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Home › Forums › Short Online Seminars › East Asian Foodways Across Borders, Summer 2021 › Sept. 8 - East Asia’s Adaptation of Western Foods
Jennifer Smith.
cgaoHow did Asia adapt Western food and dining practices?
Assignments
Jennifer Jung-KimHere's a brief defense of MSG by chef David Chang:
https://peachykeen.momofuku.com/feature/chinese-restaurant-syndrome/
Amy StammWebsite review: https://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/collections/munchies
This website is a visually very well-organized, easy-to-navigate site that is an online source for nonperishable Asian groceries. They charge a flat $5.00 shipping fee for all orders over $30.00. The website is divided into the following categories: noodles, munchies, dranks (sic.), eats, smarts, wants, and sake & beer with visually pleasing icons. I counted 224 varieties of instant noodles offered from Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam.
The Munchies section opens with 12 flavors of Japanese Lay’s chips, and one fun activity to do with students could be a blind taste test to see if they could identify any of the flavors. Students could be provided with a list of the possible flavors after a round of blind tasting, as well as surveys of their reactions to each flavor. It would be interesting to solicit students’ opinions about why different groups of people are drawn to such different types of flavors. A follow-up project to this might be for students to research the culturally specific adjustments that global chains like MacDonald’s make to their products to suit local tastes. Groups of students could choose a country and present their findings to the rest of the class, and then the teacher could facilitate a discussion about why students think these particular changes were made in each place. This might require students to research the cuisines of their chosen countries to uncover local food histories.
Back to the munchies section…it is filled with a wide variety of chips, crackers, dried fruits, cookies, small cakes and other sweets, puffed rice snacks, a variety of peas and peanuts, and candies. Students could compare the visual design of two chosen snacks and make an argument about which one they think would sell more based on visual elements of design. Similarly, students could compare drink packaging design, which the site depicts in a variety of forms, from plastic bags to hard plastic characters to aluminum cylindrical cans. The drinks include teas, coffees, sodas, juices, yogurt drinks, brown sugar pearl milk, and tapioca drinks, among others.
The eats section focuses on rice, grains, cooking ingredients like seaweed, sauces, oils, and seasonings, as well as some cakes and breads. To mimic a Japanese convenience store, the smarts section offers notebooks, pencils, origami paper, and decorated tapes from Japan, China, and Taiwan. The wants section focuses on thermoses, mugs, pencil cases, stuffed toys, and other items like rice cookers. The sake and beer section is self-explanatory.
The website is so organized, visually pleasing, and full of tempting products that I it made me very hungry and thirsty to try its products.
Jennifer SmithThere were two aspects of this video that best connect with my classroom curriculum. The first was the discussion of umami. The science textbook utilized by my previous school was so old that it only listed four different tastes. Each year I had to research my lessons to make sure they were up-to-date. Umami was a topic that I added into my lessons. I hadn't previously thought to include the chemistry aspect of umami or the history of its research to the lessons, but now think that would be a good idea.
The other aspect of the video/readings that struck my interest was spam. I have students complete a food history timeline as they explore the science technologies that drive the changes in food production. The article about spam would serve as a great basis for showing students how to develop a timeline and to explain how foods move across borders. I wouldn't be able to give them the entire article due to some profanity, but would be able to review sections of the article with them.
I spent some time looking for articles about spam and visited the spam website. I didn't realize there were so many different types of spam. There is also a spam museum, which does virtual tours, something that might be useful with students. I tried to find some old advertisements for spam that I could use with my language arts courses but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. This webpage does have an ad example that I could use though.
Finally, one aspect of this week's video that caused me to pause and think was in the explanation of the department store restaurant and the difference between family style eating versus each person ordering off of the menu for themselves. As I pondered the information I thought about the different cultural aspects of food, how it is selected, and who selects it and for whom. I also thought about school cafeterias and how, at least in the district where my children attend school, young children do not have a choice in what they eat for lunch but as they get older they are given more choices in the cafeteria lunch line.
Jennifer
Amy StammThis salad contains several ingredients commonly used in Thai and Vietnamese dishes: basil, mint, cilantro, cashews, shallots, beef, and cucumbers, along with radishes, cabbage, carrots. I made the green dressing in the jar to the left using Curry & Kimchi cookbook author Unmi Abkin’s jalapeno lime salad dressing recipe, which calls for blending up shallots, jalapeño, garlic, lime zest and lime juice, seasoned rice wine vinegar, honey, coriander, salt, and olive oil.
Unmi was born in South Korea, and because her mother left shortly after her birth and her father was an alcoholic, Unmi spent her first years homeless and hungry until she was sent to an orphanage. She was adopted by a Jewish American man and a Mexican woman, after which she moved to the United States and spent summers in Mexico. She studied with chefs in California, Massachusetts, France, and Morocco, and opened a series of restaurants over the years. She was forced to close her most recent restaurant, Coco in Easthampton, MA, because the business just couldn’t make it under ongoing COVID conditions, and it is a big loss for this area. She’s been a James Beard semi-finalist for several years in a row.
Angela LeeFor some reason, this popped into my email last week, but it's a perfect little video to add onto our discussion about MSG. Ted-Ed videos are pretty short (this one is 5:30), so they can be used in class. https://youtu.be/EKgEj5asL3o
Angela LeeOne of my key takeaways that I could explore in my world history classes are the symbolism that foods can play on the receiving society. The two food commodities that were highlighted this week, MSG and Spam, could both be seen as symbolic of imperialism - from the Chinese perspective and resistance to use of MSG because they saw it as symbolizing Japanese imperialistic ambitions. Indeed, as Japanese colonized, in some areas, they went through the process of assimilation and integrating their traditions into the colonized regions, like Taiwan and Korea. In Taiwan, they had imposed the Japanese language and other cultural traditions and practices, which included foods and food preparation from Japan. I'm wondering if Korea had the same issues with MSG initially as well since the Japanese colonized the peninsula in 1910.
My mother, from Taiwan, was a big user of MSG, and I always remember the container of Ac'cent that was prominent in her collection of seasoning and spices. Since she worked in the Chinese restaurant business, it was used frequently to enhance foods, and we could always tell if there was added MSG in some of the foods. I had read and learned about the backlash against MSG as a ethnic, racial backlash too, and wonder, especially in the 1960s and 70s, if this was because a larger number of immigrants from East Asia came when the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act opened up the quotas from Asian countries.
The other food commodity is Spam, and I really learned more about Spam from the Hawaiian perspective. Even though it's a pretty integrated part of their food culture (I love spam musubi!), some Hawaiians I know had ambivalent feelings toward spam, since it associated with the US military. Does it have the same imperialistic taint for the Koreans too?
I would like to be able to incorporate this as part of my lessons when I teach about imperialism, and include food commodities and dining practices as part of the imperializing process.
Amy StammWhile recently watching the miniseries AlRawabi School for Girls, which takes place in Amman, Jordan, I came across a scene that made me curious about the history of Koreans and Korean food in the Arab world. In the first episode the main character’s father cooks Korean shabu shabu for his family. This dish consists of a family-style hot pot in which beef and mushrooms are cooked in a broth with Korean spices and greens. From what I researched, sabu shabu originated in a Japanese restaurant named Osaka in 1952, and Koreans adjusted the Japanese dish to accommodate their own spicing and flavors. However, the concept of hot pot dishes more generally originated with the Mongols thousands of years ago. The scene in AlRawabi School for Girls uses humor that derives from both the Arab world and broader contexts. For example, after serving the dish, the father jokes, “Bless my hands,” which is a play on an Arabic expression, “Bless your hands,” that people say when a waiter or typically the wife in a family brings your dish. In another jokingly self-congratulatory comment referring to his own initiative, the father says, “#relationship goals,” which is a hashtag that has been generated globally and certainly in the U.S.
When I researched Korean in Jordan, I found out that Koreans started migrating to the Arab world in large numbers in the 1970s and 1980s as migrant laborers. Between 1975 and 1985, 1.1 million Koreans migrated to Arab countries, the third most popular destination of the Korean diaspora. This migration reflected a deliberate policy in South Korea to promote exports in manpower. The government created a special department in the 1960s, focusing on facilitating construction companies’ entry into other countries and resulting in the first contract awarded to a South Korean firm to in 1974 to build a highway in Saudi Arabia. A number of factors, including a decreasing wage gap between South Korean and Arab countries, led to a decrease in migration in the 1980s, though North Koreans continue to provide manual labor for Arab countries. Most Koreans who migrated to Jordan have lived in Amman, working in construction, providing Korean language instruction, and acting as missionaries. One South Korean who grew up in Jordan and became a Jordanian citizen is the comedian Won Ho Chung, whose Axis of Evil Comedy Tour in 2007 brought him fame.
Gabriel ValdezSo I've been blessed by having traveled to 40 plus countries (no, I'm not rich just have been blessed with a bunch of grants) and one of the things I have loved to have witnessed is fusion/confusion/and interpretations on both sides. I'll keep this to some of my experiences in East Asia. I did receive 2 SPAM sets as gifts while living in Incheon, Korea. I also received cooking oil and Asian pear sets plus Peppero (Pocky competitor) gifts. In walking around the school's working class neighborhood in this port city, we would eat cold noodles and ice flakes during the hot summer months along with gelato and mochi. Cheesy spaghetti was also a popular offering as was pizza. In fact, my friend Sean had an idea to order a pizza that had both bulgogi (a popular Korean topping) plus pepperoni (side note typically Korean pizza will usually come with pickles and kimchi to the side) He called a couple of the local pizza places and there was a language barrier. Sean finally enlisted our Korean speaking coworkers to help him with his efforts and this typically lead to arguments with the chef/owner saying this would not be delicious and refuse to make his bulgogi/pepperoni Frankenpizza. Sean to his credit was undetered and each time offered extra money for the pizza plus tip. They finally convinced a chef to make this pizza and to Sean's credit, it was bloody brilliant and became my go to pizza whiile living in Korea.
During the bitter cold months in Korea (basically the sidewalk is iced/icy from November through March) and chestnuts are definitely roasting over the open flame, Jack Frost is nipping at your nose and toes but the steamed King Mandu on your hands gives you all the warmth you need to walk to school. You are working at a 3 story school and the owner is trying to save money and only has one space heater on each floor and you can only stand in front of the tiny heater for 30 seconds or less.. these painful days were tough but the loving embrace of juk (porridge sweet or savory) was always there to greet you and never judge you. Sean discovered that stopping by for fresh baguettes and or ciabatta to go with juk (yeah carb on carb) was delicious (and met a lot of resistance from shop owners).
As far as fast foods, Lotteria - https://www.lotteria.jp/global/en/ a Korean owned Japanese fast food empire (also can be found in Korea) has a lot of offerings including shrimp burgers and more. You can go to the Japanese menu at https://www.lotteria.jp/pdf/jp/store/storage/00003.pdf although I prefer Korea's Lotteria offerings (the menu/website is not loading but here is a 3rd party delivery link) https://www.shuttledelivery.co.kr/en/restaurant/menu/1130/lotteria and I love the Big Rib which is for all intents and purposes a McRib meets bulgogi and add mayo.
At most major fast food places in Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan you can order some derivation of a teriyaki burger and most burgers can be served on rice buns. These are usually delicious but steamed rice buns burn your hands as they are usually hot so use the paper that the burgers are wrapped in. The Shanghai chicken at McDonald's is fire! So delicious. I've included a menu to MOS burger, another Japanese burger chain. This one has the menu and how to eat a burger instructions. https://www.mos.jp/inbound/en/index.html and https://www.mos.jp/menu/pdf/global_regular_menu.pdf?_ga=2.120303688.179531260.1566194159-427517701.1554968165
Mostly I ate at small cafes/restaurants but having lived in the region for years, I wanted to give you a sense of glocalized options. BTW - when in Korea do the squid and peanut waffle while running to catch the subway or Korail!
Gabriel ValdezHaving also lived in the 808 and worked on some with HRC at a few restaurants, I can also speak to the love of Spam and blending of cultures in Hawiian Regional Cusine. Shout out to Guri Guri , Halo Halo, Garlic Chicken skins!
Julie WakefieldI guess the first part of this goes to the MSG controversy....I still don't understand. As I said last week, I honestly have clue what MSG is and if I have ever eaten it knowingly? Not sure what this says about the 'controversy' or just my lack of eating/cooking Asian food.
The scare based on one story from 1968 that created the Asian Restaurant Syndrome?? MSG causing cancer? Natural sensitivity to MSG?
I am reading and watching videos in an attempt to try to understand this.
More to come....
Julie WakefieldI think the kids would get a kick out of some lesson on SPAM. I am wondering outloud if the culinary teacher (and classes) would be willing to do some SPAM cooking for us for taste tests. It is could be a fun cross-curricular activity.
So I am looking for some good videos and articles that are student friendly to create a lesson.
Video - Gordon Ramsey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MZ59LQtWH8
SPAM in six different world regions- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkTBqGf6zo
Amy Stamm“Food categories encode social events…They express hierarchy, inclusion and exclusion, boundaries and transactions across boundaries.” Mary Douglas and Michael Nicod, as quoted in George H. Lewis p. 92
A couple of interesting ideas from this week’s readings stood out to me. One was Frank Dikotter’s point about how new technologies like enamelware, tin cans, and rice hulling machines “profoundly transformed the material culture of food,” as those with money could experience “foreign” food and thus increase their own status, and tins “democratized consumption” for those without money, as they allowed food to reach into remote areas and provided nutrition when fresh foods weren’t readily available. These new technologies changed people’s eating habits and created new global systems of exchange of food products like Spam. At the same time, people formulated critiques of these new technologies, in one case commenting that “as most noodles are made by machines, people’s hearts are also becoming mechanical” (Dikotter).
The department store as a new technology or design of social interaction and consumerism through which citizens could demonstrate their modernity and show their status through consuming hybrid, Western-influenced meals shows how spatial design can reconfigure social relationships. This makes me think that an interesting student project might be for students to choose a cultural/public space in their communities and analyze how it shapes people’s interactions. For example, students could think about how public graffiti reconfigures public spaces to include those who may traditionally be excluded from such spaces. Or a particular café might bring its customers into contact with a specific culinary tradition or might rely on certain relationships between local farmers and the dishes the cooks create.
Another interesting idea was how cultural values about meals, for example, Chinese communal/family eating vs. European individual eating, affected how utensils and tablecloths, for example, were used in restaurants. These different practices, furthermore, became framed in terms of hygiene and notions of modernity. It was also interesting to read about how political histories and relationships, like attitudes about Japanese imperialism, meant different receptions of the same foods or food products. The use of cultural values and aspirations to tailor the marketing campaigns designed for MSG’s penetration into different countries’ food systems meant that images emphasizing new Japanese bourgeois kitchens weren’t effective in China, for example, where marketing campaigns de-emphasized housewives and emphasized servants or empowered women. The Japanese Ajinomoto, which held imperialist associations and solicited animosity, had to be rebranded under a Chinese name in order to penetrate this market (Jordan Sand). As Sand writes, “MSG was born in the nexus between the late nineteenth-century ideals of civilization, Victorian science, dietary reform, and the modern profession of housewifery. Propagated through Japanese imperial expansion, it became a part of Taiwanese and Chinese cuisines, but in the process also became a political commodity inseparable from nationalist opposition to Japan” (p. 47), asserting the point that “our taste buds are historically shaped (p. 47).
George H. Lewis’s discussion of how geography constrains consumption I found to be a critical framework for understanding part of how Spam caught on in some places and not others. As Lewis explains, island cultures’ circumscribed land areas make animals high on the food chain expensive to keep because they eat too much, while smaller animals like dogs compete with humans for the same foods. Unfussy pigs, who could forage from the land and eat humans’ scraps, fared better, which helped Spam to gain its status in Hawaii, for example (Lewis p. 95). Koreans’ higher consumption of meat than other Pacific Rim countries made them more receptive to Spam, which was easily accommodated into Korean cuisine.
Ellen DavisAs much of the USA, and the world, were transitioning to packaged, processed, and prepared foods, parts of Asia were no different. As China, Japan, and Korea became cosmopolitan places, with immigrants and visitors from all over the world, the packaged, processed, and prepared foods followed. With colonization, came western companies' food colonization. From canned, condensed milk, white sugar, and ice cream to Spam, so many great-tasting-but-not-good-for-you foods spread throughout Asia.
While my current teaching duties do not involve teaching about imperialism or the colonization of Asia at this time, we do learn about adaptations in the American colonies in a new land, and the adaptation of political ideas, and about immigration to the U.S. I anticipate making some connections with the concept of adaptations and bringing in new ideas from immigrants and their foodways and how they adapt.