I have always harboured an acute interest in food from all around the world, and the attendant customs. There is very little that I won’t eat – although I draw the line at anything with tentacles, and I can’t eat fish if it’s staring at me from my plate. D and I love to watch cooking shows that take us around the world and give us new inspiration for foods to try.
I also like to try and honour any rituals or traditions that go with the food in question. For instance, the nursing home I once worked in was staffed primarily by Filipinos from an agency. Many of them would work a twelve hour day and then also do a “sleeper” night shift, so they often had their dinner at work in the early evening before the residents’ supper time.
Filipinos eat with their hands, and my colleagues were amazed when I set aside the knife and fork that they had thoughtfully placed for me one evening when they had invited me to join them and got my hands well and truly dirty. They laughed and clapped, and even thanked me because they knew that a Westerner like myself would struggle to eat savoury foods with their fingers without wanting to wash their hands every few minutes – but I did it and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of “togetherness” around the table that so many British households now lack.
I miss those Filipinos; they were all polite, sweet and welcoming. Some of them were qualified in the most amazing medical fields – one of my best Filipina friends was a neurosurgeon in her country – but their economy forces them to join agencies and work here to send money back to their families. They work hard and never stop smiling. Our residents adored them and their cheery sing-song accents.
I digress, as usual. However, there is a relevance to my mention of Filipinos as a people and culture because it was that meal years ago that fanned the flames of my current and continued interest in world food cultures and customs. I remember blowing up at my now ex-husband not long after that, because I’d taken the time to prepare a wonderful Chinese salmon stir-fry with a sesame and soy dressing… and he dumped mayonnaise all over it. I felt exactly as insulted and disrespected as an actual Chinese chef might have done.
How could you dump mayo over perfection such as this? Sacrelige!
Long-time followers will recall that I discovered the Chinese Tea Ceremony back in August – at a Discworld Convention of all places. On arriving home I studied everything I could find on the subject, bought a couple of Chinese tea sets and a wide selection of teas to try (green, red, scented and flavoured varieties). I have since learned to use (but have by no means mastered!) chopsticks, and have watched YouTube videos to learn the etiquette for eating with them. I’ve learned to make crab and sweetcorn soup, have asked for a set of Chinese soup spoons for Christmas and have bought a copy of Ching He-Huang’s Chinese Food In Minutes.
Now that I have my eating back under control (and also, it seems, my alcohol consumption – or I am at least getting there) I want to learn more about other cultures and their food. I am especially interested in Asian food (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese) but also interested in traditional Spanish, Mexican, and Sri Lankan along with wanting to learn more about food customs in the Phillipines.
Food is fun for me again, and I would like to keep it that way. I know that many of my followers are well-travelled and that some live in the countries that I am most interested in. One of our friends is a straight-edge vegan Buddhist and I’m interested in his lifestyle, but the Sri Lankan family who run the local shop and who were driven from their country because of the unrest don’t like to talk about their heritage very much – the sister, especially, becomes tearful if asked about her homeland and I respect both she and her brother far too much to go digging.
I could surf the web, but where’s the fun in that when I have all of you to drop by and go into specific detail with customs and recipes and rituals? Hit me up! 
My four year old i really into watching Jamie olivers 15 minute meals at the minute i love the idea he is promoting of platter foods where every one dives in
We love that one too, and I bought his 30-Minute Meals book last year. That butternut squash curry of his is to die for!
I have the 30 minute meals book but not used it yet my favourite all time jamie recipe is http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-stuffed-onions-the-naked-chef-jamie-oliver-355210
I don’t use recipe books at all, I have a dish in mind and then I’ll work towards that. And to me, anything that you get at a Chinese take-away is what I like to call “White people’s Chinese food”
That’s how I see it too, even though it’s delicious! I’d love some ideas from you, if you can spare any, as I like to simply throw things together too – but I wouldn’t know where to begin with genuine, traditional Asian cuisine.
This is why I wish I was well enough to get into London more often, as I love Camden Market for all the ethnic street food vendors. I would also love to visit China Town and experience real Chinese food cooked out on the street and buying ingredients from a genuine Chinese outdoor market
The best tip that anyone could give you is that soya sauce, oil and garlic are your best friends when it comes to cooking Chinese food
Those are three things that always live in our store cupboards. We even grow our own garlic
We also keep ginger, chilli, sesame oil and fish sauce here at all times.
I’m glad you’re enjoying food. This interest in preparing and eating according to the custom of the country of origin is another thing which will keep you eating well too, I’m sure.
When I’m well enough D has promised to take me into Chinatown for a proper Chinese market experience
Good post, and I just noticed butternutsqash curry, I got 2 nad I don’t know what to do with it, well there is an idea, I am not good at cooking but I am prepared to learn more but I prefer quick meals, as I do not want to stand in the kitchen for hours.
I love chinese food, and do get their take aways here. Love Ute x
You should be able to find the 30 minute curry recipe on the BBC website. As well as the curry I’ve mashed the squash after par-boiling it, mixed in some grated carrots, seasonings and pistachio nuts, squished it together into a vague loaf shape and roasted it for a veggie friend. It was delicious
Wow that sounds great too, might do that, I am not a veggie but I am not too keen on meat lately. I shall have a go at that, better than curry even…. tonight Yay..:-)
Just spent the weekend in Germany – Sausages and Hot Chocolate with Rum!
Well, that sounds… different
Meaty yet sweet and alcoholic – jeez louise – what’s not to like!
My go-to site on cooking things from my childhood as comfort food is at http://www.maangchi.com. She has great, authentic recipes and presents them in a great style.
Oooh, thanks! I’m definitely checking this out
Your meal with your Filipino friends reminds me of when I went to the Karachi restaurant in Bradford in the late ’90s with a group of uk.singles members, for the first of what became known as the ‘Curryboinks’. We were given chapatis with which to scoop up and eat our food, and I had no problem with that at all. The food was cheap and delicious. We ate on Formica-topped tables under bright fluorescent lighting, and thought nothing of it.
Chopsticks I can handle, and if manners demanded it I would use them at a Chinese meal, but othewrwise I prefer a spoon and fork.
I used to cook in take-away-Chinese style quite a bit, and still do occasionally. I use plenty of garlic too – the non-cloved Chinese type that Lidl sell, I find very good – and back in the summer I cooked chicken with noodles, black bean sauce and fresh wet garlic, which may not be authentic but was absolutely delicious!
It’s a very strange feeling to be picking up rice with your fingers- as though you’re a kid playing with your food!
We always have the Chinese Holy Trinity (ginger, garlic and chilli) in our house, and I can’t wait to learn to cook some authentic dishes!
D wants to take me into Chinatown when I’m up to it. I will either go bankrupt from wanting All The Things or rob a bank!
I’ve not so far eaten rice or wet/sticky foods with my fingers, but if or when it comes to that, I’d just do it – as long as one’s hands are clean to start with, I can’t see a problem.
Back when I did more of that type of cooking, I used to make a point of going into Plymouth (where there are quite a few Chinese food stores) during my trips to Devon, and sometimes buying rather a lot of the lovely nommables on display
Now Dad has passed on, I’m unlikely to be going to Devon much more, if at all; however, there’s a very good Oriental food stall in Stevenage covered market, so if I’m tempted these days, I can get what I want there.
Have a great trip to Chinatown, and enjoy the resulting meals!
D promises that I won’t want to leave; I’m hoping to find one of those tea houses that serve tea and dim sum whilst performing Chinese opera!
I was not offended when I read that part ” Filipinos eat with their hands”, but I feel I need to correct that. Filipinos do not eat with their hands. They use fork and spoon. Although my family and I left the Philippines when I was 6 years old, I still remember that we had never eaten with our hands , and never seen any Filipino eating that way,(relatives, friends, at restaurants, parties )/ I asked my parents about this and they were a bit shocked. ” Where did you read that ? ” they asked. We watched an episode of Bizarre Foods on Food Channel where the Philippines was featured and there was a segment where the host was fed sauteed coconut worms. Well, Filipinos do not eat worms, either. Unfortunately, it was a popular show in the US . I myself was asked by at least 3 people if filipinos really eat worms. It was disconcerting to say the least, because it wasn’t true, but by the way it was featured, it did look like it was part of Filipinos’ daily diet.
Thanks for pointing this out – how very strange that my friends told me that they ate with their hands? I know they mostly came from outlying villages; could this be why it was their custom to eat that way?
I can see that I’m going to be learning a lot from you
I don’t know, Missus Tribble. I was there 2 years ago and we went somewhere north, about 6 hours by car from manila, the capital of the Philippines. There was a shopping mall there with stores Calvin klein, Prada, Forever 21, etc. and posh restaurants everywhere, ( and Starbucks everywhere ) and no, I didn’t see anyone eating with their hands…. so, yeah, it’s very strange that they told you that. Maybe they were eating fried chicken? * grins* One thing though, one bizarre food that we do eat ( and I happen to like ) is what we call chocolate soup … which is actually blood soup. But then I had blood sausage for breakfast in England, so i didn’t find the taste strange or bizarre, lol. It’s an acquired taste though.
I do recall that one of the team – who was a neurosurgeon back home – came from a very poor village and the economy forced her to England to work as a care assistant. I don’t remember what we were eating -I know rice was involved, and probably chicken and sweet potato – but it was a very enjoyable experience!
You’ve tried black pudding? Haha, I ate it once and have never eaten it again so you’re braver than I am!
Aaaargh, Missus Tribble. The nuerosurgeon, if she was really a neurosurgeon…… did she actually say she was a neurosurgeon in the Philippines, and did she tell you she came from a poor village? The only college graduates in the Philippines who are assured of high paying jobs are doctors, any kind. And to major in medicine entails millions of pesos in tuition fees,. In other words, her family must have been rich to be able to afford to send a child to a medical school. Last May ,my cousin and his family ( wife and 3 young kids ) came here to the US last May. They’re from the Philippines. He is a young neurosurgeon and I’m sure really loaded. His wife shopped until she dropped. buying branded purses such as Gucci, Coach, etc. ( I posted about them on my blogsite. they stayed with us for 2 weeks )It’s impossible that a nuerosurgeon will work as a care assistant in England because she can’t find work back home. All medical students in the Philippines are rich kids. And it takes 9 years to become a doctor…, one needs to finish a 4 year bachelor of Science course , like B.S. Biology, then if their grades are okay, they enter a medical school and study again for 4 years, then one year of working at a hospital , without pay, then they graduate, then they take a licensure exam to become a licensed medical practitioner. It’s almost impossible that your friend will go the England to work as care assistant. I don’t know. It’s very strange.
The more you tell me, the more I wonder if my home manager was feeding her English staff bullshit do that we wouldn’t get upset about her giving all the extra hours to the Fillipinos. I’m fairly sure that S wasn’t lying when she said her qualification wasn’t valid over here though, and that she needed the money to send home to her husband and children. There could have been another motive behind it too, but I can’t imagine what it would be. Further training that would qualify her in a richer country, perhaps? I don’t know.
Oh, my, I don’t want to rain on her parade.
My sister has a friend who is a licensed medical doctor in the Philippines who came here to the US for further training. Indeed, she couldn’t practice medicine in the US ( just like what your friend said ), but she worked as an internee at a Chicago hospital, as an assistant ” doctor” in surgery, and at the same time, studying to get a US license. She passed the test, and is now back in the Philippines, with a lucrative medical practice.
Anyway, it’s really strange, and dubious. But who knows ? Truth is stranger than fiction.