1st Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

Thanks to one of our readers Clare for sending this info about the 1st Annual Philly Asian American Film Festival our way...

With over 200,000 Asian Americans in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) was created to:

• Introduce Asian American perspectives to the Philadelphia metropolitan area.


• Educate local communities about Asian American history and issues.


• Encourage and foster growth in Asian American culture and elevate Philadelphia’s place as a city of multicultural diversity.


• Celebrate the very best works of Asian American filmmakers and actors

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The dates aren´t set, but the organizers are looking at Oct. 17-23. And they're seeking your help...donations are needed to help secure venues for the screenings, so if you can spare some cash, please support this effort here.

Shop Talk: Japanese Handmade, Etc.

Looks like talent runs in the family! Several weeks ago we featured Amy from Tsuruta Design and her unique handmade greeting cards and paper products. This week we're introducing Amy's cousin Satomi, a seamstress, who makes small cloth items ranging from business card holders to purses!

Having spent 14 years in Japan, Satomi started Japanese Handmade,Etc. because she wanted to share her love of crafting and of all things from Japan. Each one of Satomi's products is meticulously hand-made from her home in Seattle. This includes each and every step of the process: starting with design, pre-washing of fabrics, cutting, sewing, folding, and knotting...right through to the careful packing and shipping!


So, if you're in the market for a gift or a colorful way to tote around your personal items...check out Satomi's creations!

Chinese Cooking 101

Food is a vitally important part of Chinese (and many Asian) cultures. The major event at a Chinese wedding? The ten-course feast at the reception. The key component to giving tribute and thanks to your ancestors? The food offerings placed on the altar table in front of the burning incense. After all, what other culture do you know in which the first greeting upon meeting is, "Have you eaten yet?"

In the interest of having this truly be a basic cooking post, I've decided not to do any research, but to only work from what's in my head after many years of observing in my mother's kitchen. We'll have more advanced cooking/food posts, but the "only what's in my head" approach for this one should guarantee that it won't get too advanced.

First, key flavorings. In my mother's kitchen, next to the stovetop, she kept the following: a large bottle of soy sauce, a container of sesame oil, a bottle of oyster sauce, vinegar (sometimes Chinese black vinegar, sometimes regular white vinegar), cooking oil, white pepper, and a container of salt. That was it. Sure, if she needed to work on more advanced recipes, she would buy additional sauces and spices, but these were the basics for everyday cooking. Also, two ingredients that were always in the kitchen were garlic and ginger. Thanks to Mom, I know that almost any vegetable can be sauteed at high heat with a little oil and garlic - and voila! You have a stir-fry.

At this point, I'd like to acknowledge my mother for being the fabulous cook that she is. Everything that comes out of her kitchen is mouth-watering. She is always willing to take risks, experiment, and try new recipes. Part of her genius (which I especially appreciate now, as a working adult) is that that she also figured out how to take short-cuts and substitute with American ingredients to save time and effort.

Since we're in the hot summer months and no one feels like slaving away in a hot kitchen, here's a super-quick and easy recipe (thanks, Mom!) to keep your family well-fed and happy in the dog days of August:

Mom's Peanut Noodles!

• 1.5 cups - Creamy peanut butter (brand of your choice)
• .5 cup - Cooking oil (olive, canola, vegetable - whatever you have on hand)
• 2/3 cup - Soy sauce
• 1/3 cup - Vinegar (white distilled or cider)
  
• 2 Tablespoons - Sugar or honey (for a touch of sweetness)
  
• 1 and a half packages - Spaghetti (I prefer whole wheat, but it's up to you)
• 1-2 - Cucumber(s) (depending on size and how much you like them!)
  
• 1 lb. - Chicken meat (you can cook up chicken breasts and shred, or go to your deli counter and get cold cuts and cut into long strips)
  

Optional: chopped scallions, whole toasted sesame seeds

1. Cook spaghetti, drain, set aside. Rinse under cold water to cool, drizzle with some oil to keep from sticking.
   
2. Mix peanut butter and cooking oil in a bowl until smooth. Mixture should be liquid enough to flow off of a spoon. (If not, add more a little more oil.) This is your peanut sauce!
3. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar/honey in a small bowl and mix. This is your additional sauce (to add more flavor to the noodles).
4. Peel and halve your cucumber (lengthwise), scoop out the seeds. Then chop the cuke into "slices" (the result should be little "u"-shaped slices of cuke). Place in a bowl and chill.
5. Prep your chicken (either shred your cooked chicken breasts and/or slice up your cold cuts) and place on a platter.
6. Place all ingredients on the dinner table (or on the counter in the kitchen) and let people combine ingredients as follows into a bowl: noodles on the bottom, 2-3 Tablespoons of peanut sauce drizzed on top, 2-3 teaspoons of soy/vinegar sauce, approx .3 cup of cukes, a few strips of chicken, and scallions/sesame seeds (optional) sprinkled on top. Adjust proportions of ingredients to taste (if you like more peanut-buttery, add more peanut sauce, etc.). (Also, if you'd like to have the noodles on one big platter, you can do so, just keep the ingredients proportional).
   
7. Eat and enjoy!
   

Do you have any favorite Asian recipes to share? Our tummies would appreciate it!

Friday Fun: Hooked on Phonics, Chinese Style

I can speak from experience - it's tough to communicate with cab drivers in China if you don't speak Mandarin, and if you don't have your destination written down in Chinese characters. For those fortunate enough to go to Beijing, check out a cool alternative that can help you get to where you are going....

Lit we Like: Teaching your kids Hindi

Cantonese was my first language, although you'd never know it considering I'm only functional when ordering dim sum or reciting phrases that were common in our house growing up, such as "take off your shoes," "be quiet," don't waste food," and "wah, so expensive!" All kidding aside, I regret not maintaining my native language and am looking forward to re-learning it with my daughter when she's old enough for lessons.

I could also take a cue from Paridhi and Dinesh Verma, a couple who have two children and are committed to teaching them Hindi - in a fun way. I know Paridhi personally and was psyched when I found out about her family's endeavors. Here's what she had to say:

As many first generation Americans before us, we tried to persuade our children to learn our native language -- Hindi. Maybe you have faced the same hurdles we did with limited language learning resources. When our attempts to find books and resources that would make learning Hindi fun failed, we decided as a family to write these materials ourselves. We were inspired by our son who developed a transliteration scheme that he used to self-teach the basics of the Hindi language. We applied the techniques he used, combined them with funny stories that our daughter seemed to enjoy, and created this set of books. We believe these books teach Hindi using entertaining stories, cute and colorful characters, and a variety of activities. The goal is to make learning Hindi a fun-filled experience and not a tedious chore. We hope you and your children will enjoy the benefits of these books.





For more information about these books and the Verma family, check out their site: Chanda Books.

How are you teaching your kids different languages? Any tips?

The art of Chinese ribbon dancing

We're closing in on the Olympics, and I've gotta say that I'm pretty pumped about watching two weeks of intense competition and the emotional and sniffle-provoking profiles of athletes who've overcome [insert unimaginable hardship here] to make it to Beijing. One of my favorite sports to watch is gymnastics, and that includes rhythmic gymnastics, where pint-sized teens/women leap around and perform a combination of ballet, gymnastics and dance with balls, hoops, ropes, clubs and ribbon.

Rewind back to the Tang dynasty in the early eighth century, when ribbon dancing is said to have started. (I haven't found any direct links between ribbon dancing and rhythmic gymnastics, but I'd have to assume that the dance influenced the sport somewhere along the line.) Ribbon dancing has been attributed to Emperor Tang Ming Huang, who was a talented musician, and his lady friend Yang, who was a good dancer. According to the legend, Emperor Tang Ming Huang dreamed that he was in the moon palace surrounded by singing and dancing fairies dressed in long, colorful robes. And that's how it began.

Dancers accentuate their moves using colorful silk ribbons attached to sticks and move to erhu and pipa (ancient Chinese stringed instruments) music. The ribbon symbolizes the clouds, and the patterns the dancers made with their ribbons were believed to attract the gods and bring rain and plentiful crops. The dancers are taught to dance/step gracefully so they look like they're floating through the clouds - these "cloud steps" are still used in many of the Chinese operas and in other Chinese dances.

Ribbon dancing was started to entertain royalty, but it later developed into a folk-style dance that was performed in the streets during harvests and other festivals. These days you can find groups of ribbon dancers performing during Chinese New Year and other major festivals. While researching this post I found links to numerous ribbon dancing shows, and even lessons, in cities across the U.S. If you want to check out the equipment, China Sprout has a set of ribbons for $10.

Have you ever seen a traditional ribbon dance performance? And I'm not talking about Will Ferrell's rendition in the movie "Old School"....

Feng Shui for Nurseries

First of all, the disclaimer: even after having spent several hours researching feng shui this afternoon, I would like to declare that there's a lot I don't know. Especially since its origins date back over 3,500 years, there's quite a bit of information out there!

Literally translated from Chinese as "wind-water," feng shui is equal parts art, science, philosophy and tradition. Essentially, the guiding principle behind feng shui is "chi" (aka "qi") - literally translated as "air", but also used to mean "energy" or "life force". (This is also the chi that acupuncturists refer to flowing throughout the body.) The concept is to keep chi flowing throughout one's space in an unimpeded, organic way so that nature can have its beneficial impacts without being blocked, and that both the yin (light) and yang (dark) forces are balanced.

Personally, I think of feng shui as something that started because of practical considerations, which ended up being interpreted and stylized into something quite esoteric. For example, when I asked my grandmother to explain the feng shui rule about not storing anything under one's bed for peaceful sleep (fully expecting a long answer about flowing chi), she said that it was because in the old days, you'd worry about small animals or rodents nesting in the clutter under your bed - which certainly wouldn't be conducive to a good night's sleep! I'm not sure if those are truly the origins of the feng shui rule, but her reasoning seemed pretty sound to me.

So, in our first My Asian Heritage installment on feng shui - specifically for nurseries! - I'm going to stick with the more basic and practical elements as opposed to drifting into advanced principles such as the bagua (the eight symbols) or the wu xing (five phases). We'll save that for another time.

So, without further ado...some things to keep in mind to properly feng shui your child's room:

• Room location - try to have the baby's room situated in the middle, or "heart" of the home, to help the infant feel secure. Try to avoid having the room above or adjacent any empty spaces (e.g. garage) or a space that has excessive noise (so as not to disturb the sleep chi of the infant).
• Room color - rooms in soft "yin" colors such as pastels can help provide a soothing, calm environment which encourages rest and sleep. Primary colors may be too stimulating for infants, although they can be appropriate as the child grows up.
• Furniture placement - the crib should be placed with the headboard against the wall (not lengthwise), to provide a solid "foundation" for his/her life. The child should be able to see individuals as they walk into the room, so that s/he won't be startled by their arrival - so try to have the crib facing the wall with the door.
  
• Clearing clutter - keep the room tidy and clear. Unnecessary clutter can cause chi to stagnate - and can cause physical, mental, and creative energy to be blocked.
  

So what are the benefits? Boosters of nursery feng shui claim that the correct environment will help infants sleep better, and that the proper flow of chi will positively influence the child's development and promote health, well-being, and success.

Do you have other feng-shui tips or nursery ideas to share?