PUBLISHED: 04/22/2021
By: Thao-Vy Duong
Coined in 1968 by Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee, the term “Asian American” is a marker of collectivism. Its inception is inseparable from the founding of the Asian American Political Alliance, which aimed to unite Asian American voices. Prior to the invention of this phrase, Asian Americans were simply identified by their ethnic subgroup or broadly by obtuse and racist terms. The organization of various subgroups under the banner of “Asian American” worked to centralize and amplify Asian American activist power. Now in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing targeted bigotry, this sense of collectivism is crucial.
Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month on HRN
Aired: Wednesday, April 21st 2021
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By: Thao-Vy Duong
Coined in 1968 by Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee, the term “Asian American” is a marker of collectivism. Its inception is inseparable from the founding of the Asian American Political Alliance, which aimed to unite Asian American voices. Prior to the invention of this phrase, Asian Americans were simply identified by their ethnic subgroup or broadly by obtuse and racist terms. The organization of various subgroups under the banner of “Asian American” worked to centralize and amplify Asian American activist power. Now in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing targeted bigotry, this sense of collectivism is crucial.
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I quickly stumped the clerk who helped me find groceries at the Indian market in Issaquah, Washington. She looked at the length of the shopping list on my clipboard, then at me, and said, Let me find the manager. He and I sped through the first 10 or 15 ingredients, stuff like black chickpeas, Kashmiri chili powder, jaggery, nigella seed, curry leaves, and buttermilk, before he caved. What are you making?
These purchases created a whole new annex to my spice drawer. I was happily switching from being a consumer of one of my favorite foods the Indian snack food known as chaat to making it myself, thanks to a fantastic new cookbook. My guide was its author, Maneet Chauhan, an Indian-born chef with a set of Nashville restaurants and a slot on the Food Network s show
January 22, 2021
“Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets and Railways of India,” by Maneet Chauhan and Jody Eddy. MUST CREDIT: Clarkson Potter Publishers. (Clarkson Potter Publishers) via The Washington Post Syndicated Service
On a gray afternoon last November, I sat down to a meal that evoked Istanbul cafes where just the year before I had feasted at the edge of the sun-streaked Bosporus. Dried sumac speckled a plate of shaved radishes and fennel, and the main course was lamb ragout, ladled over satiny eggplant puree. It was Thanksgiving dinner, 2020.
After canceling a planned gathering for pandemic-obvious reasons, I ignored suggestions for wan, scaled-down menus featuring chicken legs and miniature pie for two. Instead I reached for a Turkish cookbook, trading holiday traditions for a culinary voyage.