In Clarksdale, Mississippi, the birthplace of the blues, you would hardly expect to find Chinese families speaking with a southern drawl. But Gilroy and Sally Chow sounded like true southerners as they chatted with me while they stir-fried collards and crayfish for supper. In the backyard, an eight pound catfish that had been swimming in the Mississippi River that morning was steaming in the biggest wok I've ever seen.
Chinese immigrants, mostly Cantonese, first came to the Delta soon after the Civil War, enticed by plantation owners eager to replace the newly freed African-American slaves. The Chow family, one of the hundred or so Chinese-American families living in Clarksdale, arrived later. "My father came to Mississippi in 1912 and eventually opened a grocery store," Gilroy told me as he stirred the crawfish. Until this generation moved to Clarksdale, the Chows lived behind their grocery store in Marks, a nearby town, growing Chinese vegetables in their backyard.
Too big for the fish poacher, the catfish simmered in the Chows' giant wok, a family heirloom brought from China. The recipe, also an heirloom, now has, like the Chows, a southern accent. Once cooked, the catfish is seasoned with soy sauce and garnished with garlic, ginger, scallions, and crisp bacon bits. "The bacon is something that we have incorporated," said Sally. "It's the same with our fried rice. I don't think many Chinese would make fried rice with bacon the way we do."
"What we eat connects us so that we know we are both Chinese and Mississippi Delta folks, " Gilroy told me as I was leaving. Walking me to the door, he and Sally saw me off with a wave, saying "You hurry back. Next time we'll cook y'all some turnip greens, cornbread, moo shoo, and barbecue."
Gilroy and Sally Chow