Welcome back! I’m taking over the kitchen to give Jessa and her family a real taste of my home. While we usually eat local Filipino dishes, today I’m preparing a hearty, traditional Norwegian meal: boiled potatoes and carrots mixed with bacon in a rich white sauce. In Norway, this is the kind of comfort food that keeps you going, but I knew bringing it into a Filipino household would be a major culture shock.
The first big difference started with the prep. In the Philippines, almost everything is cooked with oil, but I made sure to point out that I’m using butter instead. Butter is essential for that authentic Norwegian flavor—it adds a richness that oil just can't match, especially when you're making a white sauce from scratch. I’m not just frying things; I’m building layers of flavor with milk, flour, and plenty of butter to coat the potatoes and carrots.
The biggest hurdle, though, is the "Rice is Life" mentality. Here in the Philippines, a meal isn't a meal unless there’s a mountain of rice on the plate. To suggest that the potato is the main starch—the "rice" of the North—is almost blasphemy to Jessa and her sister, Dayan. I had to explain that back in Norway, the potato is our absolute staple. It was hilarious watching their skepticism as they realized there wouldn't be a rice cooker in sight for this dinner.
As I mixed the salty, crispy bacon into the creamy white sauce with the vegetables, I could see them warming up to the smell, but the lack of rice was still the main topic of conversation. I reminded them that I’ve tried everything they’ve offered me—from the most "jolly" mountain delicacies to the more adventurous dishes—so it was only fair they give my food a chance.
Sharing this meal was about more than just food; it was about showing them a piece of my world and seeing if our cultures could find common ground on a dinner plate. It was a "jolly" evening filled with laughs, a few worried glances at the potatoes, and a lot of heart.
Thanks for joining us for this kitchen experiment. Stay real, stay hungry, and I’ll see you in the next one!
