Hello, this is Nina from Kashiwa HASH196!
HASH196 has many fun events on a regular basis, but recently I thought there were especially many international events, so I thought I would share them with you!

Ugandan Food

This gathering started with one Japanese person’s question, “What kind of food do Ugandan dads usually cook?” So the Ugandan dad planned and hosted a dinner party for us. The menu for the day consisted of special curry, pasta, salad, chapatti (very simple bread), and sweet potatoes!

This time, they served a lot of main dishes to entertain everyone, so you didn’t have to eat all of them in one meal. All of the dishes were exquisitely seasoned and extremely delicious, but eating sweet potatoes with curry was unexpected and surprising to the Japanese! But it was so delicious that we couldn’t stop eating, and our bellies were so full we could burst. It was a happy dinner party that the Ugandan dad worked very hard to prepare for everyone. And I think it’s a good idea to ask others what kind of food they usually cook! I would like to thank the Japanese house mate for giving me the opportunity to try out these foods!

Gifts from France

This meeting was organized by a house member who said, “Let’s all eat 12 kg of oysters from my hometown! You can join us if you bring anything that goes well with oysters.“
It was already a very generous offer, but then another member returning from France said, ”A party to melt 1.6 kg of raclette cheese, a souvenir from France! Bring something that would be good to dip in raclette!” And so, the event was decided to be held on a flight. What a luxurious party! The participants rushed to the venue! Due to circumstances, the oysters were transformed into steamed oysters and pasta gratin. It was delicious, and all was great.

The great thing about the HASH family is that they miraculously never bring the same thing to a potluck party. Again, delicious-looking items that would go well with oysters and cheese were lined up in the dining room, and we were free to dip whatever we wanted and savor the delicious ingredients. The person who brought the oysters also did a hometown seafood bowl project in the past, and it is very nice that they are willing to eat everything together with us. And it must have been hard to bring back 1.6 kg of cheese from France. I cannot express my gratitude!

Spanish Birthday Party

A Spanish member who used to live in HASH recently came back to Japan and moved back to Kizunaya because she loves the house so much. Her birthday was soon after she came back. When she planned a birthday party, more than 20 people participated and had a blast.

Since it was her milestone 30th birthday, we were particular about the decorations. She wanted to eat grilled meat and sushi, so she bought a lot of food, and everyone enjoyed the party around the hot plate that day. During the celebrations, one house member said, “I’m going to make fried chicken!” Some house members even brought their own food to the party.

Actually, this is also a typical HASH experience. We often have parties at noon on holidays to allow both children and adults to participate, but almost every time we have an extended party, we end up drinking and eating until late at night. Sometimes people go get more drinks from their rooms and never come back. Some people drink too much and end up falling asleep. (laughs) It’s fun to see the endless number of people coming and going, and it’s one of the best parts of hosting a party at home!

Filipino Home Cooking

A Filipino house mate said, “Our Filipino friends are coming to visit us, so we’re having a Filipino party!” They planned a dinner party for us. The menu was sinigang (main dish) and turon (dessert)! “Every mother’s sinigang tastes different,” they told me. I guess it is just like meat and potatoes in Japan.
On this day, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Moroccan members who were trying sinigang for the first time came to the party! I was lucky enough to take part in the cooking, but there was a tremendous amount of vegetables in the dish. I was told that they originally use local vegetables instead of spinach, but the taste was authentic. It had a slightly sour taste, a sensation that you cannot get in Japan, but it was so delicious that I had to have many more servings.

The dessert, turon, is a street snack consisting of sugar-covered bananas rolled in spring roll skin and then deep fried. The skin is crispy and the banana melts in your mouth, but it was so easy to make that some people said, “I’ll try to make it next time! I’m going to make it again!” It was really easy and I highly recommend it! It was another delicious and fun dinner party! We will bring you another HASH report next month! See you again soon!