In this episode we will be discussing a little more about how food plays a role in introducing a Gen 1.5’s ethnic background. We will be speaking with Andy Valencia, from Riobamba, Ecuador and Kirstina Adhikari from Chitwan, Nepal. Both Andy and Kristina agreed to make one of their favourite things to eat and share the process with me. 

Music used in this podcast is by DJ Quads and Darryl Agbuis.

WRITTEN BY : SAMANTHA GOH

Andy moved to Canada at age 7. Today, he chose to share how he makes empanadas which are basically stuffed bread or pastry that is often fried or baked. The name comes from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.

We had a conversation as I watched him prepare the empanadas. Now, I would really love for you listeners to pay attention to the sounds of the kitchen. This was a unique experience for me as I have never been this attentive to these mundane noises that can be heard while someone is cooking. I felt like it was very important for me to include these sounds to really try and transport you audibly to Andy’s kitchen. 

Andy spoke about focusing on the simplicity of the dish. Using basic ingredients that are rich in flavour when combined. I just love this concept of looking at food in this way because most of the time, the simplest of things, they’re just good. 

The knowledge of food making and family recipes really speaks about this natural human thing, we share what we know with others that we care about because it tastes good. I feel like when we share food, we share our personal experience. We give up this other side of us, the love and care we put into the meal, you can almost taste it. This is also something I definitely picked up from my parents. Growing up, we always entertained. Even if it was the simplest of things, like offering a cup of coffee or some tea, it was something we just did. Maybe it because of the culture in Malaysia where you tend to ask your guests, “Have you eaten?” instead of “How are you?” as a form of greeting. I don’t know what it is about sharing food but I know that making food for my friends and family is something I always look forward to.   

Andy made these empanadas with basic raw ingredients that I could find in my home or most households for that matter. The filling was made with some potatoes, red bell peppers, onions, and garlic.  It is so interesting to note the presence of food commonalties between cultures. If you look at it geographically, Ecuador and Malaysia are countries located nearly halfway away from each other but both countries are situation by the equator. The one big difference I could notice was the presence of corn flour which is common in Latin American cooking. I thought I throw this out there for some food for thought. Pun intended.

As we ate, I asked Andy what was his favourite food story. I was curious as to what was Andy’s thoughts on this idea of a gen 1.5 food culture that includes both his Ecuadoran and Canadian food culture. 

Andy's empanadas with a modified ají de tomato árbol sauce.

Kristina chose to share the of making momos which are dumplings native to Tibet and Nepal. I have had the opportunity to try both Tibetan and Nepali momos and I have to say, they are quite different. Kristina’s family recipe for Nepali momos are served with a spicy tomato chutney. 

I was a little surprised by the way momos were eaten as was so used to dipping my dumplings in some hot sauce or soy sauce that was served on the side. If you could just imagine having a plateful of dumplings drenched in a spicy tomato sauce. Doesn’t that sound delicious? Spoiler alert: it tasted amazing. This way of eating momos really reminded me of how ravioli or any stuffed pasta served with a sauce is eaten, and I am really not surprised how similar food can be sometimes.  

Kristina made it seem like the process of wrapping dumplings was the easiest thing in the world. I watched her shape a few before I tried making them themselves and it was very challenging. She was also going 3 times faster than I was. It was quite an experience. 

I was telling Kristina about making empanadas with Andy and as I watched her make the sauce. It was the same ingredients but for a completely different dish. Speaking about this idea of food commonalities once more, I was immersing myself in these different flavours and as I ate both the momos and empanadas they tasted like comfort food even though it wasn’t my comfort food. It was my first time experiencing it and yet, I could relate these flavours and recognize what comfort food means to me. 

I loved that Kristina touched on this aspect of food making. This “human intuition” of just adopting the knowledge of making food that gets past down from generation to generation. It is how cultures live within our families and sometimes, they die off because of the lack of interest but there always seems to be a a way where it comes back. It is through this organic form of transferring knowledge that makes it authentic to each individual family recipe. 

We started talking about how much being a Gen 1.5 changed our interaction with the food from our ethnic background. As we finished our meal, I asked her what was her gen 1.5 culture. What did that mean to her? 

Kristina's momos with a spicy tomato chutney.