REMEMBER WHEN: Family memories of meal time remain for life(ZHAO GE)

Everyone has certain foods they associate with childhood. Some elicit happy memories, while for others the recollections may be slightly sadder. Everyone has certain foods they associate with childhood. Some elicit happy memories, while for others the recollections may be slightly sadder. Wu Jingjing, a white-collar worker in Beijing, and Manzie Vincent Doh, a journalist and MA Global Business Journalism Candidate at Tsinghua University, Beijing, relay their own stories from younger days.

A Beautiful White Lie

by Wu Jingjing

Eight years ago, I left my hometown to attend university in Beijing. Four years later, I graduated and found a job. Naturally I stayed in the city.

Since then, I've only seen my parents once a year during week-long Spring Festival celebrations (Chinese New Year). I can count on my fingers the number of days I've stayed with my parents.

I don't remember when exactly my parents began talking about the past, but now in their old age they often mention the ribbonfish story of my childhood.

It was a hot summer afternoon. My father wasn't at home, and my mother had cooked deep-fried ribbonfish. We were about to eat when someone called her outside. As she was leaving, she asked me and my younger brother to eat first.

Looking at my mother's bowl full of rice, I set aside some pieces of the fried fish on the plate and said to my brother, "We eat one half, and leave the remaining half to Mom." My brother nodded his head.

At that time, my family was not well off. Whenever there were dishes of fish or meat on the table, my brother and I would fight for them. On that day, both of us were very quiet. We quickly devoured our half of the fish. Glancing at the remaining half, I said to my younger brother, "Mom cannot eat that much anyhow. We can eat some more pieces."

Then, not waiting for my brother's reaction, I stretched out my chopsticks and picked up a piece.

When realizing only several fish head pieces were left on the plate, my brother suddenly cried out, shouting, "You only left Mom fish heads, but they don't have tasty meat!"

At this moment, I heard hurried footsteps outside. I suddenly panicked. It had been me who suggested leaving our mother half of the fish.

Having heard the yelling, Mom rushed inside. when she looked at the table and saw my brother's aggrieved expression, she immediately understood what had happened. "No worries, dear. I like to eat fish head," she said softly.

Hearing what she had said, I turned to my brother and said confidently, "See, Mom loves to eat fish head."

How naive I was! How could I understand her love at that age? As I grew up, I read and heard more stories about "parents liking to eat fish head." The moment when I fully understood the whole thing, I burst into tears. My mother had found a way to excuse her piggish daughter. How is it possible that she preferred to eat fish head? The heads of ribbonfish cannot be eaten at all. 

My mother's story is not uncommon. I believed her white lie for many years, but only because her love made it a firm and credible statement. I wonder, though, if love can change a person's preferences. My mother looked willing and unperturbed eating the remaining fish head pieces. She tolerated my ignorance and immaturity because of her love.

Sometimes when I've gone back home, I beg my mother to cook deep-fried ribbonfish – but only because it reminds me of a special taste in my childhood memory.

It's after midnight and I've finished writing my story. I'm lying in bed awake and sleepless, wondering how many of my mother's beautiful white lies still remain unknown to me.

To cook ribbonfish:

●Clean the fish and cut into 3-inch pieces. Marinate for two hours in a mixture of salt, onion, ginger, pepper and cooking wine;

●Coat the pieces in flour;

●On the stove, heat an inch and a half of oil in a pan over medium heat;

●Gently place the fish in the pan, two or three pieces at a time, and cook for one minute. Then turn them and cook for another minute until the fish is golden on both sides;

●Use a paper towel to soak up excess oil on the fish. Place them on a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.

● Enjoy.