The simile of the green onion
The narrator compares the blooming of the green onion to a flower when saying, “He placed a spring of green onion in water and showed me how it bloomed like a flower.” While the narrator and her father are watching the cooking show called 'Wok with Yan' she is surprised how Yan transforms orange peels into swans in seconds. However, he proved that he is better than Yan.
The simile of Walking
The narrator loves doing everything like her father. If cooking, she loves being with her father in the kitchen to ensure that she learns every simple recipe. When walking, the narrator wants her steps to match those of her father. While the narrator and her father are coming from school, she says, "I walked proudly, stretching my legs to match his steps. I was overjoyed when my feet kept time with his, right, then left, and we walked like a single unit.”
The simile of the father eating rice
The narrator's father is behaving like someone who is not suspicious of anything wrong. The narrator is not sure about her cooking prowess, and she knows well that her rice does not taste as that of her father's. While the father is eating, he behaves as if he does not suspect anything wrong. The narrator says, "I would say to the table, my voice soft and embarrassed. In answer, my father would keep eating, pushing the rice into his mouth as if he never expected anything different, as if he noticed no difference between what he did so well and I so poorly.”
The simile of the fish
The narrator compares the length of the fish to her arm when she says, “The fish is the length of my arm from wrist to elbow. It floats in place, brushing up against the sides of the sink.” Through this simile, the reader can vividly form an imaginative picture of the fish’s length.
The simile of brachiosaurs
The narrator's father compares himself to the brachiosaurs, which are fond of eating vegetables. When the narrator tells her father about her school and the habit of brachiosaurs eating vegetables, the father answers, "That is like me." The father also compares the narrator's forehead to the bright and sharp people who have high foreheads.
