Now you know what brings about forty people on this ship together - Asian food!
The first time I had Asian food on the ship (that is, made by a real Asian), I sat in delight, enjoying every morsel of sesame oil and soy sauce flavored rice. Eunok (Korean) shared with us her secret stash of seaweed wrappers enveloping sticky rice, freshly made from a real rice cooker. I savored the taste. I think I must have prayed before and after the meal for that one!
A few weeks ago, we had an Asian pot luck lunch. Guests from off the ship were also invited. What a feast we had! Our crew galley was brimming with excitement. Who has sesame oil? Soy sauce? And don't forget the precious chives. A few crew members spent a few afternoons looking for those around Monrovia! There was also a potato shortage one day, and then the next day, somehow we became Ireland with all them taters. I scored a few for myself.
As the meal was laid out before us, my eyes feasted upon the comforting sights and smells of Asian food. There was green onion pancakes skillfully made by the Ting siblings. Don't forget the spicy egg curry by Leena or the Sri Lankan egg curry by Ananda. Then there was all the Korean food that came with the Cho family - chap chae, bibimbap, bulgogi and of course, kimchee ... made with cassava, no less!
Noh Jun was the slicer and dicer that day. But here, he proudly guards the precious rice cooker.
Before the meal, we prayed out loud in our native tongues. Leena shared a thought with me afterwards: how happy God must've been to hear us, not only thanking Him, but coming together over so many different languages!
And yes, we invited the non Asians. From them we got Norwegian waffles with strawberry jam, brownies, pumpkin pie, and a beautifully carved pineapple. Also, sometimes, they insist on playing the tambourine with plates. Strange, those non Asians :).
I made fried rice and some Japanese curry, with many thanks to my mother, who sent me the pre-made curry. Hey, its not cheating when everyone enjoys it. Give this sister a break!
Our baker is from Hong Kong! He is the only other person on the ship with whom I can converse in Cantonese. He makes his home in Vancouver now.
For Asian lunch, he made Austrian bread. I challenged him on that way, but he insisted the only two Chinese dishes he knows how to make are egg custard and sesame stew (tse mah go). I shrugged and asked him what his problem was. I got a couple bad excuses, none that satisfied my desire for either egg custard or tse mah go! Then again, I suppose we are in a Third World country. In Africa.
But then again (again), I realized that ingenuity and teamwork goes a long way - even if it takes you a while to find those precious chives.
1 comment:
I love you!!!! I'm up in norcal this week, and have thought about you a lot. First when I passed Gorman on the way up, and at various times since then. Glad you are getting some good Asian grub and that you look happy and alive.
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