In China, “Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy” stands for more than flavors – they’re used as meanings for the joys and sorrows of life.
This fall, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), in New York City, aims to shed light on the lives and experiences of Chinese and Asian Americans through food via an exhibit, where more than 30 chefs – from the Michelin-starred to the home cooks – will offer their personal interpretations of Chinese food.
The exhibit, titled “Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America,” will “invite the audience into a conversation about the meaning of Chinese food as a platform for experimentation, a test of authenticity, a means of immigrant survival, and a microcosm of Chinese culture,” according to the museum.
Video installations and ceramic sculptures will deliver and weave together the stories of each chef as well as that of 18 regional cooking styles.
“This exhibition is really an elaborate dinner table conversation with some of our most exciting chefs about how we define Chinese food and how Chinese food defines us,” said Herb Tam, MOCA curator and exhibitions director.
The exhibit opens Oct. 6 and runs through March 26. Visit mocanyc.org for more information.
