Every culture has a few dishes that best represents its culinary traditions. Three students from the University of Oregon shared their favorite recipes from their home countries.

Naeun Kim (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)

Naeun Kim is a business student from Seoul, South Korea. She misses the spicy foods from home, but she still makes this Korean street food dish while living in the U.S.

Tteokbokki (spicy rice cake)

Korean Street Food, Tteokbokki (Courtesy of Naeun Kim)

Ingredients:

• sugar
• soy sauce
• rice cake
• pepper paste (make in step 2)
• fish cakes
• onion
• sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• any vegetables you’d like or sausage (add in step 5)
• boiled noodle (optional)

Directions:

1. Add rice cake into warm water and let soak for 5-15 minutes.
2. Mix pepper paste sauce ingredients together:

sugar (3.5 spoons)

red pepper (6 spoons)

soy sauce (1 1/2 spoons)

sesame oil (1 spoon)

pepper paste (1/2 spoon)

3. Put red pepper paste sauce in 1 1/2 cups of water. Let boil.
4. Put rice cake into the boiling water and let cook for 5 minutes with light fire.
5. Add boiled eggs, fish cake and vegetables and keep stirring.
6. Cook until soup starts getting sticky.
7. Enjoy.

Tetsuo Ogawa (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)

Tetsuo Ogawa studies sports business and entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon. He’s originally from Tokyo, Japan. He often makes the Japanese dish oyakodon because it’s popular and easy to cook. The dish’s name translates as “the parent and the kid” because it includes a chicken and an egg, symbolizing a parent and child relationship.

Oyakodon: chicken and egg bowl

Oyakodon (Couresty of Tetsuo Ogawa)

Ingredients:    

• 1 chicken breast
• 2 eggs
• ¼ onion
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. mirin (rice wine)
• ½ tbsp. sake
• ½ tbsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• A bowl of rice

Directions:

1. Chop onions then cut chicken breast into small pieces.
2. Put sliced onion, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and water in a frying pan. Let boil for a couple minutes.
3. Add chicken to pan and keep boiling until chicken is fully cooked.
4. Beat egg in a bowl.
5. Pour beaten egg into the frying pan and cover.
6. Wait a couple minutes until beaten egg becomes solid.
7. When beaten egg is cooked well, pour everything over rice.

Lalita Thardomrong (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)

Lalita (Annie) Thardomrong is a journalism major from Bangkok, Thailand. One of her favorite dishes from home is a coconut soup, tom kha kai. She learned how to make it from her mom.

Tom Kha Kai (Creative Commons)

Tom Kha Kai Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. chicken breast
• 1 ½ cup chicken broth or water
• 4 pieces cut galangal
• 1 lemon grass
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1/3 cup fish sauce
• 3 ½ tbsp. of sugar
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• ½ cup mushroom
• 1/3 tbsp. lime juice
• 1-2 tbsp. chili (can be adjusted)
• ½ cup of coriander

Directions:

1. Cut chicken, mushroom, galangal, lemon grass and coriander, then set aside.
2. Boil chicken broth or water with galangal, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
3. Add chicken, then season soup with fish sauce and sugar. Let cook another 4 minutes then add coconut milk.
4. Add mushroom and chili and let everything cook.
5. Serve with coriander on top.

(Recipes provided by students and edited for clarity.)