides in San, Jose California. He was born in San Jose and has lived there his entire life prior to college; however, his parents are from China.

Contextual Data:

Social Context

  • D.G. first ate this dish at Christmas in his middle school years. It was very important to him because he was only able to eat the dish once a year during Christmas. The recipe to the dish is currently only held by his grandpa, and he would only get to see his grandpa on Christmas, so it was the only opportunity to eat it. D.G. ties the dish to seeing family around festive occasions.

Cultural Context

  • In Chinese culture, long noodles symbolic long life due to the visual appearance. Additionally, because of taste preferences and familiarity with their own culture, Chinese immigrants adopted many traditional Chinese dishes for American holidays such as Christmas and choose to celebrate Christmas culturally instead of religiously. The immigration experience can be isolating, which is why many Chinese immigrants emphasize family and unity.

Item:

  • As you would expect, Dry Noodles is a dish made from long strands of dried noodles. The noodles are first boiled, then tossed in traditional seasoning and eaten with seafood.

Transcript of Interview Clip:

Y.H. (collector): What is a special Christmas dish that you eat?

D.G. (informant): So every Christmas, we eat something called Dry Noodles, which is similar to fried noodles, but it’s not fried. We eat it with different Chinese seasonings and a lot of seafood.

Y.H.: So when was the first time you came across this dish and what was the situation?

D.G.: So, when I first came across this dish, I guess, at Christmas when I was really young at a family gathering. I think this was around when I was in middle school.

Y.H.: Ok, and then, what meaning does the dish carry to you and what does it remind you of, if anything?

D.G.: Uh. Well. I guess this Dry Noodle dish is meaningful to me because it’s always my grandpa who cooks this dish, and we only get to see him during Christmas, so I guess I have come to associate the dish with Christmas because that would be the only time I can eat it. He’s the only one who knows the recipe and knows how to make it well. Also, when I eat it, it’s always a festive celebration so we reserve it for important events like that.

Y.H.: Besides that, is there any other symbolism?

D.G.: Symbolism? Well, I guess that one thing is that it is supposed to represent a long life because the noodles are very long. Originally I think we meant it for birthday celebrations within the family, but I only remember eating it for Christmas so I’m assuming that my family adapted it. There’s nothing beyond that.

Y.H.: What cultural context and what background information does someone need to know to appreciate the dish?

D.G.: Well the dish is a Chinese dish so they would probably need to know Chinese culture or Chinese customs. I really can’t think of anything else.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I think that it’s really interesting because the dish does not have anything to do with the history of Christmas itself. Rather, it is a symbol of familial folklore, in this case, a family recipe that is passed down from generation to generation. Christmas not only serves as a holiday, but also an opportunity where the elders in the family can pass down the folklore recipe to the younger generation. It’s really interesting when compared to Hot Pot and Roast Chicken, which also emphasize family.
  • Additionally, I think that to really understand the importance of this dish, one must understand family recipes that are passed down. Not every family does that and those that don’t may not fully comprehend the importance of family recipes.

Collector’s Name:

Yilin Huo

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Entrée: Filipino Spaghetti

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, superstition
  • Language: English Country of Origin: Philippines
  • Informant: E.R.
  • Date Collected: November 12, 2020

Informant Data: 

  • E.R. is a Filipino American that immigrated to the United States when she was 10 years old in 2012. She is from Nueva Ecija in the Philippines and lived in Manila with her mom before she moved. This dish is something she loved eating during Christmas time, as her mom made it for her, along with her siblings. Nowadays, she tries to make it during Christmas with her cousins in the United States.  

Contextual Data:    

  • Cultural Context: Filipino spaghetti is a special occasion treat because of its red color and stringy shape. Red represents good luck, and the noodles represent longevity. It is eaten during Christmas as the year comes to an end, and Christmas in the Philippines is celebrated similarly like New Year’s. Since rice is the most common source of carbohydrates, noodles like spaghetti are not eaten everyday. This is from American influence during colonialism, as spaghetti was liked by American army men. 
  • Social Context:  Filipino spaghetti is part of the Nochebuena feast. Specifically, it is made for the kids due to its sweetness. It adds on to the celebratory feel of the dinner as spaghetti represents festivities and brings joy and happiness to the dinner.

Item: 

  • Filipino Spaghetti is a Christmas dish that is not like the American and Italian pastas. It is made with either ground pork and beef, with tomato sauce, but also has sugar, Filipino red hotdogs, and sometimes, banana ketchup. It is topped with grated cheese, and made for special occasions like birthdays and Christmas.

Transcript from Interview Clip:

X.D. (collector): Hi, so please give a little introduction of yourself and your life. Do include life in the Philippines if you can.

E.R. (informant): Hey, so my name is ER, I am 18 years old, and I currently live in Eagle Rock, California. I did live in the Philippines in Manila, but my family was from Nueva Ecija.  I moved to the United States around 2012, when I was about 10 years old.

X.D.: What Christmas dish will you be talking about? Please do give some cultural context.

E.R.: So a special dish during Christmas I loved eating growing up was Filipino Spaghetti.

X.D.: Do explain how Filipino Spaghetti is different from the typical American Spaghetti.

E.R.: So Filipino Spaghetti is a sweet version of spaghetti. It has sugar, banana ketchup, Filipino hotdogs. People do eat it outside of Christmas, but only for birthdays and holidays because no one in the Philippines eats pasta on a regular basis. Filipino Spaghetti became a dish when the Americans came and introduced it to the Filipino people. Usually, Filipinos eat rice, so noodles are special. When the spaghetti is part of the meal, I don’t know, but it makes the meal more fiesta-like and festive. It feels happier around the table. And because it’s sweet, kids like to eat it. 

X.D.: A previous interview did state about red being good luck with Queso De Bola. Do you think spaghetti has some sort of connection with fortune and good luck too? Or is it just festive?

E.R.: No Yes! It kind of does play into that red is for good luck, so eat spaghetti for good luck. But another superstition with Filipinos is that noodles represent a long life. That is why it is eaten during birthdays with pancit (another Filipino noodle dish). Spaghetti is a Christmas meal since you do want to share good feelings with everyone and you hope for the best for everyone since it is the end of the year and you are looking towards a new year.

X.D.: Is there more on why Filipino Spaghetti is eaten during Christmas?

E.R.: I think that’s it.

X.D.: Thank you!

Informant’s Comments

  • Filipino Spaghetti is not just a Christmas dish, but also a dish for birthdays. This is due ot the noodles and its symoblism for a long life.

Collector: Xenia Dela Cueva

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Entrée: Jamón

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, religious belief
  • Language: English and Tagalog
  • Country of Origin: Philippines
  • Informant: M.D.
  • Date Collected: November 19, 2020

 Informant Data:      

  • M.D. was born in the Philippines in 1970, where she grew up in the Northern region, Ilocos Sur. Despite being raised in a rural region, she was sent to Catholic private school in the nearby city, Vigan, by her parents. M.D. then moved to Manila as an adult to study in one of the biggest universities of the country and later settled there. Afterwards, she immigrated to the United States with her husband in 2009 with their two kids and has since lived in the city with her family. 

Contextual Data:    

  • Cultural Context: Ham is a replacement as the main entrée to the typical lechon in the Philippines during Christmas time for many Filipino American households. Unless the town or city has a significant Filipino population, it is hard to find lechon in the United States, which is why this pork substitute suffices. This dish is also an American tradition during Christmas, so it is available in markets. This dish is round in nature, which also signifies good fortune, hence being eaten with Queso de Bola. Pork is eaten during Christmas to signify Catholicism, as other local religions do not eat pork. The practice of making pork as the main dish for Christmas is due to Spanish colonization, during which Spanish practices heavily influenced Filipino culture.
  • Social Context:  Ham is eaten as part of the food in Nochebuena (Christmas Eve Dinner) or is served with the Queso de Bola Cheese and bread on Christmas morning. Nochebuena is typically as important or even more important than the day of Christmas. The purpose of the dinner is to wait for the birth of Jesus Christ, which makes the 24th just as special. Like Lechon, ham is a special occasion entrée, and it is made for a larger gathering. Since Christmas is a time when all family and friends gather, the ham is shared with everyone.

Item:

  • The item is a dish called jamón, or ham. There are variations on what type of ham it is,  ranging from Chinese ham and canned ham to sliced whole ham. It is seasoned with a sweetener to cultivate a salty and sweet taste and is baked for hours. 

Transcript from Interview Clip:

X.D. (collector): Hello, can you please introduce yourself and provide some backstory of your life, especially when you were in the Philippines.

M.D. (informant): I’m MD, and I am from Santa, Ilocos-Sur. I was born in 1970, so I lived a very rural lifestyle. My parents did send me to Vigan to study in St. Paul. And then, I studied in UP (University of the Philippines) in Manila, and just settled there. I did move here in 2009 with my family and husband.

X.D.: So what Christmas food will you be talking about? Please do give some cultural context on it.

M.D.: During Christmas, we eat a lot of ham. We get it from the store, maybe add some sweeteners like pineapple, and basically bake it. It’s like the main dish.

X.D.: How about lechon? Why is ham eaten here (the United States) and not Lechon?

M.D.: Yea, lechon is more common in the Philippines. You have Filipinos in the US, yea, but where are they going to buy the lechon? It’s really rare here, even in Los Angeles. The process is more common in the Philippines, so ham is like our lechon here. Americans do eat ham on Christmas, so we can find ham here easier. I mean, people would eat ham in the Philippines too, but it is usually Chinese ham or canned ham. Ham also represents good luck because of its shape. Back at home, if my husband brought ham from his company, it was eaten with the cheese (Queso de Bola) and pandesal (bread) on Christmas mornings.

X.D.: So why is ham eaten during Christmas Eve instead, and why did it replace lechon?

M.D.: Pork is really important to eat on Christmas. It was like a celebratory meat, and we are Catholic, so pork makes us different from Filipino Muslims. I guess that is from Spanish influence, since they did eat ham too. Nochebuena is really big because that’s the time we expect Jesus’ birth. We wait until midnight when it’s Christmas because that is when he was born. With ham, you can share with people since it’s already sliced, and that’s what a Filipino Christmas is: to share. 

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family eats ham as a Christmas dish when we are in the United States but eats lechon in the Philippines. While both ham and lechon can be eaten together either in the Philippines and the United States, it is slightly uncommon to do so as both dishes are expensive.

Collector: Xenia Dela Cueva

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Dessert: Suman (Sticky Rice)

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, religious custom
  • Language: Tagalog
  • Country of Origin: Philippines
  • Informant: J.D.
  • Date Collected: November 19, 2020

Informant Data:      

  • J.D. was born in the Philippines in 1963, where he grew up in the Northern region, Ilocos Sur. He grew up in a rural town, where he had helped farm rice as part of his everyday life. During the 1980s, he moved to the capital, Manila, to study engineering, where he would eventually settle to have two kids. He later moved to the United States in 2009 and has since lived in the city with his family. 

Contextual Data:    

  • Cultural Context:  Suman is a traditional Christmas dessert because the Philippines is historically agrarian. Christmas is a time for feasting and represents abundance, so this dessert is made with cheap and accessible ingredients, like rice and coconuts, to be able to serve everyone. However, what sets this apart from a typical dessert is that it is labor intensive, as each suman is wrapped individually, and the coconut milk used for it is traditionally squeezed manually from the coconut meat although more modern takes just use canned coconut milk. 
  • Social Context:  Suman was eaten after morning prayers and masses. Christmas is also similar to the American Thanksgiving, where the celebration is meant to be thankful for everyone and the blessings within your life. It was necessary to pray or go to Church as Filipinos were Catholic, and giving thanks meant being grateful to God. This dish was served after the prayers, as people finish spending a portion of their day with God and are ready to celebrate the rest of the holiday.

Item:

  • The item is a desert called Suman, or Filipino sticky rice. It is made with glutinous (or malagkit) rice, coconut milk, and sugar. It is half-cooked, and then the rice and coconut milk mixture is individually wrapped in either a cylindrical or pyramid shape with banana leaves. Finally, the suman is steamed until the rice is fully cooked and served with sugar. 

Translation of Interview Clip :

X.D. (collector): Hi, please introduce yourself and give a backstory of your life, even when you lived in the Philippines.

J.D. (informant): Ok, my name is J.D. I was born in 1963 and I lived in Santa, Ilocos-Sur. I moved to Manila to study engineering, and I stayed there to raise my family, until around February 2009. Then I came here.

X.D.: Can you give a little backstory on your life in Santa. You’ve mentioned before this interview a little about it.

J.D.: Ok. Santa, when I lived there, was mostly farming. You know, it’s very rural. As a young boy, I would help in the rice fields for some money because we were really poor back then. 

X.D.: So what Christmas dish will you talk about? Please give context to it.

J.D.: Suman, which is a desert, is a Christmas food. They make it with, how do you call it in English? Malagkit?

X.D.: I’m not sure, I’ll research that later for you.

J.D.: Yea, they make it with malagkit rice, coconut milk, and sugar. They pack the rice in a banana leaf, and they steam it. It comes in either the triangular shape or just the regular stick. As a child, I ate it after we all prayed. I’d dipped it in sugar so it was sweeter.

X.D.: Was there a reason why you ate it in Christmas? I know suman is common nowadays.

J.D.: Back then, suman was the only thing that could be made for everyone. The Philippines mostly had farmers, and we only had rice and coconut milk, so suman was the dish that could be eaten. But it was labor intensive! You had to squeeze the milk from the coconut meat and then wrap it. Now it’s easier, but it still takes a lot of time! We ate it after the prayers because usually it was a community prayer, and then after one of the ladies would help pass it around. As a child, I’d be so happy to eat it. 

X.D.: So are the prayers before the dinner? Can you explain more on that?

J.D.: No, going to Church during Christmas is an early morning event. You had to go to Church. Remember, everyone is Catholic, and you have to say thanks to God and your blessings. It’s like Thanksgiving here. After that, people were hungry, which is why Suman is eaten.

Informant’s Comments:

  • There’s different types of suman, depending where you are in the Philippines. In the Ilocos-Sur, suman is popularly in a triangular shape.

Collector: Xenia Dela Cueva

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Entrée: Roast Chicken

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – Christmas dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: A.Z.
  • Date Collected: November 13, 2020

Informant Data:

  • A.Z. is a Dartmouth ’22. She currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts and identifies as an Asian-American. Her parents are from China, but she was born and raised in the United States her whole life.

Contextual Data:

Social Context

  • A.Z. first had the dish 10 years ago with her family for Christmas. Either she or her parents cooks the chicken. While the roast chicken is the star of the Christmas meal, she also makes side dishes that go along the chicken.
  • The family tradition of eating roast chicken during Christmas started because A.Z. and her family were looking for a type of poultry to eat. According to their interpretation, the idea of eating poultry is closely tied to holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  • As a result, for A.Z., it symbolizes family and getting together as well as taking the time to sit down with each other to have a good time during Christmas.

Cultural Context

  • Poultry is viewed as a significant part of the American Christmas meal. A.Z. and her family sought to adopt this tradition. The roast chicken and the accompanying side dishes represent a fusion between American and Chinese cuisines.

Item:

Roast Chicken is a whole chicken bought raw from the grocery store and then cooked at home. The chicken is seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary and other herbs. The chicken is then placed on a baking tray and inserted into the oven to cook and roast.

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

(0.08) Y.H. (collector): All right, so what is a special Christmas dish?

A.Z. (informant): So we don’t usually eat like a set Christmas dish every year. But a lot of the time when we look at reverse chicken, and we usually eat a mixture of Chinese and American food. So it’s like a, like a full chicken, but we’ll cook it ourselves. So I don’t really, my mother, usually will help out. But like, since the roast chicken is harder to do, show, like, do the main stuff with that will help out with like the side dishes.

Y.H.: When did you first eat it? What does the roast chicken symbolize for you?

A.Z.: I can’t remember, but maybe like 10 years ago. We also do the same thing for Thanksgiving. So, um, I guess it symbolizes family for me. I think I think it’s like, less so than what the chicken itself symbolizes. But like, the chicken is a proxy for like, what Christmas symbolizes for me. I think, like I said before, I think it symbolizes family and getting together. And just like taking the time to, like, sit down with each other. And just have a good time relaxing.

Y.H.: In your opinion, what sort of cultural background understanding is required to enjoy the dish?

A.Z.: Could you rephrase the question? So I guess like, Okay, I’m not sure if I’m understanding the question, right. But I don’t think you need to have like any certain kind of background to understand why we eat chicken like it’s not I feel like it’s not, it’s definitely not a Chinese dish. And like we more so adapted it to like American standards. Because like, we do feel that like Christmas is an American holiday. So we tend to emphasize the American dishes a little more than we do the Chinese dishes. So like, for example, like chicken will be the star of the dinner rather than, like some Chinese fish dish that we make.

I think it’s like when we think of like stereotypical Christmas, we think of like this giant bird. Or like, or, like we think I feel like I feel like ham is like a very, um, Christmas-esque dish. But I feel like none of us know that our family doesn’t really like ham. And I think like, just like the look of a chicken. It’s very gray. And so that’s why we eat it. (4.00)

Collector Comments:

  • I actually really empathize with the fact that the roast chicken is not purely a Chinese dish, like A.Z. said – it is a blend of Chinese and American cooking styles, especially when combined with the side dishes. It creates a really interesting family culture that is only present in the presence of people who are part of the Chinese diaspora. Similar to the discussions of the origins of folklore potentially stemming from a diaspora, this Roast Chicken tradition is a result of the Chinese culture that A.Z.’s family brought with them combined with American culture.

Collector’s Name: Yilin Huo

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Entrée: Lechon

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family traditions
  • Language: Tagalog and English
  • Country of Origin: Philippines
  • Informant: B.B.
  • Date Collected: November 7, 2020

Informant Data:      

  • B.B. was born in 2000 in the Philippines, where she grew up in the Northern region called Ilocos-Sur. She studied from pre- school to high school in Ilocos-Sur, in a private Catholic school named St. Paul, and she was raised by her grandmother and distant relatives as her parents worked in the United States. She later moved to Los Angeles in 2016, where she is currently studying at a local college. 

Contextual Data:    

  • Cultural Context:  The Philippines is historically a poor country, and meat is rare to eat, let alone a whole pig. So during Christmas, it is shared with others, as the Filipino culture is family and community oriented, and Christmas is a time to bring people together. The reason to share abundance with the community is because Christmas is an important holiday for Filipinos to celebrate, especially since most of the country is Catholic.
  • Social Context:   Lechon is served during Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve Dinner. It is the main entree of the dinner, and the dinner consists of family members and neighbors as well as friends that are not regularly seen. Sharing this dish reflects the intimacy between the community, and therefore the spirit of Christmas, as the holiday is meant to be celebrated with loved ones.

Item:

  • The item is a dish called Lechon, which is a whole pig. It is gutted and then stuffed with aromatics native to the Philippines and the region like lemongrass. It is then roasted on a bed of charcoal, constantly rotated and glazed. This process is about 6-8 hours long, which leaves the skin to be crispy and golden. It is served on top of banana leaves and is placed as the center dish on the table for Christmas dinners. 

Transcript of Interview Clip:

X.D. (collector): Can you please introduce yourself and where you are from in the Philippines and a little backstory of your life.

B.B. (informant): Uh, my name is BB, I’m from Santa Ilocos-Sur. I’m 20 years old, and I moved here in the United States around 4 years ago. I went to school at St. Paul (Catholic School in Vigan, Ilocos-Sur), while mom and dad were here. I lived with Grandma and my two other cousins before moving here. 

X.D.: Ok thank you. So what Filipino Christmas dish will you be talking about?

B.B. : So I will be talking about Lechon, which is a roasted whole pig. Usually in the Philippines, a group of men will degut the pig in the morning of Christmas Eve, and they’ll stuff it with aromatics like lemongrass and bay leaves, whatever Filipinos had. And they’ll roast it on a big bed of charcoal with other pigs until and gets really crispy and delicious.

X.D.: Do you know how long it takes?

B.B. : Uhh, a long long time. Like I’d say more than 6 hours, at least. That’s why it’s eaten for dinner, because it’s not yet ready by lunchtime. 

X.D.: Can you explain why Filipinos eat lechon during Christmas and can you explain its cultural context a bit?

B.B. : Lechon is really a special occasion dish. No one is going to eat lechon on a weekly basis, everyone is too poor for that. It is eaten with the whole community: friends, family, neighbors because Christmas is the excuse to get together and celebrate. As Filipinos, Christmas is like our number one holiday. Because of Catholicism, we really become festive for Christmas time and we celebrate it with who we love and the people in our lives. So lechon is a way to share that love and bond, because it’s a special to share something so rare to eat with people.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The sheer abundance of the pig means there are plenty of leftovers after Christmas. So, those leftovers are split with the people and their own families and made into a new dish called Lechon Paksiw, which is a pork stew with vinegar. 

Collector’s Comments:

  • Lechon is not really eaten by my family in the United States because in the Philippines, Nochebuena dinners have much more people (usually 20+). When I do go to the Philippines, Lechon is served for Christmas. Instead, the substitute that many Filipino Americans use as their main entrée for Christmas is ham. 

Collector: Xenia Dela Cueva

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Entrée: Hot Pot

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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

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