Despite how many mailing lists I'm on, I'm not an active member of many organizations. I show up for events randomly, but don't attend meetings for most of these groups. Not because I don't want to, but because here you really have to pick and choose what is important to you. I do commit a...healthy...amount of time to extra-curriculars, but outside of that, I try to show for whatever sounds cool.

And you know what sounds cool? Food.

So like 90% of MIT events have freeeeeeeee foooooooood. Ooooh. But the magic wears off after a couple weeks, to be honest, and soon "free food" isn't a good enough reason to walk across campus for a 2-hour lecture.

But I couldn't ignore the email from the Association of Taiwanese Students in my inbox a couple weeks ago: Cooking workshop.

Oh, yeah, it was free food, but much, much better. It's like an engineering international service project instead of flat-out donations: sustainable. You know the whole give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, etc....Well, that phrase came to life when I heard about this thing. Especially since I cook for myself most of the time - I rarely go to the student center or LaVerde's. (In fact, the only time I even ever use TechCash is to do laundry. I mostly live off my credit card.) It's always good how to learn to cook new things.

So I went with My Suitemate Linda, and we learned how to make wontons (which Linda already knew how to make, so hers looked a lot cooler than mine). It was great - like watching the Food Network - live! We also learned how to make mochi, which I didn't like much because I don't like red bean stuff:

Cucumber meatballs (I had never heard of these before, and I couldn't even find a wikipedia page for them):

And my personal favorite, onigiri:

Talking to a mathematics grad student recently, he mentioned how he has learned more from his peers at MIT than the actual lectures or professors, and I think this is 100% true. There are so many opportunities available, both in high school and college, to learn about things outside the classroom that will come in handy one day (perhaps when you're very very hungry and only have rice, rou song and rice vinegar sitting around). Be sure to enjoy them! I know I do...

*Thanks to the Glorious Gloria Yang for the pictures!

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

FIrst,
For the first time I got a first

Posted by: Siya on January 26, 2008

2nd?

Yay food!!! Sounds yummy.

Posted by: Manders on January 26, 2008

O wow! It all looks really delicious! What clubs are you on the mailing list for? Have you tried Boston Dim Sum? It's delicious!

Posted by: Nan on January 26, 2008

I know this is a bit out of place but I jux wanted to know whether MIT accepts SAT Scores certified by educational advisors at U.S. Embassy in Ghana. please go a bit out of your terrain for my sake. Thanx.

Posted by: Sammy on January 26, 2008

That is the best workshop that could exist ever ! I love taiwainese food ! (now, you have no excuse to make some for the prefrosh at CPW ! ^^')

Posted by: Isshak on January 26, 2008

This post made me reeeeeally hungry! Great entry.

Posted by: Morgan on January 26, 2008

YUM! The next thing you can do would be learning to make dumplings! they are only a tiny bit harder than wontons, but you can make pot stickers with them! (since they got a bigger base, but a pot stickers are a lot more fattening and less healthy with all that oil)
If you use the wonton sheets diagonally, the wontons you make will be a star shaped!! ^_^
That's what I learn cooking from with family and by myself since 4th grade.

Posted by: Yuzhi on January 26, 2008

I would love to be a art of some creative cooking. One of the best pastimes..
People, ever tried cashew nuts in tomato ketchup??
Try it....its amazing..

Posted by: Libin Daniel on January 26, 2008

Cooking classes at MIT? Sounds too good to be true.

@ Libin... cashews with ketchup? Doesn't strike me as very appetizing, but maybe I'll give it a try

Posted by: Hyun Jin on January 26, 2008

10 th!!!! this is so dumb!!!

Posted by: Ankit on January 26, 2008

The number thing I mean!

Posted by: Ankit on January 26, 2008

^ well duhh it's only cool when you put FIRST. hahaha. =P

i like food alot btw. especially asian food of all varieties.

Posted by: 0 on January 26, 2008

Is this in response to my comment/request on Laura's recent blog post "How to use these blogs"? If so, cool! If not, still cool.

So with so many students cooking on campus, does the food really suck, or is cooking just that cool of a social activity and diversion from your studies?

Posted by: Noelle on January 26, 2008

free food you get to cook (?) even if you cant (cook =P)

mystery hunts

geeks with guns

snowboarding for credit

giant abominable snowmen

i loooooooooooooooooove MIT

=)

Posted by: Aditi on January 27, 2008

Ohhh I've seen stuff similar to meatballs on cucumber, they are gooooood.

Posted by: Reg on January 27, 2008

"like watching the Food Network - live!" lol.
-sam r.

Posted by: Sam R. '12 on January 27, 2008

What are you talking about? Free food is ALWAYS a good reason =P

Posted by: Piper on January 27, 2008

Is that a Meow Meow shirt? If the answer is yes, total props to you!

Posted by: Vicky on January 27, 2008

Yeah lol those cucumber thingys are pretty common in restaurants (granted, Asia, not US). Although if I were to write a wikipedia page about them, I don't think there's much to write about =p

Posted by: Oasis on January 28, 2008

Hey! But half the stuff you mentioned is Japanese!

Posted by: Kasa on January 28, 2008

I... love... free... food. You guys are so lucky.

Posted by: Collin on January 29, 2008

Anyone tried it?? It tastes awesome, I think..Cream mixed in it tastes better..LOL..

Posted by: Libin Daniel on January 29, 2008

WOW!!!
Awesome!!!
MIT!!! My definite favourite!!!

Hey Karen,
The traditional Chinese/Taiwanese food is great. I am an absolute gourmate. Believe it, just the food could still worth your efforts on Chinese! Haha.. Invent food! Ah.. yes. I should have include this into my application to MIT. Kitchen is also a lab. LOL...

Plus, I think the breakfast in China/Taiwan is the best. 饺子。。馄饨。。馒头。。大饼。。油条。。面条。。汤圆。。烧卖。。包子~~ @o@
You could find all there things in the Chinese supermaket beside a stop of the gree line T to BC. I visited there someday this summer. Food there is cheep but great and has a great amout. You could store them.

Posted by: Joy on January 29, 2008

Nan- Yep, I've tried Boston Dim Sum! It was yummy.

Sammy, if the SAT is certified by the college board, which it has to be if it's the SAT, MIT will accept them.

Isshak, basically all of ATS's events are good (free!) food. I'm sure they'll have something tasty during CPW...

Yuzhi, I've made dumplings from scratch before, but I usually just buy the frozen ones because I'm kind of lazy and you can find good frozen ones.

Libin....Sounds interesting, but I don't like ketchup...

Noelle, I'd been planning this entry for awhile, but your comment kind of pushed me to actually write it

Vicky - YES it's a Meow Meow shirt! I saw her at the Dresden Dolls concert in Boston back in December. It was GREAT

Kasa - I think Taiwanese and Chinese cultures have adopted a lot of Japanese foods and are now generally accepted as cultural foods from more than one country. Anyway, as long as it's delicious, I don't care where it comes from, hah.

Joy - you're right, Chinese breakfast rocks. Actually, I love ALL breakfast food. Breakfast is really just an amazing thing.

Posted by: karen on January 29, 2008

That entry made my mouth water. It looks like something I'm hesitant to eat, but hey, it sounds like something I could learn to enjoy

Posted by: Muz on January 29, 2008

The only one I've ever like that heard is:
Build a man a fire, an he'll be warm for a day, light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Seriously.

Anyway, I was wondering: Who actually pays for all this free food?

Posted by: duketipquantumelephants on January 30, 2008

duk/etc.:

MIT student groups are all allocated money by the Association of Student Activites, I believe. I think the Undergraduate Association and Graduate Student Council have something to do with it as well. Paul? They can also apply for grants from other sources if they still need money, though I don't think it's too common.

Posted by: Karen on January 31, 2008

when i was little, my mom used to make those cucumber meatballs, except instead of cucumber, she used bitter melon.

disgusting.

doesn't finboard give student groups money?

Posted by: Grace '11 on February 2, 2008

I saw Dresden Dolls in Boston in December too! Did you by any chance catch Sxip's Hour of Charm back in September at the ART in Cambridge?

Posted by: Vicky on February 2, 2008

Good questions! If there's enough interest in the topic, I may make this into an actual blog entry...but anyway.

The Association of Student Activities (ASA) is primarily responsible for regulating what student groups are actually considered "official" (and therefore recognized by MIT). It also allocates office/storage/meeting space (in the Student Center or elsewhere) to officially-recognized groups. The ASA doesn't actually provide money to groups, but it does direct new groups to the appropriate funding sources and, in general, help coordinate resources for student groups. Also, you don't have to be recognized by the ASA to form a student group - but it helps.

The Undergraduate Association (UA), on the other hand, is the official name for MIT's student government, representing all students - whether they live in dorms, fraternities, sororities, independent living groups, or anywhere else off-campus. In addition to talking with administrators and advocating for change when necessary, the UA is the primary provider of actual money to student groups - which, as Grace '11 said, is overseen through the Finance Board, a committee of the UA.

Grace and I are both currently part of the UA, as were Jessie, Bryan, and Matt when they were students. Definitely shoot me an email if you're interested in finding out more about student government at MIT.

Posted by: Paul on February 3, 2008

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