Chorizo is more than just a taco filling.
Yeah, the dark red, finely chopped pork adds a nice, flavorful spice to a breakfast burrito, but it's more than that.
Here in Tucson, chorizo represents solidarity, playing a big role in our city’s history.
This specific dish is what brought together Chinese and Mexican immigrants who faced racism in Tucson during the 1880s through the 1960s. During that time, Chinese grocery stores began popping up around some of the city’s historic barrios, creating a safe space for communities to gather.
One of the specialties at these grocery stores was Chinese chorizo. Instead of letting end cuts of meat go to waste, workers would revive it with Mexican spices, chiles and red wine, combining the two cultures together and creating something delicious.
It’s this message of solidarity that Feng-Feng Yeh hopes to share with the community every year.
The Chinese Chorizo Festival is back for its third year, adding new restaurants, art installations and cocktails to the long list of month-long celebrations.
Thanks to last year’s successful festival, Yeh was able to create new relationships with different communities and organizations around both Tucson and Phoenix. With all these new connections, Yeh has added new events that pay homage to the history behind Chinese chorizo.
For example, Yeh teamed up with the University of Arizona School Garden Workshop, who produce a yearly almanac that covers topics like native food and the history behind it. Yeh wrote an entry for the almanac about Chinese chorizo, which will be celebrated at the release party at Tucson's Museum of Contemporary Art on Oct. 17.
Collaborating with the garden workshop also meant Yeh had the chance to work with Manzo Elementary, where she taught students how to make chorizo paste. The paste is another of the new additions this year; Yeh described it as a spice pack that has the oils and other ingredients used to flavor the chorizo base.
“That was a really fun activity because they were able to smell all of these strong flavors and spices, and then they got to make it,” Yeh said. “It was a great experience. At the almanac release party, they're going to be featuring some snacks that they developed with the paste.”
Feng-Feng Yeh is the organizer behind the Chinese Chorizo Project.
With the help of the Tucson Museum of Art, Yeh will also bring historic Chinese grocery stores back to life. A Chinese grocery store installation will open at Casa Cordova toward the end of the festival, giving the community a chance to step back in time and learn more about the impact these stores had on Tucson.
The installation will even include products with labels that tell the story of the grocery stores.
“The area that the Tucson Museum of Art occupies right now, some Chinese grocery stores and establishments like restaurants and even tenants lived on that compound there,” Yeh said. “It’s been a really fun sleuthing exercise to dig up all this history that hasn't been really shared or (has been) lost.”
The festival will also work with the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center for the first time. The two will host an event on Oct. 26 where attendees can munch on Chinese chorizo fried rice while listening to stories from descendants who worked at the grocery stores.
But it wouldn’t be the Chinese Chorizo Festival without food. This year, Yeh has also added cocktails to the festival schedule. The drinks will incorporate the chorizo paste, featuring help from Ray Ray’s Sonoran Tea, IZO Spirits and Whiskey Del Bac. The Drink for Solidarity will host two events, one in Phoenix and one in Tucson (Oct. 29), so everyone can try the unique drink.
Like the years before, 1,300 pounds of Chinese chorizo have been donated to over 55 participating restaurants and food vendors who are then tasked with crafting creative dishes that incorporate the chorizo, putting their own spin on the classic recipe.
Yeh wanted to make sure she included all the new spots that have opened in the past year; Casa Madre, Rosebud Bakery and new partners like Bata and Urban Fresh are the new faces that will be serving up Chinese chorizo dishes.
You’ll also see familiar faces that have participated in the past such as Noodies, Anello and 5 Points. From pizza to pastries, the schedule includes a wide variety of restaurants that will create their own little piece of history on select dates.
“I think I'm like, most curious about the cocktails, because it's the newest thing, but I really do like all of them,” Yeh said. “I try to go to all of them. I know it's insane because there's like 30-plus different restaurants that are featuring it. It’s like asking who your favorite child is.”
With all the exciting events happening this year and the continued work to create two Chinese chorizo sculptures, Yeh isn’t stopping anytime soon, showing the community that chorizo is more than just what comes inside a burrito.
“It's been so validating to see that the community really cares about this project and wants to be involved,” Yeh said. “That's so meaningful to me, and that's the reason why I keep on doing it. I think it really speaks to the power of food and using food as a gateway for storytelling.”
For more information on the Chinese Chorizo Festival schedule, check out their website.
