Video
My General Tso’s chicken talk on TED.com in classrooms
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009I recently learned that my talk at TED.com on General Tso’s chicken, which was filmed at Taste3 conference in July 2008, is being used in two different university settings. It’s being shown to computer science teaching assistants as an example of an engaging presentation style. And a professor tweeted me that she was using it [...]
Martha Stewart Rerun, Fried Turkey Dumplings, August 6
Thursday, August 6th, 2009Martha Stewart segment is re-airing today, August 6. It was taped originally live-ish in late February. We make fried turkey dumplings. If you look closely, you will be able to see my mom!
Satellite Kids, a Chinese Restaurant By-Product
Sunday, July 26th, 2009In The New York Times, Nina Bernstein writes about the troubled development of satellite kids, (often) of Chinese restaurant workers, who are sent back to China to be raised (often) by grandparents. This was the case with the Hiawassee family in book (earlier article about the family here).
A 1999 article by Somini Sengupta covers [...]
Song Lyrics Exclusively From Fortune Cookie Fortunes
Monday, May 18th, 2009This is an amusing stop animation video on YouTube where all the song lyrics are derived from fortune cookies. The funny thing is I’ve seen some of these fortunes before, like “The first and only love is self-love.”
At 7 minutes, it looks like it took a long time to put together!
My Taste3 Talk is Up On Ted
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008Went up today! Beautifully edited by Jason Wishnow.
Jennifer 8. Lee: Who was General Tso? and other mysteries of American Chinese food
Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her hunt for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes — exploring the hidden spots where these two cultures have (so tastily) combined to form a new cuisine.
taste3, TED
Good Morning America Weekend: Fortune Cookies Aren’t Chinese
Monday, August 25th, 2008Here is the Good Morning America Weekend piece that ran during the Olympics. Produced by Imtiyaz Delawala (who was on my school paper!) and correspondented by Juju Chang. Also involves Wonton Food.
This piece that actually was initially discussed during the March release of my book. But they decided to peg it to the Olympics. It [...]
ABC: The mystery of the fortune cookie’s history
Sunday, August 17th, 2008Television loves fortune cookies as a result of the Beijing Olympics. I did a segment with ABC on the history of the fortune cookie with Juju Chang.
I swear, fortune cookies and “man date” are going to be part of my obituary, or at the very least the college reunion report.
ABC, fortune cookies, juju chang, Media [...]
Library of Congress Cybercast is finally up
Thursday, May 29th, 2008A bit delayed, but my first talk from my book tour is finally up. It was actually, looking back, a fantastic event to kick off my book tour. About 150 people in the middle of the day (almost all of whom I didn’t know). That and the Politics and Prose event, also ~150 people, [...]
Charlie Rose Tomorrow is different from Tomorrow’s Charlie Rose
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008I did a segment for Charlie Rose Tomorrow, which is an online-only interview done by Charlotte Morgan of younger-ish people. But a lot of people have e-mailed/IMed me congratulating me for being on tomorrow’s Charlie Rose. And I realized that they think the sement is previewing what is showing tomorrow on the television show. But [...]
Eric’s book party toast — a lesson in humor
Friday, May 23rd, 2008Dave Lu of Fanpop finally put up the toast that my friend Eric, who hosted my book party gave. I swear. Like 20 people independently have come up to me and said his toast was fantastic or funny or memorable. It was actually an amazing toast. Part of it was extempted.
book party, public speaking, [...]
YouTube Celebrates Asian American-ness (and you can win an iPod Nano)
Friday, May 2nd, 2008YouTube and The Asia Society collaborated for a video series on Asian Americanness for Asian American Heritage Month. And I got to be included in it (very flattering). It’s a pretty fneat group — including a senator, Hollywood actors and a Silicon Valley start-up folk. The main video is a montage of interviews from a [...]
Food Network: Online interview with the Amateur Gourment
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008Here is an episode of FN Dish, the Food Network’s edgier online cousin, hosted by Adam Roberts of the Amateur Gourmet.
Adam and I went to New York City’s Chinatown and eat my favorite buffet place on Grand Street between Chrystie and Bowery: $4 for five items! He tried pigs heart (his Jewish grandmother [...]
Fortune Cookie Chronicles on CNN with Lola Ogunnaike (and a Jack-o-Melon).
Saturday, April 12th, 2008CNN ran a segment on Chinese food in America by my former colleague Lola Ogunnaike. Produced by the lovely Ethel Bass. We actually filmed at an Empire Szechuan, a descendent of the original restaurant that sparked the delivery revolution. I asked Lola what was different from print and television, and one of the things [...]
Time.com: Explaining General Tso (convergence)
Friday, March 28th, 2008Time Magazine has a video with me talking about American Chinese food at Chinatown Brasserie. I’m interviewed by Gibert Cruz who himself is a print journalist by training. But we are all learning video. It’s all about convergence, I’m discovering.
Media & Interviews, time magazine, Video
Preparing for The Colbert Report
Saturday, March 8th, 2008Here is my explanation of what it’s like to prepare for The Colbert Report on The Huffington Post:
Don’t try to be funny.
That was the piece of advice that was repeatedly given to me when my friends first heard I was booked on The Colbert Report to talk about my book on Chinese food in America, [...]
Introducing fortune cookies to China
Thursday, March 6th, 2008During my trip to China, I took along boxes of Wonton Food’s fortune cookies and gave them out to Chinese people along the way. This is a compilation of their reactions. (The people here are from Houyu, Kaifeng, Shenzhen and Changsha).
fortune cookies, quirky, Video
Video: Watch fortune cookies being handmade in Japan
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
Here, on the New York Times site, is the video of fortune cookies being made in Japan that went with my article. I’m not sure why they only put some videos on YouTube (about 150 at last count). Sadly, they don’t give you the ability to embed it either in the blog.
fortune cookies, Video
More Jews and Chinese food: Christmas at Shalom Hunan, a proposed documentary
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007The Jews and Chinese food is a topic that never stops (that is why there is a whole chapter of it in my book!). Here is an 8-minute Youtube video, Christmas at Shalom Hunan. (Shalom Hunan, real place, in Brookline)
The description: “What do Jews do on Christmas? In many parts of the U.S., eat Chinese [...]
There ain’t much else to do on Christmas except eat Chinese food if you’re a Jew
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007Brandon Harris Walker’s hilarious music video, Chinese Food on Christmas, has already gotten over half a million views.
The chorus (as much as I was able to transcribe it):
We eat Chinese food on Christmas.
Go to the movie theater too.
Because there is not much else to do on Christmas,
If you’re a Jew.
I was actually just [...]