August 2021: THE INDOCHINESE TASTE OF SHRIMPS

There is quite an irony on how I described The Kitchen Scholar for its “interdisciplinary perspectives on food and cooking.” How can this platform bring objectivity to the cultural richness of food and cooking if I place too much emphasis on Eurocentric elements, ingredients, and dishes, which dominated most of the content from last year?

Although I was born Asian and imbued with the values of Filipino nationality and Chinese ethnicity, I never had any initiative nor drive to learn Asian cookery over the last decade until launching this platform last year. The main reason was due to the excessive conformity of my personal acquaintances and gastronomic surroundings towards this category, leading the rebel inside me to go against my roots and immerse myself on the other side. Therefore, Asian cuisine is my Achilles’ heel that has not dipped into the holy river waters of universal culinary and gastronomic knowledge.

The theme on peninsular Indochinese cookery of shrimps this month changes my kitchen status quo because I get to leave my comfort zone and return to my roots that have become terra incognita. Peninsular Indochina refers to mainland Southeast Asia stretching from Myanmar to Malaysia, and the cultural wealth of this region hinges on the ethnic diffusion of Indian and Chinese influences through the ancient Silk Road. Despite the horrors, erasures, damages, and appropriations brought by colonialism, the intense building block of flavors that essentially define the local gastronomy remained resistant and resilient to outsider tampering. Meanwhile, shrimps are chosen for their simplicity in preparation and for how an ocean catch of them being sold in the market can represent the Southeast Asian appraisal for freshness of seafood.

Reconnecting to proximal cultures through food and cooking has made me feel like a stranger in a strange land after distancing myself for quite a long time. But, this month’s theme on The Kitchen Scholar also paves a small step to restore and reclaim what I once relinquished and re-elevate other perspectives beyond my expertise. Enjoy the recipes!