#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Scott Chang-Fleeman, Shao Shan Farm

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 am a fourth generation Los Angeleno living in the SF Bay Area. My father’s family is white and American, like Mayflower American. My mother’s family is from Zhongshan originally but has been in Los Angeles for the last four generations.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

Chinese food means celebration to me. My family does not cook Chinese food very often but for birthdays, graduations, holidays, or if my sister or I are in town visiting we always get together with my aunties, uncles and cousins and go out to eat a big Chinese meal. As a multi–generational American a lot of the recipes and culinary knowledge has been lost to my family, but there is such a strong tie to the flavours of Cantonese food that there is no question that the dim sum hall is the place to go on a special occasion.

Favourite Chinese vegetable?

A tie between choy sum (菜心) and dou miao (豆苗).

Share a food memory:

I went out to a Chinese restaurant in SF Chinatown with my sister and her friends and someone ordered hom yee jeng yook baeng (咸鱼蒸肉饼 / steamed pork cake with salted fish). It was the first time I had eaten it since I was eight or nine years old at my grandma’s house and the flavour hit me like a semi truck. I had forgotten entirely about that dish and had to call my grandma and explain what I ate and ask her what is was because I could so strongly remember the taste. Think ratatouille.

The perfect stir fry:

Bitter melon and egg

Who’s your Chinese food legend?

My Chinese food legends are the folks from The Woks of Life blog. They do an amazing job at capturing the stories and flavours of a wide range of Chinese cooking.

What’s in your fridge at home?

Not much these days! I’m fully entrenched in starting a business so it’s mainly leftovers from the restaurant where I work night shifts, peanut butter, eggs and veggies. My auntie gave me a couple jars of fermented bean curd and shrimp paste too.

What does home taste like?

Home tastes like my mom’s potato casserole, a bowl of jook when I have the stomach flu, the taco truck down the street from my friend’s grandma’s house, and a hot char siu bao from Chinatown Bakery.

#ChineseFoodiesofIGJenny LauMay 27, 2019chinese identity, foodies, farming, san francisco, chinese american, sustainable farming, vegetablesComment