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Get the eBoook "Searching for Sylvie Lee" by Jean Kwok
Residents of Lake Forest know by now that Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok is Lake Forest’s 2020 One Book One Community selection. Lake Forest Reads: Ragdale has planned many programs in October, and the highlight of the festivities will be Ms. Jean Kwok’s visit in November.
Searching for Sylvie Lee tells the story of two sisters from a Chinese immigrant family. Sylvie, the older of the two, was sent as a baby to live with extended family in the Netherlands when her own family faced financial difficulty after their arrival in the US. After 9 years away, Sylvie rejoined her family in New York, and the sisters became very close. Years pass, and the sisters grow into adulthood. During a visit to the Netherlands to see her ailing grandmother, Sylvie goes missing. Amy, the meek and sheltered daughter, goes to the Netherlands to look for Sylvie. What happens next reveals a string of family secrets and a big surprise.
I decided to prepare a common and popular dish that all Chinese have tasted and many know how to cook.
Tomato Scrambled Eggs (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- One large tomato
- Three large eggs
- One sprig of green onion
- Salt to taste
- One tablespoon of any kind of cooking oil
Cooking Directions: Slit a cross shape in the bottom of the tomato. In a saucepan with enough water to cover, boil the tomato for about 2 minutes. Drain the water and fill the pan with ice water. When the tomato is cool enough to handle, peel it under cold running water.
Cut the tomato into 8 sections and set aside.
Finely chop the green onion and add it to the tomato. Beat the eggs and set aside.
Heat the cooking oil in a skillet; add the tomato, green onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook and stir for 3–5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to the beaten eggs and pour eggs into the skillet. Gently move the eggs around with a spatula till set. Turn the heat off and plate the dish. Serve over rice or pasta.
When thinking of the tomato, a common question arises: Is this red jewel a fruit or a vegetable? Botanically speaking, fruit bears seed, so the tomato is a fruit. However, in 1893, the US Supreme Court ruled (in Nix v. Hedden) that the tomato was a vegetable so that it could be taxed under customs regulations.
The earliest record of the tomato was found in the Aztec Empire around 700 AD. The tomato was introduced to China around the 17th century. While the tomato is native to America, chicken eggs were consumed in East Asia 5,400 years ago. Some archaeologists claim to have discovered evidence of chickens in a 12,000-year-old site.
This dish is very flavorful and full of nutrients. Raw tomatoes, chopped and sweetened with sugar, are one of my favorite fruits. They contain Vitamins C and K; when cooked, the valuable antioxidant lycopene is released. Eggs are the easily obtained protein which some doctors and nutritionists suggest we eat daily in order to boost the immune system to fight the COVID-19 virus.
Enjoy the dish and stay safe and healthy!