Immigrant Cooking
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2016.037.021 Oral History Interview with Kimmie Lee Tie

Kimmie Lee Tie discusses her early life in China and how World War II impacted her family and interestingly her diet. She talks about the experiences she had cooking on her familys small farm and how after the war she married a Chinese American sailor and moved to the United States. Living in the US, Kimmie and her husband bought a Cantonese restaurant in 1957 which they operated for twenty years. In this environment, she taught herself how to cook with a wok and developed her Chinese American tastes. Make sure to listen in for her personal recipes, especially her favorite butterfly shrimp.



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2016.037.026 Oral History Interview with Tommy and Frank Wong

Tommy and Frank Wong discuss their experience coming to America from Hong Kong with their three brothers and working in a variety of restaurants before starting their own. The brothers lived across the US in Texas, Kansas, and San Francisco until they started their own restaurant in New Orleans. Tommy offers an interesting explanation of the history of Chinese food in America as well as how he worked to blend the styles and flavors of Chinese and Louisiana cuisine into what he considers to be the highlights of both. Frank similarly offers some recipes and explains the influence of local Louisiana cuisine on his cooking. He concludes by discussing some of his familys charity work and urging Chinese restaurants to be supportive of one another and not be too competitive.