Ginto: From Yellow to Gold

compiled by: Tamika Whitenack, Janus Wong, and Kara Lu edited by: Evelyn Li designed and illustrated by: Sharon Nahm

When looking at a prism, it is easy to discount its multifaceted nature by focusing on the smooth, polished surface. But when looking through a prism, you will discover that the infinite number of surfaces can refract light into a myriad of colours.

Similarly, our perception of universal items may be reduced to our understanding of how they relate to us contextually - and this became the starting point for “Prism of Rice,” a collaborative project to explore the common ingredient of rice through the lens of students with different Asian backgrounds.

Isabelle Paquette Chinese adoptee Both my parents love to cook; home cooked meals and family recipes have always been a staple growing up. For the past couple of years my mom has made probably one of the simplest yet delicious rice dishes I’ve ever had, though I might be biased. It’s a simplified version of an Asian egg and fried rice bowl, except minus the vegetables and added soy sauce. She makes it for me and my sister, who is also adopted, all the time, and it’s one of my many favorites that I have of her cooking.

Ella Xiao Chinese American & biracial

My favorite is fried rice made with lap cheong (chinese sausage), marking the rice with its strong and distinctive flavor. It’s something that’s been enjoyed in my family consistently despite migrations: my Nainai and Yeye ate it growing up in Hunan, my Baba and Auntie and Uncle grew up eating it in Hong Kong, and now it is something I eat it in our home in Seattle and have even made for my friends here at Vassar. Everytime we eat lap cheong fried rice, my Baba will make the whole table laugh, talking about how as a young child, he was terrified of the giant dried sausages hanging from the ceiling at the butcher’s. “The dish is worth a childhood fear,” he says.

Akansha Goel First Generation Indian American

Kheer is a dish that’s been passed down from generations on my mom’s side. Oftentimes, when we think of rice dishes, we imagine them to be salty rather than sweet. While it’s true that kheer is often made for celebrations, at least in my household, ever since I came to Vassar, my mom has been making it for me when I come home for breaks since she knows it’s my favorite. After hours of traveling and months of college food, walking into my house and immediately smelling cardamom, saffron, and other spices from the kheer that’s probably been cooking on the stove since morning, I instantly feel at home and reminded of all the great food that I get to enjoy because of my culture.

Gabor Fu Ptacek Lǔròufàn is a comfort Taiwanese American & biracial food that is tied to good memories and feelings of home and family. I have been trying my best to learn to cook more Taiwanese food. I have yet to try making lǔròufàn, but it is high on my list. My mom is Taiwanese and my dad is white, but my mom does not enjoy cooking and never cooked for our family while I was growing up. Because of this, I never ate home-cooked Taiwanese food in America, but we knew of one restaurant in San Francisco that made traditional Taiwanese food that we went to frequently. However, this restaurant recently closed, and that’s what pushed me to start learning how to cook Taiwanese food and lǔròufàn!

Arroz a la cubana is a dish that’s served in a lot of Spanish-speaking countries. It reflects the colonial influence Spain has had on Ceci Villaseñor Filipino culture. This is a recipe my grandmother used to Filipino American make and that my mom now uses, often repurposing leftover sauce from pasta bolognese for arroz a la cubana. My mom grew up in the Philippines in a large family with 8 siblings, and while I don’t think they were very poor, they certainly weren’t wealthy. I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived a really comfortable life here because my mom worked really hard and as a result of that (plus luck), had a lot of professional success. I think the fact that my mom uses the leftover bolognese sauce is a reminder of her history and success, and so I associate arroz a la cubana with pride for my mom.

Shreya Suresh South Indian

Curd rice is my comfort food and I crave it all the time! It is one of those rice dishes that is not hot, so it goes so well on a nice, sunny, tropical afternoon. My favorite memories of it are when we would pack a whole box of curd rice for long road trips. We would stop during lunchtime, park near a shady tree and as a family, gobble down the entire serving.

The name of the fried rice is the recipe - rice, egg, soy sauce (specifically ginger), and green onion (scallion).

Tory Horner Chinese adoptee

Samata Bhattari Nepali

Rice is an integral part of Nepali culture and a part of almost every meal. The most popular dish is dal bhat. It is steamed rice (bhaat) served with lentil soup (dal) and a variety of vegetables or meat of your choice. Some people also like adding pickled vegetables (achaar) and ghee. Due to its versatility, it doesn’t feel like you’re eating the same thing every day. Most people in Nepal probably eat the dish two to three times a day.

There is a saying: “bhaat nakai kana pet nai bhardaina”, or “you don’t feel full if you didn’t eat rice”. Instead of asking “Have you eaten anything?”, my grandmother always asks “Have you had rice?”. If I tell her that I ate something that wasn’t rice/dal bhat she offers me more food because she believes I haven’t eaten yet. In a way, rice is synonymous to a full meal.

Nicholas Quek Ethnically Chinese Singaporean

This dish does not belong to my ethnic group, but is so ubiquitous to Singapore that everyone knows it. It consists of a serving of the titular fragrant rice alongside a selection of side dishes, the most common ones being sambal chilli, peanuts, cucumber, deep fried anchovies, fried fish, fried or boiled eggs and fried chicken. No one in my family has actually tried making this dish, but all of us love it. We have regular arguments over which place serves the best Nasi Lemak in Singapore. Here is a recipe that should get you close to authentic Nasi Lemak, but almost every store that serves it in Singapore has their own take on it.

When I was younger, my parents would make this exclusively for special occasions, like church potlucks or parties. Now my dad will make congee in an Instant Pot for breakfast/ brunch because it’s so simple to make, and Jessica Li sometimes he will throw in First Generation Chinese American chopped century egg or pork. Being home for breaks and waking up to the aroma of pídàn shòu ròu zhōu brings back memories of when I was a little kid and eagerly waited to try some before it was taken away for the masses to eat. I love this dish so much, mainly for the century egg, and can have so many servings without getting sick of it. My mom and dad are from different parts of China, but congee of some sort has always been a staple food in their provinces, whether of the sweet or salty variety.