Oxford’s Asian Culture Club (ACC) partnered with the Oxford Cooking Club to host “Sip ‘n Savor,” an event that brought authentic Vietnamese and Indian cuisine to Oxford College on Oct. 3. As students walked into Murdy Hall, they encountered a sea of people lining up outside the kitchen for a treat after a long day of classes.
ACC’s Co-President Amanda Chen (25Ox) shared the importance of celebrating Asian cultural cuisine while learning about different cultures in Atlanta.
“This year, we really want to focus on bringing appreciation to lesser-appreciated countries and cultures,” Chen said. “So that's why we focus this event on bánh mì, which is a Vietnamese dish and mango lassi, which is an Indian dish.”
Bánh mì is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich that includes chả lụa — a type of Vietnamese sausage — along with a variety of vegetables, such as cilantro, carrots and pickled daikon. Along with the bánh mì, the ACC and Cooking Club served mango lassi, an Indian blended yogurt-based drink made with ripe mango, milk and ice. The two organizations prepped the ingredients the night before, and cooked the food at the event to ensure freshness.
“We got together, both cooking club and ACC, and we just cut up the vegetables,” Chen said. “We were marinating the meat, cutting up the bread.”
ACC is known for hosting cultural food events. Past events include the TASA Night Market and OnigiriXHwachae night, in which the organization gave out Vietnamese spring rolls, onigiri, and hwachae, respectively.
“I think for Asian Culture Club, our biggest thing was food events,” Chen said. “That’s what we were known for on campus. We want to continue that trend because that's something that we're passionate about.”
At approximately 6 p.m., students lined up, ready to devour their freshly made meals. George Goicochea (26Ox) found the event convenient to attend, describing it as “open” and “inviting.” Goicoechea also found that the event exposed students to Oxford’s Asian cultural diversity.
“I've never had this type of food before,” Goicoechea said. “There's not a lot of Vietnamese cuisine around there. And so I thought this was a good opportunity to take the first step into doing that.”
For some, Sip ‘n Savor presented an opportunity for Asian students to connect with their roots. Aadi Gupta (25Ox), an Indian student from Atlanta, finds that good Indian cuisine around Oxford is a rarity. Gupta used this event to connect with his heritage and explore other Asian foods.
“I’m Indian, and my family's from India,” Gupta said. “I try to still get involved with any cultural activities from that side. I enjoy mango lassi, which is one of the things that attracted me.”
There’s nothing like a fresh-cooked meal to facilitate connection and community. Oxford’s Asian Culture Club works to create a second home through food and culture for some, and brings new experiences for others.
“We want everyone to feel like their culture is appreciated,” Chen said. “And that they're able to connect with their culture, even if they're not close to their families or not entirely associated directly with that as a whole.”
