Part of CULINASIA: The Future of Asian Food in America

Presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Evening Program on Zoom

Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - 6:30 p.m. ET

Code: 1L0406

NOTE: Free program, registration required.

https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/saving-chinatown-and-our-legacies

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Since its introduction to the United States more than 150 years ago, Chinese cuisine has become an American staple. Its cooking techniques, from stir frying and smoking to steaming and braising, have grown in popularity over the decades. At the same time, Chinese Americans have been ridiculed, shunned, excluded, and discriminated against. In the COVID-19 era, anti-Asian racism and violence against Asian Americans have been widespread, and many storied institutions—from small mom-and-pop shops to massive dim sum banquet halls—have permanently closed their doors. Why is the survival of Chinese restaurants so essential to the future of American culture and to the soul of our cities? How do we preserve the legacy of Asian food in America, and why do these efforts matter now?

Grace Young, Brandon Jew, Jennifer Tam and Victoria Lee, Daphne Wu, and Wellington Chen (left to right)

Join a panel of chefs, advocates, and activists who discuss the future of Chinatowns across the country. The panel includes food writer Grace Young, a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and co-creator of Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories; Brandon Jew, chef and owner of Mister Jiu's, Moongate Lounge, and Mamahuhu in San Francisco, and author of Mister Jiu's in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese American Food (Ten Speed Press); Jennifer Tam and Victoria Lee, founders of Welcome to Chinatown, a grassroots initiative supporting New York City’s Chinatown businesses; Daphne Wu, co-organizer of Save Our Chinatowns, an arts and culture initiative uplifting Bay Area Chinatown communities; and Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown BID/Partnership in New York.