One of my continued dreams is to spend time in the kitchen of someone from a different culture and even country. There I would learn how to make foods the locals eat and that which I go in search of during my travels. I would get the ins and outs of why and when these foods are eaten and if I’m lucky they’d share with me some secrets regarding the recipes they use and stories about when and where they made the specific foods over the years. Wow, what an honour!
Food is an incredible tool in this way. It brings together people from different paths to share traditions and the bascially the essence of cultures in a way that is warm and welcoming. It’s one of my favourite “souvenirs” to bring home when I travel and it’s one of the best ways to keep alive the feeling of a far away place and to share memories of my adventures with others.
In the last two months I’ve been in (many kitchens actually, but more specifically) two kitchens in two different countries, getting a taste for the different food cultures. In hindsight what was most interesting is the use of the same, humble ingredients in similar ratios but prepared differently to create unique results. Again I say wow!
The first kitchen was an outdoor kitchen on the island of Mauritius. We visited a lady who lived alongside a lagoon; in her garden she grew her own vegetables and herbs and even had a coconut tree in her front yard…it was paradise. The lady of the house could not speak any English and so we had a translator however food is an international language and so frying a dough made from flour and water and calling it ti puri was not hard to understand. We cooked over an open flame in a makeshift kitchen, where often they would cook foods like fish that left an unwanted odour in the house or that create too much smoke. She then prepared some local vegetable dishes and even a rice pudding for dessert. We ate at the table on plastic mats resembling banana leaves that are traditionally used and used our hands to enjoy this amazing meal and extraordinary experience. We didn’t get to talk too much because of the language barrier but we could tell she enjoyed having us take an interest in her heritage and (hopefully) she could tell how grateful we were to be there with her. It was wonderful.
Then this weekend I was side by side with an incredible, superwoman Portuguese mãe and avó, learning how to make rissóis de camarão – half moon fried snacks with (in this case) a shrimp filling. The first time I had these was for dinner in Lisbon where it was served as a main meal with savoury rice. It was delicious and a favourite since then. This time they would be made snack/starter size however.
It was my very first time cooking Portuguese foods in this kitchen although I’d been in and out of the home for 15 years seeing as mãe’s son is one of my best friends. But why had it taken so long? Here was someone I could learn from without even leaving my neighbourhood but I hadn’t…until now that is!
I was in charge of coating the prepared half moon pockets which was most fun because I love getting in touch with food. I loved the energy as the kitchen started to fill up with the family members who came to see what we were doing and were inspired to make something of their own…food is for sharing! Next step was to fry them and bom apetite!
Earlier I mentioned the similarity in ingredients: I was referring to flour and water. Both kitchens used equal parts liquid:flour ratio but in the case of the ti puri, it was blended first then portions deep-fried whereas with the rissóis, the flour was added stovetop to the measured boiling water and “cooked” while mixed to form the dough…same, same but different. I found it interesting because the same ingredients applied in different ways created two very different end products.
I’m so grateful for these experiences and I hope these food stories will continue and very soon….
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