This is an over-simplification, but generally speaking, Chinese and Taiwanese people do not bake. There are no ovens in Chinese and Taiwanese homes. It is not their tradition. If they want a cake or pastry, they go to a bakery. If they want a roast duck or roast pork, they go to a barbequed meat store. Otherwise foods are generally steamed or boiled or fried. So here in America, every time there is a bake sale at school, someone I know comes and asks me in a panic, “What do I do?” And if you cannot find a certain pot or pan, look in the oven because that is where they are stored.

Enter Thanksgiving.

Now, I have grown up here in the States, and I have taught myself how to bake (badly) and roast (vegetables), but the thought of roasting a whole turkey is simply beyond me. Things like cranberry sauce I can manage by reading recipes, but there is something about the whole bird thing that I just cannot get my mind around. It is too foreign. I do not even know how to begin.

Luckily the Chinese American Society of Ann Arbor (CASAA) hosts Thanksgiving Dinner every year—to bring American Thanksgiving traditions to the Chinese American community, and to bring Chinese American traditions to the American community. CASAA provides roast turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, tea, and pie; everyone else brings Chinese and Taiwanese food potluck. It is a good combination. There is singing and ballroom dancing, too.

CASAA is a nonprofit organization formed in 1994 to promote cross-cultural friendship and learning opportunities. One year, there was some discussion about whether or not they needed to actually roast a whole turkey or if they would be ok serving slices of turkey cold cuts. One American-Born Chinese (not me) explained that yes they did indeed need to actually roast a whole turkey…because it is Thanksgiving.

Chinese American Society of Ann Arbor (CASAA) Thanksgiving Dinner, Sunday, November 22, 2009, 6:30-10:00pm, Turner Senior Resource Center, 2401 Plymouth Road, 48105. $8 per person. Reservations required. 996-1440, 255-5506.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Ann Arbor and the Big Island of Hawaii. She is editor of IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, lead multicultural contributor for AnnArbor.com, and a contributor for New America Media's Ethnoblog. She is a popular speaker on Asian Pacific American and multicultural issues. Check out her website at franceskaihwawang.com, her blog at franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com, and she can be reached at fkwang888@gmail.com.