Six days ago, Vietnam recorded its first COVID-19 community infection in 99 days. It almost seems like a cruel joke for it to have happened right before hitting 100. But maybe it’s better this way––maybe getting to 100 would’ve been crueler. The inevitability of a second wave has hovered over the country for months, lurking in the shadows, waiting for any kind of slip-up as we, myself included, carried on week after week, almost convincing ourselves that we had been spared. All things considered, 99 days was a good run.
Since then, we’ve had dozens of new cases crop up around the country, and this morning, Vietnam recorded its first COVID-related death. I was hoping I could continue to write to you from the other side of things, as a testament that things could get better. Instead, I’m writing to you just as the tide is turning and Vietnam enters its second wave. Hopefully, it’s done enough to prepare itself for what’s coming.
This week, I’m going to take a break from self-reflection to talk about some of the people who’ve helped me parse some of the issues I’ve talked about in the last month. Writers, artists, friends, who’ve done a lot of intellectual heavy-lifting so that the rest of us could try and find the words to make sense of where we’re at. These are people who say the quiet part loud. A quality that’s sorely needed right now. Admittedly, I’ve pored through their work, going back over parts that resonate with me over and over, in the hopes that, by some magic of osmosis, some of their brilliance might rub off on me. I hope their work inspires you as much as it has me.
Alicia Kennedy
Puerto Rico-based writer Alicia Kennedy writes a weekly newsletter here on Substack called ‘From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy.’ She writes, primarily, about food culture and food media from a critical perspective. A self-proclaimed leftist, Alicia examines the behaviors that have shaped the way we consume and create food media. Although I’ve had the idea for Rough Age for a while now, Alicia’s newsletter is what finally made me pull the trigger. Her writing is incredibly thoughtful and it’s inspired a lot of how I now approach consumption.
Bani Amor
Bani is a queer Ecuadorian travel writer who writes about decolonizing travel. I was introduced to her writing via Alicia Kennedy and it’s honestly changed the way I think about travel and, perhaps more significantly, the way I now look at life in Hanoi. In an article written for Bitch Media, “The Heart of Whiteness: On Spiritual Tourism and the Colonization of Ayahuasca”, Bani writes about how spiritual tourism has birthed a new kind of colonialism.
“One need only look at how spiritual tourists are rapidly commodifying and consuming ayahuasca, a plant-based drink with hallucinogenic properties that Amazonian healers have used for centuries, to understand how little this market is concerned with the concept of healing—and that it ultimately doesn’t want to care because there’s money to be made. But beyond this, I wonder how whiteness can heal itself from the violence in which it was forged, and if it’s possible to keep that violence from spreading wherever white people go. Because in the wake of every used and abused wellness trend is an endangered plant, a knockoff shaman, an exploited Native community, and an unregulated economy of spiritual hustling in which the sacred is reborn as obscene.”
She later asks,“… in a world where colonization is still in progress, how can we take part in ancestral traditions that aren’t ours without taking them apart or taking them over?”
Jenny Dorsey
Jenny is a Chinese-American chef and food writer whose Instagram page has become an ultra-valuable source of information and insight regarding the politics of food, the importance of representation in food media, and the intricacies of food systems. If you’re interested in learning about any of these issues, her page is an essential resource.
Also:
Nicola Sebastian’s devastating compendium of the Philippines’ current plight and reckoning with her own complicity as part of the upper class. This essay should be required reading for anyone who’s lamented the state of our country.
Bettina Makalintal’s article for Vice about what goes into naming dishes and what is lost when we sacrifice heritage in the name of accessibility.
Priya Krishna and Yewande Komolafe’s discussion on the white-washing of recipes.
Gabe Mabazza’s art activism has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement through all the fuckery of the past few months. I particularly love this one promoting the acronym EDPA, which stands for Education, Donate, Participate, Advocate. Things we could probably all be doing more of.
Vittles is a London-based food-focused newsletter that’s a joy to read. Equally delightful are Reena Makwana’s illustrations that often accompany each newsletter.
Finally, I want to share an organization that’s been doing a lot of good for Filipinos who’ve been severely affected by COVID-19 and the lack of work. CORA is a Philippine non-profit that provides fresh vegetables and fruits to families affected by food insecurity. A donation of 11 dollars can provide one family with a care package of eggplant, sweet potato, monggo (mung beans), okra, corn, tomatoes, upo (bottle gourd), three canned goods, and three kilos of rice. If you can, please make a donation here.
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And now, a recipe for vegan fabada.
I started making this a few months ago and it’s since become part of regular rotation. It came from a craving for the fabada my family’s cook makes back home. This bears little resemblance to it (being devoid of the variety of meats it’s traditionally made with), but still manages to hit the spot. It also comes together really quickly. There is, however, one caveat: you can’t substitute smoked paprika with sweet or regular paprika. Unless you have smoke paprika, don’t make this. The smokiness is essential to the dish.
Fabada (my vegan, non-traditional take!)
Ingredients:
1 can of white beans
1/2 of a medium-sized onion, diced
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Heat up the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Cook until translucent then add the garlic.
When the onion and garlic have softened, add the smoked paprika and mix it with oily garlic and onions. The mixture will turn a nice crimson red. Add a big pinch of salt and saute for another minute.
Add your drained and rinsed white beans and combine with everything. Taste for salt and add a bit more if needed. Add the half cup of water and let simmer for five minutes.
Take about 1/4 cup of beans from the saucepan and blend in a separate bowl with an immersion blender, if you don’t have one just mash them completely with a fork until smooth. Return the blended up beans to the saucepan and stir to combine. Taste one more time for seasoning then turn off the heat.
Pour into a bowl, top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Eat with crusty bread and enjoy!
If you’d like to discuss anything I’ve written or just want to reach out, I’m on Twitter and Instagram. If you’re new here and want to read past newsletters, you can find them here. As always, thanks for reading.