EatingWell – October-November 2021
English | 108 pages | pdf | 250.29 MB
T ell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are,” the saying goes. We Americans are so many things at once. You see it in our food—dishes like bulgogi tacos, Thai larb burgers and Texas brisket ramen that reflect the tastes of generations of native peoples and those from around the world who’ve settled here and commingled.
While our nation is vast and diverse, growing up I didn’t see folks who looked like me— Indian-born and raised in New York City—in food magazines and TV shows. That’s in part why, for the last 20 years, I’ve chosen to ponder that uniquely American culinary magic that happens with the amalgamation of communities through my books, as the host of Top Chef, and recently with my Hulu show Taste the Nation. That’s also why it was a great fit for me to collaborate with EatingWell Magazine as a guest editor on this issue focused on what American food is all about today.
The cover was shot in Chinatown, blocks from my home in New York City. For years I’ve loved to scour the markets in this thriving neighborhood for Asian vegetables, noodles and condiments. We selected China town because it’s one of the OGs of ethnic enclaves, a neighborhood that has preserved its food traditions, while second, third and fourth generations have continued to reinvent them. The different incarnations of Chinese flavors—the upstart and the old guard—coexist and create something uniquely American.
Food offers us a chance to examine who we really are as a nation, as well as celebrate our unique foodways. And the features and recipes we chose for this issue reflect that. We
see how culture, politics and cuisine have been influenced by waves of immigration from Cuba to Miami in “Greetings from Little Havana” (page 58) in which we go behind the scenes of an upcoming episode of Taste the Nation. And in “Plant Empowered” (page 68), eight chefs talk about the reasons why Black Americans are more than twice as likely to follow a vegan diet than the overall population.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to edit a magazine, even back in the early days of my career when I wrote a syndicated column for The New York Times and for Harper’s Bazaar. Magazines offer us a chance to quickly, pleasurably, absorb our culture—to understand what’s in the zeitgeist, especially in food. I loved working with Jessie Price and the whole EatingWell magazine team. Getting to sit in on editorial meetings, going back and forth on recipes and hashing out what we felt you would enjoy most was such a treat. If you’re like me, endlessly curious about American food, you’re going to love this magazine issue. Enjoy!
Padma Lakshmi
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