Working Family Stands at the Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park
“there are specific papaya salads around the market. Everyone does it a little differently. Papaya salads are to die for, and you can’t get them as good anywhere else but here. I know what goes into it, but everyone has their secret recipe.”
by Helen Lauterbach
The Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park is a destination for foodies and a cultural landmark in South Philadelphia. The open-air market, run by the Cambodian Association of Philadelphia in partnership with various community organizations, started as an informal meeting place for Southeast Asian immigrants to buy and sell their cultural foods. I talked to two of the many young people who work at the market, to find out what the market means to them.
Anita, 20
Anita is a college student in Philadelphia and sells Cambodian meats with her family at the Southeast Asian Market.
What are you doing at FDR park today?
I mainly sell barbequed meat that we make in our home and we sell out here in the park. Before the meat we did a traditional snow cone and dessert stand. And then we started selling mango, and then we started selling sticky rice, and then the meat started to come in. And then we also started selling papaya salad. But then it became too much as the years went by- I got busier and my mom got older, so now we just do meat.
I am twenty and I’ve been doing this since sixth grade. Dealing with certain customers isn’t always too good, but I also do enjoy meeting people. Sometimes people tell me that it’s their first time coming to the park and it makes me really excited that our community is getting recognition! The market has grown a lot over the seven years I have been working here. It’s hard to explain because you kind of have to be here, but I have the feeling that we have grown as a community.
Is the food itself important to you? Is the market?
Oh yeah there’s nothing better than a home cooked meal, honestly! I’ve never gotten a chance to go to Cambodia but my parents are immigrants. I’m first generation. The food and the language is the closest I’ve probably ever been to my country, and I get both here at the market.
Aside from my mom’s food, there are specific papaya salads around the market. Everyone does it a little differently. Papaya salads are to die for, and you can’t get them as good anywhere else but here. I know what goes into it, but everyone has their secret recipe and they don’t share that.
Do you think the market means something different to you than your parents?
I just kind of caught on when I was old enough to work, but my parents have been doing this a long time so it is something different for them. Because a lot of people here don’t really speak English, and their whole life they’ve been making the same food and making it really well. They made it back home in their country, and they continued to make it when they came here. Even when they didn’t know the language, they could communicate through food. They brought it from their country to here, so I know it must mean a lot to them.
I can’t speak for my parents, but for me it is nice to see hard working people making food and bringing it out here just to make a living. For me it is more about staying connected to my family. And that is mostly about the language. I realized growing up that other Khmai kids don’t know the language. To the point where it’s literally dying. I want to practice it, and then learn to teach it so it can stay alive. But it’s a difficult language, with 38 different syllables that can mean completely different things, and so many rules. But that’s the goal.
Maya, 14
Maya is a high school student at the Philadelphia School for Girls and sells Lao food and desserts with her family at the Southeast Asian Market.
What are you doing at FDR park today?
I cook Lao food with my family. And we are really famous for making Papaya salad and making it really spicy- with a handful of peppers. We also make mango salad, chicken salad, and shrimp salad. My favorite is the shrimp, personally. I work here both Saturday and Sunday, every weekend. But then I’m also working on the food all week because we have to get ready and prepare stuff, so everyday after school I go home and help my dad and sister cook. My sister is a really great cook, but I’m more of a taster. Sometimes it is stressful, and I am having to switch things around quickly. For example on Sunday nights we pack up and then come back home, and then I have to go to school early the next day. But I’ve been doing this ever since I was in second grade, and I’m in ninth grade now. So it is something that I was raised into. They do this a lot in Laos, having open markets. I think that is where my mom got the idea.
Is the food itself important to you? Is the market?
There is some food here that I can’t find anywhere else, or anywhere else as good. There’s this egg omelet, and it’s not a regular omelet, it’s the way that they make it that I haven’t seen anywhere else. I’m not sure how they do it, but I love it. It’s fun to come eat the food because I get to explore many communities like Cambodian food, Indonesian food, and more…I like to try things out. But Papaya salad is always my favorite. It’s really spicy, especially when my cousin makes it. There are a lot of different types of Papaya salad at the market, they don’t taste the same. I also like the chicken here. There are so many booths that sell meat on sticks and chicken on sticks, but everyone has their own spices and way of doing it.
Is the market or the food at the market something you would want to pass on?
During New Years I love to eat papaya salad. When Laos New Year starts in April, it lets you know that it is basically time for the Market to open. This is a tradition, and I think of all the time I spend cooking with my family as a tradition too. We all have a different process, a different way of making things. It is fun to taste the food and decide if it’s too sweet or too sour. My sister makes things super spicy, and my mom likes to make things less spicy. Some people like sour, salty, or sweet. I hope that I come to the market even when I go away to college. I want to come visit and have some food and visit people. I want to feel connected to my culture, to feel that my culture is still alive. So I think the market is a tradition, too, like something I hope I can come back to.
Interviews and images by Helen Lauterbach
Learn more about the Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park at: https://www.fdrseamarket.com/
