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