Huachuan Wen, associate professor of education at Newman, was surprised by members of the Asian Student Association (ASA) last week with a “Judge’s Choice” plaque for his family’s winning recipe at the Wichita Asian Festival Oct. 15.
A savory surprise
Taben Azad, president of the Wichita Asian Association, reached out Kathy Pham, president of ASA, and informed her of Wen’s winnings. The two decided to surprise Wen at the ASA’s general meeting on Nov. 8. Wen is the ASA’s advisor.
“This was the first time they handed out awards at the Wichita Asian Fest,” Pham explained. “Three professional food bloggers — Wichita by E.B., Three Bites and Lisa Nguyen — unanimously picked his booth first to win this.”
Each time ASA holds a club meeting, the group allots a portion of the meeting for “Food for Thought,” which is when a member brings a cultural dish for attendees to enjoy and learn about.
“We thought it was fitting to ask Dr. Wen to bring bao buns when we surprised him,” Pham said.
Winning the “Judge’s Choice” award for their “Tasty Bao” encouraged Wen and his family that their recipe was well-liked and appreciated.
“We appreciate receiving this recognition from the judges very much, especially considering ourselves not being professionals in the food industry,” Wen said.
Participating in Wichita Asian Festival
Wen, his wife, Ying Jiang, and their children have attended the Wichita Asian Festival for several years as spectators and even dancers on occasion. This year marked the first time Wen and his wife participated as vendors.
Because they often make steamed buns — called “bao zi” in Chinese — at home, they decided it was the perfect recipe to share at the community festival.
“It’s because we realized that for one, many people here don’t have easy access to authentic homemade Chinese food,” he said. “For another, we came from the northeastern part of China and we feel that authentic northern Chinese food is much less represented locally or even in the U.S. at large, compared to southern-style Chinese food.
“So we thought, ‘Why don’t we make our homemade bao zi/ buns available on this very fitting occasion?’ After all, food represents culture in appealing and delicious ways.”
Wen and his wife enjoyed the busy day of the Wichita Asian Festival, but once it flew by, “life got back to its normal, busy rhythm,” Wen said.
When the president of Wichita Asian Association stood during ASA’s club meeting to present the plaque, Wen said he was touched by ASA’s “heartwarming” gesture.
“Now I understand why Kathy Pham, ASA president, invited my wife to come to our general meeting,” Wen said. “I am so grateful for all the attending ASA members, ASA’s spiritual companion Sister Bo Hui Kang, Assistant Professor of Education Janet Jump and certainly Wichita Asian Association President Taben Azad who came to celebrate this moment with me. My wife was also excitedly surprised later as both of us have long forgotten about the award thing after the Wichita Asian Festival.”
Pham said it’s inspiring to have Wen as the club’s advisor, but also to see him and his family participate in community events such as Wichita Asian Festival.
Food represents culture in appealing and delicious ways.
Huachuan Wen, associate professor of education at Newman
“It’s great to see that our leader wants to participate, and he’s our role model to embrace our Asian culture,” she said.
As stated in a Facebook post by the Wichita Asian Association, it’s unfortunate that “Tasty Bao” isn’t a local restaurant.
“But we’re excited to see authentic Asian food at events like the Asian Night Market and Asian Festival,” the post read. “Don’t worry — Dr. Wen and Ying will both be there next year!”
For Wen and his family, the award confirms that they successfully enriched the local community by sharing their food and culture.
“It was a genuine pleasure to contribute,” he said.
The making of bao
Bao buns can be somewhat time-consuming to make, but are easy to serve once steamed and ready, Wen said.
“The stuffings include ground pork and chopped cabbage, flavored with salt and some other spices,” Wen shared. “Wrap the stuffings in round, flat skin from risen dough and steam them for about 15 minutes.”
