Can you identify food that is served to the guards in the Boiling Rock?
Cultural Cuisine: Boiling Rock Cafeteria
Man, the dishes served in that scene look really weird. At the same time, it is prison food that was likely prepared using inmate labor, so I'm not that surprised.
The easiest dish to identify in the lunch scene is the stir-fried glass noodles, known as Pad Woon Sen (ผัดวุ้นเส้น) in Thai. Pad Woon Sen is a simple stir fry of mung bean noodles (glass noodles), veggies, eggs, and a protein like beef or chicken. It's typically flavored with soy and oyster sauce.
Duck Blood Curd and Glass Noodles
Credit to @superrandomusernameposts for identifying this one.
In this scene, we also see multiple plates of glass noodles with these vaguely cuboid-shaped brown lumps served over them. Although the ATLA version lacks a broth component, the dish most closely resembles duck blood curd and glass noodle soup (鸭血粉丝汤). As the name implies, the cuboid brown lumps are curds of duck blood; this is blood that has been boiled until it coagulates into a firm, meat-like jelly. The end product has a rich, savory taste and a soft, bouncy texture. Duck blood curd also has great nutritional value, as it's very high in iron and protein.
Another dish offered in the cafeteria was this bowl of clumpy red-orange lumps. My first thought when looking at the dish was that it resembles General Tso's Chicken. General Tso's Chicken is a famous Chinese American dish comprised of deep-fried chicken pieces tossed in a sweet-and-spicy sauce.
Stuffed Pandan Crepes Topped with Caramelized Lotus Root
Credit to @the-element-of-hot-leaf-juice and @werevampiwolf for connecting the dots on this one!
The plate of green sheets rolled into tubes resembles stuffed pandan crepes, known as dadar gulung in Indonesia. These crepes are typically made from all-purpose flour and coconut milk; they're also flavored with pandan leaves, which are known for their floral aroma and vanilla-like flavor. These rolled crepes are typically filled with grated coconut caramelized with palm sugar. They're also known as kuih dadar, kuih gulung, kuih ketayap, kuih lenggang, and surul appam in other parts of Asia.
The pandan crepes are also topped with what look to be caramelized lotus roots or yeongeun jorim/연근조림 in Korean. As the name implies, caramelized lotus roots are lotus roots that have been braised and glazed in a sweet and syrupy mixture of soy sauce and sugar (or other sweetener). The end result is a sweet and salty side dish that's crispy on the outside, yet soft and chewy on the inside.
Obviously, pandan crepes and caramelized lotus roots come from two different Asian cultures but, considering the nature of ATLA (and the Fire Nation, especially), it honestly works. Plus, dadar gulung ties back to the FN's Southeast Asian influences; while the lotus root topping is probably another Korean culture Easter egg from the animation team.
Have to say, this post turned out to be a community effort! My followers are honestly the best.
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