The Mindfulness Foodways

Jeong Kwan
Source: 13th Gwangju Biennale

 "Do not try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already are." 

-- Dalai Lama

For years, I have used Buddhist meditation as a way to center myself, to redress stress and anxiety through mindfulness. The Dalai Lama's words serve as my guide: to learn and use Buddhist principles to make myself a better me. I have also applied those principles to my cooking, trying to be more mindful in the moment, as well as with what I prepare. That mindfulness extends to every aspect of the process, from the ingredients to the techniques and, of course, to the final dish. 

As I walked this path of mindfulness, I have posted the recipes that have helped me be mindful in my cooking. The posts chronicle my efforts to approach cooking with an emphasis on simplicity, balance and inner calm. I have organized these posts into an initiative that I call, "Being in the Present Moment." They will continue to document my efforts to apply Buddhist principles, hopefully to help me become a more mindful -- and better -- cook. 

But, this initiative is only the first step toward a larger change in both how and what I cook. I have much more planned for how I can continue my journey down the Mindfulness Foodways.

Sean Sherman
Source: New York Times

The next step is to actually follow paths created by others over the years, decades, and even centuries. This step will draw upon various cooking practices from around the world. In addition to building upon Buddhist temple cooking, I will explore Ayurveda, to investigate my dosha (which I am told is a Vata) and what dishes work best with my nature. I will also learn about the Japanese practices of of Yakuzen and Washuku, which focus upon how cooking and dishes can be used as "medicine" to address ailments and live a healthier life. Put simply, the Mindfulness Foodways will be an effort to intertwine different approaches to healthier cooking in what I prepare.

While my ultimate destination is now set, I recognize that I have been on that path for a some time. For example, over the years, I have researched about how Native American chefs and cooks approach ingredients, cooking processes, and dishes. The "decolonization" of dishes, returning to the ingredients that could be found in nature before the devastation of colonialization, has important lessons about how one can have a healthy, balanced cooking style. I have also explored how chefs and cooks throughout southeastern Asia achieve balance, whether it is with ingredients, tastes and/or cooking processes. An approach that dates as far back as Lao Tzu, but what I have really explored through Vietnamese cooking, which refers to the balance as ngu hanh or ngu vi. By building upon this foundation with my future efforts, I hope that my cooking -- and, indeed, myself -- will reach new, healthier heights.  

This project is organized into two initatives: Peace and Journey. The former follows my effortst to incorporate Buddhist principles into my cooking, while the latter weaves healthier cooking practices to develop a better default cooking practice.

"Peace Comes from Within. Do Not Seek it Without" 

(The Buddha Initiative)

1. A Mindful Journey for the New Year and Beyond: This post outlines the Buddhist principles that will serve as guides on my journey. I will not always be able or willing to apply them, but they will be there to help to shepherd my cooking and my diet evolve into the future. 

2. White Rice with Assorted Mushrooms: This is the first recipe that I have made from my Korean Temple Food cookbook, and, it got me to thinking about how I approach my cooking, especially at the end of the cook.

3. Stir-Fried Walnuts with Dried Prickly-Ash Pepper Leaves: A look at how a simple recipe can help me find a moment to meditate while cooking. 

4. Tsampa: The beginning of my exploration of a foodstuff that not only provides sustenance to the Tibetan people, but also their identity. It also offers some insight in where I can find my moments of mindfulness.  

5. Fish Curry: What happens when a dish does not correspond to the expectations one has of a cuisine or a recipe. The result is not always negative and, with a little perspective, it opens one to question the development of those expectations in the first instance.

6. White Mushroom & Cilantro Soup: My effort to find some inner calm and peace within myself through a simple soup of mushrooms, miso, sesame and cilantro. 

7. Gomasio: A continuing look at simplicity, and how that can be as flavorful and sigificant as a more complex ingredient or dish.

8. Blistered Shishito Peppers with Gomasio: Building upon my preparation of gomasio with a simple use of the ingredient, and another reminder of how a different kind of balance is important, along with a recognition that sometimes the smaller things in life can have as much, if not more, of an impact as the bigger things. 

9. Grilled Beef (or Bison) Skewers: A good faith effort to recreate a dish of an indigenous people leads to an inadvertent mistake that, in turn, opens my eyes to the privilege that I have which those people may lack. 

"A  Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step" 

(The Lao Tzu Initiative)

1. Vietnamese Grilled Clams with Oyster Sauce and Peanuts: This post is my first step into learning about ngu hanh or ngu vi, which is the practice of Vietnamese cooks to balance the five flavor elements and five cooking techniques. The first step leads to an amazing recipe for grilled clams.  

2. Vietnamese Grilled Oysters: I return to the the practice of ngu hanh or ngu vi, but wiht a different shellfish, namely grilled oysters.  

3. Qiatou Yi Nen: I go back in time, as far back as Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching to find the origin of the concept of balancing the five tastes. The journey results in a very tasty and well balanced Sichuanese chicken dish. 

4. Goi Ga: A discussion continues about how one can strive for balance, whether through tastes or cooking processes, with this Vietnamese Chicken Salad, one is able to enjoy a wonderful meal.

More posts are in the works, so please check back soon.

PEACE.