The Husband is working late this evening, so I took the opportunity to throw together a simple supper. I prepared a-not-so-nutritionally-sound-meal-but-one-I-know-will-be-eaten-without-a-battle for the kids, and then I pulled out some comfort food for me–rice, kimchi and sliced Spam (don’t laugh).
Cupcake immediately spotted the spicy red kimchi and asked for some. I hesitated since I was hoping my mom would introduce it to Cupcake at some point, as she had introduced other Korean dishes. I tried to demur, but Cupcake insisted she wanted some.
I went to get a bowl of water in which I could wash out the spices of the red hot kimchi, but Cupcake scoffed at that idea. She wanted it spicy spicy! I reluctantly cut a small piece and laid it on a spoonful of rice. She gobbled it up and declared, “I like it! I want some more!” Sure enough…she ate every piece of kimchi I gave to her and kept asking for more. I was amazed. Knowing her mouth would feel the fire once she stopped eating, I made sure to have some cold milk on hand. And yep. She chugged that down too.
I felt successful. I want my kids to appreciate and enjoy their Asian heritage! However, I am so afraid of presenting it wrong that I often rely on my folks to do the honors. Since they live far away and visit infrequently (but for long stretches when they do come), I realize I have to make more of an effort to overcome my fear and just start doing it. I just hope my efforts are as positive as it was tonight.
Oh I haven’t had spam in so long. I’m love having rice with a fried egg and sausage for dinner…it’s such a treat for me and it’s starting to grow on my kids too. I think you should continue to expose your kids to their Asian heritage. I love that Cupcake devoured the kimchi and wasn’t afraid of the spiciness. Sometimes we don’t give our kids enough credit. I’ve taken mine to an Asian market to walk around and look at all the different foods/snacks. Sometimes we pick something out to try.
That’s very cool that she not only requested it, but loved it. I don’t have a culinary heritage, so my goal has been to introduce my son to as many different types of food and flavor combinations as I can. I don’t want him to ever think of certain foods as weird or something that we don’t eat. I’ve been pretty successful so far, but things started backfiring in 1st and 2nd grade when I’d pack him lentils for lunch (his favorite food at the time) and the other kids at this lunch table would tease him for his usual lunches. I hope when he gets old enough not to care about peer opinions that he remembers that he used to love these foods. (And of course we still eat them at home; I just need to pack his lunches judiciously or they come home uneaten.)
How wonderful! I like kimchee in moderation. My husband–not so much. We have a great Korean/Japanese restaurant in town. If/when the time comes, I’ll certainly give some to my daughter to try.
I do a terrible job of incorporating my and my daughter’s Asian heritage into our daily lives. Growing up, I didn’t experience a lot of myself.
Food is the easiest way to start. I can’t wait to get my daughter to try sushi!
Definitely keep trying those foods on the kids – I think it’s less about the presentation of them and more about the shared experience of trying foods that are new, that mean a lot of the parents/family, etc. My 3 year old can’t handle kimchi yet (although we’ve cautiously tried!) but LOVES other Korean fare, esp bibimbap (without the gochujang), anything rolled in seaweed, jap chae, mandoo, duk guk, mild dubu chige, even tiny pickled octopus, and so much more… I love that she’s always been so open to trying these things, and while I can’t teach her the language all that well, I’m trying to pass on parts of her heritage that she can easily grasp and enjoy (foods, holidays, all the fun stuff!).
That’s awesome that she loved it!!