Nigeria, where is my mouth?

Hi,

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and is a former British colony. We decided to cook Suya, essentially kebabs, for this country.

The roasted peanuts were ground with cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, ground ginger, garlic powder and onion powder added to make a spice mix. The beef pieces were then marinated and the kebabs were grilled.

The meat was nice and the roasted peanuts added an interesting flavour to the meat but it was extremely hot. My mouth went numb after eating it although I am a bit sensitive to hot food.

Bye

Sam’s rating: 6/10

Niger, beef balls

Bonjour,

This country is consistently ranked one of the lowest in the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI), I am quite sure that what I ate tonight is probably not typical of the general Nigerien people but hopefully it is somewhat representative of the middle class.

We made O JoJo Balls and served it with mashed yam. The balls were tasty despite not having anything in the way of spices added to it. Simple to make and gluten free they would be a potential substitute for rissoles.

Au Revoir

Sam’s rating: 7/10  

Nicaragua, a dish of nations

Hola,

Nicaragua is a Central American country and their national dish Gallo Pinto, is also the national dish of Costa Rica and a fierce rivalry exists between the two nations over its origin.

The dish involves kidney beans and rice with chilli and spices, essentially exactly the same as we cooked for Costa Rica although with the Costa Rican Gallo Pinto we had meat with it. This dish needed some meat, according to one source it is typically eaten with scrambled egg.

The Costa Rican Gallo Pinto I rated a 7/10, for this one though it is probably closer to a 5/10 due to lack of meat and the like, perhaps it is a bad way to judge but never mind.

Adios

Sam’s rating: 5/10

New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud, of sheep

Kia ora,

While not technically hello, kia ora means be well / healthy and is typically used in greeting. The land of the long white cloud is probably Australia’s closest thing to a sister. The rivalry between Australians and New Zealanders is infamous but the banter tossed either side of the Tasman is one of which you have to be within the “family” to be allowed to partake.  

Aotearoa (The land of the long white cloud) has many interpretations and legends and while sheep weren’t in the country when the phase originated, the “white cloud” could easily have been adhering to the future sheep population. In 2011, there were 7.45 sheep per person in New Zealand, easily the highest sheep per capita in the world, way in front of Australia in second place at 3.33 sheep per person.

Given this, it is hard to cook anything else for New Zealand but some lamb. I decided to cook grilled rosemary lamb chops. They were probably the most tasty lamb chops I have had in my life and were served with roast potatoes, carrots and beans.

Poroporoaki

Sam's rating: 9/10

The Netherlands, from high to low

Hallo,

The Netherlands, it is quite amusing that the most populated highest country (by sea level) is right next (in terms of alphabetical ordered list) to the most populated lowest country (by sea level). With only an average 30m elevation, the country is well known for its windmills.

We decided to cook a stamppot with rookworst. It is a very interesting concept to boil vegies upon vegies and mix it all up before topping it with rookworst (or in my case Chorizo). I thought I would become a vegetable after eating butternut pumpkin, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, leek, onion and kale all in one meal. I have never had 9 vegetables in any meal in my life before, I did live to tell the tale.

The chorizos were quite spicy and the vegies were actually quite nice (butter is the key).

Doei

Sam’s rating: 6/10

Nepal, vegetarian time

Swagatam,

Nepal is a country with the third highest average elevation in the world at 2,500 metres above sea level. Of those countries with a high elevation it is by far the most populated with over 26 million people.

For this country we decided to cook Dal Bhat (Lentil Curry), as usual for me I missed the meat in the meal but given the curry was predominantly lentils I quite liked it. I am fairly partial to lentils.

Namaste

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Nauru, close to home

Hello,

This island that is quite close to Australia, in Australia it is well known for its detention centres run by the Australian government, the ties of Nauru to Australia is quite close and Nauru even uses the Australian dollar as their currency.

For this island we decided to cook coconut fish, the fish was rolled in macadamia nuts and breadcrumbs and served with a crushed pineapple relish.

The fish was nice but probably not my favourite, as you may be aware by now, I am not that fond of nuts.

Bye

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Nambia, curry time

Hi,

For this southwest African nation we decided to cook a Nambian potjiekos, essentially a curry.

This curry was slow cooked and like all slow cooked recipes the meat, vegies and spices all blended to be infused with a mouth-watering goodness that can only be achieved after hours of simmering.

We served this recipe with brown rice which was a lovely change from the white.

Bye

Sam’s rating: 8/10

Myanmar, much too spicy

Min-ga-la-ba,

For this country I cooked wettha thayet thi chet (Spiced Pork with Green Mango). I did find the greenest mangoes I could in the shop but not convinced it came out authentic.

The pork was served with a green mango salad. The green mango salad was so spicy that I really could not stomach it, a majority of the salad went in the bin.

The spiced pork however was quite good, spicy but that was expected, the mango created a tasty, fruity infusion which I enjoyed.

bhine

Sam’s rating: 3/10 for the salad and 8/10 for the pork

Milky Mozambique

Olá,

Mozambique is the first African country that I have come across with Portuguese as their official language. The Portuguese influence is also apparent in their national dish, Galinha à Zambeziana.

 The chicken was marinated in coconut milk, garlic, butter and peppers before being grilled. I decided to serve the chicken with rice which seems to be the custom in Mozambique. The coconut milk may have diluted the spice somewhat but it still had a trace of bite.

In any case, I quite enjoyed the chicken.

Tchau

Sam’s rating: 8/10

Morocco, couscous delight

مرحبا

Morocco is a northern African country where the most common meals include couscous. We decided to cook a chicken tagine and serve it with couscous.

The tagine was made using a number of different spices including garlic, ginger, cinnamon and harissa. Honey, raisins, almonds and apricots were also added to the dish making it a bit unusual. I loved the tint of honey. Chickpeas and a butternut pumpkin (squash) was added.

A nice dish with some interesting ideas, I like to cook with honey.

وداعا

Sam’s rating:7/10

Montenegro, not a fav

Zdravo,

This small European country situated near Kosvo speaks Montenegrin, a language that I have never heard of. We decided to cook Balsica Tava.

The meat was a bit chewy for me and seemed like it needed to be slow cooked, the end result was a bit watery with a slightly, almost cheesy taste in parts from the sour cream.

Dovidjenja

Sam’s rating: 6/10

Mongolia, beautiful aroma and tasty

Сайн уу

Mongolia, a land that I imagine to be spacious, filled with wide open plains and wild horses. For this receipe my parents joined me to eat and we decided to cook Mongolian Tung-Po Mutton.

The mutton, potato and carrot was deep fried briefly before cooking in the oven for over three hours, the dish was served with rice.

My parents quite liked the dish and it was tasty enough but not something that I would rave over.

Баяртай

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Monaco, cheesy delight

Bonjour,

Monaco is known for its pastry and seems to be an extension of French cuisine. We decided to cook the national dish of Barbagiuan.

This recipe consists of Swiss Chard, eggs, rice, cheese, leek and onion that is mixed put in the middle of a dough. After making the kitchen look like a war zone, the combination is fried in oil.

The Barbagiuan is fairly tasty with a cheesy taste of the outer dough and a nice filling. I really like the concept and would be keen to do it with a different filling.

Au revoir

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Moldova, cabbage delight

Alo,

This former Soviet country is one which I was unaware even existed. The country is located between Romania and the Ukraine. For this country we cooked Sarmale (Stuffed Cabbage or Vine Leaves).

The stuffing was wrapped in cabbage leaves and then returned to the pot to cook the rice within the cabbage leaf.

I am usually not a big fan of cabbage but this dish is surprisingly beautiful.

La revedere 

Sam’s rating: 8/10

Micronesia, Simply Superb

Hi,

This country is a collection of small islands to the north of PNG. The recipe was called the boring name Chicken Micronesia. It was chicken cooked with pineapple, soy sauce, ginger and coconut. It was so simple yet so tasty.

I am probably somewhat biased as I am partial to pineapple and soysauce, there isn’t too much with those ingredients that I don’t enjoy.

Bye.

Sam’s rating: 9/10

Mexico Mush

Hola,

Mexico, probably one of the cuisines I enjoy the most in the world, tacos, tortillas and burritos all make me drool at the very name of them. However, for this recipe we decided to find an authentic (or atleast as authentic as possible) chicken enchiladas.

We followed the recipe and blended the ingredients which turned to much. After a lot of searching we found corn tortillas as mentioned in the recipe. The recipe reminded me of the enchiladas I tasted at some Mexican restaurants in the United States a bit softer then I usually have them and typically I have wheat tortillas wraps rather than corn.

 Surprisingly, I didn’t particularly like the US Mexican restaurants that I went to and it makes me wonder if I just like the Australian version of Mexican cuisine (and I use the word Mexican very loosely).

Adios

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Marvellous Mauritius

Bonjour

I have a theory about recipes having cooked my way (with my housemate) half way around the globe. The theory is the hungrier I am, the more delicious the dish. I am sure that all my ratings would be different if I was less hungry or more hungry whatever the case may be.

This dish was a chicken one, called Chicken Daube. The chicken and potatoes were stewed in a beautiful marinade of chicken stock, tomato, thyme, garlic, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, chilli and white wine.

To me, in my hungry state the meal was beautiful.

Au revoir

Sam’s rating: 10/10

Plain Mauritania

مرحبا

This is an Islamic country in the north western part of Africa, we decided to cooklamb with couscous which reminded me somewhat of the Mali recipe.

However, unlike the Mali recipe, this recipe contained little to no spices except for garlic. As a result, the meal was fairly plain.

وداعا

Sam’s rating: 6/10

Marshall Islands, a chance to use banana leaves

Hi,

I have been looking for an excuse to use up some of the banana leaves for a while and the Marshall Islands are just the perfect excuse. We decided to cookchargrilled coconut fish parcels. The paste, rempah had a strong coconut flavour to it and the shredded coconut made taste a bit grainy.

In cooking the fish it was difficult to tell if it was cooked but it was a pleasant surprise that the fish was cooked through. I think I prefer my fish cooked the traditional way and lemon is still my preferred flavouring.

We served this dish with sticky sweet potato which was ok but could have done with a bit more cooking, my bad.

Bye.

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Malta, finger food

Hi,

In this island country we decided to cook their traditional dish of pastizzi, this one was pork and pea flavour.

Having never cooked with pastry before it was interesting to learn how it is made (although we cheated using store brought pastry) and the pork was cooked for several hours. It amazes me how soft and tender any meat can get if it is cooked slow.

These pastizzi bursted with flavour of mint and soy sauce, I like the flavour but it was a touch too strong for me. I will attempt it again someday or a variation of this. I love the pastry surrounding the pulled pork.

 Bye.

Sam’s rating: 8/10

A date with Mali

Bonjour

For this African country we truly went to Timbuktu, a city of Mali and chose the recipe Couscous de Timbuktu.

 The stewing beef was tasty and slow cooked. The flavour of the dates came out in the meal adding a fruity touch. It was a tasty dish.

Au revoir

Sam’s rating: 8/10

Maldives, fried

Assalaamu alaikum

The Maldives, a beautiful part of the world and one place I hope to visit one day.

For this island nation we decided to cook vegetable fried rice. It was nice but somewhat disappointing, didn’t have as many spices as the Chinese version, or atleast in larger amounts.

 In order to add some meat to the meal we decided to serve the meal with tuna and prawns.

vakivelan

Sam’s rating: 7/10

Malaysian mix

Helo,

Malaysia is another Asian country with a beautiful, tasty cuisine. For this country we decided to cook char kway teow, a seafood stirfry dish.

While we used rice noodles, the noodles used were of the long variety as opposed to the wide variety. According to a friend of Malaysian decent, the rice noodles we used made it more authentic to the recipe. In addition, due to the difficulty in locating fish cakes we decided to use some actual basa fillets as a substitute.

 The dish was very nice, it was a bit spicy but still bearable for me.

selamat tinggal

Sam’s rating: 9/10