I really enjoy Thanksgiving. Besides the fact that it is a day set aside to rejoice in God’s blessings, it is also a day to be with loved ones and feast on tantalizing dishes. Diane and I used to have sautéed gluten steaks, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, sweet potatoes, green beans and stuffing. I usually covered it all with Diane’s herb gravy. What a feast! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

This will be our second year that we won’t experience this particular gourmet meal. We have tried to duplicate these dishes here in Asia, but the ingredients just aren’t the same. Actually, we have had quite a few experiences with unsatisfying foods this past year. Here are a few examples you might find amusing.

We were in Vietnam last December, and breakfasts were included at the place we were staying. We specifically told the staff we were vegetarian, and they nodded and smiled. Arriving at the morning buffet, we asked to be shown the items that had no meat. We were kindly directed to a mixed vegetable rice dish, some stir-fried veggies and white French bread. We had grown accustomed to eating this type of meal while traveling around Asia, so it didn’t surprise us. However, in my first bite of the rice I found something small, chewy and tasty. I asked the waitress what it was. She insisted there was “no animal” in the dish. Since her English was limited, we asked her to find a translator for us. During her absence Diane and I removed all the pieces of this mystery food from our rice. It was the color of papaya, and we were trying to encourage each other that this was all it was. The verdict came back that it was “fit.” This only added to our confusion. We asked again and got the same answer, “no animal, only fit.” My brain was working overtime as I struggled to understand, and then it dawn on me. “Fat?” I asked, and she smiled. “Yes, pork fat. No animal.” Ugh….

Another time when we were in Thailand we had to once again try to explain—sometimes using animal noises—that we do not eat meat. Politely they nodded as they served our food. A few minutes later the waitress came back and confirmed that the food was indeed vegetarian and had only a little fish head in it. Ah! The one animal noise we didn’t make.
A third example was when we were in Cambodia with the missionaries visiting a family in their village. It is the custom there to offer visitors water and something to eat. This was our third house to visit, and our tummies were already uncomfortably full. They knew we had eaten already, so they only offered a snack. We smiled and took what looked like a spiral-shaped biscuit. It was light and semi-sweet, and we were grateful not to be facing another full meal. As we were leaving, one of the missionaries asked Diane if she liked duck eggs. She said she usually didn’t eat eggs and had never had ones from ducks. Then she was kindly informed that that’s what she had just eaten. Once more, we were thankful for our handy container of charcoal.

In Asia we quickly discovered that beef fat, chicken fat, fish fat, pork fat and even intestines are looked upon as seasonings, not meat. Butter, cheese, milk, eggs and any other dairy products are often found in vegetarian dishes. We thought white rice might be the safest as we could see what was in it, but even that comes with weevils.

It makes us really appreciate eating at our flat. The flavors we like (somewhat); the ingredients we know (sort of); and the semblance of something familiar without the “fit” making us unfit.

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