The diversity of Asian American food culture



Asian American-inspired foods are everywhere—or so it seems. A decade ago, chop suey, sushi, curry, adobo, and kimchi were emblematic of Asian American culinary influence. Today, boba, ube, bibingka, phở, matcha, gochujang, and málà have joined the roster of foods strongly associated with Asian Americans. These foods were once considered exotic but now are embraced by mainstream culture.

Food studies continues to be an appetizing area of Asian American studies. Eating More Asian America is a follow-up to the influential Eating Asian America, and it provides a rich illustration of the intersection of Asian America and its various foodways. The book posits that food is never simply sustenance—the comestible material that provides fuel for our bodies. Rather, food is a way of knowing, a way of being, and a way of understanding. The essays in Eating More Asian America convey the intellectual richness of various foodways as they intersect with and inform the racial and political construct known as “Asian America.”

The twenty-one essays in this volume reflect the diversity of Asian America itself as well as the subfield of food studies. The volume not only offers coverage in terms of topics and types of ethnic food, it also provides a rich and impressive array of methodological approaches. A veritable feast for the senses, Eating More Asian America explores the myriad ways critical eating studies has developed over the past decade.