Bolivia

Bolivia is a landlocked country smack bang in the middle of South America. It is the poorest nation on the continent, but it attracts thousands of thrill-seeking young backpackers each year. Backpackers to Bolivia are recognised by their alpaca beanie with earflaps, they take cocaine with prisoners in San Pedro prison, and they enjoy such activities as mountain biking the 'death road' in La Paz, and setting-off explosives in the silver mines of Potosi (compare backpackers to Australia who are recognised by their 3rd degree sunburn, they drink in English/ Irish pubs, and they enjoy such activities as a climbing the harbour bridge and patting kangaroos). As you can imagine, Bolivia is a Mecca for a different type of tourist.

Unfortunately for me, the first time I attempted to enter Bolivia I discovered that my passport was missing. Of course I immediately blamed the earless noseless Peruvian man that I had run into during Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria: an 18 day festival that involves legions of 'diablos' dancing and drumming their way through the streets of Puno 24 hours a day. The reality of the situation was far less sinister - I had left my passport on a boat. The moral of the story: Don't judge a book by it's cover (or lack thereof). I eventually did make it to Bolivia, but much to my dismay (and no doubt my parents delight) I didn't have time to visit San Pedro prison, mountain bike the death road, or set off dynamite in Potosi. It was difficult to get a grasp on the Bolivian people being there for such a short time, but one thing I noticed is that the South American revolutionary spirit is still alive and well in modern Bolivians.

Bolivia is in fact named after the South American Libertadores, Simon Bolivar, who led revolutions against the Spanish right across the continent. Further to this, Bolivians have a deep love of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, another well known revolutionary (although ironically it was the Bolivian army who assassinated him on orders from the CIA). They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than struggling to articulate the Bolivian guerilla psyche, I will show you a statue that is proudly displayed in the centre of a Bolivian town we stopped at. 

That is a Bolivian freedom fighter guzzling blood from the heart of a slain Spanish soldier. Of the aforementioned backpackers, you will not be surprised to hear that very few of them are Spanish. 

It is not just the revolutionaries that have a taste for human flesh. I read an article recently that described a Bolivian man committing suicide by throwing himself to a school of hungry pirañas. We were told that the flesh eating fish are harmless to humans (this was while fishing for them with chunks of raw beef in neck deep water). Turns out our local guide was wrong!

Thankfully the cuisine that is more commonly presented on Bolivian tables is far less gruesome, and infinitely more delicious. I cooked this meal when my other half was away and it is the perfect bachelor feast.

Silpancho

Ingredients

1 Cup White rice

3 Waxy variety potatoes

1 Green capsicum, diced

1/2 Red onion, diced

1 Tomato, diced
1 Fried Egg

2 Tsp Vinegar

2 Tsp Oil

500g ground beef

Salt

Pepper

3/4 Cup Breadcrumbs

4 Jalapenos

2 Tomatoes, cut into wedges

16 quilquina leaves (substitute with coriander)

Sunflower or Canola oil

Directions

Boil potatoes for 5-10 minutes until cooked half way through. At the same time cook rice as you normally would.

Massage reasonable amount of salt and pepper into beef with hands. Separate ground beef into 4 balls. Put the breadcrumbs in a pile on cutting board. Flatten each ball and press both sides into ground beef. Roll with a rolling pin on top of breadcrumbs sprinkled with more fresh pepper. Flip over beef patty and roll again. Continue rolling and flipping until the beef is the thinness of a crepe.

Drain potatoes, then slice into 1/4 inch rounds. Sauté in batches (without touching) on medium - high with 1 Tbsp oil. Cool on paper towels.

Cook beef patties in turn, and stack on a fresh plate when cooked. At the same time, fry four eggs and leave yolk runny. 

For the final topping combine diced onion, tomato, and capsicum, and dress in equal parts oil and vinegar, salted generously.

On each plate, put a scoop of rice in the center. Decorate the rim with five potatoes spaced evenly. Put the beef on top of the rice - the potatoes should be poking out from underneath. Put egg on top of beef, and the the colorful salad on top of the egg. Garnish with quilquina leaves or coriander and serve with hot sauce.

Bhutan

There is a saying in Bhutan: "If it does not make you sweat, then why bother to eat?" This brought me much joy when I read it, and much chagrin to my long suffering wife who is not as enthusiastic about chilli as I am. While I am not yet ready to go up against the brute power of the Ghost Chili, Naga Viper Pepper, Guatamalan Insano Pepper, or Infinity Chili (three of these are actual chillis) I am finding myself getting rather addicted. I have read that the capsaicin in chili tricks the body into thinking it is being burnt, which then triggers pain receptors in the mouth that fire off signals to the brain. The brain then releases endorphins which act as natural painkillers and produce a physical rush which the body subsequently craves.

For me the dependance began as a young kid. My siblings and cousins used to challenge each other to eat some of the most feared condiment in the fridge: 'Al's Hellfire Chutney'. To a ten-year old, this was the ultimate in derring-do, as Al, a close friend of the family, clearly had a sick desire to inflict pain on his friends by handing out bottles of the home-made magma every Christmas. I once made the mistake of using foul language within earshot of my mother, and instead of soap, she washed my mouth out with chutney. While the method might seem unorthodox, it was certainly effective: you won't find any F-bombs on this blog. Little did I know that from such a young age I was already producing the aforementioned rush, which would lead to cravings, and let's face it, a few overdoses that were greatly regretted at about 9:30 the following morning.

Cuisine aside, Bhutan is one of the last really mysterious nations left in the "Far East". This is in part due to the restrictions on tourism in Bhutan. In order to preserve the cultural identity and minimise environmental impact, the government of Bhutan regulates the number (and quality) of tourists allowed to visit the country. Bhutan is one of the only countries in the world to recognise Buddhism as a state religion (the other being Cambodia), and their culture is steeped in the Buddhist tradition. One of the most recognisable structures in Bhutan is unsurprisingly a buddhist temple called Paro Taktsang or 'the Tiger's Nest'. Legend has it that a great tantric teacher, Guru Padmasambhava, flew to the location of the temple on the back of the wife of a Tibetan Emperor, whom he had turned into a winged tigress. There is nothing not to like about that legend. In fact I hope Disney-Pixar are reading this entry because that would make a killer movie plot.

Anyway you could probably have guessed from the above discourse that I am going to cook with chilli. Unlike the rest of the world, who generally use chilli as a spice or seasoning, the Bhutanese use it as a vegetable. One of the following recipes, Ema Datshi is true to this principle. This is a dish that no Bhutanese meal would be complete without, and literally translates to Chilli Cheese. As mentioned (complained about) in earlier posts, I do not live in the most cosmopolitan area of Australia, so again one of the ingredients was a little difficult to source: yak cheese (go figure). Anyway after much google searching I stumbled upon the Australia Bhutan Friendship Assoc. which gave the best substitution for this particular recipe as a 50-50 mix of kraft singles and feta cheese.

Ema Datshi (Chilli Cheese)

Ingredients

Big hot fresh chilli peppers (I used jalapeño)

Yak Cheese (see substitute above)

1 Tbsp Butter

Salt (to taste - traditionally this is a salty dish)

Water

Directions

Wash chilli and split lengthways.

Melt butter in a pan, then add chilli, water and salt. Bring to the boil for a few minutes until chilli softens.

Add cheese until you have a gooey sauce (if using above substitution add kraft singles first then feta).

Phaksha Pa

Ingredients

1 Onion, diced

About 1 inch Fresh ginger root, grated

40g Unsalted butter

1/2 cup water

2 Tsp Salt

150g Dried pork (I used chinese pork sausage)

1 Fresh green chili pepper

Directions

Cook the bok choy in a saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the pork shoulder, onion, daikon, water, chili powder, and salt and simmer over low heat until the pork is just tender, about 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Add the ginger, bok choy, dried pork, and chili pepper to the stew and simmer over low heat until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve with red rice.

This recipe is dedicated to my wife, who bravely ate a full serve of Ema Datshi, and even pretended to like it.

3 Heads Bok choy sliced

2 Tbsp Chili powder

450g Pork shoulder, diced

1 medium Daikon (or white radish) shredded (I used food processor)

Benin

The first thing I am told about Benin on Wikipedia is that it is not to be confused with the Kingdom of Benin, which is an unrelated pre-colonial African state in what is now Nigeria. This is disappointing because the Kingdom of Benin, as you can see here, has possibly the greatest flag in vexillological history.

The nation of Benin actually takes it's name from the Bay of Benin, which in turn is named after the aforementioned Kingdom. Although the flag of the modern Benin is not quite as threatening as its former namesake, there is still a very interesting military history to the Republic of Benin.

Benin (when still known as the Kingdom of Dahomey) was infamous for it's fierce all-female military regiment, known as the Dahomey Amazons. I found this slightly ironic given the unfortunate outline Benin displays on a map. These Amazons were highly trained warriors who were feared for their prowess in battle, and if captured, an enemy could expect his or her head to be removed and ears sent as a gift to the king (death by snoo snoo sounds like a much better way to go). The great Harry Flashman barely escaped with his life after his encounter with these ladies (although the same could be said for most of his feminine encounters). Their success in battle afforded the Amazons a semi-sacred status in the Vodun religious beliefs. This is still a significant religion in Benin, and was transported via captured Beninese slaves (among others) to the New World, which later evolved into the well known Voodoo practices where females are still feared and/or venerated.

The modern history of Benin also has some colourful characters, none more so than Mathieu 'the Chameleon' Kerekou. This guy, while he may have been a little nuts, was undoubtedly a political genius and knew how to survive. He first took power in a military coup in 1972 and ruled as a Marxist-Leninist 'Peoples Republic'. In the 90s, with Benin transitioning to a democracy, Kerekou lost power. His solution: beg forgiveness for the failings of his regime and get re-elected for another 10 years. During this time he converted to Islam, changed his name to Ahmed (allegedly to gain military support from Libya) then became a born again Christian and changed his name back. He certainly earned the nickname 'Chameleon.'

Before the rise of the Chameleon, Benin was part of French West Africa, and was then known as French Dahomey. This period had a significant influence on the cuisine of modern Benin. Benin cuisine is apparently known in Africa for it's exotic and flavourful dishes. I used this clearly french inspired dish as an entree for a dinner party with friends as it looked particularly easy and tasty. It wasn't bad but to be honest it could have been a bit more flavourful. In fairness to the recipe though, I was again stifled by the lack of fresh seafood and had to resort to pre-packaged crab meat.

 

Crabe Béninoise (Beninese Crab)

Ingredients

2 large eggs

200g chopped onions3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1kg fresh crab meat200g chopped tomatoes

2 chopped red chilies (hot ones to be authentic)

90g breadcrumbs or gari (fermented and dried cassava)

Directions

Beat the eggs until light then stir-in the crab meat, onions, tomatoes, garlic, chilies, half the breadcrumbs (or gari) and season with the salt and pepper. 

Spoon into 6 washed crab shells (or 6 small gratin dishes) and sprinkle evenly with the remaining breadcrumbs or gari.

Place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the egg mixture has set. Serve hot with rice and hot pepper sauce.