Friday, April 8, 2022

Fortune and Glory, Kid. Fortune and Glory and Potstickers: An Eat-Along to the Indiana Jones Trilogy

In honor of Everything Everywhere All at Once opening in Chicago this weekend, I thought it fitting to remember the day Chad and I rewatched the Indiana Jones Trilogy (sorry Cate Blanchett and aliens, I cannot in good conscience count that other one, no matter how adorable Karen Allen is).  Some might wonder what the correlation is between these two events.  But those who truly know me, understand.  My first crush that wasn't a cartoon was the one and only Ke Huy Quan, aka Jonathan Quan aka Data in The Goonies, aka Jasper in Head of the Class, aka........Short Round in The Temple of Doom.  


As a first-gen Asian kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, I didn't get to see myself on screen very much.  So when I see someone like Ke, matching Harrison Ford step for step, kick for kick, out-acting Kate Capshaw (not too difficult (sorry not sorry)), I had a new hero and I looked for him in everything I could find him in.  With every viewing, I crushed harder - he was funny, he was smart, he was scrappy - the ideal 80s underdog. I watched Temple of Doom until I wore out the tape, screaming along lines like:


I was a little kid.  I was so starved for representation, I accepted scraps (see also Samantha on California Dreams, Tina on Ghostwriter, Min on Barney) and didn't realize until much later how blatantly racist and culturally insensitive the plot was - white savior trope, savage brown people trope - how Spielberg's portrayal of Asian people perpetuated stereotypes and made a whole generation of Americans scared of "Indian food."  

I could do an entire blog entry on the ways in which the film was offensive.  In that same entry, though, I would talk about how despite all those things, Short Round was still the heart of the movie, the actual hero and a forreals badass who nailed every bit of dialogue and punchline like a pro.  And how deprived we've ALL been of the multitude of roles that Ke should have had.  The number of action movies and epic romances we could have seen, with Ke as a leading man. But how happy we are that he's back and that directors like The Daniels know how valuable he is. 
And that we get to see him on screen with the incandescent Michelle Yeoh.
But this isn't about that.  It is about revisiting Indiana Jones with new eyes. 
And with food.


Raiders of the Lost Ark

Recipes #1 and 2
Peruvian Ceviche
Stuffed Dates


Temple of Doom

Recipes #3, 4, and 5
Tandoori chicken wings
Sichuan zucchini salad
Chicken potstickers


The Last Crusade

Recipes #6, 7 and 8
Italian Wedding Cookies
Coconut Affogato
Arugula Prosciutto Salad


Choice of libations

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Pisco Sours
Temple of Doom: Tamarind Lime Coolers
The Last Crusade: Lambrusco Spritz


Note that there is only a picture of one cocktail, the pisco sour, which we began drinking at 10am. While it paired nicely with our first meal and movie, it also made me loopy enough to forget to take pictures of the other drinks. But believe me.  They were drunken. 

Choice of Music


The whole soundtrack to Everything Everywhere All at Once is composed and produced by Son Lux and is as wonderful as I would hoped it would be.  While I actually like the song Fence by Son Lux and Moses Sumney more, it would have been a missed opportunity to not use a song also in the movie called "Now We're Cookin" featuring Randy Newman.  And now I've sneaked both into the blog entry, so I win two times.  




In Raiders, a one eyed man sneaks into the home of Sallah's friend to kill Dr. Jones, under the orders of Nazis (I hate those guys).  He does this by poisoning a bowl of dates.  In this instance, I poisoned the dates with whipped blue cheese and candied pecans.  We survived, but just barely.                     Remember the pisco sours.



I had actually forgotten that the first scene in Raiders takes place in Peru. I had ALSO forgotten that a baby Alfred Molina was even in this franchise. I have no idea why I haven't attempted to make ceviche before this day but I have made it three times since and it is AMAZING.  The market near my place had tilapia on sale, and if you've read this blog or met me you know I can't pass up a good sale.  That said, this would probably be amazing with mahi mahi or anything else that looks good that day.  Also.  Today I learned that there exists a place called Peru, Indiana and that it is the circus capital of the world.

Anyhoo.


Whether I like it or not, Kate Capshaw singing "Anything Goes" in Mandarin lives rent free in my mind due to the countless times I watched the movie patiently waiting for Short Round to appear.  All glittery and shiny red, she descends the staircase from a puff of pink smoke, flanked by dancers carrying fans.  They are observed by Indiana Jones who is at Club Obi Wan (Yes. Really.) to trade ashes for a diamond. Or something.  In any case, we had zucchinis in the fridge AND a concoction (of chili oil, garlic, sesame, cardamom, cinnamon, anise, shallots salt, pepper) gifted to me by the incredible Kurt Kwan and his family. It was as delicious as it sounds and we put it on the zucchini and everything, everywhere almost all at once.


Did you know that Temple of Doom was technically a prequel?  I guess they didn't want to make Nazis the bad guys again (instead they demonized many people on another continent in myriad ways) and so it takes place the year before Raiders of the Lost Ark. One of the worst sins the movie committed was that AWFUL dinner featuring eyeballs and snakes and monkey brains which as Padma Lakshmi has said in interviews, was "so antithetical to Indian culture -" and that she got bullied growing up in The States.  The writing of the Indian characters, of the meal scene and later on the scenes with the human sacrifices...it robs so many of their humanity.  While it was convenient to just...make things up...it was wholly unnecessary.  In any case, I made tandoori chicken.  I will make them again.  Spicy and smoky just like my rage.


I mean, one can't drink things all day, starting at 10am and pass up the chance to make potstickers, amiright?  Chad made these with vegetables (basically a salad) and they were perfect.  We used our airfryer because we are those people now.


  As you recall, The Last Crusade mostly takes place in Italy.  So it was slightly easier to cobble together things to eat and drink than the other two movies.....Okay now, listen, it was a long day. And the tab for groceries was already so extensive. And we already had prosciutto and mozzarella and arugula in our fridge.  So we literally just chopped everything up and tossed it with balsamic and called it a day.  There are no pictures of the affogato but I think we all know what espresso poured over store-bought gelato looks like.

Wrong movie, but still applicable.

At its heart The Last Crusade is a parent/child redemption story, which I am a sucker for. It also features a game-for-anything River Phoenix perfectly cast as young Indy and Sean Connery at his funniest.   His clowning is magnificent here.  In the end it is probably my favourite of the trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark was Chad's favorite and Andie was only awake for Temple of Doom.   In Andie's defense, there are parts of Temple that are incredibly entertaining and it did introduce us to the amazing  Amrish Puri (though I wish it had been under better circumstances) and of course, the real heartthrob of the film, Ke Huy Quan. 

Rumour has it, there is yet another Indiana Jones sequel on the way. If producers were wise, they would use it as an opportunity for Harrison Ford to pass the torch onto Ke who has proved he is more than capable. And who would give an entirely new generation of folx like me some much needed inspiration.  Come on, Speilberg. You know what to do...  


Recipes coming soon. I promise.....