Chongqing is my hometown. It is famous for Mala hot pot. No matter where I go, hot pot becomes the symbol that represents my memories in Chongqing. Chongqing hot pot was first eaten by boatmen near Yangtze River. People eat spicy hot pot because it’s easier to boil different vegetables and meat together, and also because spicy food are healthy for the humid weather. Today, Chongqing hot pot becomes the city’s cultural tradition, and tourists all come to the city to taste the most authentic Mala hot pot. When I studied in the U.S, hot pot became the food that I missed the most. It’s not just the taste of the food, but memories of my hometown. Just like the author said in the essay Thinking about Food in Chinese History, “regional foodways remain a core component of cultural identity in China. Both the tenacity of regional taste preferences and the almost limitless flexibility that food provides as a vehicle for constructing a sense of home and imagining an ideal society.”
I have eaten Chongqing hot pot in many countries and cities, but they all taste differently. The taste of hot pot changes based on local customers’ needs. Outside Chongqing, hot pot is just a symbol of the city. For example, in Flushing, Chongqing LaoZao hot pot (重庆老灶) is famous for making the most authentic Chongqing hot pot in New York. The restaurant has many Chongqing style decorations and furniture. It looks like a hot pot restaurant in Chongqing, but it tastes differently. It’s not spicy and ma (麻) enough, because many Americans can’t eat spicy food. Similarly, in Shanghai, many hot pot restaurants taste sweet because local Shanghainese love to eat sweet food. Back to my experience, even though I know those restaurants are not authentic enough, I still love to go, because it is my way of “culinary nostalgia, the recollection or purposive evocation of another time and place through food.” It is a form of self-deception. I’m always eager to find authentic Chongqing hot pot around the world although I know it’s pointless and nearly impossible, because people who lived in that city are different. Even the same owner opened the restaurant in New York, London and Shanghai, she or he has to localize Chongqing hot pot based on the local market. Today, Chongqing hot pot is not just the food but the symbol of reginal culture. When I talked to my friends about hot pot, I always start with the history of hot pot and some cultural traditions while eating hot pot. The taste of hot pot is not that important outside the Chongqing, but the story of Mala hot pot becomes vital.
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