Out-of-the-box eating

We all have food biases — but unless we push 
the envelope, we will end up never tasting some of the best things in life

By (Kari Heron)

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Published: Fri 10 Feb 2012, 6:38 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 2:56 PM

When I 
first came to Dubai, I prided myself on being an adventurous eater. After all, I had grown in leaps and bounds from being the picky eater my mother had a hard time feeding during my early years. Though I had somewhat evolved into more 
of a risk-taker when it came to trying new foods, I still held on to preconceived notions of what I did not like. Those boundaries were glaringly marked in red.

You see, I, Kari, refused to eat nuts and raisins in rice and noodles and thought that outside of greasy spoon Westernised Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken, sweet and savoury were best isolated.

I vividly remember ordering at a Thai outlet and grimacing when served Chicken with Cashew Nuts. I politely responded “No thanks,” but fought an internal battle to settle my stomach. Just the very thought of the combination did that to me. I had been exposed to these combinations in the West but, after first bite, I had made up my mind that my palate was better off without them. It would be not long after that my late Pakistani friend invited me over for some biryani and totally changed me.

Out of respect and the rules of etiquette, I was forced to eat the raisins that dotted my plate but halfway through, I realised that it was indeed a perfect combination of flavours. In that moment, the dam of food prejudices broke down and washed away that red line I had painted around myself.

Life has a way of forcing us to expand our horizons through different experiences and if we are willing to accept the challenge, 
we can find that we will grow in ways we never thought possible.

My friend made raisins and rice a very personal thing when he cooked it and shared it for me. In the past, I would refuse in restaurants but in someone’s home, you graciously accept what has been provided. I had to face my food bias head on.

Would you imagine that food could be so powerful?

If you smell fish sauce in someone else’s home, you may gag, but if you ever have a taste of authentic Sinigang or Tom Yum Soup, you will learn to respect that smell.

The foods of other cultures will always seem strange because they are not part of our own way of life, but that does not mean that there is anything wrong with them, or that we will not develop the taste for them. Sometimes the love happens at first bite, and sometimes, as in my case, it happens much later on, maybe even after several attempts. The most important thing is that we allow ourselves the chance to change our palates.

I have since become a huge lover of raisins and nuts in my rice and couscous and nuts in my noodles and rice. This has opened me up to the tasty world of Arabic and South East Asian cuisines and right now I am going to have the Shrimp & Tofu Pad Thai with Cashews that I have left over from dinner. I now look forward to the lemony tang of some Arabic dishes and have even been so inspired that I’ve started adding more lemon to my own cooking.

This has definitely been an eye-opening and character-building culinary experience and I am smacking my lips all along this delightful journey.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

· Kari is a Dubai-based journalist and photographer of the food blog chefandsteward.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/ChefandSteward and contact her at:

· kari@chefandsteward.com

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