Swallowing Clouds: the Celestial Soup

 

A Realm and A Creature Divine

As kids, it's an almost universal delight to lie on one's back and look up at the clouds. We forget to do it as adults, but sometimes nature helps us to remember that pleasure!

In Taiwan's moist winter climate, tatters of mist that are the breath of the forest twist and curl amid mountain peaks. The eye sees different things in the clouds: faces, animals, plants, even emotions. 

The mighty Jade Mountain, or Yushan, which soars to more than 13,000 feet. This is the homeland of the Bunun Indigenous society. 

The sinuous lines of clouds can even mimic a tail, a backbone, a horned mysterious head... From time immemorial, the peoples of Asia and especially China have said that the clouds are the realm of dragons. 

Dragon in the Clouds, Bronze Mirror (likely an Imperial treasure). This exquisite image was created by an anonymous bronze-smith in the Tang Dynasty c. 618-907 AD. Image in the public domain, courtesy of the Freer Gallery.

'Dragons in Clouds'. China. Artist: Zhou Xun (1649-1729). Will the big dragon eat the small one? Are they playing? Is it a mother and baby? Let your imagination run wild. Image in the public domain, courtesy of the Freer Gallery.

Clouds descend to my soup bowl.

During a recent visit to Taiwan, I and my partner Clint visited Da'an Park 大安森林公園, a bastion of nature in the immense metropolis of Taipei. Here, you can fling yourself on your back to see the winter clouds in glorious metamorphosis. Down closer to earth, walk quietly to see white egrets and herons patiently fishing in the park's ponds.  

After our walk in the light rain, we were hungry. Luckily, a Shanghai-style restaurant (Kao Chi, 高記新生店) right near the NW corner of the park serves up edible clouds... 

Did you know that the word wonton (雲吞) literally means, swallowing a cloud? These dumplings, bursting with shrimp, ginger, garlic, and spices, are enveloped in a tender cloudlike wrapper and float in a delicate transparent broth along with strips of tofu, tree fungus, and scallion.

Any dragon would happily slurp up these cloudlike wontons. A winter's treat.

It's nice to be back.

After a summer hiatus, I will be jumping back into the blog with fresh treats and ruminations from the savory universe of Asian food. Thanks for reading along, and いただきます!  

Wild Flavors of Japan, Take 3: Hokkaido and the Ainu

 

A Spirit Abides in Everything

The Ainu people, descended from the first humans to set foot on Japan during the Ice Age, believe that every thing on Earth has a spirit. Animals, plants, rocks, mountains, rivers, everything.

I was able to visit their ancient homeland, the northern island of Hokkaido, a few weeks ago. Spring comes late to this beautiful place, and beyond the cherry blossoms snowcapped volcanos overlook stormy seas.  

Volcanos and water: beauty of Hokkaido. I wish I had taken this great photo: you can see it and more about this northeastern section of the island at https://travel.gaijinpot.com/shiretoko-peninsula/

First Peoples of Japan

The Ainu are Japan's only recognized Indigenous group, and some think that they are directly descended from the Jomon Culture that extends back at least 13,000 years. Animals and birds, like the Blakiston's fishing owl shown in this amazing artwork by Ainu sculptor Yuji Yamada, are venerated. 

These magnificent owls are among the largest in the world, and scoop up fish like the bald eagles we are familiar with in North America.

Ainu artwork echoes the spirit of each being, called a kamuy. The exquisite embroidery wrought by women on ceremonial robes captures the flow of wood grains, air, and water.  

This and other artworks are on display at Nibutani, an Ainu community that features art and craft to revitalize the ancient skills, ethos, and values of these people.  

Ainu clothing is designed to protect the wearer from the fierce winters and damp springs and autumns of this island. Some items are made of fur, similar to the Arctic. Other clothing is made of elm bark threads, fish skins, and feathers which are evolved for local conditions. 

This delightful Ainu muppet is wearing slippery elm bark (attus) with decorative embroidery and salmon skin shoes. 

Gratitude and a Sip of Wine

The Ainu told us that before taking any part of an animal or plant, they show respect and gratitude to its kamuy. To harvest elm bark, the tree is first offered a sip of rice wine on a special stick called an ikupasuy. After the bark is removed (sustainably, so the tree survives) the Ainu thank it. 

These intricately carved ikupasuy are cared for at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, where I have been working since November. Each year, members of the Ainu village visit these prayer sticks and conduct a ceremony, sponsored by the Museum. The village has given official approval for the sticks to be curated here.  

The forest, in a bowl.

The traditional foods of spring were featured at local Ainu cafes. After touring workshops and museums with my friend Atsushi Nobayashi, I enjoyed a delicious bowl of Japanese-Ainu fusion cuisine: soba noodles in a miso based broth, with wild spring vegetables!

Wild mushrooms, baby bamboo shoots, and a variety of delicate forest ferns, wild garlic, and other greens graced this aromatic soup. The flavor? Like sunshine dappling through forest leaves. The smell of clean earth. Bright and dark, savory. 

To appreciate the ingenuity, spirit, and beauty of Ainu craftsmanship and architecture from afar, a good place to visit is the English language website of the Nibutani community: https://www.nibutani-ainucraft.com/en/. They have created a nice video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV_dycNJW-8

It's amazing how the Ainu worldview echoes that of some Native cultures of North America. I felt very honored to visit, and I hope you enjoyed this entry! 

It feels fitting, as I near the end of my time here, to learn a little bit from Japan's original culture. Soon, like the salmon celebrated in this carving, I will return home. 

But fear not--more entries about the foods and cultures of Asia are on their way! (Please come back soon!)

Wild Flavors of Japan Take 2: The Original Soul Food

Spring is a beautiful time to forage. 

Just look around the forests, fields, and streams of southern Japan with a knowledgeable eye, and you will see so many wild foods! This lovely lady, who asked us to call her Hirono-san, has gathered wild foods in Kyushu's deep forests and cooked them up into delicious traditional meals since she was a little girl in the 1940s. 

She shared the secrets of forest and garden with me and three anthropologist colleagues at her house outside a tiny village called Nishimera, on the southern island of Kyushu.

Hirono-san with delectable zingy pickles of all kinds. Some of them are wild greens from the forest floor.

Boar Stew

Wild boar roam Kyushu's mountains, and sometimes sneak into gardens and wreak havoc. Hirono-san's husband, who passed away two years ago, was a hunter par excellence. Armed with a rifle, he would walk out into the woods alone to stalk boar and usually came home staggering under the weight of his catch.

The jawbones of wild boar adorn the back porch of Hirono-san's home.

Although her husband is gone now, other hunters who are friends still bring boar to the house. Most of her food is grown, hunted, or gathered wild. Things like salt, sugar, flour, and tea come from town.

Savory, steaming miso boar stew with fresh scallions is just the thing for a cool rainy day. 

In addition to soup, we were treated to sashimi with shiso leaves, rice, a variety of home made pickles, and my favorite, yuzu kosho (柚子胡椒). The rind of the citrus fruit yuzu is fermented with chilis into a pungent, zesty paste to flavor just about anything! It's the golden paste in the middle of the tray, above. 

Fox Spirits 

In the steep, dark mountains surrounding Nishimera are many small isolated shrines. After lunch, we visited an 稲荷神社 (Inari jinja), protected by the kami (god) called Inari. Inari is a popular deity from Japan's ancient pre-Buddhist religion associated with foxes, rice, household wellbeing, and prosperity in business.

Small red torii lead you up the mountain path toward a tiny deity house. 

The trees in these southern forests are simply immense, and several are designated as sacred by the local community. 

A few times, we came across votive offerings left on the forest floor or tucked into a tree crevice. My colleagues advised me to tiptoe away... 

Have you seen Princess Mononoke, the anime film by Miyazaki? (Because you should!) Here, I almost felt I could see the tiny kodama spirits sitting glowing in the shadows. 

The little deity house was filled with wooden carvings of spirit foxes with human faces; the embodiment of the kami Inari.

Some of the carvings were probably several hundred years old.

Futuring with Wild Foods?

It's not hard to get dis-oriented by the extreme contrasts encompassed by Japan; from gigantic, modern, wired metropolises like Osaka and Tokyo, to Kyushu's ancient human-nature connections enshrined in the deep, misty green forests and guarded by fox spirits. 

My favorite picture of Hirono-san. She gave each of us a big jar of her special wild forest honey, as a travelling gift. 

I wonder if, after the apocalypse, the world will be quietly repopulated by the plants and animals in protected places like Kyushu. And the traditional food wisdom of people like this 83-year old woman will be what allows the last humans to survive and re-discover out how to live in harmony with animals and plants.

Science fiction? Maybe not...

In my next installment, we will travel north to Hokkaido's magical landscapes inhabited by the Ainu.

 

Wild flavors of Japan, Take 1: Waterfalls and Forests

Green shoots, blue water, pink blossoms

Last week, my boyfriend Clint came for a visit. It's full-on spring in Japan, and time to get out there and absorb nature's great beauty. We went for a short hike with a friend, up to Minoh Falls. 

Sparkling mists rise through the green maple leaves...yup, Minoh Falls is awesome.

The winding path to the falls is quite ancient-more than 1,000 years old I think. Along the way, elderly ladies at little tables were selling beautiful fresh bamboo shoots from the forest. 

Bamboo is a giant grass, so bamboo shoots are the ultimate sustainable spring treat!

For those of you who only know bamboo shoots from the can--these are so much better! Plump, with a hint of sweetness and a delicate crunch. The shoots are poking up everywhere in the forest, so a favored seasonal treat for March and April.

At a local sashimi joint: we enjoyed ultra-fresh bamboo shoots with a vinaigrette of wild herbs. OMG.

There is a story of a Princess from the moon who was born in a magic bamboo shoot, and discovered by a humble bamboo cutter and his wife. She then went on to have many adventures...the tale of the Princess Kaguya is also an awesome movie made by Studio Ghibli -- highly recommended!

The mystique of Minoh forest as the sun begins to set. I would not be surprised to find magic going on here...

Pretty in Pink

Hiking down from the forest we could see little blobs of pink throughout the town. Japan's cherry trees are blooming like crazy! From tiny little saplings to thick, gnarly trunked elders, all are be-decked in blossoms from the palest shell pink to vivid magenta.

In a local park I lay on my back and took a picture straight up through the flowers to the cherry blossoms.

Cherry blossom picnics and parties date back more than 1300 years in Japan. Even fierce samurai were known to celebrate the arrival of cherry blossoms. Today, people still seize the opportunity to grab friends and family, some snacks and tea (or a few beers) and spend an afternoon simply vibing out on cherry blossoms.

For fun reading about the Hanami tradition, check out https://savvytokyo.com/history-of-hanami-cherry-blossom-viewing-over-the-ages/.

Stylish blossom viewing from a boat! 

If you're not sure when to plan your hanami party, Japan's weather service has got you covered. This is an example of a peak blossom forecast.

Naturally I wondered what kinds of foods are involved with Hanami. Lucky for me, a trip to a local pizza joint revealed a uniquely Japanese pizza topping: you guessed it! Blossoms! They used a light garlic sauce, herbs, and mellow mozzarella so the fresh vegetable flavor of the petals could shine through.

If you peek closely you can see petals under the cheese. Fresh honey is offered with this pizza.

Cherry blossoms with sunset and tiny moon. The stories aren't exaggerated about spring in Japan!

My first waka poetry attempt...

 

Smell of fecund soil,

Rain falling on pink petals.

Gleaming umbrellas

shelter young and old alike:

Spring weekend in Osaka

It's the 7-11 Smackdown!!

Born in the USA...

When we kids needed a junk food run, it was the Circle K or the 7-11. In the mid-70s 35 cents could get you a Coke or a can of nasty Cheez Whiz that was a) forbidden and therefore b) so good we ate it right from the can.

What happens in the 7-11 stays in the 7-11.

The convenience store was invented in the 1920s in Texas, when several ice businesses (back then you literally had an 'ice box') realized that folks wanted to buy small food items at any hour of day or night.

The 7-11 chain was run by the Thompson family for decades. That's the one that I remember from the 70s; candy bars, slushies, peanuts, newspapers, beer, ciggies.

Perfected in Asia!

So this might seem weird in an Asian food blog, right? Well, please bear with me: 7-11 was acquired in the 1990s by a Mr. Masatoshi Ito (伊藤 雅俊) who called the new company 7&i Holdings. He revamped it to supply, well, nearly everything.

Mr. Ito in 1989. This amazing entrepreneur, born in 1924 to parents who owned a small clothing store, died on March 10 at 98 years old. This photo from https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/14/business/japan-billionaire-7-eleven-masatoshi-ito-death-intl-hnk/index.html.

Today, in Japan, Taiwan, China, and Thailand (OK pretty much all of Asia), I and millions of others dart into the 7-11 for many of the necessities of life. Munchies, TP, shampoo, cosmetics, school supplies, to buy a train ticket, make a color print, pick up a mailed package... 

This one is right across the street from my dorm room in Toyonaka District, Osaka. It's a straight-up lifesaver.

The Smackdown

So in a 3-way contest between the 7-11s I know best: USA, Taiwan, and Japan, who wins? Yeah, I'm American. But, somehow the home team 7-11s do not cut the mustard.

 A typical USA 7-11 salad. It's not their fault that Americans who frequent 7-11 are not huge salad fans. But...meh.

Here's a sampling of the offerings in my Osaka neighborhood store:

Fresh made every morning: sushi, onigiri, and other lunch treats.

Too tired to cook? Take whatever you have in the fridge, throw in a pot with boiling water and instant curry cubes, and itadakimasu!

Hard liquor and curry go well together. Japan 7-11s stock whiskey, shochu, sake, and more. 

Japanese version of a cheese-filled tater tot. Yesss.

OK, so Japanese 7-11s have got serious game. I didn't even mention the matcha lattes. 

How does Taiwan stack up? The below are shown from the one near National Taiwan University in Taipei. Picture all the goodies from Japanese stores, plus...

Well stocked cosmetic section. You can stumble in from the bars at 2 am and grab what you need.

Feeling literary? A nice selection of books to go with your latte...

Ice cream AND beer on tap! I'm not kidding!!

My friend Joe Watkins definitely is sold on Taiwan 7-11. 

So, all due respect to Mr. Masatoshi Ito and 7&i Holdings - but Taiwan wins this round. 

  7-11 Haiku.

Most highly evolved?

Asian Seven-elevens.

Darwin would agree.

Taiwan, 1943: Hunger and Kindness in the Mountains

This is a Yu family story.

For the past two weeks I have been in Taiwan. 

Did you know that the USA bombed Taiwan in the 1940s? I didn't either...

But it happened, and affected thousands of families including ours. This is a short story of re-connecting with family history, and yes, there will be some food too.

The history...

To refresh our memories: China ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after a naval battle. Taiwanese folks in my Dad's generation were born Japanese colonials whether they liked it or not. 

With the attack on Pearl Harbor, Taiwan was considered an enemy of the United States and starting in 1942, people streamed in a panic out of Taiwan's cities to avoid American bombing. 

Bombs fall on Taipei, 1945. From Cheung, Han. "Taipei Air Raid: A Forgotten Tragedy", Taipei Times, June 7, 2015. 

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2015/06/07/2003620104

Photo: Center for GIS, RCHSS, Academia Sinica, Taipei.

On the run

There weren't many places for these thousands of refugees to hide. My grandmother's brother had a small orchard in the remote central mountains and told her to bring the children. 

They left their village of Dadu with little more than the clothes on their backs, and for years lived in the mountains on whatever they could find: bugs, rats, snails, berries...they were plagued by diseases and parasites, but like kids everywhere, found the energy to play. 

Kindness of a stranger

The Yu family survived because Grandmother (Amah, in Taiwanese) was very resourceful and because local villagers at the foot of the mountain were kind to them. My Dad and Uncle Taka, now 86 and 84, remember one man with great fondness: Wang Man. 

White Orchid Temple, in the tiny hamlet of Keli (pronounced Kuh Lee), Tainan County, was the staging area for refugees trekking up 'Kantoushan' or 'Cover Your Head Mountain'.

Mr. Wang was a fruit wholesaler, for the orchards on the mountain. He gave fruit to the starving children whenever they were in Keli. 

Finding some roots.

80 years later, just 2 weeks ago, Dad, my Uncle Taka, and I drove around trying to find this tiny village and the mountains where the kids spent their formative years. 

It's not easy to find, it's not on any maps. But a nice lady on a scooter showed us the way. We were in luck: Wang Man's family still live there, and know the stories of the refugees!

Mr. Wang's daughter and sons greeted us with a huge smile. They take care of the little temple now.

Uncle Taka and Dad, reminiscing about tough times and kind hearts in the 1940s.

The Wangs offered to show us where the old mountain trail is nowadays, so we followed them by car up a steep, twisting road to a lovely mountainside temple.

The trail, now popular with recreational hikers, now has stairs and signs. But its beauty and steepness are unchanged. 

The once-strong legs of Dad and Taka can no longer handle hiking, but I went up the trail that they used as children. You can see how deeply entrenched it is from decades if not centuries of use. 

Karmic lunch

The mountainside temple of Xiangong kindly feeds strangers for whatever we could donate. It's an awesome Buddhist tradition! We had lunch together, swapping more memories. I only wish I spoke Taiwan hua, the countryside language...

Taiwan remains a hotbed of Buddhism, never having experienced Communist bans. The vegetarian cuisine, such as this squash soup, sauteed greens, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and various tofu and nut dishes, is packed with flavor and textures.

As we took a group picture with the Wangs, my uncle said: "I remember this mountain was so much taller!"

Two families, one mountain, one history. 

All grown up, around 1956. My Auntie Gwan, seated left. Dad, center, Taka, right. I do not know the others.  Note the lady doing her washing in the river in the background!

A flower grows on the mountain. To me, it symbolizes the resiliency of Taiwan and her people.