Refugee Food Blog #4: Kyet thar sipyan

   I've written about a food from Iraq and a drink from Bhutan, and I've made a slightly overwrought point using another "food," this one from Haiti. But I've so far left out the Burmese, the other major origin of refugees currently entering our city. Today I'm going to remedy that by talking about one of my favorite food groups, the curries. This one takes about an hour to prepare, but is pretty darn tasty, and pretty darn straightforward.

The ingredient list:

—1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder

—1/2 teaspoon salt

—3 tablespoons fish sauce (I love fish sauce, personally)

—1 chicken, dismembered

—2 thin-sliced medium-sized onions

—4 garlic cloves, crushed

—1 teaspoon crushed dried hot hot chilies

—125ml peanut oil

—1/2 teaspoon paprika powder

—2 cups of water

—4 diced tomatoes

   Mix the tumeric, salt, and fish sauce in a bowl, then add the dismembered chicken and let it marinate while you work on the rest of the recipe. Pound the onions, garlic, and chilies to a paste in a mortar and pestle, or in a food processor. The first is better.

   Heat the oil in a wok, and then start cooking the onion paste—it does seem like a lot of oil, but make sure you use all of it! It's important, really. Cook the onion paste until it's reddish brown, then add the paprika and stir for a while. Add the chicken and marinade, water, and tomatoes, then cover and let it simmer for about an hour. When the oil has come back to the surface with that lovely red color, it's done!

   This recipe scales nicely, if you want to make more. Oh, and when you take the chicken apart, try to get about eight pieces. Serve the curry along with white rice and lightly brewed green tea. Eat it with your right hand, and avoid using too much sliverware.

Enjoy!

Refugee Food Blog #3: Gato te

   The last time I ate sand and mud on purpose was… at least 20 years ago. My parents tell me that, when I was a small child, I would shovel sand into my mouth and later get quite irritable as the inevitable end result chafed me from inside my diaper. Sand is much worse for that sort of thing than, say, corn. The point I'm trying to make is that I have been happily sand- and mud-free for the last two decades, but not everyone gets that luxury.

   "Gato te." If we were speaking Spanish, these words would almost mean "Cat Tea," and I would be about to give you directions for a PETA-decried act of housecat reduction. Unfortunately, that's not the case. This phrase is from Haitian Creole, and it means "mud cakes." Frankly, I don't expect you to try this recipe at home, although it might be a good experience that would broaden your perspective on the whole matter. I've never tried it.

   Such is the food situation in Haiti that right now half the population is facing starvation. To a people from a culture that embraces the words "I'm starving" to mean, "I haven't eaten in, oh, seven hours and boy-howdy is my tummy starting to make noises," starvation doesn't make a lot of sense. But this might put it into perspective: How to make Gato te.

—1 handful of mud

—1 teaspoon of margarine

—1/2 teaspoon of sugar

   Mix the sugar into the margarine, and then mix this with the mud as best you can. Flatten the mud and shape it into a circle, then set it outside to dry in the sun. Don't worry if flies or other insects take interest: hopefully they'll get stuck and add to the nutrients available in the dish. When it's hard, enjoy!

   The margarine and sugar don't mask the taste of the mud, and these cakes have a distinct and lingering aftertaste. I should really be plugging Global Neighborhood right now, but the truth is, Haiti needs your support, and will continue to need your support long after the media's fascination with it has died down. That's true of many places in the world: Myanmar is home to a government dedicated to the proliferation of human rights violations and Thailand's borders are filled with refugee camps hosting Myanmar's victims. They don't have enough money, or near enough. There are refugee camps all over the Middle East filled to bursting with Iraqi and Palestinian refugees (even now, 62 years after Israel's independence). Nepal is home to refugees that are ethnically Nepali, but Bhutanese citizens forcibly expelled from Bhutan. They've been there for a generation and have been forgotten by the media. Africa is spotted with refugee camps harboring the victims of its many wars and famines. There are camps and origins that I've never learned of, but that still need your support.

   You live in the United States. If you have enough money to buy an overpriced coffee or chai tea on an impulse, then you have enough money to help somebody that is in dire straits. And, now that you've read this, you can not claim ignorance.

Refugee Food Blog #2: चिया

   I don't know about you, but I didn't start drinking coffee until I was a junior or senior in high school, and my coffee habit didn't really take off until I started taking hard classes in college. Until I learned to like coffee, I would always get one of two things at parentally-sponsored trips to Starbucks: hot chocolate, or chai tea. Chai tea is great—barely any "tea" flavor, mostly milk and spices. Served Starbucks style, it's like drinking a piping-hot pumpkin pie without any of that nasty squash flavor. A perfect and innocuous desert drink.

   So I've known about chai tea for a long time. Only recently did I discover that "chai tea" is an American bastardization of British slang derived from a Chinese loanword in Hindi, and that the spiced milk-brewed tea at Starbucks is the adopted grandchild of a drink brewed in Nepal… and the Nepali version, as introduced to me by some ethnically Nepali refugees from Bhutan who have been resettled here in Spokane, is way better.

   चिया is the Nepali word for tea, written in Devanagari script and pronounced something like "chiyya." I don't speak Nepali, and I don't read the Devanagari script, but the internet has told me that this is true. And Nepali tea is fantastic—like a version of Starbucks chai tea with a bite, graceful and elegant and deceptively easy to make. Recipes vary slightly from household to household and depend considerably on available spices, but here's how you can make it at home.

—As much milk as you will want to drink, measured in cups

—One teaspoon of loose black tea leaves

—A half teaspoon of ground black pepper

—A half teaspoon of chopped ginger

—One tablespoon of granulated sugar (or less, or more, it's your call)

—Cinnamon

—Cardamom

   Take these ingredients, and stick them in a pot on your stove. Heat the milk on low heat till mildly scalded, but not yet boiling—scalding changes the sugars in the milk to make it sweeter—while stirring to dissolve the sugar and ensure that the milk doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. Heating it slowly will help with this. Keep it at low heat until it has brewed to the strength you want, then pour into a mug and enjoy!

   If you feel like doing more dishes, you can strain the tea before pouring, but I don't find it necessary.

Volunteer Tip #14

Many refugee families cannot afford to get pictures taken of their family to send to their relatives in other states or countries. Schedule a time this next week with your refugee family to take some portrait shots of their family. You don't need a professional camera to do this. If you are able and/or wanting, offer to print a few copies of these photos for them.

Refugee Food Blog #1: العدس

   I've pretty much always lived in cold climates, and so I'm perfectly comfortable wandering around in shorts, flip-flops, and a t-shirt, especially in this balmy 40ºF weather. Some people point and laugh, though, but not the refugees from warmer climates. They mostly act worried ("Are you feeling ok?" "Aren't you cold?"), because 40º is no laughing matter for an Iraqi refugee, and they fear I'll get sick. Where Americans might suggest chicken soup as a prophylactic against catching colds, the families of Iraqi refugees that I meet with have their own: lentils.

   العدس, pronounced "al addis," is the Arabic word for lentils, and it makes an absolutely lovely meal. My friend, Haidar, extolled to me over the course of 20 minutes the wide-ranging value of lentils, which I've since forgotten. Ooops. But he also told me how to make this particularly delicious dish:
–2 cups of water for every one cup of lentils

–1 clove of garlic for every one cup of lentils, chopped finely

–1 quarter onion for every one cup of lentils, chopped finely

–1 cup of brown lentils

   Cook until lentils taste "done"—to your preference—and add salt to taste. Transfer to your serving dish, and pour a little olive oil on top. Serve alongside chopped or cherry tomatoes for garnish, and eat with pita bread and your hands. Avoid using silverware if you want it to taste as absolutely wonderful as possible!

Losing some great people

   Do you remember when Pa Ceu, a Chin Burmese refugee, was charged and convicted of child luring? Well, he was absolved in an appeal, and has continued to be an important part of the Chin Burmese community—and the refugee community in general—in Spokane. Unfortunately, work is scarce even for native and white speakers of English, and so it is even scarcer for refugees. With that in mind, Pa Ceu is leaving for Indianapolis—a surprisingly diverse city home to a Chin Burmese population of over 3000. In total, nine families are leaving Spokane for greener pastures and larger cities with larger international populations.

   The exodus of any refugee families from Spokane's community is a loss to us, and especially the exodus of nine families at once. However, as they have told us, "If there were jobs here, people would stay." Refugees are usually extremely dedicated and valuable employees, even though they often lack English skills. Support Spokane's refugee community today, by praying for jobs and by speaking with local business owners about hiring refugees.

Did you know…

   George Washington was born on February 22nd, 1732, and Abraham Lincoln on February 12, 1809, but Washington's Birthday (popularly known as Presidents Day) will never fall on either of their birthdays! In 1968 Congress ratified the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to ensure that Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day always fall on Mondays to create three-day weekends for federal employees. So, Presidents Day falls anywhere between February 15 and 21… but never the 22nd.

   So what does Presidents Day have to do with refugees? The United States was predominantly settled by refugees! Plymouth Colony, which became Massachusetts, was settled by refugees fleeing religious persecution—later colonists were refugees escaping from other types of religious persecution and economic hardships. Later, Abraham Lincoln and the Union dedicated their efforts to former slaves seeking asylum in the North, and to ending the situation that made them refugees in the first place. So, Presidents Day can be seen as a tribute to the strength and perseverance of refugees and a celebration of refugees in the United States.

Volunteer Tip #13

Spokane’s Diversity Hotspots: Classy Rack

   Thrift stores may not immediately come to mind when you think of diversity hotspots, but they certainly should. They provide clothing that is often very nice, stylish, and wearable at a fraction the price of new retail clothing. There is at least one thrift store in Spokane, Classy Rack, that you should enter and not be surprised if you see refugees shopping among its rows of clothing, household items, and furniture: it has a reliable stock of nice clothing available, easily accessible prices, weekly discounts on items throughout the store, and a great partnership with Global Neighborhood. In fact, it's a way that you can get involved: you can donate clothing, houseware, or furniture to us, and several things will happen. Those donations might go directly to refugees if any have expressed needs for what you've given us. Alternately, we will trade them to Classy Rack in exchange for vouchers valued at 60% the sale price of each clothing item. Then we can give these vouchers to refugees—one voucher per refugee per month—and they can go shopping with their volunteer! I just went this morning, and we bought a variety of items, including pajamas, jackets, a wallet, and more. It's a great activity, a way to get out of the house, and a non-threatening exposure to American culture.

   Thrift stores are also pretty great for the local economy. When you give something to a thriftstore, you add value to whatever you're donating and contribute to the local economy. Think about it: something is bought once for its original price, then eventually donated to a thriftstore and bought again for more money. By donating to thriftstores you support the wages of multiple employees in multiple businesses. Good job! Better yet, by donating to Global Neighborhood, you both support refugees and supplement the wages of multiple employees in multiple businesses.

Volunteer Tip #12

Every Thursday, the Inlander hosts a skate night at the Spokane Ice Palace. This allows for free admission, and a $3.00 skate rental. Pick up a few Inlanders to get the coupon, and bring your family and coupons to the Ice Palace from 7-8:30 p.m. any Thursday night. Many refugee families come from warm climates, so ice skating will be a new and exciting experience for most! Remember to check with the family to see if $3.00 per person is an OK cost for them. Have fun!