Family Traditions
Isabella Matthews
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Artist Comment: My traditional foods are also something I would like to keep with me forever. I want to be able to provide for my family through dishes and recipes that my mom has taught me and her mother has taught her and on and on. I decided to draw three dishes: sundubu-jjigae (top left), chawanmushi (top right, and patbingsu (middle bottom).
Sundubu-jjigae (soon = soft, dooboo: tofu, jjigae: soup) is a traditional Korean recipe that is a spicy soft tofu soup that usually has other vegetables (scallions, mushrooms), beef or seafood (can be made vegetarian or vegan), Korean fishcakes, and a raw egg that is usually cracked into the bowl. The bowl is so hot that the egg is cooked in front of you as it is served. This is one of my favorite dishes and is also my girlfriend’s favorite dish. My mom is from South Korea and taught me how to cook traditional Korean dishes only. I have taught my girlfriend and my housemates how to cook this dish as well: it is a way of creating community and showing my love and keeping traditions alive and for the future.
The second dish is chawanmushi which is a traditional Japanese dish of steamed eggs with beans, shrimp, fishcake, mushrooms, and one lucky bean of a different color. This is my girlfriend’s favorite Japanese dish and reminds her of her family and her childhood. She is Japanese and loves her culture and the food, and shows this love for her culture and for me by bringing me into her world.
The last dish is a traditional Korean dessert. The bottom layer is shaved ice (I chose a strawberry flavor). The next layer is pat: sweet red beans. The top layer is a tteok, which is a Korean rice cake, similar to Japanese mochi. There is usually sweet cream or milk poured all over it and different fruits can be added to the dessert. It reminds me of my childhood in South Korea and the feeling of being loved with the taste of sweet beans and the sun out and I want to bring that feeling to my future and share this love with everyone.