Eddie Huang tells dictionary 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' is not real

Eddie Huang, right, wants to remove the stigma of MSG and Chinese food.

For decades, Chinese restaurant food was so stigmatized for it's use of MSG that restaurants began posting signs "No MSG used" and a name was given to the imagined symptoms of eating that food -- Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

Even though researchers say the fear of MSG is unwarranted and it is safe to use, that stigma remains. The term, "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome," even appears in dictionaries.

Restaurateur and celebrity chef Eddie Huang says the appearance of the CRS in dictionaries is racist and is out to remove the term from the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

The outspoken food show host is being aided in his crusade by Ajinomoto MSG and TV personality Jeannie Mai.

“I think that the change in people’s perceptions and their ‘open-mindedness’ towards Chinese food is only happening when it’s packaged and presented to Americans in a way they like,” Huang told NBC News.

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, supposedly caused a feeling of bloated or dizziness but 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could not find the link between those symptoms and MSG.. Most people can eat foods that contain MSG without experiencing any problems. However, a small percentage of people have short-term, adverse reactions to this food additive. Due to this controversy, many restaurants advertise that they don’t add MSG to their foods.

MSG is a food additive used to improve the taste of food. It has become an important additive for the food industry because it doesn’t compromise flavor if lower quality or less fresh ingredients are used.

The FDA categorizes MSG as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). The FDA also categorizes salt and sugar as GRAS. However, there’s controversy over the lack of oversight the FDA has in the introduction and use of additives by the food industry. 

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), many GRAS foods don’t go through the rigorous testing required for this safety claim.What's more, MSG is used liberally in other products like Campbells Soups. Chick-fil-A and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reportedly both use the ingredient in their popular chicken sandwiches.

But is only Chinese food that is associated with MSG and receives the bad press, says Huang, whose memoirs formed the basis for the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat.

When reached by media for comment Tuesday, Merriam-Webster said it had not received complaints before about “Chinese restaurant syndrome" but would reconsider the term.

“Our aim is always to provide accurate information about what words mean, which includes providing information about whether a use is offensive or dated,” senior editor Emily Brewster said in a statement. "We’ll be reviewing this particular entry and will revise it according to the evidence of the term in use.

Shifts in culture and attitudes put the dictionary in a constant state of revision, she added.

Say goodbye to the Huang family; 'Fresh Off the Boat' cancelled

Groundbreaking ABC comedy Fresh Off the Boat will conclude its critically acclaimed six-season run on ABC, Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment, announced Friday. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the situation comedy's producers requested the show’s cancelation so that they could end it on their own terms. ABC's hour-long series finale will air next year on February 21, 8-9 p.m. EST.

“We couldn’t be prouder of this game-changing show and the impact it has had on our cultural landscape. The success of Fresh Off the Boat has helped pave the way for inclusion throughout the industry.

"Nahnatchka Khan and her brilliant creative team have created an unforgettable series with an Asian American family front and center, something that hadn’t been done in two decades. The cast, led by Randall Park and Constance Wu, is one of the finest and funniest on television. We’ll miss the Huang family and are eternally grateful for the incredibly heartfelt stories they have told these past six seasons,” Burke said.

“I’m so proud of the show and what we’ve accomplished over the past six seasons,” said series creator Khan. “Thank you to everyone at ABC and 20th Century Fox Television for going on this ride with us. It was truly a special experience and hopefully will forever be a reminder of all the stories out there that deserve to be told. Like B.I.G. said, ‘And if you don’t know, now you know.’”

Originally based on the memoir of Eddie Huang growing up in the Orlando suburbs. FOB stars Randall Park as Louis Huang, Constance Wu as his wife Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery, Ian Chen as Evan, Lucille Soong as Grandma Huang, Chelsey Crisp and Ray Wise as neighbors Honey and Marvin.

Set in the 1990s, the series follows the experiences of hip-hop-loving Eddie Huang and his family. In this final season, the Huang family is at a crossroads. Jessica is becoming an educator (teacher boss); Louis is trying to expand himself outside running the restaurant by becoming a business consultant; Eddie is weighing whether to attend college or to take a different path; Emery is trying acting; and even Evan tries out pukka shells and a new nickname!

When FOB debuted six years ago the show was hailed as the first sitcom to ffocus on an Asian American family since All American Girl with Margaret Cho 25 years earlier. The real Eddie Huang served as the off-camera narrator in the series' first season. The second season saw his role reduced as a consultant. He left the show over creative difference

The show began to evolve around the entire family as the role of Eddie became less of the focus. Chu and Park as the Huang parents took on a bigger part of the show.

It can be argued that the critical success of FOB spawned a whole bevy of shows that featured Asian Americans in nontraditional roles and opened the minds of networks about the possibilities of diversifying its fare of dramas and sitcoms.

FOB could very well have a spinoff in the works in an episode due to air later this month about an Indian American immigrant family.

Fresh Off the Boat was not the first AAPI family leading a show on American television, but because of its historic role, there's reason to believe -- and, hope and pray -- that it won't be the last.

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Eddie Huang will direct coming-of-age film

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Restaurateur and author Eddie Huang will add 'movie director' to his resume.

ASAM NEWS

Author and chef Eddie Huang will enter the world of directing for the first time with a coming-of-age film set in contemporary New York City, Deadline reports.
The movie, Boogie, which is also written by Huang, tells the story of a young Chinese American basketball phenom who struggles to balance the expectations of his immigrant family and his own dreams to play in the NBA. 

Newcomer Taylor Takahashi will play Boogie, while Pamelyn Chee (Prescient, Beyond Skyline) and Jorge Lendeburg Jr. (Spiderman: Far From Home, Love, Simon) are set to co-star.

Huang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants and chef and owner of the acclaimed restaurant  Baohouse, said a lot of his existing work has presented the Asian American experience “like a triumphal arch.”

“Planet Asia needed me to stand out here with my two arms up, but I’m in my Purple Phase now,” Huang said in a statement Monday. “Boogie is the reflection of my ancestor’s spirit and values as I’ve always felt them navigating me through this American life.”

Huang’s debut screen project will be produced and domestically distributed by Focus Features.

“[Huang] lays waste to expectations and shapes the ground of our culture with every new endeavor he embarks upon, and we couldn’t be any more proud or excited to a part of bringing his voice to the world,” Focus chairman Peter Kujawski said. “Hold on tight and watch what he does here.”

Huang's 2013 memoir, "Fresh Off the Boat," of growing up as part of an immigrant family was translated into the TV series with the same name.

Despite the groundbreaking nature of the show featuring an Asian American family, he was dissatisfied with the sanitized version of what he felt was "his" story. Huang left the series after the first series over creative differences. 

He subsequently hosted a series of travel/food shows, Huang's World, on the Vice network, and Cheap Bites on the Cooking Channel.

In an interview on CBS' Sunday Morning, he explained that in almost everything he does, he tries to smash the model minority myth imposed on Asian Americans. 

Having an Asian American with dreams of becoming a pro-basketball player is a continuation of that goal. 

RELATED: Baller Jeremy Lin encounters on-court bias in the NBA

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

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Will 'Fresh Off the Boat' be renewed for another season?

ABC

The cast of Fresh Off the Boat marked the show's 100th episode.

ASAM NEWS

The cast of Fresh Off the Boat celebrated the taping of its 100th episode Wednesday at Fox Studios in Los Angeles, reports Just Jared.

They toasted each other and had a special cake cutting. The show is now in its fifth season, another milestone not often reached in today’s “quick to cancel” TV industry culture.

The Daily Mail reports that joining in the celebration were Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Ian Chen, Forest Wheeler, Lucille Soong, Chelsey Crisp and Ray Wise.

Even though the show celebrated the important milestone, which ensures profitable syndication, its future is still uncertain.

At the end of season four, star Randall Park taped a plea published by USA Today which urged fans to write the network to save the show. It worked.

Unfortunately, ABC moved FOTB's time slot to  8 p.m. Friday nights, a night traditionally with low viewership. Ratings have continued to drop. 

FOTB follows the travails of a Taiwanese American family as they adapt to life in Florida. It is based on the memoirs of restaurateur, chef and author Eddie Huang. It was the first show featuring Asian American leads in over two decades

Huang left the show after the first season over creative differences. He is the host of Huang's World, a travel and food series which will start its fourth season in June.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

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Take On America talks to 100 Asian American Millennials, Nov 2

IT'S NOT OFTEN Asian Americans are given the opportunity to talk about themselves. Speaking out is not something usually associated with Asian Americans but this program breaks that stereotype.

This Friday, 100 Asian American Milennials will have a chance to sound off on issues like affirmative action, workplace discrimination, stereotypes and more in PBS' Take On America.

Based on the trailers, the conversation might get pretty explosive.

The young Asian Americans gathered in San Francisco to meet and talk to moderator Carlos Watson, who brought with him celebrity chef and raconteur Eddie Huang, actor Harry Shum Jr. and fashion designer. Kimora Lee Simmons and attorney Harmeet Dhillon.

The most heated conversation centered around affirmative action with Dhillon, Republican National Committee member taking on the more liberal Bay Area audience.The trailer chose to focus on that debate but the audience and panel also talked about dating, identity and Asian male stereotypes.

Take On America airs on PBS on Friday, Nov. 2. Check local listings for show times.
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Eddie Huang recounts day he was sexually assaulted on church trip

Eddie Huang: “We can’t always control what people do to us, but we do have the power to define it." 

ASAM NEWS

FROM ACCUSATIONS against studio executive Harvey Weinstein to journalist Mark Halperin to actor Kevin Spacey, stories of sexual assault abound.

Now you can add author and celebrity chef Eddie Huang to the long list of people who say they’ve been victimized.

Huang penned a first hand account of his incident during a ski trip with a Baptist Church for The Cut.

Huang wrote he was just sitting on his bed watching TV, waiting for the adults to go to sleep so he could sneak out in the middle of the night. Suddenly a chaperone he described as a tall dark White man walked in, asking if he could use the shower.

The man emerged from the shower naked with a big erection standing right in front of Huang. The man read from the bible for 15 minutes before leaving.

“At first I just looked away and focused on the basketball game,” Huang wrote. “He had a big d*ck and guys with big d*cks always enjoyed walking around locker rooms with the sh*t on front street. I figured he was just some weirdo trying to show out and air dry like Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire. After a few seconds of trying to look away, I realized he wasn’t moving from the foot of my bed and that’s when panic set in. I felt trapped. I looked toward my roommate who seemed just as flustered, but we weren’t sure what was happening. Was this okay? Could I say something? I was a guest of the church, but what the f*ck? ”

Huang said he didn’t talk about it again until he saw his roommate decades later. He asked the roomie if he remembered what happened.

“Yeah, yeah, I do.”

“It was bad, right?”

“I definitely remember something happened that was off. What do you remember?”

“I mean, that dude stood in front of my bed with his d*ck hard and read the Bible for 15 minutes.”

“I can’t confirm those exact details, but I remember something very wrong happened. I would not deny what you said, but I honestly can’t remember the exact image of what happened.”

“I’m not crazy though right? That happened!”

“No, no, it happened. You’re probably right, I just can’t confirm everything specifically.”

Those feelings came rushing back again when news about Spacey became public. Huang suddenly felt that he was not alone.

“We can’t always control what people do to us, but we do have the power to define it. When I look back, nothing was actually taken. I was hijacked, but I fought my way back and arrived as the man I’m supposed to be.”
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