Jennifer Lee Quotes & Sayings

“I like to say, 'Chop suey's the biggest culinary joke that one culture has ever played on another,' because chop suey, if you translate into Chinese, means 'tsap sui,' which, if you translate back, means 'odds and ends.'”

“My siblings and I are known as ABCs, American-born Chinese.”

“In deference to American traditions, my family put our oven to rare use at Thanksgiving during my childhood, with odd roast-turkey experiments involving sticky-rice stuffing or newfangled basting techniques that we read about in magazines.”

“Chinese cooking is noisy - a multitasking activity that requires constant vigilance. There is no downtime.”

“Headline writing is an art form.”

“For most of our young lives, my family was baffled by elementary school bake sales, to which we were told to bring in goodies to sell. While other kids arrived bearing brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and apple pies, Chinese families didn't bake.”

“We might be shifting away from a Eurocentric view of the United States into something that's much more multicultural, multinational, and Chinese food is just one slice of that.”

“With wok cooking, you chop things up into little pieces for maximum surface area, so they can cook in minutes, if not seconds. Sauteing is energy efficient; baking is not.”

“Chinese restaurants have long been a weekly or monthly ritual for many Americans.”

“I am obsessed with Chinese restaurants. Like many Americans, I first discovered them in my childhood.”