Our Missing Hearts

Synopsis: Bird Gardner is a 12 year old Chinese American living with his father in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother is a fugitive, on the run for writing a supposedly subversive poem. The poem, titled All Our Missing Hearts, has become the rallying cry of a resistance movement fighting against a government program called PACT: Preserving American Culture and Traditions act. PACT was born of anti-Chinese sentiment and is the legal basis for government censorship of “anti-American” activities—and people. When Bird is given a clue as to his mother’s whereabouts, he goes in search of her, a classic hero’s journey.

Review: The definition of “dystopia” in the OED is right to the point: an imaginary place where everything is as bad as possible. This near-future depiction of a dystopian United States is relatively mild compared to other dystopian literature, but this makes it all the more chilling, because it is oh so believable. This novel is steeped in realism, drawing on anti-Asian bigotry, competitive patriotism, book banning culture, and a government using child separation as a form of suppressing it’s citizens. All of these things have some basis in American history which make it both very real and very disturbing. I am becoming a huge fan of Celeste Ng. This was not a light book, but her writing is both poignant and powerful. The fact that librarians are key to this resistance is enough to rate five stars!

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps—not exactly Chinese, but not traditionally American. This dish, made popular at P.F. Changs, first appeared on the menu at The Mandarin, a San Francisco restaurant that aimed to introduce traditional Chinese cuisine to the U.S. in the 1970’s. Philip Chiang, son of the owner of The Mandarin, naturally included them on the menu of his own restaurant.

For the chicken:

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

1 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the noodles:

2 bundles cellophane noodles

Peanut oil for frying

For the stir fry:

4 tablespoons peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

4 scallions, 2 minced and 2 cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 pound Shitake mushrooms, stemmed and diced

3/4 cup diced water chestnuts

small lettuce leaves, for serving

soy sauce, chili paste, and/or hot mustard, for serving

1) Prepare the chicken: which the egg white, cornstarch, and rice wine in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

2) Make the stir fry sauce: whisk 1/3 cup water, the oyster, hoisin and soy sauces, the rice wine and sesame oil in a bowl, then mix in the cornstarch until dissolved.

3) Fry the noodles: Pull the noodles apart into sections. Heat 3/4 inch peanut oil in a medium saucepan until a deep fry thermometer registers 380 degrees. Working in batches, press the noodles into the oil until they puff, 5-10 seconds, then drain on paper towels.

4) Make the stir fry: Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook on medium high heat 2-3 minuets. Remove, then add 2 more tablespoons oil, stir in garlic, ginger, jalapeño and minced scallions, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and sugar and stir fry 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and scallion pieces and stir fry 2 more minutes. Add the stir fry sauce and chicken, combine for one minute.

5) Make a bed of noodles on a platter and top with the chicken mixture. Serve the noodles and stir fry with lettuce leaves and soy sauce for dipping.