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Your Food Identity
By Kajia Lee, Cook Fresh Program Coordinator and Urban Roots alumna Why do you like the foods that you like? What do they mean to you? What memories come from them? Are the ingredients easy to find? Your food identity revolves around your unique answers to these questions. Growing up, my family had a farm where we would harvest straight from the farm and take it back to our house for dinner. I couldn’t imagine myself not being able to have access to the vegetables I grew up eating, but that all changed when my family and I lost our farm. Now when I'm out doing grocery runs, I usually have a hard time finding fresh, quality groceries for my meals, including the condiments, spices, and dried goods that I like to use often. This means that I have to make many stops to get what I need, but at the end of the day, it’s worth it. It’s worth it because comfort food is real and important to me—I find comfort in eating the food that gives me the best memories. For all of us, feeling fulfilled makes the day so much better. One recipe that means comfort to me is Rotisserie Chicken Laab. Here I’m sharing the recipe and the meaning behind it: my mother. Rotisserie Chicken Laab For my story, this dish is dedicated to my mother. She learned this dish from my aunties, but she, being the person that she is, would change the recipe around. I personally like the way she makes this dish. She has a lot of knowledge of cooking, and she likes trying and making new things. But, since she had my siblings and me pretty early on, she wasn't able to pursue what she wanted to do, or even explore what she wanted to do. So, every day she would tell my siblings and me to study hard and do the best we could to pursue our dreams. She would always talk about starting her own business selling food that she likes making, but she never had the chance, the courage, or the money to actually start one. I am so thankful for all she did for my siblings and me. I want to start featuring her dishes and recipes so everyone can see her talents and skills that are enough to help her start pursuing her dreams. Ingredients 16 oz rotisserie chicken, diced 1 cup chopped Thai basil 1 cup sliced green onions 1 cup chopped cilantro ¼ cup chopped mint 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons rotisserie chicken broth/juices 2-3 tablespoons laab seasoning mix 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon fish sauce Salt, to taste 1 cucumber, sliced 1 lime, sliced 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into large pieces Directions Prep ingredients by dicing rotisserie chicken and chopping herbs, placing them in separate bowls. Feel free to make a stock with the chicken carcass. Heat a pan and add vegetable oil. Add the onion to the pan to the hot oil and cook until it starts turning golden brown. Then, set aside. Heat up diced chicken in the pan (or in a microwave, if needed). Cook until desired doneness. Add chicken, herbs, and cooked onion into a large bowl. Add the rotisserie chicken broth/juices to the bowl to keep the laab moist. If needed, heat the rotisserie chicken broth/juices. Season with laab seasoning mix, onion powder, garlic powder, and fish sauce to the bowl. Toss the laab to combine, taste, and adjust to taste. Assemble the laab onto a plate. Add cucumbers, lime, and romaine lettuce. Begin to feast away! So, what is your food identity? We all may have heard of a saying that “you are what you eat” and to a certain extent I think that’s a very accurate saying. Whether it is that you like to try and eat cultural foods or that you often (or never) include certain foods in your diet or something like who makes the food that you eat, these elements are part of who you are. You might not have ever thought about your food that way, so I encourage you to think about why, when, where, and how you eat (and who you eat with!). If you’d like to tell us about your food identity, add a comment to our Facebook post! And if you’d like more recipes and the stories behind them, stay tuned for Urban Roots’ upcoming cookbook – Behind the Plate: Food Stories from Saint Paul’s East Side.
