Chef and comedian Eddie Huang talks about challenging Asian American stereotypes

Most lawyers don’t quit their jobs to become pot dealers.

But Eddie Huang , who later became a successful chef, writer and comedian, is not interested in what’s typical or expected. Huang, who spoke at the Revolution-themed Asian Pacific American Heritage Week , wants to challenge Asian-American stereotypes.

Huang started off by encouraging the audience to understand that the dominant culture is not always right. In an honest yet profane and funny way, he emphasized that every race is important to the human ecosystem even though he questioned his Asian-American heritage as a kid.

“I was a total alien,” Huang said of his experience in school. For lunch, he had noodles and pork buns. Even though he was often bullied, he did not want to give up his identity to fit into the dominant culture in America.

“I was not going to change myself for America,” Huang said.

After college, he worked in a law firm, but he did not feel like he belonged. He wanted to change how Americans see race.

He quit working at the law firm to sell drugs but stopped.

“I could not be reactionary when I am in the minority. It proves that the dominant culture owns you,” Huang said.

He got into stand-up comedy and talked about how he found his voice in hip-hop and black culture. One day, he sent in a recipe to the Food Network. He appeared on the network, received third place and fell in love with cooking.

Against his parents’ wishes, he opened Baohaus in New York City, specializing in Taiwanese-style pork buns.

“I knew food was my ticket because it gave me a platform to make good Chinese food and express my American identity,” Huang said.

Now, he is a producer of Fresh Off the Boat , a show on ABC that is based off his book and on his experience as a Chinese-American growing up.

“He’s an inspiration for Asian-Americans aspiring to be in media,” Wharton sophomore Rochelle Dong said.

College freshman Anissa Lee , who’d seen videos of Huang online, enjoyed hearing him live. “He manages to strike this balance between humor and serious insight really well.”

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