There’s more to ethnic meals than chicken balls and Singapore Slings
I grew up in a small town, and the only exposure that I had to ethnic food was fried chicken balls and egg rolls at our local Chinese restaurant. It seemed so exotic and foreign and I couldn’t get enough of it! Eating it made me feel worldly and very grown up. The restaurant was moody and dark; it was all reds and blacks with mysterious gold symbols on the walls and dragons with colourful tassels on the counter.
When I turned 19, I was able to add another ethnic experience to my meal; our Chinese restaurant specialized in Singapore Slings! If chicken balls made me feel worldly, then that fruity pink drink with gin and cherry brandy floating on top made me feel a sophistication that was until then unbeknownst to me. The somewhat senior version of me looks back on these memories with fondness—mingled with a slight bit of embarrassment at my own naivety.
How things have changed in the past 20-30 years. We are so fortunate to live in an area that embraces multi-culturalism and the foods that come from those amazing cultures; we celebrate it with food festivals, we seek it out at little mom and pop restaurants, and we do our best to recreate dishes in our homes.
Atlantic Canadians have enthusiastically embraced many ethnic foods; our favourites as a region include Chinese, Italian, South Asian, Thai and Mexican cuisines, among others.
Our own children grew up eating Pho soup, a Vietnamese street food that feeds the body and soul; grilled octopus in a rich tomato broth was a favourite; and they always looked forward to a meal of moussaka or spicy curry. And while it helped that Dad was a chef and a foodie, these certainly weren’t foods that were unavailable to the mainstream population, if they wanted to and chose to seek them out.
Recreating these meals at home has never been easier. Ingredients that were difficult to get in the past can now be found in the international sections of most grocery stores, and ethnic grocers have become much less mysterious and are welcoming to people of all races.
For me any trip to Halifax isn’t complete without a trip to my favourite Asian grocer, Tian Phat, located in Bedford, where I spend hours wandering the aisles, sourcing what I know and educating myself on new products.
The internet and television have also brought ethnic food into the mainstream; although I do remember watching Wok with Yan as a child, at that time it was well over my head.
I think it bears mentioning that the foods that many of us recognize as being truly ethnic, especially in some restaurants, have been modified for a North American palate. I urge you to seek out chefs that specialize in true authentic foods from their respective countries.
If you would like to try your hand at dishes that are inspired by the diversity of other countries, you do not have to delve headfirst in making Peking duck; start simple with dishes that use easier to find ingredients that produce a delicious yet easily palatable flavour, such as a tabbouleh salad. Perhaps try the salads that we’ve shared here. Who knows, if you’re new to ethnic foods you may just end up experiencing that sophisticated, other worldly feeling felt by a certain teenager in a Chinese restaurant a long time ago.