International Food

The presentation began with a sampling of various dishes from several different countries, 5 of which offered a short PowerPoint presentation on the history of the dish, their country, and how to make it. China, Japan, Hungry, Belarus, and Mexico, were the five to explain their cuisine and its significance to their county's culture. China provided both Steamed Foo Yong, and Tea-flavored egg. Japan sampled a type of beef and potato stew called Nikujaga, Hungary offered Chicken Paprikas, with homemade noodles, Belarus supplied Potato Pancakes, and Mexico presented both Rice, and Enchilada's. A plate of food was available for $2 to benefit Hurricane Katrina. Learning about the different foods and cultures was very interesting, as I had previously never heard of most of the dishes, and had only tasted a few of them before. Some of the cuisine had cultural importance to the originating country, such as China. The egg is extremely important to them as it plays a large role in their story of creation, and the shape of the egg reminds them of the raindrop and the seed, to them, life-giving elements and symbols of new life. I also learned some more demographic features of the countries, such as Belarus has over 10 million people, but I would never have believed so many people would fit into such a small area. Another interesting fact was that potatoes were introduced to Belarus from America and now they are so cheap and popular, they are referred to as a "second bread". And I also learned that Hungry contains a huge amount of world renowned Spa's and is so rich in underground thermal water that you can almost poke a tick into the ground anywhere, and find hot water.
During my earlier year of high school, I studied Japanese as a second language, and even traveled to Japan as part of a class trip, so it was great to hear about some traditional Japanese cuisine along with all the other countries dishes. When I studied the language and culture of Japan, we were taught a little about the food, so I was excited to taste the dishes because I thought I might recognize some of them. I have noticed that here in America, there are less opportunities to eat Japanese food, but in Australia, it is quite popular. The presenter for Japan explained some myths about their eating habits, such as they don't eat sushi and raw fish everyday. She also detailed the history of the dish Nikujaga, which consists of Meat, potatoes, and noodles, which was introduced by a Japanese professor who studied in England, and grew fond of beef and potato stew. My time spent studying Japanese was highly enjoyable, and the presentation and food sampling brought back some fond memories.