So am I Asian?!?

I am Filipino - American..  My parents moved to the States in the early 80's and I was born in New York. There was a two year stint where I lived in the Philippines, between ages 2-4, but all I have left from that is my ability to barely understand Tagalog and eat balut without cringing.  I have never really focused on my color or race except for when I'm running late and I can blame it on "CPT" or "Filipino Time".

I had never really thought about "what I am" or focused on my heritage until I hit college. I started my Freshman year at UF with my Vietnamese boyfriend (we'll call him P.E.) and alienating myself from everyone else, still one of my biggest regrets in college.  My parents became worried about me and told me I had no choice, I was going to go through sorority recruitment.   They wanted me to make friends and they thought this was the way to do it.  At the time I was completely ignorant about the whole "Greek" thing and what this was all about.  Surprisingly  I got into the one I wanted.  At the same time, P.E. was starting to join up with a group of Asians who wanted to colonize an Asian Fraternity on campus.  This is where things started getting weird.  He kept asking me why I was part of a "white" sorority and why I didn't embrace my Asian-ness.  This was never an issue before, but now it was a huge rift. First of all, my sorority was very diverse, and second umm we live in a country where the majority of the population is white.   That summer, I dropped P.E. and started really hanging out with my sorority sisters.  No one in this new group of friends every brought up my color except to say things like "Tara, sometimes I forget you're not white".  Some people would find that offensive, but it made me feel like I was accepted for my personality and not defined as "the Asian girl".  

So am I Asian or what?!?   I've been told by a few ignorant people "You're not Asian" or "I don't consider the Philippines as part of Asia because its an island and not on the main land" but these same people consider Japan as part of Asia.  Yea seriously...  So what the eff am I? Yes I understand that the Philippines is an island in the Pacific Ocean but the definition of a Pacific Islander is "a phrase to describe inhabitants of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia."  So when there is a questions about race or nationality or some kind of standardized grouping I bubble in ASIAN!

I am Filipino and I am American.  I love my heritage, I love my skin color, I love my slightly slanted eyes, my really flat nose, and I love me some adobo.  But I also love everything about living in America and the opportunities here. I thank my lucky stars that my parents had the cajonas to leave everything they knew and loved in the Philippines and come to the states.  Finding that happy medium between the two and trying not to forget where your family came from can be difficult sometimes.  But I am so glad that I can embrace both. 

The next question will be, when the hubs and I procreate, will our kid be White, Asian, or Other?   

Chicken Adobo

When the Hubby and I traveled to the Philippines last year, the one dish he asked if I could make was Adobo (eeek!).   Adobo is the unofficial national dish of the Philippines (if the Black Eyed Peas can mention it in a song you know it is) .  It consists of meat or vegetables simmered in a marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic.  Its one of those dishes that reminds me of home, and lets be honest, there is nothing wrong with the smell of 6 cloves of garlic cooking!

Before my self inflicted domestic bootcamp, I was not exactly known for my kitchen skills (also why I asked for cookbooks for my bridal shower).  Well four months in, things in the kitchen are looking up as told by our nightly food comas and our waist bands getting a bit snug.

So last night I attempted to make some chicken adobo.... Holy sh*t it was delicious!

Chicken Adobo:

6 chicken thighs (preferably with bone and skin)

1/2 c soy sauce

6 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp coconut oil (or as needed to coat the bottom of the pan)

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 c water

3 bay leaves

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1. Marinate chicken in soy sauce and garlic for at least 3 hours. 

2. Heat coconut oil in large saute pan or dutch oven over medium heat.  

3. Once oil is hot, brown chicken for 3 minutes on each side

4. Remove chicken from pan and drain the oil from the pan.

5. Pour the soy/garlic marinade in the pan.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, add back chicken, bay leaves, peppercorns, and vinegar and lower heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes until cooked though.    If you have a fat separator, remove chicken from pan and strain liquid and pour into the fat separator.  Pour liquid back over chicken and serve with rice (preferably jasmine)

I would have included a "completed" picture, but we were a bit over zealous and dug right in.