Blog #5 Iron Chef
The nation that we were tasked with representing was Japan. Immediately after the project was assigned, the 9Eigths group began brainstorming ideas for the dish. On February 27th, we were given an opportunity to go out and do some field research. Such an opportunity was not wasted, as we went to Tani’s Kitchen in Westlake. In sampling a vast array of food, we explored different routes with which we could approach fusing Japanese and American cuisines while still being able to represent Japanese-Americans in a meaningful way.
After much deliberation, we resolved on California Camp Donburi, a reflection on the Japanese internment camps in World War II. Its fundamental structure is simple: soy sauce on hot dogs and rice, to show the lack of variety and substance in the rations of those suffering in the camps. Tsukemono, pickled vegetables, was also added, because in such hard times, one would make use of what was at their disposal. Further elaboration resulted in the addition of bacon bits and avocado to convey not only the United States, but particularly its West Coast, which is where these camps were built. Lastly, we added furikake, sriracha, and cabbage to balance the flavors of the dish and add to its simulated Japanese nature, with some very special meaning behind the inclusion of the cabbage.
Despite being assigned one dish, we went ahead and added a drink to the California Camp Donburi. This drink is the Hawaiian Matcha Soda, a symbol of the focal point of Japanese-American immigration- Hawaiian sugar cane plantations. Hawaii was one of the first destinations for Issei, or first-generation Japanese-Americans. From there, some moved on to the mainland - specifically to California and other parts of the West Coast. In Hawaii, many Japanese-American immigrants worked on the sugarcane plantations (including Ryan’s own family). The pairing of the two dishes represents the contrast between Japanese-Americans in Hawaii and those that were on the mainland.
The symbolism behind the dish pairing pays large homage to the Japanese internment camps. The California Camp Donburi is representative of the Japanese-Americans on the mainland while the Hawaiian Matcha Soda represents those situated in Hawaii.
From this project, we learned much about Japanese immigration and Japanese-American history:
Push
The first and only major wave of Japanese immigration into the US occurred during the decline of the Meiji Era. As such, our dish and drink closely represents the long history of the Japanese-American community, which extends as far back as the 1860s.
-The caste system was dying, but the strict social hierarchy of the Edo period remained, albeit modified. A strong example is the Burakumin people, who are ostracized and are subject to racism, even to today.
-The myth of Japanese “pureness” existed, and many Okinawans (who were not considered “proper” Japanese) moved to Hawaii
-Beginning at about 1870, the Japanese industrial revolution began as the leaders of the Meiji Era attempted to catch up with the West. Thousands of Japanese students were sent to the US and Europe.
-Many people wanted to simply earn enough money to retire and return to Japan
Pull
-The aforementioned wave of Japanese immigration occurred before the regulation of the Gentlemen's Agreement (1907)
-There was a demand for cheap agricultural labor due to the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), which Japanese, particularly Okinawan, people were able to fulfill
-Many Japanese immigrants had farming expertise, allowing them to excel in agricultural labor within the United States
-For Okinawans, Hawaii had a similar climate and lifestyle, but with more economic opportunities without a strong sense of social hierarchy and racism for being Okinawan
Gen and Mia’s Interview
During our quest for more information on the local struggle of Japanese-Americans, we were able to speak to a fourth generation Japanese-American woman named Yunis in San Francisco’s Japantown neighborhood. Our conversation with Yunis opened our hearts and minds to the struggles of a Japanese-American person in the Bay Area.
We found that her story lined up perfectly with the story we were aiming to portray with our dish and drink. Her great-great grandparents immigrated to Hawaii from Japan during the labor boom, working on sugarcane plantations. Along the way her family ended up in Berkeley, where she grew up. Speaking of her childhood she mentioned the trauma projected onto her by the older generations. The efforts by her parents to take the Japanese out of her in order to protect her from the racism and violence they were afraid to face. In this fear, her parents never taught Yunis the language, disconnecting her further from a culture her parents didn’t want her to remember.
Her favorite food growing up were things like Spam and Vienna Sausage as her family didn’t have much money. With her father serving in the Korean War, she mentioned that he was used to eating Spam and Vienna Sausage. When asked about our dish, she recommended our group create an okonomiyaki style dish, as the Japanese needed to find ways to utilize the tons of cabbage the United States was sending over after World War II. While we were already set on our dish and side, we realized that we needed to add cabbage. Had we not met Yunis, we wouldn’t have known the impact of cabbage on Japanese cuisine after WWII so we added the ingredient in order to represent her story and piece of the history she shared with us.
When speaking about modern day struggles, Yunis mentioned the sadness she felt when the COVID-19 stories broke. Seeing the racism, xenophobia, and discrimination directed towards Chinese poeple during this period showcased that not much has changed since her childhood. She wishes that the discrimination will stop. In order to see the mistakes we make today, we first must listen to and address the history of others. In order to hope for a brighter tomorrow, we must open our hearts to the stories and experiences of others. Yunis didn’t have a responsibility to speak to a group of college students working on a project but she did in order to share her own experience and teach us something about life, that we must address our traumas in order to avoid repeating them.
Thank you for taking the time to read through, and join us, on our journey in learning about the background of the Japanese-American people. While our dish may not do justice to their hardships, we’re proud to be part of the few that endeavored to understand it.
Here is our recipe:
Ingredients:
California Camp Donburi
White Rice
Hot dogs (spam is a great substitute!)
Bacon bits
Tsukemono AKA Pickled Vegetables (whatever you can get your hands on, times are tough)
Pickled Ginger
Sliced Avocado
Cabbage (use red for more color)
Furikake
Soy Sauce
Sriracha Sauce
Hawaiian Matcha Soda
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 cup Water (for simple syrup)
2 teaspoons matcha tea powder
1 can pineapple soda
Ice (optional)
Recipe:
California Camp Donburi
Step 1: Make the rice (do we even need to explain this?), put it into a bowl
Step 2: Take a hot dog, and slice it into tiny bite size pieces
Step 3: Heat the hot dog slices up on medium heat on a non-stick pan, char them if you’re into that
Step 4: While hot dogs are warming up, slice an avocado into visualizing appealing sized pieces
Step 5: Place the avocado on top of the rice bowl, only on one side
Step 6: Place hot dog slices on top of that rice bowl, on a different side, we want it to look pretty
Step 7: Place tsukemono and pickled ginger on a seperate side of the bowl
Step 8: Sprinkle with bacon bits and furikake
Step 9: Dash a little bit of soy sauce on it to taste, not too much
Step 10: Top with a sriracha sauce, to taste.
Hawaiian Matcha Soda
Step 1: Boil 1 cup of water for every 3/4 cup of cane sugar - this creates simple syrup
Step 2: Sift 2 teaspoons of matcha powder into simple syrup, be careful not to use too much, this drink can become very bitter (and strongly caffeinated) with too much matcha powder
Step 3: Let it cool overnight
Step 4: When you are ready to consume (and your California Camp Donburi is ready), combine the simple syrup matcha mix with 1 can pineapple soda
Step 5: This will create 2-4 servings, enjoy!