We
all have some little recipes in our countries, which do not demand
a long list of ingredients, and do not take too much time to prepare, but which makes us lick our lips all the same, because they are little delicacies we
love to have at least once in a while.
So,
AfriqAsia merge wishes to take our Asian friends to Africa, Accra Ghana to be
specific to try a little delicacy called KELEWELE.
What is Kelewele?
It is simply a popular Ghanaian snack
of fried plantain seasoned with spices. It is also popular in other African
countries like Ivory Coast. In English it is sometimes called hot plantain
crisps. In Africa, Kelewele is sold usually at night. Apart from being served
alone as a snack or dessert, it is sometimes served with rice and stew.
How is it prepared?
The plantains are peeled and may be
cut into chunks or cubes. Usually, ginger, cayenne pepper, and salt
are the typical spices used to make kelewele. However, onions, anise, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and chili powder are also used as spices.
It
is good to leave the spices on the plantain for some 10 minutes to get a great
taste. The oil should be too hot and the plantain must not be too soft, or else
it will absorb too much oil. It is cooked until the sugar in the plantain
caramelizes, with brown edges.
Now to our African friends, get ready
to try an Asian delicacy commonly referred to in Chinese as JIAOZI. Simple to
cook and worth the try!!
What is Jiaozi: 饺子?
Jiaozi are also known as
Chinese dumplings. They are widely spread to Nepal,
Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.
Jiaozi
typically consists of a groundnut and/or Vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly
rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by
pressing the edges together or by crimping. Jiaozi
should not be confused with wonton; jiaozi has
a thicker skin and a relatively flatter, more oblate, double-saucer like shape
(similar in shape to ravioli), and is usually eaten with a
soy-vinegar dipping
sauce (and/or hot
chilli
sauce); while
wontons have thinner skin, have square skins, and are usually served in broth.
The dough for the jiaozi and wonton wrapper also consist of different
ingredients.
WHAT IS ITS ORIGIN ?
Jiaozi are one of
the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year and year round in the northern provinces. They look like the
golden ingots yuan bao used during the Ming Dynasty for money and the name sounds like the word
for the earliest paper money, so serving them is believed to bring prosperity. Many families eat these at midnight on Chinese New Year's Eve.
Some cooks will even hide a clean coin for the lucky to find.
A plate of potstickers (guotie), and dipping sauce
Jiaozi were
so named because they were horn shaped. The Chinese for "horn" is jiǎo
(角), and jiaozi was originally
written with the Chinese
character for
"horn", but later it was replaced by a specific character 餃, which has the food radical on
the left and the phonetic component jiāo (交) on the right.
According to
folk tales, jiaozi were
invented by Zhang Zhongjing, one of the greatest practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in history. They were originally
called "tender ears" (娇耳 : jiao'er) because they were used to
treat frostbitten ears.
HOW IS IT PREPARED?
Chinese
dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how
they are cooked:
- Boiled dumplings: (shuijiao)
literally "water dumpling" (水餃; shuǐjiǎo).
- Steamed dumplings: (zhengjiao)
literally "steam dumpling" (蒸餃; zhēngjiǎo).
- Pan fried
dumplings: (guotie) literally "pan stick", known as
"potstickers" in N. America, they are also referred to as
"dry-fried dumplings" (煎餃: jiānjiǎo).
Dumplings
that use egg rather than dough to wrap the
filling are called "egg dumplings" or (蛋餃; dànjiǎo)
Other fillings include shrimp,
scallop, chicken, tofu, mixed vegetables, and others. The most common type are
shrimp dumplings (har gow).
Many types
of fillings exist, and dim sum restaurants often feature their
own house specials or innovations.
Dim sum chefs and artists often use
ingredients in new or creative ways, or draw inspiration from other Chinese culinary traditions, such as Chiuchow, Hakka, or Shanghai. More creative chefs may even
incorporate a fusion from other cultures, such as
Japanese (teriyaki) or Southeast Asian (satay, curry), while upscale restaurants may use expensive or exotic
ingredients such as lobster, shark fin and bird's
nest.
Dumplings are eaten with a soy sauce-based dipping
sauce that may include vinegar, garlic, ginger, rice wine, hot sauce, and sesame oil.
WHEN ARE THEY EATEN?
Jiaozi are
eaten all year round, and can be eaten at any time of the day – breakfast,
lunch or dinner. They can constitute one course, starter or side dish, or the
main meal. In China, jiaozi are sometimes served as a last course during
restaurant meals. As a breakfast dish, jiaozi are prepared alongside xiaolongbao at inexpensive, roadside
restaurants. Typically, they are served in small steamers containing ten pieces
each. Although mainly consumed at breakfast, these small restaurants keep them
hot on steamers, and ready to eat all day.
As a dish
prepared at home, each family has its own preferred method of making them,
using favourite fillings, with types and methods of preparation varying widely
from region to region.
ENJOY YOUR MEAL!!!
AFRIQASIA MERGE....BRIDGING THE GAP, EMBRACING THE DIFFERENCE !!!
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