Growing up, my palate was very much a product of my environment. Not to say my family didn’t make interesting dishes with unique flavors, but we definitely didn’t try much of international cuisine (outside of Italian). Black pepper was our only spice, our family gravy was the only sauce we could imagine touching our pasta, and the pasta could be any type of noodle, but it had to have an Italian name. We got everything we needed from Kroger or Whole Foods to make our meals. We might have gone into the “international foods” aisle for taco night or when mom made some her stir fry, but other than that, we stuck to the same core aisles and sections of the grocery store. 

When I got to college is when I started to learn how to really cook, and at first I tested recipes similar to the ones my family and I enjoyed. But there was a newfound freedom that came with cooking for myself, and also learning that I really enjoyed cooking. I would make breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home and over the years in school, I definitely tried new things that I knew I couldn’t get back home. But I still was timid over the stove and still only ever had a need to go into the same couple grocery stores which supplied me exactly what I needed.

Then I moved to New York for the first time and this is where I started to realize there was a lot more out there that needed tasting. I’m thankful for the people I met that helped show me the way through many Indian, Taiwanese, Uruguayan, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Korean menus - many with dish names featuring ingredients I couldn’t even picture in my mind. I learned that Korean was my favorite, and that probably came from my newfound love for Korean film and dramas. I even kept tabs on every Korean dish that was mentioned in the shows and wrote them down so I could try and find a place in the city that sold sundubu jjigae, naengmyeon, or gyeranjjim. Watching shows like this made me feel like I grew up without a culture of my own (which was not true - we had our own traditions that I will tell in future food stories). But at this point in my life, I felt I had missed a whole aspect of life and I was determined to learn about other cultures and do so by way of food. I was not yet proficient using chopsticks, and my spice tolerance was comically low, but there was something very eager in me to keep trying these new foods. I was trying flavor combinations I had never had before and it was very exciting. And became a time that drew me a lot closer to food without realizing it.

I started getting braver in the kitchen after coming to my senses that I probably couldn't afford to eat out every other day to try my new favorite dishes, so I began learning how to make them at home. But Trader Joes and Whole Foods was not going to suffice anymore to gather ingredients because I never could find everything I needed. But even then I was still too timid to step into the nearest H Mart. I tried to find marinades and spices online for a while, but even that didn’t provide me enough. I had also learned how to read hangeul, the Korean alphabet, and started studying the language because I was growing more and more interested in the culture every day. Food was a big part of it, and so I decided it was time to step food in my first international grocery store. You know gym anxiety right? When you walk into a new gym for the first time and you don’t know where any of the equipment is and if the machines work a little differently from the ones you are used to, well this was that x10 for me. I’m a very anxious person by nature, so not surprising, but I probably walked around H Mart twelve times before putting anything in my basket. Everyone in the store seemed to know exactly what they were looking for and where everything was. I just needed the basics and somehow still managed to get lost in the surprisingly small location. I am being dramatic, because it truly wasn’t a bad experience and it was more exciting than anything. We didn’t have anything like this super close to the suburbs of my hometown that I knew of - I later found out we did in fact have a few about 35 minutes from my parents’ house. Besides produce and meat, a lot of what I was seeing were items I had only seen on my shows and I wanted to learn what it all tasted like.

It was no shock that when I decided to have friends over for dinner, it was going to be something Korean. I actually asked someone else to do the cooking who had been to Korea specifically to learn new cooking techniques, so that I didn’t do any injustice to the dish. We chose bibimbap, a dish that everyone would like. It is a rice dish with veggies, meat, and topped with gochujang and an egg. You stir it all up before eating. I had become a regular in varying grocery stores, and even found a specialty Korean store that packaged and sold small batch Korean banchan, jjigaes, snacks, and meats. I picked my current favorite jinmichae, dried shredded squid lathered in a sweet and spicy chili paste. And of course we provided ingredients necessary for somaek, a mixture of unflavored soju and beer, that is so refreshing and exactly the type of crisp flavor you want to follow after swallowing a spicy, savory bite. Once again we were all crowded around my coffee table seated on pillows in my small Brooklyn apartment. I carefully made a thoughtful place setting for each guest. We dimmed all the lights, and for a minute we seemed to be transported into our own little makeshift restaurant. Everyone really enjoyed the food, which I can not take any credit for, and the beer cocktail, which I proudly take credit for. 

I guess, in this fleeting moment, I noted the growth of my palate. Three years prior, I had never heard of gochujang or even soju. You would never have found it in my family's pantry. It was nothing to be ashamed of either, most of us all over the world are confined to what’s accessible where we live. But if I had looked a little harder, I would’ve still been able to find a whole new world of flavor. And my tastebuds are so glad I finally did. 

Food is an important part of culture, and just as we can visit new places, learn about different traditions, we can also taste new cuisine and even learn to make it ourselves as we grow and appreciate the world around us. There is so much to try and experience, your favorite food may just be waiting 30 minutes outside of your neighborhood Kroger in a grocery store you never knew existed.