Hi there and welcome to Keep It Sambal! My name is Matt and I am a foodie, explorer, waterman, and conservationist who loves to travel the world and try new foods! I am currently living in Puerto Rico and embracing a nomadic lifestyle as I find a location to build a sustainable ecolodge.
I’m originally from Maryland and was living in Washington D.C. for a couple years (2015-2017, 2019-2021) before full time travelling starting in July 2021. Before that I spent 3 years living overseas in Guam and travelling throughout Southeast Asia.
I love learning about new cultures and the digging in the history of where our food comes from, especially the sustainability aspect and the cultural significance.
It amazes me how much food plays a part in our communities, social connections, and our cultures. Not only do I love to eat – like most people – but I really enjoy learning about new cultures and go out of my way to talk to people about the stories and history behind their traditional dishes.
I truly believe what makes the experiences we have with food so special is not just the ingredients or flavors but who we share it with. Breaking bread and sharing food with others is the ultimate way to connect and bond. To eat is to live, as they say.
I created this blog as my way of sharing my travels and all the great food from around the globe. My goal with the blog is that you’ll be inspired to get out of your comfort zone with new cuisines and hopefully learn a little about different cultures and travel destinations. Hopefully you might even get some tips for your next trip or for a new recipe!
Since I lived in Asia for a number of years, you can see most of my travels have been in Asia and love Asian cuisine. Everything from Japanese to Indonesian.
Here are a few of the places I’ve explored:
When I’m not traveling or eating I love to fish, kayak/paddleboard, surf, freedive, jam on my guitar, read, do yoga, and look at real estate 🙂 I do have a day job working to develop renewable energy projects which supports my passion of clean energy and sustainability and allows me to travel the world!
Update Jan 2022: It may seem crazy, but over the last 9 months I’ve become a pescatarian, meaning I am not eating meat anymore. Pescatarian = vegetarian + seafood. I try to stick to a mostly whole-food plant based diet but I do still eat a fair amount of seafood. I’m a waterman at my core so giving up fish and seafood is really hard. This year I might go completely vegetarian as I have some issues with the loads of chemicals/contaminants and the sustainability of our seafood.
I made the switch to no meat and a vegetarian diet mainly for health reasons, and I do feel a lot better with no meat. Getting protein has been a little difficult but not impossible. I also haven’t eaten beef in a long, long time due to the environmental impacts.
So going forward in my posts, I’m going to be sharing a lot more seafood and vegetarian dishes!
Update July 2023: I’m still going strong as a pescatarian and I think have adapted pretty well to the fish + plant based diet. I feel good without meat and have got a pretty good routine and list of what I will eat going out to restaurants, traveling, and cooking at home. I don’t think I’ll be going back to eating meat anytime soon as I definitely feel a lot better without it and I really like the whole food, plant based diet with some seafood mixed in.
Shoot me an email or message with anything you’d like to know! I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks and hope you enjoy the blog!
