LAST PAPER OF COLLEGE CAREER

Well, here it is! My last paper ever. I am tired; my body has decided to quit on me. I am going to go take a nap now, but I finished all my papers. WOW! I can't believe it is over. My advise to anyone entering college is to get yourself a good research writing handbook. You're going to need it. Also, familiarize yourself with the citation tool in your word processor. It will make the process so much easier. I used The Curious Researcher by Bruce Ballenger throughout my college career. It saved my bacon on more than one occasion  All the best to those still in school, just starting, or who have graduated. It's a lot of work, but just doing it is quite the achievement. I salute you!

Amy

Food Diversity in America

I love to eat ethnic food. I am an eighth Italian, and eighth Mexican, and a whole hearted fan of all things new and adventurous when it comes to food. One of my favorite types of cuisines that is available readily to all Oregonians is Thai food. I found myself with great delight sitting down at the Thai Peacock on the corner of Ninth Street and Oak in downtown Portland on Wednesday of last week to a house special, Peacock Curry. My Thai Iced Tea was a lovely orange color with the cream whirled around in it. A small bowl of rice was brought to me, sprinkled with sesame seeds of black and tan, for catching the sauce of the curry. The curry itself was a mixture of peanut and red curry sauces. Chicken, peppers, carrots, and some potatoes swam in the sauce, soaking up the flavor like a kid at the pool. Surrounded by great company, a truly Thai atmosphere, and wonderful conversation, this is a meal I won’t soon forget.

Rice

     Rice is a staple in most cultures, and Thailand is no exception to this rule. In the primarily agricultural system of Southeast Asia, rice is the dominate cereal crop and is valued far beyond its nutritional value (Esterik, 2008, pp. 19). Rice is considered to have a soul that must be nurtured, and the best known of the 120,000 varieties grown in the region is Jasmine (Esterik, 2008, pp 19). “Thailand is the largest exporter of rice at about eight million metric tons.” (Esterik, 2008, pp. 19, 20) People prefer to eat the local variety of rice for their meals, the kind that like them has adapted to the climate where they live (Esterik, 2008, pp. 20). “Rice for household consumption is always separated from seed rice to be used for the next season’s planting and from rice that will be sold. Elder women select the best seeds of rice to be kept for seed.” (Esterik, 2008, pp. 20) Clearly, rice is a key ingredient to any truly Thai meal. I used mine to soak up extra sauces and help fill up my belly.

Chicken

    Americans love to eat meat, but this is not the case the world over. In Thailand, meat is rarely the centerpiece of the meal, with only a small quantity included for flavor of whatever meat is being used (Esterik, 2008, pp. 31). When meat is used, the whole animal will be included, with cuts like the brains, entrails, and other organs being sold for a comparable price to the muscle meats Americans so highly prize (Esterik, 2008, pp. 31). My curry dish being focused around the chicken in it is a prime example of Thai cuisine being westernized to please the palette of the customer. I appreciate this, however if I go to Thailand I know not to expect meat in every dish.

Curry

        Curry is something unique to regions of the world that have access to spices, and Southeast Asia is known for its spice trade.

Southeast Asian cuisine has been described as a balance of hot, sour, salty, and sweet. These flavors are accomplished by blends of spices and herbs, all locally available and highly valued. It was spices that first drew Arab and European traders to the region. And spices still form an integral part of Southeast Asian dishes. (Esterik, 2008, pp. 32)

A mortar and pestle are used to grind plants and spices together to make flavor pastes to be

used in that days cooking (Esterik, 2008, pp. 34). Hard, dry ingredients are added first to the ensemble of ceramic, wood, or stone and ground with subsequently softer, watery ingredients being added later in the process (Esterik, 2008, pp. 34). The recipe and flavors variey from region to region and chef to chef  (Esterik, 2008, pp. 34). Curry powder was developed by the Britsh originally to recapture the taste of Indian cooking while at home (Esterik, 2008, pp. 35). Evidently, my dish was not authentically Thai but a hybrid of modern convience married to Thai tradition.

Vegetables

     Although the vegetables found in my particular dish are not in common use in Thailand, vegetables are highly prized in Thai cooking for their freshness and texture (Esterik, 2008, pp. 27). Vegetables are regularly grown in home gardens and sold at markets (Esterik, 2008, pp 27). Common vegetables of the region include water spinach, onions, garlic, eggplant, “banana blossoms, bitter melon, lotus, bok choy, rapini, napa cabbage, sweet potato, green onions or scallions, Chinese chives, bean sprouts (from soy and mung beans), and a wide variety of local greens.” (Esterik, 2008, pp. 27, 28) New world vegetables have been added to the cuisine as well (Esterik, 2008, pp. 28). The inculsion of carrots, peppers, and potatoes in my meal then seems typical of the style while still being true to the region of the world the restaurant has been established in. These people are known for using the vegetables readily available to them and adapting non-native vegetation to their particular brand of cooking in a way that compliments the flavor profile of their culinary heritage.
   Enjoying the food of Thailand in its Westernized form, I have learned that food cannot be taken out of the cultural context without adapting to the ingredients available within that region. I also am thankful to be an American living in the Pacific Northwest. Incredible bounty of produce and animals thrive here. This directly influences the food choices not only of local fare, but also those of other cultures who chose to come and make this place their home. I enjoy all the various tastes, traditions, and cultural diversity that my beloved Pacific Northwest fosters. There’s no other place like it, and I am blessed to call it home.

Bibliography

Esterik, P. V. (2008). Food Culture in Southeast Asia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing

Group.

Restaurant, T. P. Peacock Curry and Thai Iced Tea. April 17, 2013, Portland.