'Chinese Chorizo' Honors Blend of Two Cultures in Arizona
2022-10-29
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1If the coronavirus pandemic had never happened, Feng-Feng Yeh might not have learned the full history of Chinese Americans in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona.
2Yeh was a top chef, or cook, in New York City when pandemic-linked business closings ended her job and career plans.
3She decided to move back to her hometown.
4She also decided to revisit her passion for public art.
5Looking for ideas, Yeh researched the history of Chinese immigrants in the Tucson area.
6On the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center website, she learned that Chinese family-owned food stores were a successful industry in the city beginning in the 1900s.
7These food or grocery stores were more than just businesses.
8They were also lifelines for the area's Mexican American communities.
9The food stores - also called grocery stores- even started preparing Mexican chorizo.
10Chorizo is a ground and spiced sausage, or meat from a pig.
11It earned the nickname "Chinese chorizo."
12Yeh said she was "very moved" by the alliance formed between Mexican and Chinese Americans.
13She described immigration policies set during the same period as "quite racist."
14"I thought that was something that you don't learn in school, especially in Arizona.
15I thought it was something that should be recognized and shared," Yeh said.
16Chinese immigrants settling in Arizona were doing so under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the U.S. government's first race-based immigration policy.
17Both Chinese and Mexican immigrants faced racism even though they were critical members of the workforce.
18Older Chinese Americans in Tucson say they have spent years trying to spread knowledge about this history.
19Yeh proposed building a 3.4-meter-tall statue of two chorizo sausage links.
20She recently won financial support through the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation.
21In support for the project, she organized a celebration called Tucson Chinese Chorizo Festival.
22For the month of October, several local restaurants and food trucks have been serving specials with meat and vegan chorizo.
23Even many locals do not know about Tucson's major Chinese presence.
24The Tucson Chinese Cultural Center is a large space, at almost 1,400 square meters.
25It serves as a community center and museum.
26Established in 2005, it has a multipurpose room, large kitchen, classrooms, and a room with tables for playing the Chinese game called mahjong.
27The walls are covered with pictures and histories of long-gone Chinese grocery stores.
28The center also has a YouTube channel that includes a video on Chinese chorizo.
29"A lot of people don't know we exist after 17 years. So, we've been trying to get the word out," said Susan Chan, the center's chief leader.
30Starting in 1900, Chinese-owned grocery stores succeeded and became an economic force in Tucson.
31By the 1940s, there were 130 families running more than 100 grocery stores in the city.
32The number of stores dropped in the 1970s and 1980s as larger food stores moved in and young Chinese Americans sought other careers.
33Allen Lew's father, Joe Wee Lew, opened his first of three stores in 1955.
34The stores were called Joe's Super Market.
35Allan Lew began working at the market around the age of 10.
36He remained in the business until the last store closed after 30 years in operation.
37He is now 74 years old and a longtime member of the center's board.
38Lew and his four siblings grew up serving Mexican and Native American customers.
39Everyone felt like they "were all a big neighborhood family."
40In fact, many Chinese grocers would let poor customers pay when they could.
41"A lot of them get paid like once a month, every two weeks, and they ran out of money," Lew said.
42For the festival, Chinese-made chorizo is being celebrated with inventive dishes that combine Chinese and Mexican cultures.
43A local meat store provided the more than 225 kilograms of meat and plant-based chorizo to restaurants for the festival. Yeh created the vegan recipe.
44She invited Jackie Tran, a Tucson food writer and owner of Tran's Fats food truck, to work on the real meat recipe.
45Tran's family is Chinese and Vietnamese.
46He added spices to the meat including Sichuan pepper, coriander seed and Chinese five-spice powder.
47For the statue, Yeh is partnering with Carlos Valenzuela, a Tucson-born artist of Mexican and Native American ancestry.
48Valenzuela's grandfather had had a credit account with a local Chinese grocery store.
49If the idea of a chorizo statue brings a laugh, that is the way Yeh wants it.
50"I think it's eye-catching for tourists to come and recognize that this town is a town that was heavily influenced by Chinese culture, which I don't think a lot of people know," said Yeh, who still needs more money to pay for the project.
51What does Lew, the son of a Chinese grocer, think about the chorizo statue?
52"That's great," Lew said.
53"I was surprised because I think when you grow up and you've done something all your life here, you don't think it's a big thing."
54"But someone outside thinks, 'This is different. This is neat.'"
55I'm Caty Weaver.
56And I'm Andrew Smith.
1If the coronavirus pandemic had never happened, Feng-Feng Yeh might not have learned the full history of Chinese Americans in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. 2Yeh was a top chef, or cook, in New York City when pandemic-linked business closings ended her job and career plans. She decided to move back to her hometown. She also decided to revisit her passion for public art. 3Looking for ideas, Yeh researched the history of Chinese immigrants in the Tucson area. On the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center website, she learned that Chinese family-owned food stores were a successful industry in the city beginning in the 1900s. 4These food or grocery stores were more than just businesses. They were also lifelines for the area's Mexican American communities. The food stores - also called grocery stores- even started preparing Mexican chorizo. Chorizo is a ground and spiced sausage, or meat from a pig. It earned the nickname "Chinese chorizo." 5Yeh said she was "very moved" by the alliance formed between Mexican and Chinese Americans. She described immigration policies set during the same period as "quite racist." 6"I thought that was something that you don't learn in school, especially in Arizona. I thought it was something that should be recognized and shared," Yeh said. 7Chinese immigrants settling in Arizona were doing so under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the U.S. government's first race-based immigration policy. Both Chinese and Mexican immigrants faced racism even though they were critical members of the workforce. 8Older Chinese Americans in Tucson say they have spent years trying to spread knowledge about this history. 9Yeh proposed building a 3.4-meter-tall statue of two chorizo sausage links. She recently won financial support through the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation. In support for the project, she organized a celebration called Tucson Chinese Chorizo Festival. For the month of October, several local restaurants and food trucks have been serving specials with meat and vegan chorizo. 10Even many locals do not know about Tucson's major Chinese presence. 11The Tucson Chinese Cultural Center is a large space, at almost 1,400 square meters. It serves as a community center and museum. Established in 2005, it has a multipurpose room, large kitchen, classrooms, and a room with tables for playing the Chinese game called mahjong. The walls are covered with pictures and histories of long-gone Chinese grocery stores. The center also has a YouTube channel that includes a video on Chinese chorizo. 12"A lot of people don't know we exist after 17 years. So, we've been trying to get the word out," said Susan Chan, the center's chief leader. 13Starting in 1900, Chinese-owned grocery stores succeeded and became an economic force in Tucson. By the 1940s, there were 130 families running more than 100 grocery stores in the city. The number of stores dropped in the 1970s and 1980s as larger food stores moved in and young Chinese Americans sought other careers. 14Allen Lew's father, Joe Wee Lew, opened his first of three stores in 1955. The stores were called Joe's Super Market. Allan Lew began working at the market around the age of 10. He remained in the business until the last store closed after 30 years in operation. He is now 74 years old and a longtime member of the center's board. 15Lew and his four siblings grew up serving Mexican and Native American customers. Everyone felt like they "were all a big neighborhood family." 16In fact, many Chinese grocers would let poor customers pay when they could. "A lot of them get paid like once a month, every two weeks, and they ran out of money," Lew said. 17For the festival, Chinese-made chorizo is being celebrated with inventive dishes that combine Chinese and Mexican cultures. 18A local meat store provided the more than 225 kilograms of meat and plant-based chorizo to restaurants for the festival. Yeh created the vegan recipe. She invited Jackie Tran, a Tucson food writer and owner of Tran's Fats food truck, to work on the real meat recipe. 19Tran's family is Chinese and Vietnamese. He added spices to the meat including Sichuan pepper, coriander seed and Chinese five-spice powder. 20For the statue, Yeh is partnering with Carlos Valenzuela, a Tucson-born artist of Mexican and Native American ancestry. Valenzuela's grandfather had had a credit account with a local Chinese grocery store. 21If the idea of a chorizo statue brings a laugh, that is the way Yeh wants it. 22"I think it's eye-catching for tourists to come and recognize that this town is a town that was heavily influenced by Chinese culture, which I don't think a lot of people know," said Yeh, who still needs more money to pay for the project. 23What does Lew, the son of a Chinese grocer, think about the chorizo statue? 24"That's great," Lew said. "I was surprised because I think when you grow up and you've done something all your life here, you don't think it's a big thing." 25"But someone outside thinks, 'This is different. This is neat.'" 26I'm Caty Weaver. 27And I'm Andrew Smith. 28The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. 29______________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31vegan - adj. free of all animal product 32museum - n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (as works of art or historical or scientific objects) are collected and shown to the public 33sibling - n. a brother or sister 34customer - n. one that buys a product or service 35recipe - n. a set of directions for making something, especially food 36tourist - n. a person who travels for pleasure 37neat - adj. very pleasant, fun, enjoyable or interesting 38_________________________________________________________________ 39What do you think of this story? 40We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 41Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.