Walking The Wok Summary

In Walking the Wok, Chan chooses to wash the wok instead of walking the wok, and this makes other students question his national identity. Chan rejects the culinary stereotype by breaking the commandments of the wok, but the disapproval of outside environment enhances his self-recognition to follow his own cooking philosophy. He washes the wok not because he gives up his Chinese identity, but he relates this act to his survival instinct. The survival course in school cultivates his creative instinct which melts into his part of identity, and this instinct is empowered by his previous experience in China. Used to be the victim of history, his lack of national pride is the residue of his childhood trauma, so survival spirit is what rooted in Chan’s culinary blueprint, not social acceptance.

Chan’s survival spirit influences his methods of cooking and contributes to his advanced comprehension towards various spices. In the involuntary survival course, Chan masters the skill of “eat well and efficiently no matter the circumstances,” (132) and this principle becomes his compass for cooking, helps him win the challenge from local residents and earns

He still maintains his Chinese “gang loyalty” (134) even though he is excluded by students from the same ethnic group. In another word, he does not reject his Chinese identity, but he chooses to approach it in a different way. The author points out that Chan attaches great importance to his survival spirit when it comes to cooking, and he “would never give this up for Jennifer,” (141) it becomes obvious to readers that Chan is not unaware of the conflicts happened to him, on the other hand, he knows how to solve the problem and is conscious about the social aspiration all the way, but he just chooses not to obey the mainstream norms. When his survival instinct collides with the social acceptance, he goes with his own way to