There is a background to this particular entry. First being, I'm not what many people outside the states consider to be a "normal" American. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what a real American looks like but many times when I've been on vacation with my family to another country, people are surprised when we tell them we're American. I personally like it :) My personal background, as many of you know, is half Japanese and half Mexican. During my initial interview, A picked up that my last name is distinctly Spanish, and asked about it. This was very interesting to him and E, the girl before me was more what people expect. This also lead to me eventually telling them that one of my parents is Japanese(albeit Japanese American).
I usually don't say "American" with it because it confuses most of the people that I have talked to. The concept of being "______-American" seems to be a difficult one to understand for someone who lives outside the US. I wondered what people called those who moved to Spain and lived here(more permanently than me). This question was answered in my last blog entry, they are simply referred to as "foreigners". The added language barrier also makes it harder to explain, so I hope that I can clear it up a bit soon. I do acknowledge that both my parents and families are very proud to be American, so it is frustrating to be unable to explain this part of my life!
Anyway, somehow this all lead to me cooking an authentic Japanese meal for the family. Which, when living in a country that is very different from the one you grew up in, can be quite the experience! My mom sent me several of our family's favorite recipes, including our special chicken teriyaki. I turned to someone I can only refer to as my "Spanish Guardian Angel"(SGA), and she pointed me in the direction of shops that sell Asian food.
I ended up on c/ de Girona 119, at Tokyo-Ya Barcelona. It was amazing! I later found out that it's the best store to go to in Barcelona for Japanese food. They had mostly things for sushi, but a wide enough selection of other foods that I was able to get everything I need. It took me about 30 minutes to walk there, but it was worth it. I went there three days in a row: First to scope out my ingredients, second to buy them, and third to go back for the things I'd forgotten. They remembered me by the third day!
Actually preparing everything took some time, I started at around 2 pm and then realized I forgot the mos timportant part of the meal: The chicken! So I first made the Sunomono, or Cucumber Salad, and then trotted off to the store again. An important note about chicken here: The way they cut legs, you can see where the feet start AND there were still some feathers. Plucking a chicken: not a fun experience. Needless to say I won't be doing my eyebrows anytime soon.
I ended up being able to serve the whole meal at about 9:30, which wasn't bad. I did check in with my mom and grandma quite a bit. Our initial guests, a brother and sister, arrived just before 9:00. It was a little awkward meeting them...the kitchen was incredibly hot because I had been cooking in it and had both the oven and stove on. So, I was wearing a pair of my short pajamas, which are leopard print and VERY short. A thought it was hilarious when I asked to be excused to put on pants.
We ended up having 2 extra guests, the parents of our original ones. The father's car had broken down and so he came over. Then they invited the mother, since she was home alone. I had enough food, but I was worried for a moment!
So the menu ended up being: Edamame, Sunomono, Rice, Spinach Salad, Pickled Radish, and Chicken Teriyaki. Plus the sake that was leftover from cooking.
The meal was a success! Everyone like it and there weren't any leftovers.
I usually don't say "American" with it because it confuses most of the people that I have talked to. The concept of being "______-American" seems to be a difficult one to understand for someone who lives outside the US. I wondered what people called those who moved to Spain and lived here(more permanently than me). This question was answered in my last blog entry, they are simply referred to as "foreigners". The added language barrier also makes it harder to explain, so I hope that I can clear it up a bit soon. I do acknowledge that both my parents and families are very proud to be American, so it is frustrating to be unable to explain this part of my life!
Anyway, somehow this all lead to me cooking an authentic Japanese meal for the family. Which, when living in a country that is very different from the one you grew up in, can be quite the experience! My mom sent me several of our family's favorite recipes, including our special chicken teriyaki. I turned to someone I can only refer to as my "Spanish Guardian Angel"(SGA), and she pointed me in the direction of shops that sell Asian food.
I ended up on c/ de Girona 119, at Tokyo-Ya Barcelona. It was amazing! I later found out that it's the best store to go to in Barcelona for Japanese food. They had mostly things for sushi, but a wide enough selection of other foods that I was able to get everything I need. It took me about 30 minutes to walk there, but it was worth it. I went there three days in a row: First to scope out my ingredients, second to buy them, and third to go back for the things I'd forgotten. They remembered me by the third day!
Actually preparing everything took some time, I started at around 2 pm and then realized I forgot the mos timportant part of the meal: The chicken! So I first made the Sunomono, or Cucumber Salad, and then trotted off to the store again. An important note about chicken here: The way they cut legs, you can see where the feet start AND there were still some feathers. Plucking a chicken: not a fun experience. Needless to say I won't be doing my eyebrows anytime soon.
I ended up being able to serve the whole meal at about 9:30, which wasn't bad. I did check in with my mom and grandma quite a bit. Our initial guests, a brother and sister, arrived just before 9:00. It was a little awkward meeting them...the kitchen was incredibly hot because I had been cooking in it and had both the oven and stove on. So, I was wearing a pair of my short pajamas, which are leopard print and VERY short. A thought it was hilarious when I asked to be excused to put on pants.
We ended up having 2 extra guests, the parents of our original ones. The father's car had broken down and so he came over. Then they invited the mother, since she was home alone. I had enough food, but I was worried for a moment!
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| The meal |
The meal was a success! Everyone like it and there weren't any leftovers.
No leftovers? Bummer
ReplyDeleteI was showing grandpa your pics from the beach. There was one photo of a roof top with what looks like two animals on the roof. I told grandpa those were two wolves that you fought off single handed. :) what were they?
Tio Mario
Hi Tio! Thanks...as if grandpa isn't worried enough! They were actually some cat statues. We spent forever trying to figure out if they were real!
DeleteThere was also a cool owl on another house but I didn't take a picture of it.