I’ve never been a super adventurous eater. I’m the kind of person who orders the same entrée off the menu every time I visit a restaurant. It’s not that I don’t want to explore different kinds of food, I actually actively look for things I haven’t eaten before, often thinking to myself “that seems good.” However, immediately after thinking that, I order something I’m already familiar with. I guess you could say when it comes to food, I’m just on auto-pilot most of the time.
Going to the international food fair at Union, I was a little excited to push myself to try food from different parts of the world. I have very little experience with international food. Besides regular visits to the several dozen Mexican restaurants here in Jackson and a little experience with Greek and Jamaican food, I’m pretty green when it comes to food I can’t find on the aisles of an American grocery store.
The first table I approached was for a dish called “japache” from South Korea. As she served me a cup of japache, which is basically glass noodles and vegetables, Ashton March told me about how she had a passion for Korean culture and how she relates it with her own culture as an African American.
“I really love Korean culture,” March said. “When I read up on Korean history from the past and read up on our own, I think we’re more alike than we think.”
I dug into the entrée. The noodles were sweet, and the vegetables added extra flavor and texture. Overall, though, it didn’t do much for me. I think I’m just not a fan of glass noodles. They look cooler than they taste.
Next, I treated myself to some fry bread from a table serving food from Native American reservations. Brooke Hatcher, a freshman zoology major at Union, told me about how it was a basic food that is often combined with soups and sweets.
“When you go from reservation to reservation, no matter who you’re visiting, you always know that they’re gonna know what fry bread is,” Hatcher said. “It means a lot to me because we share it with everyone.”
Personally, I opted to eat the fry bread with chili, which was fantastic. I normally eat crackers or toast with soup, stew or chili, so the fry bread was a great addition. She also offered me a sweetener, but unfortunately, with the bread, the chili cup and the cup of japache, my hands were at their holding capacity.
After eating the entrees I had in my hand, I ventured to the Indian food, where I ate a chicken and rice combination that was fantastic. I’m a big fan of spicy food, and unknown to me until I bit into it, the chicken and rice had quite a bit of spicy kick to it.
Soon afterward, I decided to end my food exploration journey with a bit of dessert in the form of a Brazilian Chocolate Truffle. Obviously, it tasted like chocolate, and if you’re a fan of sweets, you really can’t go wrong with it.
By the time I walked out of the Bowld gym, I had spent nearly an hour trying new foods from cultures around the world. Not bad for someone on auto-pilot.
