22 May / Take the #APAEverywhere Challenge!
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center has designed a fun social media challenge to put #APAEverywhere!
You can complete the challenges on social media or on your #APAEverywhere account through May 31, 2015. To open your #APAEverywhere account, register here. Then pick a challenge from this list to start putting #APAEverywhere!
Being the foodie I am, I honed in on the three food-related challenges. The food challenges are named “Korean Taco Challenges” in homage of Kogi BBQ. In 2009, Kogi BBQ taco truck debuted the “Korean Taco” in Los Angeles. By 2010, Korean tacos could be found in Atlanta, Georgia, Austin, Texas, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Since then, Korean tacos have popped up at food trucks–and restaurants–around the country.
Come join in the fun!
- Korean Taco Challenge #1: Share your favorite Asian Pacific American recipe with us.
What is an Asian Pacific American recipe, you might ask? An APA recipe is anything that’s commonly eaten by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and can be as simple as your take on apple pie or something more recognizable like spam musubi, or even a mish-mash you create at home!
That being said, one of my favorite APA recipes is Mochiko Chicken, a popular Hawaiian dish. It was probably brought to the islands by Japanese immigrants and is a variation of chicken tatusta-age and/or kara-age.
Click here for the recipe.
- Korean Taco Challenge #2: Try a food that combines Asian and Latino culinary influences.
Even before the Kogi taco was born, Asian-Latino fusion cuisine was already in abundance. Zengo, a restaurant with locations in Denver and D.C., opened in 2004, has a menu that marries chipotles with miso, achiote with hoisin, and adobo with sesame. And you probably have used Serrano or jalapeño peppers in your Asian cooking!
A couple of years ago, I came up with a Miso-Spiked Chili topped with wasabi sour cream. And it was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself :). Even a bowl of chili could do with a dash of umami!
Click here for the recipe.
- Korean Taco Challenge #3: Comfort food reminds us of home, family, and heritage. What dishes comfort you and why?
We all have our comfort foods, foods that soothe and satisfy because they remind you of a happy and carefree childhood, family members far away, or friends who have made a lasting imprint on your heart.
One of my favorite comfort foods is a dish called Macaroni Schotel. The ingredients are similar to an American mac and cheese and I assumed this was the form all mac-and-cheeses took until I moved to the U.S. and discovered otherwise!
My mom had several variations. The basic recipe was always the same but she’d toss in everything from corned beef (canned of course!), leftover ham, to cooked chicken and my all-time favorite—spam! Sometimes, she’d bake the casserole until it was so firm you could slice it into wedges and eat it as finger food. Other times, she’d take it out from the oven still bubbling and ooey-gooey. Neither was intentional as my mom was never very good at setting the timer!
Click here for the recipe.