Multi-cultural Saturday

I went to the Festival of Nations in St. Paul on Saturday. My mom took my sister and I as a treat for our May birthdays. We used to go when we all lived in St. Paul. I think we went with school or Girl Scouts, too.
My mom is almost completely recovered from her broken hip and walked around all day without a cane or anything. (I'm guessing she had Advil for dinner, though.)
There are several of these photo-op cutouts at the festival. How is it that Sarah even looks good in this? So not fair.









One of the best parts of the festival is the food court! We tried food from all over the world. Everything we bought, we divided into 3 parts so we could all try it. I bought "bubble tea" which is a cold, sweetened tea with large tapioca balls in it. You suck them up through the extra big straw. I liked it, but mom and Sarah did not. We ate sesame balls from China, Dutch cream puffs, Greek spinach pie, Pancit (noodles) from the Philippines, egg rolls, vegetable tempura and banana spring rolls from Indonesia. My mom tried sushi for the first time (and maybe the last.) We tried the Korean combination plate of Bulgogi (stir-fried beef), fried rice and dumplings. It came with Kim-chi, spicy pickled cabbage. We had three kinds of baklava pastry (pistacio, cashew and pine nut), Somali beef pie called sambuza, Pad thai noodles from Thailand and Turkish stuffed grape leaves. To top it all off, I bought Tibetan butter tea. I have read about this in books (most recently "3 cups of tea"), and have been dying to try it. It is a hot tea with salt and butter. I believe yak butter is used in Tibet. I kind of liked it, but it isn't for everybody.
Here my mom is trying the banana spring roll. It was yummy!













There was also a world-wide bazaar, so we went shopping!
I bought an amber bracelet and a "pashmina" shawl. Pashmina is a type of wool, and fashionistas are said to have these in every color. I bought black (goes with everything) but I am not sure it was the same quality fashionistas must have. For one thing, the label was attached with hot glue! Hmmm...

Here Sarah is trying to decide which sundress to get. (She went with the red.)

There is also the auditorium, where dancing goes on all day long. We watched quite a few performances from many countries. The video is a dance from Nepal called "The Yeti". The yeti dancer hammed it up checking its privates and some audience members for fleas (and then eating them! This is hilarious in Nepal.) The music was pretty, though. The Australian didgerido music gave me a headache. It is so low that I think only elephants can enjoy it!


I liked this banner, it kind of shows what I like about this event. I think America is the greatest country in the world because of all our different cultures. We are strong because we have so much to draw on. This event celebrates that, and lets us show each other how proud we are of where we came from.

This is important in my family because we are a multicultural family. My sister came to us from Korea when she was 5 and my brother Gene came to us from Hong Kong when he was 10. Our family is blessed to include them, I can't imagine life without any of my siblings. (I'm not saying this to suck up, only one of 'em reads my blog).






I have this great recipe for Korean Bulgogi. It is good and good for you, low in fat and carbs! The stir-fried meat is eaten in a lettuce leaf. If your grocery store sells Kim-chi (pickled spicy cabbage and vegetables) it is worth adding as a condiment. The lady at the Korean food booth says kim-chi is eaten at every meal. I do suggest the use of "Beano" when eating Kim-chi. 'Nuff said!

Bulgogi Beef

1 1/2 lbs rib-eye or other nice beef. (I don't know why venison wouldn't work, either)
Partially freeze the meat to make it easier to slice. Slice it 1/8 of an inch thick and marinate.


Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbls sesame oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbls brown sugar
6 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 Tbls grated ginger

Mix marinade and pour half over meat and half over:
1 green pepper, sliced in 1/2 inch strips
2 medium red onions,sliced in 1/2 inch strips

Marinate for 15 minutes, then stir-fry vegetables and then meat (with marinade). Put it all in a bowl and serve in lettuce leaves. Boston or butter lettuce is best. Use the lettuce as if it were a tortilla.