By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Throughout King County, people live and work with their passion. More often than not, this includes helping the community, particularly among people of color. Dao Tran is passionate about looking out for the Vietnamese community around White Center. Within that comes the opportunity to translate Vietnamese language or educate about Vietnamese cooking. Dao and her partner, Alex Yang, held an “Intro to Asian Vegetables” class at Shark Garden on Aug. 24.
Shark Garden, also known as New Start Community Garden, started out as part of what was New Start High School in Burien. The school has relocated and been renamed now, but back when it was housed on SW 120th Street, the students there were encouraged to garden. In fact, they started the garden. Now, the garden has expanded to encompass many different plants (mainly food plants) and many different activities; yet the name, from the school’s original mascot, the shark, remains, and the area the students used to cultivate now goes towards a local food bank. There is also a “P-Patch” program (community-managed open space open to the public), explained Executive Director Taryn Koerker, which is utilized by 90% families of color.
Thus, the garden’s grounds are full of plants used in the cooking of various cultures, from Asian to Latin American. In this first class taught by Tran, the agenda was Asian vegetables, primarily those used in Vietnamese and Taiwanese cuisine, the respective homelands of Tran and Yang. The two were introduced to the garden by Yang’s mom, who followed Shark Garden on Facebook all the way from her home in Taiwan. An avid gardener herself, with pride of place given to several gorgeous fig trees, Yang’s mom requested a trip to the garden during one of her summer visits to her daughter, who lives in West Seattle with Tran.
“I make her come by force,” Tran joked of Yang. In fact, both love cooking and have a profound knowledge of the craft, and of the vegetables they use on the regular. The two met in Mongolia while in the Peace Corps. (The only vegetables worth mentioning from Mongolia are onions, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, they shared with warm humor, but it’s basically true.) After the introduction via Yang’s mom, Tran brought kids to the garden from a “Play and Learn” program where she worked at the White Center Community Development Association. She then helped out with a recent spring roll making class by locating an instructor and translating to Vietnamese. During COVID-19, Yang was instrumental in helping Vietnamese elders receive groceries. To that purpose, she created a list of commonly requested vegetables, with photos, so that volunteers who couldn’t speak Vietnamese would still know what to buy at the store.
Yang and Tran provided this list, updated with the Chinese names for things, to class attendees. They also added a list of nearby Asian grocery stores of various denominations. The two showed up with a cartload of veggies to display in front of the class—admitting that this was only a portion of what they had originally thought of bringing. Their enthusiasm was inspiring. Laid out on the table were cabbages and mustards in the brassica family, squash, shallots, bitter melon, as well as common ingredients for cooking such as oyster sauce and special salts. Vegan versions were provided, as Yang and Tran are both vegan (Mom is a “hardcore carnivore”). Among the many useful tips, the couple explained that black salt is a good substitute in vegan cooking because it is reminiscent of eggs (probably due to the sulfur content); and they told us where they found a recipe to make their own vegan fish sauce (the running joke being that Vietnamese people steam everything and dip it in fish sauce—and voila!).
Dao Tran (left) and Alex Yang taught an Intro to Asian Vegetables class at Shark Garden. (Photo by Kai Curry)
“Vietnamese people like vegetables…they love gardening,” Tran told us, pointing out how many Vietnamese elders have their own gardens, or utilize places like Shark Garden to grow food. The two told stories from their own backgrounds (with Yang’s mom occasionally and good-heartedly adding information from the back row) and asked that the audience share their experiences with different vegetables.
Tran explained common uses for each vegetable. (Photo by Kai Curry)
“If we go over all the vegetables, it will probably take all day,” Tran acknowledged. But they had a pretty good selection, and their enthusiasm was infectious. They ensured that class members had the chance to try whatever they wanted and covered the full range of possibilities for each type of vegetable that they introduced one by one.
Sauteed veggies were on the day’s agenda. (Photo by Kai Curry)
On this day, it was unseasonably stormy. The rain was pouring down and the tarps went up. No problem for Pacific Northwesterners. The eager audience sat under the canopy and drank the hot bitter melon tea that Tran and Yang thoughtfully had decided to get just that morning. They knew everyone would be cold and welcome a warm drink in their hand, and they were right. While Yang courteously handed out the tea, which had a milder taste than you might imagine (depending on how long you steep it), Tran explained how bitter melon is cooked. For Vietnamese cuisine, they may carve out the melon and fill it with a stuffing that includes vermicelli. For Taiwanese cuisine, Yang elaborated that they tend to enjoy the bitter melon with eggs, which helps balance the flavor. Bitter melon tea is used by some to counter too-high sugar levels, such as by those with diabetes.
Tran chops shallot and bitter melon for guests to try. (Photo by Kai Curry)
And of course, you can dip it in fish sauce.
In spite of the rain and wind, no one’s spirits were dampened. Tran and Yang adjusted as needed as they went along, sautéing some shallot to accompany the bitter melon, so that attendees could try it cooked as well as raw, the tempting scent wafting into the audience; or heating up the classic Asian kitchen combination of rice cooker and bamboo steamer to steam some water spinach. Nearly everything was passed around so that attendees could take a closer look—or take a bite!—and later, guests were invited to come up to the table and peruse the items on display. Some in the crowd were hobbyists or casual cooks, while others were professional chefs who asked pointed questions and described the flavors in expert terms. Everyone seemed to have some experience trying Asian vegetables, and left with visions of future recipes in their heads.
Shark Garden offers regular classes on different gardening-related topics. They are always seeking volunteers. View their calendar here: www.sharkgarden.org/events-and-classes.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.