In Ramya Eluri’s hometown of Hyderabad, India, everyone, she said—“every age from children to old people”—loves the dish called Chicken 65.
So when The Globe restaurant at George Mason University asked INTO Mason students to submit their favorite recipes from home to perhaps be part of a lunch menu, Eluri, who is pursuing a master’s degree in computer engineering, did not hesitate.
Eluri’s Chicken 65 recipe was one of three chosen from the 11 submitted by students in the INTO Mason program, which helps international students integrate into American university life while enhancing their academic and English language skills.
Also chosen was a salt and pepper chicken recipe from Pin-Erh Chen, who is from Taiwan and pursuing a master’s in data analytics, and sweet and sour pork from Ruofei Li (arts management) and Zhongjie Han (business administration), both from China.
“They said we ate at The Globe many times,” Eluri said of the three friends with whom she dined on Chicken 65, the spicy dish loaded with chili powder, chili sauce and ginger garlic paste, “but this was the best dish we ever ate.”
The idea for what was called A Taste of Home came from The Globe manager Laura Van Slyke.
“We want to keep them engaged and always try to find new ways to make them feel they are part of the dining experience and not just a customer,” Van Slyke said of the students. “They’re so far away from home. This is a chance for them to feel a little bit of home.”
To obtain the submissions, Van Slyke reached out to James Jones, assistant director for advising and academic services at INTO Mason, and Kevin Yurinich, INTO Mason’s student support coordinator. Jones put out the recipe request to his Introduction to Graduate Study for International Students II class and offered extra credit to those who participated. Yurinich sent a request for recipes via email.
Recipes were chosen based on the availability of ingredients and the ability to make the dish for a large lunch crowd, Van Slyke said. When Li submitted a sweet and sour pork chop recipe and Han submitted one for sweet and sour spare ribs, Van Slyke combined them into sweet and sour pork.
Each student whose recipe was chosen could, on the day it was produced, dine for free with three friends in a private room. The Globe will solicit student recipes again in the spring, Van Slyke said.
“You always want them to be happy,” she said of the students. “And it’s fun to do something different.”
For Li, the recipe took her back to her hometown of Sanming, in China’s Fujian Province.
“It’s my recipe [by] my grandmother,” Li said. “When I taste this food, I’ll be reminded of my childhood.”