#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Linda Tay Esposito

Linda Tay Esposito

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I live in SF now, but I am from Malaysia, specifically PJ. I am a 4th generation Hua Qiao. 95.5% Chinese to be exact, the rest a mix of SE Asian. Both my grandfathers were adopted, one into a Fujianese family, the other a Hakka family. I grew up speaking Cantonese, Hokkien was a secret language between my dad and my Ah Ma. I came to America about 3.5 decades ago, and have been back and forth across the pond several times. It is when I am away, I learn much about my Chinese heritage.

What does home taste like?

I grew up on pork. Steamed pork patties with salted fish, old cucumber boiled with pork bones soup, luncheon meat aka spam. Special occasions always include tau yu bak - braised pork belly with dark soy and garlic. Now home is mostly vegetarian - one of my twins is a 4th gen vegetarian, the other twin almost a vegetarian.

Rice or noodles?

Noodles always. You can take the girl out of Asia, but not the noodles out of her.

Share a food memory:

My food memory is about the lack of food. I grew up middle class poor. No one knew that our family didn't have enough money to put food on the table. We had to be resourceful running up to payday - a couple of eggs cracked over hot steaming rice, seasoned with dark soy sauce, easily fed a family of 8. It was delicious, and when times were good, we would drop in a big pat of butter. It was the lack of options that made one appreciate what you have.

Who's your Chinese food legend?

All the amazing street food vendors up and down Malaysia, HK and China. These are the countries I spent most of my time outside of SF.

The CKT dancing master in Old Town PJ, who dances while he cooks with his half worn spatula. Its shape perfectly hugs the wok's contour.

The Hokkien mee "Ah Pak" wokking over a raging fire - sending a cloud of fire up 15 feet high every few minutes.

The "Chu Chap Jook" vendor serving nose to tail (literally! even before nose-to-tail was a thing) jook - each entrail type so perfectly cooked, they come together like an orchestra. I especially love the crispy intestines croutons against the silky rice porridge.

The little old lady hunched over a bowl of mung bean jelly ASMR-ing grating out the liang fen and ladling over it a hauntingly numbing and fiery chili oil in a street corner in frigid, smog-filled Chongqing.

Ultimate comfort food:

Instant noodles with an egg.

What’s a Chinese dish everyone should learn?

Cantonese steamed fish with ginger and green onions. And learning to cook rice stovetop.

The secret Chinese ingredient is…

Wok hei.

Dream dinner party guests:

My sister, Lillian who introduced me to good eating, and yes, the rest of my family. Having lived away most of my life, having everyone in a room together would be a dream. In one generation we grew from spam and diluted Campbell soup to be able to afford experiences in some of the fanciest restaurants. And please throw in some of my best food buddies. You know who you are.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

The Chinese diaspora is so wide. Even within China itself, there's no one flavor profile to accurately describe "Chinese" food. Chinese food to me is about family, history, creativity, survival, adaptation, resilience. It is also about indulgence, deliciousness and diversity.