I attended the Spam Dinner at the NAAC and had a great time. I've only ever really had spam in spam musubi and kimbap, so I was excited to try it in other dishes like mac and cheese and stir fry. It was nice to have such warm food on a cold, rainy day, and to have such nice company in the middle of the week, as the quarter is ramping up.
I'm currently taking a course on food and eating in East Asia (CHINA 118), and one of the foods we discussed in depth was spam in Korean foods (dating to the Korean War and the need to transport/preserve food during wartime). It's interesting to see how spam has become such an integral part of foods and dishes in a variety of cultures, and how spam is perceived by different people. Spam is relatively expensive and almost like a luxury item in Korea, while it is a more common food in the U.S. which sometimes looked at as a "mystery" meat.
Furthermore, I also got to try coconut pudding today for the first time (at the same dinner) and I really liked it (thanks for the info, Kawena), and I really appreciated the circle we formed and the prayer made before our dinner. The intentional reflection was something I really needed.
-Elen Mendoza
No comments:
Post a Comment