Earlier this year we recorded a very wholesome and topical podcast series that spotlighted experiences of fifteen New Zealanders from migrant and former refugee backgrounds called #PassTheMic.
The series was made in partnership with Belong Aotearoa and Sport WaitÄkere, it was hosted by Elina Ashimbayeva, co-creator of this community platform - Storyo. Weâve been sharing and celebrating underrepresented identities for over 3 years now, featuring social workers, local artists, politicians, sex workers, teachers and the list goes on.
We couldnât record this series talking to fellow migrants without talking about the most important topic of our cultural identities and provider of belonging: food. So of course, we thought weâd compile this blog for you, featuring favourite ethnic dishes, places, food tips, food stories from our migrant & former refugee community.
And of course, check out the deliciously honest conversations between Elina and 15 folks here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. But for now⌠back to food! These recommendations are truly delicious with a side of identity-exploration. I hope it inspires you to venture out to a local restaurant or reach out to your friends for some home-cooked goodness!
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Nina is a âMind The Gap'' campaigner, shedding light on gender and ethnic pay gaps. On this 14 episode (recorded on Storyo founder Elinaâs birthday and fifteen minutes after Nina tested positive for COVID-19!), Nina revealed her favourite Filipino dish:Â
"I really love Chicken Inasal. It's a form of chicken barbecue and it's usually served with rice and chicken oil drizzled on the top and fried garlic. I also really love classic Filipino homegrown dishes like Sinigang, Adobo, Menudo, I'm an all rounder. I used to be a child who wasn't picky at all, I ate all the veggies. I ate all the weird ingredients. So I love Filipino food."
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Lovely is a Filipino-Kiwi whose PhD research supports 1.5 and second-generation Southeast Asian migrant adolescents in accessing culturally safe services, particularly mental health:
It felt like all they could see was that I was Asian (model minority, smart), so just being able to understand there are different facets of a person but they're not even just talking about the nuances of even food."
"I got really sick in my first year of uni because I wasn't used to eating white food all the time. I ended up seeing a nutritionist later on in life to reconcile how I felt about food because even the way we talk about what's healthy foodâŚthere's so much work that needs to be done."
"I love Filipino food. It's so good for the soul. I love the Filipino spirit of celebration, how theyâre so loud, they're always late. It's always such a good time. Oxtail Kare Kare which is a peanut butter curry and nobody makes it better than my dad. TÄmaki has really good Filipino food, but my dad's food cannot be beaten. One of my best friends, Hannah, dreams about my dad's food."
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Born in Mumbai, Ajaz moved to NZ as a young child and believes âthe fact that we're New Zealanders doesn't mean we can't have an ethnic background.â
He spoke at length about inclusion when it comes to catering in sports, food as a political choice:
"One of the big things when I was growing up was food. it's not just food, there's a bigger relationship to it than just food. It's what my parents have been eating. That's what my ancestors have been eating. Itâs what I've grown up on, I don't know anything different. "
"And then to suddenly be able to change that⌠all of a sudden go to a completely European diet, it's difficult. Our culture is probably a minority within the country, then we go with what the majority food is and that's okay."
"My favourite dish is a Chicken Lollipop, which is a deep fried, little chicken pocket that comes with like a little stick on the end of it. And it's just absolutely unbelievable. And the other one I'd say is a biryani. Paradise in Auckland does both things very, very well."
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Suki is a women of colour career coach and a founder of âAs Youâ. Born in Guangdong, Southern China, Suki moved around as a youngster before living in Howick, Auckland (nicknamed âChowickâ back then because there so many of Chinese immigrants there) - an abundance of Chinese restaurants and supermarkets made settling into New Zealand easier.Â
"I love Chinese food or Asian food actually. There's this dish called Bai Zhan Chicken. It's parboiled chicken and then it's very plain in flavour. And you can almost see the redness in the skin and in the bone when you cut it open. Two places in Auckland that I love are Tai Ping supermarket, they do amazing Roast Duck! And the chicken dish, I will get it from the Golden Garden Restaurant on Dominion Road as well."
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Maria is an Urban Planner, a member of Multi-Ethnic Young Leaders Network and Authenticity Aotearoa. She was born in Manila and raised in TÄmaki Makaurau Auckland, she witnessed the lack of minority perspectives while studying urban planning.
"I like Filipino food. I didn't like having to eat a sandwich at lunch all the time, I wanted to eat rice! In hindsight, even small things like having different food from your classmates did actually influence this feeling of being âotherâ.Â
"âI recommend everyone to try palabok. It's a noodle dish from the Philippines and it's my all time favourite. My mum always makes it when I go home, so you can see itâs my favourite! There is this place in West Auckland called Gold Ribbon that has lots of Filipino dishes. Highly recommend, support your Filipino community!"
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Ashley is Samoan Chinese, attended an English-speaking international school but had a huge culture shock adjusting to Kiwi culture but also finding places to feel supported in connecting to her identity, like with PILSA (Pacific Island Law Student Association).Â
"I'm still trying to learn to be more proud and reclaim my cultureâŚthe values of family, being together, we care about serving communities, serving others, and respecting elders⌠so even if I don't feel like I'm Samoan enough, actually, the values I have are the same as other Samoans."
"In Hong Kong, me and my dad always ordered barbecue pork on rice. Itâs char siu fan, that's the Cantonese way of saying it. So whenever you go to Hong Kong and you want barbecue pork on rice, you can say âI want char siu fanâ and they'll get it. But I'm vegetarian now, so that's off the table [laughs]. And then Samoan culture, there's this dish called luâau. Iâm always worried I pronounce it incorrectly. But it's banana leaf and coconut cream, and it's in tinfoil and it's cooked. And it's always best paired with taro."
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Kat is a Lead Advisor for Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner. An Iranian-Kurdish New Zealander and former child refugee with six degrees (a fact she is a bit embarrassed about), she was born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, her family initially fled into Pakistan, before being resettled in Dunedin, which they were advised âwas the best place for education for a young family in the countryâ.Â
"Persian food and Italian food on a par with each other? Persian Kebab Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh, which is a chicken and rice dish with barberries."
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A self-titled âcapitalist girl-boss by day and anarchist by nightâ of Syrian-Azeri-Russian identity, who was born and brought up in Russia but identifies as Arab. Her entire family are migrants and she is âstill figuring out what it means to be Kiwi yetâ.
"I assume positive in people, but sometimes I think when they ask about my ethnicity or where I belong, the sole reason why they're asking is to put me in some sort of a box so they can make a judgement about what sort of person I am and how to approach me. Ethnic person is kind of like calling someone exotic. It doesn't sit right with me and I don't know whyâŚcan I, like, not be anything? Can I be just a human? Can I be a woman of colour, but without having to explain my entire heritage to people?â"Â
While sheâs figuring it all out, if you ever want to try out her favourite dish - Russian salad (Olivie) - a fancy version of potato salad, she promises to cook it for you.
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Sun Min moved to New Zealand with her brother, and mum in 2003 from South Korea. At university, she was encouraged by friends to join the Union and cites how a fellow Asian woman finally felt supported after seeing her come on board to look after her site. More recently, she has been on a journey of learning about ADHB and Autism in her life.Â
"Getting to know different people and cultures really helps, instead of isolating yourself in a comfort zone of hanging out with who you know. Auckland is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. More than just enjoying peopleâs food, maybe get to know them. Just mingle a little bit more than just watching a K-drama or eating Korean food, just get to know us a little bit better. Then you may learn that we're just another human being. We may have an accent, but you may enjoy our company if you get to know us."
"Instant noodles/ramen. Oh, I recently learnt that the brand âOttogiâ hires everyone as permanent staff, not casuals. So I tried their noodles for the first time and it was a whole new world. I really like it. Itâs the one called "Jin Ramen".
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A South Aucklander coffee lover with strong connections to faith and the rainbow community, Andrewâs family comes from Samoa but also has Chinese ancestry. Growing up, his parents, worked day and night jobs.Â
âMum used to clean at night and come home late. And I always remember that, she would bring home a tub of cream rice and it was such a treat."
"Not being able to speak Samoan felt quite shameful growing up in South Auckland. I feel a lot more ease with my cultural identity now. There's a little bit of stigma about how Samoan you are."
"I guess the more old-school thinking would say that being a kiwi means going to the BBQ and having your alcoholic drink, and talking about sports and⌠not talking about your feelings. I donât actually identify with any of these thingsâŚI know all the other stuff that is cool about being a kiwiâŚhaving amazing diverse food at those BBQs."
"There is this really common and popular Samoan dish: chop suey. And it's quite nice because it's got a Chinese heritage as well. I'm biased and I think my mom makes it the best. A lot of soy sauce, a lot of flavours, a lot of ginger, and onion! It feels like home, it feels like comfort. There are places especially out South that do sell it. But usually, just ask an auntie and uncle or a friend at work who can get you some."
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Medulla is a non-binary former refugee who competed in the first season of House of Drag â created Rainbow Maldivian online community. Medulla was sent away from the Maldives, âa young boy gambling and smokingâ, aged 12-13 and moved to Malaysia and then New Zealand.Â
"Aren't we all like ethnic? How would you define that? I like to use the term ânot whiteâ insteadâŚI like to be quite confrontationalâŚand white people can't stand that. But what does it mean to be ethnic? I don't like the term people of colour because that is very close to coloured people, which is offensive."
Medulla still loves Malaysia and their much-loved food is âNasi Lamak.
"Obviously, a staple breakfast food! I remember every morning going down the road and having it, itâs great!"
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Nilofer feel where she can contribute is where she belongs and speaks of how the hijab is in fact, âa kind of a rebellion against boxes people trying to put you intoâ. Â
"I think when you go to a country at first, you'd normally see they eat different food but actually, you kind of start to see the people behind it, what's beyond the labels and cultural differences. As much as we have our differences, at the core of it, we're still just human, right?"
"In India, we have this thing called panipuri. Oh my god, I love it. I crave for it. It's like a street food. So usually it's the first or second day when I'm in India. It's like, I have to go there, you know? I have to go and have it."
"I actually recently tried Moroccan food at the restaurant called Casablanca. So yes, they had tajine. Tagine is a Moroccan dish. Itâs slow cooked meat. My favourite one back in Morocco is the one with glazed honey prunes, and they kind of sell it with almonds."
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Born in Kuwait, Ola migrated to New Zealand aged five and grew up in âa very white area (West Auckland)â but felt she belonged when with her Palestinian best friend and on the sports field. She plays at Manukau United Football Club, where she has designed a shirt emblazoned with âAnti-racism Football Clubâ and runs a yearly tournament for Palestine. Ola has spoken openly about her depression and anxiety.
"Cake! 100%. I love cake banana with cream cheese icing. I used to bake as a side hustle. And I just made a lot of banana cake with cream cheese icing! And my favourite Palestinian food is dolma: it's grape wine leaves, boiled and then stuffed with rice. You actually can't buy good dolma anywhere. I'll have to invite you over, you'll have to come over for dinner one day."
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Congolese-Kiwi-South African Vira was born in Johannesburg to refugee parents, who lived through apartheid, and migrated to West Auckland in 2004, where her family managed to create a âmini versionâ of Congolese culture.
"I feel like my entire life, everyone's been saying that I was a kiwi, especially other African migrants. Also black Kiwi representation is so far and few between, that we look outwards to find what it is to be black outside of Africa. For the longest time, I wanted to be black British because I feel like they're a solid example of what it looks like to be a part of a black diaspora that's really settled. I imagine thatâs what New Zealand's going to look like in 50 years."
"My immediate go-to is fried green banana. It gets to the point where I don't live at home anymore, and my mom will call me if she gets it because she knows how much I love it and she will drop it off at my house. It's chopped up cassava leaves, as many vegetables as you can find, meat bones: usually sit in a pot as big as my body just on the stove for maybe two days. Let it simmer. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous."
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Singapore-born, to Malaysian parents (of Chinese descent), Pok grew up with an âextremely strong Western mentality, balanced with some really strong Asian undertonesâ. Pressured to study accounting by his parents, he explored sustainability reporting, which led to climate justice, which he defines as âclimate change affecting different populations differentlyâ. As a âfresh new migrantâ to Aotearoa, his work focuses on regenerative cities centred on learning from indigenous wisdom.
"DEI work is not a token festival eventâŚyou have to get used to discomfort, that's when you start closing the gap. That is what I think needs to really happen for a better New Zealand and a better migrant relationship with MÄori."
"Rather than shying away from our own culture and putting indigenous peoples on a pedestal, we can see it as an equal partnership, where we both bring kai to the table and engage in discussions together."
"I'm currently craving a very simple sounding dish called fish soup. You have a really clean, beautiful broth, fish slices, tofu, and vegetables. Itâs something that I think is quite healthy, but also quite nourishing."
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Takeout Kids: for more inspiring migrant stories centered around food and identity, check out this video series from The Spinoff, made with support from NZ on Air, which follows four young people as they juggle school, friends and life while growing up in their parentsâ restaurants and takeaway shops.
Listen to all 15 episodes here and follow us on Instagram @passthemic.aotearoa and @story.co â¨